Indigenous couple excited to take on new roles with Saskatoon Blades

A Saskatoon Blades alumnus is returning to help coach the team in their upcoming season, and his wife is taking on an ambassador role with the Blades at the same time.

Wacey Rabbit played for the Saskatoon Blades from 2001 through 2006, earning a ‘C’ on his jersey in 2005.

After a whirlwind week, Rabbit was excited to finally announce he’s making his way back to the city he thinks of as his second home.

Wacey Rabbit was the Saskatoon Blades team captain in 2005. His name is displayed on the captain’s wall in the Blades’ dressing room at SaskTel Centre. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

“This is kind of a coming home of sorts, and exciting for myself personally, having dealt with and taken care of Wacey for four years back in the early 2000s,” Blades General Manager Steve Hildebrand said as he announced Rabbit would be taking on an assistant coaching position with the team.

Hildebrand said he’s stayed in touch with Rabbit over the years, and when it came time to whittle down the candidates for the position, he brought up Rabbit’s name.

“We chatted about it, and here we are today,” Hildebrand said.

Rabbit had been assigned to go back to the British Columbia Hockey League for a two-year term, and was looking forward to starting that job when he got the Blades’ call.

“If it was someone else in the league, or anywhere else, I probably wouldn’t have taken it,” he said.

Rabbit recalled coming to Saskatoon at the age of 14 “as a boy,” and leaving having grown into manhood years later.

“It’s a privilege to put this shirt on, this jersey on,” he said.

“I didn’t take that for granted as a player, and I’m definitely not going to do that as a coach.”

Rabbit said he remembers Saskatoon as a special place to play junior hockey, and still gets messages from fans. He said he’s even occasionally recognized in public from his years playing for the Blades.

But it’s not just Rabbit joining the Blades lineup this season. His wife, model, actor and writer Ashley Callingbull, is taking on a role as a brand representative for both the Blades and the Saskatchewan Rush in the National Lacrosse League.

Callingbull said she’s thrilled to be in the new role and is already full of ideas — like getting Indigenous children more involved with both teams.

Though Callingbull, like Rabbit, is originally from Alberta, she said her work with at-risk children and domestic abuse survivors regularly brings her to Saskatoon.

Having grown up in what she described as “unfortunate circumstances, living in poverty and abuse,” Callingbull said she’s looking forward to being able to make a big difference by being in the community full-time.

“That’s something I grew up with, so being a part of that and helping giving these women another chance at life, for me, that’s what’s most important,” said Callingbull.

“I know what it’s like to have nothing, and to work extremely hard just to get where I am, but I’m in a position where I have some power where I can actually give back,” she said.

Callingbull said she and Rabbit first met at the Calgary Stampede, and became friends before dating. She said she’s proud to see Rabbit taking on this new role.

“I’ve travelled the world with him,” Callingbull said. “It’s amazing to see him grow in this way, because I felt like he’s meant to be a coach. He’s played all these years just to learn to become the best coach he can be.”

Being able to work towards their goals together is something Callingbull called “rare,” and she hopes they will inspire others.

“I don’t think that I’ve seen any couples as a coach and as an ambassador who are Indigenous,” she said.

Rabbit said Callingbull has always been there for him as his biggest supporter.