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Hockey has been on pause since November, but that doesn't mean the Waywayseecappo Wolverines aren't preparing for the future. The team won seven of their first 10 games prior to the pause and with no guarantees that this season will resume, the organization has taken a small step toward looking into next year as they've committed Kaedin Larocque-Wolfe.
From Maskwacis, Alberta, Larocque Wolfe, 17-years-old, will be joining the Wolverines after playing with the Leduc Oil Kings of the Alberta Under-18 Hockey League for the past three seasons. In the 2019-20 season, he tallied 16 points and he also played for Team Northeast in the Alberta Cup back in the 2017-18 season.
Taylor Harnett, head coach and general manager for the Wolverines says he is very pleased with the commitment.
"I had a good conversation with his family and he's familiar with a few players on our team," said Harnett. "I think he feels it's the best fit for him. With everything we have to offer here and the culture within our team, he's excited."
Also known as Kato, Kaedin grew up in Ermineskin Cree Nation and he says he is very proud of where he came from. When playing with Team Northeast at the Alberta Cup, Wolfe had three goals and one assist in five games.
Bright future:
Harnett is now in his fourth season of leading the team and alongside Josh Lee, the organization has turned things around quite dramatically. Just years removed from an 8-48-3-1 campaign in 2017-18, the team has made the playoffs in two straight seasons and they finished the regular season as the fifth-best team last season. The team's 40 goals this season were just one fewer than Swan Valley who led the league with 41.
The question remains, will the MJHL resume its season this year or any hockey for that matter? As of February 5, that question can't be answered, but regardless of if it does or doesn't, the Wolverines are set up for big things moving forward.
"We were able to push this year for a championship and that's something that we have been working on for three years. Just to be able to say that, it's something that we're really proud of our efforts as a staff," ended Harnett. "For the future, that's something that won't stop. It's not easy recruiting players so we need to continue to work hard to prepare for each season as it comes."
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American receiver Kenny Lawler to a one-year extension.
Lawler was named the Bombers' top rookie in 2019 after leading the club with 637 receiving yards on 41 receptions. He also scored four touchdowns.
He added eight receptions for 126 yards in three playoff games as the Bombers won the Grey Cup.
B.C. cut Lawler in training camp in 2018, opening the door for Winnipeg to sign the California Golden Bears product to their practice roster.
Lawler was a seventh-round NFL draft pick of Seattle in 2016.
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Manitoban hockey players may not get another chance to get on the ice this season.
Brian Pallister and Dr. Brent Roussin are asking the public for feedback on the loosening of some restrictions; however, indoor sports are not on the list. That means hockey in the province may not have much of a pulse left for the 2020-21 season.
Rick Freese, coach for the U18 Rangers shared his disappointment in the news handed out on Thursday.
"This is tough for Tyler and me, but it's especially tough for the players," said Freese. "They were dealt a hand that they couldn't win on. I think we're waving the white flag here."
Parkland was off to a tremendous start to the season as their 6-1 record had them atop the standings when the season was paused back in November.
Rick adds that every single player on the team worked extremely hard to prepare for this season and it's tough that they won't get the chance to show what they could do.
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Jose Mekish-Lacquette has big goals when it comes to golf. His first goal is to become a professional golfer and the member at the Gilbert Plains Country Club has become one of the top junior golfers in the province after finishing in 17th at last year's junior championships.
And Jose also has a ton of interest in managing a golf course and he is taking the first step to one day achieving that goal. He's off to Toronto as he was accepted into the Business Administration and Professional golf Management program at Humber College. Mekish-Lacquette says it was a thrill to find out he was accepted after he applied a few months ago.
"My dad came home and he said he got an email and it was my acceptance letter," said Mekish-Lacquette. "It was such an exciting thing to hear, I'm so happy about it."
The program is six months of in-class instruction and for the final six months, Jose will be working at a golf course learning the ropes. Attending the program will also give Jose a chance to play college golf as the Humber Hawks are one of the top college golf teams in Canada. They finished third at the CCAA nationals in 2020.
Jose says he has been spending a lot of time putting inside his house and although he isn't able to head to any simulators because of restrictions, he is looking forward to tryouts as he aims to make one of the top college teams in the country.
"I was pretty happy with how I played last summer," ended Mekish-Lacquette. "There are always places to improve, so I'll work hard to get better when I can get back into the swing of things."
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Paige Gaber is a three-time provincial champion. A graduate of Gilbert Plains Collegiate, Gaber helped the junior varsity team win one title and she added back-to-back championships in grades 11 and 12.
Since graduating, Paige has been accepted into the Legal Administration program at Assiniboine Community College in Brandon for the 2021-22 academic year. And that's not the only thing that Paige will be doing at ACC as she gets set to continue her volleyball career at the next level. It was made official earlier this week when Gaber signed on the dotted line as she will join the Cougars women's team in the fall.
Gaber has been playing volleyball for more than a dozen years and she's had a goal for many years to play at the next level.
"It's super exciting, no words can really describe how I feel," said Gaber. "It's a huge honour to be able to continue playing volleyball past high school, I've wanted this for so long."
Joining the women's team was a perfect fit for Paige as she's already attending the school to study. And when it comes to family support, there will be plenty of it just as there always has been as Paige embarks on her rookie college season.
"My parents are already talking about how they're going to go watch Riese one weekend and me the next weekend," ended Gaber. "It's pretty awesome that they're already doing it, that support definitely means a lot."
In case you missed it, Riese has eight goals and six assists in his first 18 games with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
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Although you aren't allowed to skate inside right now, Ste. Rose has you covered if you're looking to get on the ice.
Lakeshore & Ste. Rose Recreation is happy to announce that their outdoor rink is now open. Users of the rink are reminded that it is unsupervised and you are responsible for following all Public Health Orders.
There is a one-hour time limit for all skaters to ensure more people get a chance to use it, however, change rooms, and washrooms remain closed.
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Many families around the Parkland have gone above and beyond this winter creating some wonderful backyard rinks. The rinks have given so many kids a chance to stay sharp while indoor facilities remain shut down because of 'Code Red' restrictions.
And while Jarett Robak from Grandview hasn't created his own backyard rink, he has been working 10 years alongside family and friends to create a SnowPark and many call it the best of its kind in the province.
Located on the outskirts of the Duck Mountains on the family property, the 'Cabino' is the ultimate winter adventure spot for Jarett and all others that use the park. It includes trails for snowboarding, a wood ramp that features a viewing platform 40-feet above. You can even see Dauphin from the viewing platform.
Jarett says many different people including himself have put in countless hours over the past decade to create the park, but it's all been worth it.
"It's a place that challenges the rider and that's really exciting, it's improved a ton over the years," said Robak. "We have a warmup cabin as well and our goal is to improve it even more."
The backyard slope also includes a rope tow, lightning for night skiing, and much more. The 'Cabino' has a YouTube page and it's been viewed more than 100,000 times and that number continues to increase daily.
"It's pretty exciting to get people watching the videos and they share their ideas as well," ended Robak. "It helps other people get motivated as well.
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Even if hockey gets the green light to resume in a couple of weeks, no action will take place at the Rotary Arena. With hockey still on pause, Dauphin Rec Services has begun removing ice at the arena.
There has been no hockey at the Rotary Arena or any rink around the province since November.
"Talking to some of the user groups that we know aren't going to start back up regardless, this is what we decided on," said Wes Carnegie, Operations Manager. "Even if hockey resumes, we wouldn't have enough to keep both arenas full."
Carnegie confirmed that the ice at Credit Union Place remains in. If hockey comes back, all action would take place there. He says the arena will be full beginning at 4:00 p.m. every day of the week until about 11:00 p.m.
Without a doubt, it's been a very tough few months for all hockey players and athletes across the Parkland and province. 'Code Red' is scheduled to end on February 12 and if it does, hockey could resume in the province.
And although there has been no action at the Parkland Rec Complex, Carnegie says his staff continues to work extremely hard.
"We have done a ton of work on the pool and other work around the building," ended Carnegie. "We're just maintaining now and hoping that hockey can come back in a couple of weeks."
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Alec Zawatsky was born in Landshut, Germany in 1999. When he was two-years-old, the Zawatsky family packed up their bags and moved to Yorkton where Alec's dad went on to coach the Yorkton Terriers from 2002 to 2007.
Fast forward about 15 years and Alec started his junior hockey career with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League, a team he would play 61 games with. He followed that up by recording 19 points in 14 games with the Notre Dame Hounds of the SJHL and that ultimately led him to the Western Hockey League. He joined the Saskatoon Blades in the 2017-18 season and in two seasons in the WHL, Alec scored 17 times and added 19 assists in 107 games.
Despite a feeling that he would be a solid 20-year-old in the league, the German-born sniper never got that chance as his final WHL game was with the Moose Jaw Warriors back in 2019. He instead joined his hometown team last year as Alec played with the Terriers in his final season as a junior hockey player and as expected, the hometown player produced at a very efficient level.
He scored 22 times and added 28 assists in 47 regular-season games and in four playoff games before the novel coronavirus ended the season back in March, Zawatsky had five more points, one of which was a goal in a first-round series against La Ronge.
"Having that support from people in my hometown was great and seeing those familiar faces in the stands," said Zawatsky. "I thought I could have done great things as a 20-year-old in the WHL, but sometimes things don't work out how you feel they should. I was happy to come back to my hometown and it was a great year before we got shut down."
Germany bound:
Alec's plan was to join the Saskatchewan Huskies team, a member of Canada West. But when the conference announced the hockey season would not be played because of COVID-19, Zawatsky's plans changed and he moved back to Germany, a country he was born in more than 20 years prior.
The former Terrier is now 11 games into his first season with Blue Devils Weiden. Playing in front of only key personnel at league games, Alec has scored twice and he also has four assists.
"This league is very good for development, and I'm extremely happy with where I am," offered Zawatsky.
And as the season rolls on, Alec isn't exactly surprised with his production offensively. In fact, he was expecting to do big things in his first year as a professional.
"Playing on the big ice really suits my style of play, being smaller and quicker," ended Zawatsky. "I enjoy having more room out there and I'm looking forward to what's coming up."
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They outshot Omaha by 20 on Saturday, but the North Dakota Fighting Hawks could only earn a split over the weekend in continued National College Hockey Conference action.
After a dominating win on Friday, the Fighting Hawks put up 47 shots on Saturday, but it wasn't quite enough in a 5-4 loss.
In Saturday's defeat, Riese Gaber had one assist. The team remains atop the conference standings with 13 wins and 38 points, five more than Minnesota Duluth.
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The Portage Minor Hockey has announced that even if Manitobans are able to get on the ice next month, the association will not. The organization has decided that their season has come to an end as the wait continues to get on the ice. Hockey hasn't been played in Manitoba since November.
In Dauphin, the ice remains in at Credit Union Place and Dauphin Minor is hoping they can use it soon.
"We're still being optimistic on our end that we can still have the kids get back on the ice," said Jordan Pernarowski. "Even if it is just in our area, we want to get the kids back on the ice with their teammates."
Pernarowski says Dauphin Rec Services has done a great job keeping the facility up and running, in a time where hockey remains in pause mode. The ice at the Dauphin Curling Club has now been removed as the Board of Directors decided to end the season.
"We know that so many kids want to get back on the ice with their friends and teammates, so we're hoping we can make that happen," offered Pernarowski.
Jordan says this whole process has been a hard one for the board, but he knows that the kids are going through the toughest of times.
"It really is all for the kids. They want to be out with their friends having fun," ended Pernarowski. "Many have outdoor rinks, but it really isn't the same, that's for sure."
If Manitoba gets out of 'Code Red' on February 12, a 10 to 14-day practice period will begin before games can resume.
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