Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame
27th Annual PASHOF Banquet April 29th, 2017
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – Winter sports involvement dominates the slate of inductees for the 27th Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame banquet April 29th, 2017. The event will take place in the Ches Leach Lounge which is adjacent to the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame on the second floor of the Art Hauser Centre.
The back to back Telus Cup champions Prince Albert Mintos from 2005-06 & 2006-07 will be inducted in the team category. Ken Morrison, for his involvement in hockey will be inducted as an athlete and builder. Deanna Rindal, an internationally renowned official in the sport of curling will be inducted as a builder. Douglas Primeau for his exploits in bowling, fastball and baseball will go in as an athlete. For Meritorious Service, Chris Lair will be inducted for his contributions in the sport of karate. The Sport Organization of the Year is the Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association.
As protocol, to make room for the new slate of inductees, those inducted during the 2003 ceremony will have their citations presented to them and they will join the section of the Hall for the retired citations.
2017 Inductees
Chris Lair – Meritorious Service
Karate is a sport of discipline, strength and skill that has been nurtured in Prince Albert since 1983 by Chris Lair. Lair is a 5th degree black belt (5th dan) and is a licensed instructor, judge and examiner with numerous black belt students. Lair also has started up dojos (training centres) in LaRonge, Saskatoon and Onion Lake.
Lair has developed the Prince Albert Budokai Karate Club to include over 50 students ranging in age from 6 to 60. He is a Provincial Class B referee and National Class C instructor and rank examiner (he can grade up to Brown Belt). Lair has served as the Vice-President of the Saskatchewan Shotokan Karate Association, which holds 3 events annually.
Douglas Primeau – Athlete
The late Doug Primeau was a highly successful participant in bowling, fastball and baseball through the 1970’s and 80’s. A successful athlete, Doug also gave back to the sports he was involved with as a coach and mentor.
Bowling saw Primeau excel on lanes across Canada based out of Minto Bowl in Prince Albert. His prowess started in 1966 when he won the Senior Boys Singles Saskatchewan title, representing the province at Nationals in Agincourt, Ontario. That would start a string of 13 Provincial titles for Primeau in singles bowling. He also won 4 provincial crowns on teams: 1978, 1979 and 1981 on the PA Men’s team and in 1983 as part of the PA Mixed team. The ’78 Men’s team went on to win the National championship with a 12-6 won/loss record at the Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 1983 PA Mixed team also won the Canadian Title, again hosted in Thunder Bay.
Primeau has previously been inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the ‘78 Canadian Men’s team and also is in the PA Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the ’78 team and the ‘83 Canadian Champion Mixed team.
His legacy at Minto Bowl was being called “Mr. Quick Fix”. He would study bowlers and be able to give them advise on how to improve their game. These tips more often than not, improved the bowlers’ games.
In fastball, Doug Primeau was the king of the Hot Corner, playing 3rd base for decades. In 1972 he led the Social Services team to the Sportsman League title and was named league MVP and all-star 3rd baseman. 7 times Primeau played in Canadian Native Fastball championship tournaments for the PA Tribesmen (1978), SMDC Native Sons (1980, 1981, 1983), and as a playing coach for the Friendship Centre (1983, 1984, 1985). The British Columbia Arrows were the team Primeau-led teams couldn’t get by, twice losing to them in finals of big tournaments: in 1983 they lost 12-6 to the Arrows in an International tournament in Norman, Oklahoma, and in 1985 they lost 3-2 to the Arrows in the final of the Canadian finals hosting in PA. In 1976 Primeau was named the 2nd team all-star 3rd baseman at the North American Native Championship in Gallup, New Mexico.
Primeau also was a mainstay on the 1978 and 1979 Prince Albert Bohs Baseball team. They won the Provincial championship both years. In 1978 they went on to win the Western Canadian title in Thompson, Manitoba. In 1979 they represented the province at the Westerns in Edmonton, Alberta.
Doug Primeau also was involved with football and basketball during his high school days at PACI, going on to play in the PA Senior Mens Basketball League. He also was an avid golfer at Kachurs.
Doug Primeau passed away in 2003 at the age of 55.
Deanna (Hemstad) Rindal – Builder
A life-long love of the sport of curling has given Deanna (Hemstad) Rindal the opportunity to travel the world and be a part of many national and international events. She has become one of Canada’s top on-ice officials in the sport.
It started at an early age for Deanna as her mother Muriel, father Knute and older siblings all were active curlers. Deanna took up the sport in high school making it to the provincial Junior finals in 1983. From there she has become a fixture at the Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club as not only a player, but an organizer and administrator for many leagues and committees. She completed her Level II Coaching in 1990 and became a Level III Official in 1994, and her proficiency as an official was rewarded.
She has been the Head Official and Alternate Head Official at numerous local competitions, as well as officiating at various Northern and Provincial Championships. From this the Canadian Curling Association recognized Deanna and she has worked at 8 Canadian and 6 International events.
In 2015 Deanna was an official at the World Ladies Championships in Japan and the Continental Cup in Las Vegas. In 2016 the World Ladies Championship was hosted in Swift Current, and again Deanna was selected as an official.
On the ice, Deanna has a professional approach that has made her a top official in the country in the sport of curling. This mixed with her personable nature off the ice, makes Deanna Rindal a person Prince Albert can be proud of.
Ken Morrison – Athlete/Builder
Ken Morrison’s outstanding hockey career set him up to become an exceptional coach and mentor not only in the sport of hockey, but also in senior high school basketball. As a result, he is inducted both as an athlete and a builder.
As an athlete Morrison played right wing for the Prince Albert Raiders from 1982 to 1985. He was a key contributor to the organization’s development to win the Memorial Cup in 1985, a season in which Morrison scored 51 goals and 108 points in the regular season. He was one of 6 players who was with the Raiders from the beginning of their inaugural season in the WHL through 3 seasons to the Memorial Cup Championship in ‘85. In the following 1985-86 season, Morrison was traded to the Kamloops Blazers where he put up 150 points including 83 goals (1st in goals scored, 3rd in the league in points), then another 37 playoff points (2nd in the league), leading the Blazers to the WHL Championship Title- his 2nd straight trip to the Memorial Cup. Morrison won the WHL’s Most Gentlemanly-Like Player Award and was named a WHL 1st Team All-Star for the West Division in ’85-86. Morrison would finish his WHL career with 179 goals, 212 assists for 391 points in 268 games played.
Morrison would take his scoring prowess to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey team for the next 4 seasons. In his first season, in 1987, he helped lead the Huskies to a Canada West Championship and to the National Championship final game. He has the Huskie record for most points in a season – 69 on 40 goals and 29 assists in 1988. He holds the Huskie record for most goals in a season at 40 and most career goals at 116. He is 1 point shy of holding the Huskie all-time leading scorer record, however, he played one full season less than the player who holds it. Morrison was a 2 time Canada West All- Star and 2 time All-Canadian while playing with the Huskies. He was also named to the Huskie’s All- Millennium Team in 2000.
Hockey Canada took notice of Morrison and he was on Team Canada in 1987 that won the gold medal at the Spengler Cup Tournament in Davos, Switzerland. Canada beat Russia in the final in a shootout and Morrison scored one of the shoot-out goals for Canada.
Morrison completed his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry at the U of S and began a 3 year professional hockey career overseas. He played two seasons of professional hockey for Aalborg and one with Herning in the Danish Elite League from 1990-93. Morrison worked on his second degree, a Bachelor of Education degree, while home between hockey seasons and completed it in ’93. After his playing career concluded, Morrison became an educator and taught the senior sciences at Birch Hills School for 10 years and 1 year at Carlton before becoming an administrator at Carlton.
As part of his first teaching job in Birch Hills, Morrison was asked to coach the Senior Girls Basketball team and developed a passion for a game that he never played. He led his team, 8 out of 10 seasons, to the provincial final fours (HOOPLA) where they won provincial gold in 2001, and numerous silver and bronze medals. Morrison then went on to coach the Carlton Crusaders Senior Girls basketball teams for 7 seasons, qualifying for the Provincial Hoopla tournament in all 7 and winning the Small Cities Championship in 2005 and a 4A Provincial Championship in 2010 along with some silver and bronze finishes. He also was recognized as SHSAA Male Coach of the year in 2009.
After 17 years of coaching basketball, hockey remained a strong passion and he got the opportunity to coach with the Prince Albert Mintos in 2011 as an assistant. Morrison had also coached IP, Atom and Novice hockey teams in Prince Albert for 7 years while coaching basketball. After just one year as head coach, Morrison led the Prince Albert Mintos to the 2014 Telus Cup Championship with an historic 4-3 overtime win over the Chateauguay Grenadiers of Quebec in a game that went into the third overtime in Moose Jaw.
Prince Albert Mintos 2005/06 & 2006/07 – Team
Developmental hockey in Prince Albert has featured the Mintos of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League as the top minor hockey-associated team. In the mid-2000’s, the Mintos reach a new level of excellence, winning back to back national Telus Cup Championships in 2005-06 and 2006-07, the first time in the 29-year history this had happened.
The Mintos would finish 2nd in the SMAAHL during the regular season in 2005-06 with a 31-9-1 record. They then won the league playoffs, including sweeping regular season champion Saskatoon Blazers 3 games to 0 in the final to advance to the Western Regionals in Tisdale. The Mintos then went undefeated at Regionals, including a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Thrashers in the final to qualify for the 2006 Telus Cup National Midget Championships in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
At the 2006 Telus Cup, the Mintos breezed through the round robin with a 5-0 record. In the semis they rolled over Chateaguay, Quebec 8-0 to advance to the final against the Calgary Buffaloes. Captain Ron Meyers scored in the third overtime period to give the Mintos a 5-4 victory over the Buffaloes, whose roster included Jordan Eberle. Prince Albert Minor Hockey product Matthew Robertson, who won the league scoring title that year, was named the top forward at the Telus Cup after scoring 12 goals, to break a record previously held by Sidney Crosby.
With four players returning (Tommy Brown, Curtis Kulchar, Jadon Potter and Owen Roschuk), the 2006-07 Mintos had a new look on the ice. But off the ice lead by President Zenon Markowsky, Manager Mike Mazurek, Coach Tim Leonard, Assistant Coaches Maurice Lemire and Wally Lynds, Trainer Quentin Halcro, Equipment Manager Dan (Cobra Taylor) and Executive member Rick Willie, the expectation remained high. And the team delivered.
The Mintos cruised through the SMAAAHL regular season with a record of 35-7-1-1 to win the title. The playoffs saw the Mintos defeat the Notre Dame Hounds in the final to advance to the Western Regionals in Brandon, Manitoba. Once again the Mintos went through the Regionals unscathed, including a 4-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings in the final to advance to their second straight Telus Cup, this time in Red Deer, Alberta.
Minto Magic at the Telus Cup continued as they would run their winning streak to 14 games in 2007, sweeping the round robin, defeating St-Francois Blizzard of Quebec 4-2 in the Semi Final, then defeated the host Red Deer Optimist Rebels 3-2 in double overtime in the final. Ryan Fox scored the OT winner for the Mintos to stun the home crowd, who saw Prince Albert end a 29 game home-ice winning streak in the round robin of the tournament.
Tyler Fiddler was awarded the top forward, Lewis Laczko the top defenceman and Carson Chubak the top goalie at the Telus Cup.
Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association – Sports Organization
Prince Albert Minor Hockey began in 1957 as Prince Albert Kinsmen Minor Hockey, it operated under that name until 1989 when it officially became Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association.
Over the course of the almost 60 year history of the Association PAMHA has produced over 40 provincial champions, 4 Western Region Champions, 2 Western Canadian Champions and 3 National Champions.
PAMHA has produced literally dozens of graduates who have gone on to play Professionally in either North America or Europe, and still more who have played at higher levels such as Major Junior or Junior “A” and CIS or NCAA Hockey.
Prince Albert Minor Hockey has also hosted numerous Provincial Final series and Provincial Championship Tournaments. PAMHA has hosted a Western Regional Midget AAA championship, the Purolater Cup Western Canadian Bantam Championship and the Air Canada Cup National Midget Championship.
PAMHA has historically averaged around 1000 players per year. Currently there are over 900 players in PAMHA with 700 being Pee Wee age or younger, there are also 400 volunteers in the role of Coach, Manager, etc. Prince Albert also boasts one of the most vibrant Female Divisions anywhere with almost 150 players and 20 Coaches being female.
In the past few years PAMHA has become known across the country for its innovation in programming, policy creation and new initiatives. PAMHA has become a provincial leader in Coach Mentorship, Grass roots development and training.
PAMHA has continually worked towards improving quality of programming for both players and Coaches while continuing to keep the game accessible. Ice time, training and affordability has been PAMHA’s credo.
Inducted in 2005, citations to be presented to inductees:
David Dalziel
Erin Hammett
Dave Manson
Tom Wormworth
Paul Ashby
Eldon Bell
1961, 1962, 1963 Prince Albert Anavets Senior Hockey Team
1978, 1980, 1984 Molson Canadian’s Senior Men’s Basketball
The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame would like to welcome the Novus Law Group as sponsor for the Team Category this year. They join PA Photocopier (Athlete), Crown Vacuum (Builder) and Duane Braaten Advantage Realty (Meritorious Service) as sponsors of the Hall of Fame induction banquet. Big Drum Media is the Video Sponsor.
Tickets for the 2017 Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, April 29th are $50 each and available at Community Services in City Hall. Corporate tables of 8 are $500 each which includes sponsorship of the event.
For More Information:
Ellen Grewcock, PASHOF President – 306-980-6242
Blair Hoffman, PASHOF Vice President – 306-764-3285