The softball rich community of Prince Albert has produced many strong teams over the decades. One of the teams near the top of that list would be the Prince Albert Aallcaan Midget Astros boys teams from 1999-2001.
Under the guidance of coaches Felix Casavant, Ernie Marcotte and Steve Olde this group won the Saskatchewan Midget Championship all three years. In 2000 they won a bronze at the Canadian Championships and the following year hosted the National Tournament, finishing with a silver medal.
In 2001, 5 Astros – Curtis Bradbury, Brad Casavant, Josh Dueck, Todd Marcotte and Ryan Olde were named to the National Junior Team and wore the maple leaf at the World Championships in Sydney, Australia, returning with a bronze medal
Also in 2001, the Astros made up 9 members of Team Saskatchewan that competed at the Canada Games also winning a bronze medal. The 5 members of the Astros that were on Team Canada also were on Team Saskatchewan joined by Scott Blacklock, Derek Blais, Jaiden Creary and Geoff Larose.
Other members of the Astros from 1999-2001 were: Jordie Gagnon, Kenny Scheirer, Peter Schmidt, Shawn Unger, Beau Gallemeault, Ryan Klassen, Ryan Turgeon, Trevor Lyster, Jarret Sampson and manager Wendy Olde.
Prince Albert is known as a Hockey Town. Hockey games do not occur without off-ice officials and for over 30 years, a group of 7 gentlemen have been key volunteers for over 26,000 hours of their personal time to run the scoreclock, game sheet, penalty box and/or goal-judge at games of the Prince Albert Raiders, Mintos, Bears and other key hockey events. Gerry Bergen, Elder Bergen, Lloyd McBeath, Jean Mauviuex, Wayne Soles, Rick Willey and Ron Wildey have been mainstays at hockey rinks behind the scenes for decades.
Besides countless games for the top level teams in the city, they also have worked the 1999 Air Canada Cup, 2009 World Junior Championship Exhibition Game (Switzerland vs. Austria), 2014 Telus Cup Western Regionals, 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games, 2017 Esso Cup Western Regionals and other key hockey events in the city.
Gerry Bergen
Gerry Bergen has been deeply involved in hockey all of his life. From a rink rat for the Junior Mintos at the old Minto Arena to coaching his boys in minor hockey for 11 years to president of the East End Community club, assisting in the formation of the Centre Four Hockey and serving as its inaugural rules chairman to canvassing for the construction of the Comuniplex (now the Art Hauser Centre), hockey is in Gerry’s blood.
Gerry started as an off-ice official in 1984 with the Junior B North Stars & Generals and Midget AAA Raiders. In 1985 Raider Assistant Coach Rick Wilson called to get Gerry to assist as an Off-Ice Official, a position he has held since. Bergen started coordinating the officials through the Western Hockey League, in 2000 scheduling a crew of 13 into the 9 positions required at each game. He is highly respected by the Western Hockey League for his integrity and attention to detail.
Elder Bergen
Gerry’s brother Elder is another mainstay as an off-ice official. Elder started volunteering in 1975 at the East Hill hockey through 1978. From 1975-79 he was the secretary, chair of rules committee and referee coordinator for the PA Minor Hockey League.
Elder Bergen was part of the off-ice crew that assisted Female AAA Hockey to get established in Prince Albert working for the Bears for their first 7 years as timekeeper. He has worked 21 years with the AAA Mintos and 20 years on the WHL crew for the Raiders. His duties with the Raiders have included goal judge, penalty box keeper and communications.
Lloyd McBeath
A lifelong Prince Albert resident, Lloyd McBeath got involved with minor hockey through his two sons, Clifford and Shaun. He coached for Parkalnd, Carlton Park and Crescent Acres in PA Minor Hockey for 10 years and also coached Tier One Pee Wee AA for 12 years. He was on the Crescent Acres Community Club committee evaluating players for 2 years.
Lloyd McBeath has been working for the WHL Raiders since 1998-99 as a penalty box keeper and score keeper. He joined the off-ice crew of the AAA Mintos in 1999-2000 and joined the off-ice staff of the AAA Female Bears in 2014-15
Jean Mauvieux
Jean is following in the footsteps of his father Louis Mauvieux who was a long-time off ice official with the Raiders and Mintos. He started with the AAA Mintos in 1997-98 and with the WHL Raiders in 2007-08 primarily as goal judge.
Wayne Soles
Wayne Soles coached minor hockey from 1974-79 and volunteered to help build the East Hill Arena.
He started volunteering as an off-ice official for both the AAA Mintos and WHL Raiders in 1991=92.
Rick Willie
Rick Willie started as a coach with his son Travis from 1989-93. Travis would go on to play in the WHL. Rick was the manager of the Pee Wee AA Accra Lock Lightning in 94-95 and PA Minor Hockey Association Tier 1 Chair from 1995-2001. He chaired or co-chaired the AAA Midget Ice Mania Tournament from 1996-2007.
He was the Tier 1 chairman when Prince Albert hosted the Male Midget AAA National championship (called the Air Canada Cup at the time) in 1999. Following that he recommended to PA Minor Hockey that the AAA Mintos be run by a Board of Directors and he was on that board as a chair until they won their first Canadian Title (Telus Cup) in 2006.
Rick Willie has been a time keeper for both the Mintos and Raiders since 2003.
Ron Wildey
Ron Wildey has had a lifelong involvement in hockey, beginning with playing on a pond near Paddockwood with his father and brothers. He managed a Senior Hockey team in the Garden River League during the 70;s and 80’s, and the was manager of his son Robin’s minor hockey teams from Novice to Bantam.
Ron and his wife Deb got involved volunteering, starting with working the door at the Mintos Ice Mania Tournaments in the mid-1990’s. In 1998 he joined the Mintos Off-Ice crew as a goal judge, penalty box attendant and score keeper. He continues to volunteer for the Mintos to this day.
Ron joined the WHL Raiders off-ice officials crew in 2008 with various duties, then joined the Female Midget AAA Northern Bears off-ice official crew in 2014.
Wayne Roznowsky was a dedicated and tireless volunteer in the sports community of Prince Albert over numerous decades, and his finger prints are on many facilities within the community to this day. He was involved in a wide variety of sports organizations, many as the lead person. Locally Wayne Roznowsky’s impact was immense. He Chaired the Prince Albert Special Olympics in 2005-06 and was on their board from 2002-06. Wayne was on the Prince Albert Sports Council from 1984-2002 in various capacities including member, director and vice-president from 1999-2001. He served as director, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame from 1994-2005. He held roles of president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer for the High Noon Optimist Centre from 1996-2003 and was the President of the Prince Albert Aerials Gymnastics Club from 1990-2000. In softball, Wayne was the President or Vice-President of the Women’s Softball league for 20 years, from 1980-2000. He coached women’s softball teams from 1975-2004 including winning Senior C and Senior Women’s Provincials, and the Saskatchewan Summer Games gold with a midget girls team in 2000. He is a Level 2 certified softball coach and Level 1 Special Olympics certified coach and Level 1 certified ringette coach. On the provincial scene, Wayne Roznowsky had significant impact. He was the Chair of the Saskatchewan Games Council in 2004-05 and served on their board from 2001-05. He was a Director of the Saskatchewan Special Olympics Society in 2002 and Media Relations Chair of the 1997 Saskatchewan Special Olympics Summer Games. Wayne was on the mission staff for Team Saskatchewan at the 1999 Canada Winter Games and Sports Director of the 1999 Western Canada Summer Games. He also was the vice-chair of the 1988 Western Canada Senior B Softball Championships. He has received numerous honours for all this involvement along the way, including the 1994 North Central Regional Recreation Association Volunteer Recognition Award, 1998 Prince Albert Sportsman of the Year and he was honoured in 2005 with the Saskatchewan Centennial Commemorative Medal. You can see many results of Wayne’s involvement in Prince Albert in the many structures he assisted in raising funds for and/or helping to administer their construction or improvement. This list includes the High Noon Optimist Centre, canoe and kayak boathouse, cross country ski trails, Summer Games Sports Building, Margo Fournier Centre weight room upgrades, community club rink upgrades and diamond improvements at Prime Ministers Park.
George Sinclair has a long history of being involved in sports in Prince Albert.
At the age 17, Sinclair started coaching fastball in the city with the CKBI team of 9 and 10 year-olds. Also at 17 he became the Assistant Coach in hockey alongside George Boisson for four seasons, including winning the city championship and playing at the Gordie Howe Hockey rink in Saskatoon.
Sinclair continued coaching hockey and baseball and took the Prince Albert Junior Knights to provincials. This team included Don (Pooh) Nelson who went on to succeed in hockey and broadcasting. George Sinclair coached teams and had success winning numerous city titles out of Nordale/Hazeldell. George was most proud of the discipline he instilled into his team each year.
In 1976 on the fastball diamond, Sinclair’s South Hill Midgets made it to the Provincial championship which was a best-of-three against Saskatoon. After losing the opener 5-4 in Saskatoon, the South Hill squad won 7-6 in PA. The deciding game in Saskatoon was won by the host team 6-4. In 1982 the Sheraton Playboys, coached by Sinclair also advanced to the Provincial championships in Moose Jaw, losing 2-1 in the final to the Moose Jaw Merchants.
George Sinclair started umpiring fastball and slo-pitch at the age 21 and would continue to do so passionately each year for almost 50 seasons until he was 70. George also acted as Host Umpire for many Western Canadian Tournaments hosted in Prince Albert. He would make sure umpires from around the country had a great stay in our city, a task he took seriously each time. He had the support of many businesses in the city and continued through the Midget Boys Canadians of 2009.
George Sinclair was a goal judge at the very first Prince Albert Raiders home game at the Comuniplex in 1971. Sinclair was a goal judge every season for the Raiders through the SJHL to the Western Hockey League and was involved right up until his passing in 2017, 46 years later.
He also was a caretaker at the Parkland Hall for many years, acting also as a mentor for kids playing hockey outside or in the gym. He started the breakfast program for underprivileged children at Parkland.
When the legendary Terry Simpson recruited a then 16 year-old by the name of Dale McFee from St. Albert in the early 1980’s to play for the Prince Albert Raiders, little did he know the impact McFee would have not only on the sporting world of Prince Albert, but also the city and province of Saskatchewan in the decades to come. McFee’s family would follow to take up residence in the city and Dale’s impact would be significant.
He grew up in the small town of Grosse Isle, Manitoba until the age of 13 when the family moved to St. Albert, Alberta. He would be part of numerous championships in both Manitoba and Alberta in baseball, football and hockey.
With the Prince Albert Raiders, he played in the inaugural 1982 campaign through to 1986, including the 1985 Memorial Cup Championship. All totaled McFee played 269 games for the Raiders with 118 goals, 152 assists for 270 points and 517 minutes in penalties. He attended the Minnesota North Stars training camp in 1986.
After graduating from the Raiders, McFee would attend Police College and then returned to Prince Albert to join the Prince Albert Police Service and married a PA girl, Leanne Swystun.
McFee then started to give back to the community. He coached the Imperial 400’s Bantam AA team from 1987-89, including taking Team Sask to the Gold at the Vancouver Super Series in 1987. He coached the Midget AAA Raiders in 1988-89 then joined the Raiders as an Assistant Coach from 1990-92 and scouted for the team in 1993. He has been a Board Member of the Western Hockey League Raiders since 2004 and was the Teams President from 2007-2016, and Vice President in 2017.
As an adult athlete, Dale McFee played senior hockey for the PA Buckeyes Senior AA team, fastball in the Sportsman League and Slo-Pitch. He was a member of the PA Kings fastball team that won several medals at the World Police and Fire Games from 1987-95 and the team was inducted into the PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Leanne & Dale have three daughters – Jayde, Kacey and Meghan who were strong soccer players in PA Soccer and the Celtics program. Dale would then devote much time to their careers in the sport of soccer, primarily as coach for 17 years from 1998-2015. During these years the Celtics won numerous provincial titles and were Saskatchewan representatives at Canadians in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2016. He also coached and led his team to the prestigious USA Cup tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2010. He assisted St. Mary High School’s soccer team from 2008-13. In 2008 he was named the Saskatchewan Youth Soccer Coach of the year. He also served on the PA Soccer Board from 2008-15. All three of the McFee girls would go on to play for the University of Regina Cougars in Canada West.
McFee has had a tremendous professional impact on Prince Albert. He started his career with the Prince Albert Police Service on patrol and then held various positions within the department such as Community Relations, Drug Unit with joint forces of the RCMP, Corporal, Inspector and then Chief in 2003. He was the President of the Saskatchewan Association Chiefs of Police and then President the of the Canadian Assoc of Chiefs of Police. In 2012 became the Deputy Minister of Justice, Policing and Corrections for the Province of Saskatchewan.
Dale McFee shares this motto with his daughters and teams’ he coached: “Be humble. It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. Work hard. Create your opportunities. Where you go is up to your and remember where you came from and give back to your community.”
Manny Primeau wants everyone to know “I had great teammates all though my life, and all my successes should be shared with them”, as a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame had many successes in a stellar career in baseball, slo-pitch and bowling.
Following 12 years of playing minor baseball in Prince Albert (from 1952-64 for the Cosmos, B’nai Brith, Lions and Elks) early one Sunday morning in 1965 Manny Primeau decided to hitchhike to North Battleford to try out for the North Battleford Beavers of the Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League. He had a good try-out and made the team as their second baseman playing full time in ‘65, ’66 and ’68, and part time in ‘67 and ’70. He was the league All Star 2nd baseman in ’65 and ’66 hitting .340 and .321 respectively during those years. With Primeau at 2nd, the Beavers won the League and Playoff titles in ’68 and were league champs in ’70. Manny Primeau was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
In ’69 Primeau played baseball for the Prince Albert Bohs who won the Provincial Senior Men’s ttle and attended the Westerns in Edmonton.
Manny Primeau’s days on the fastball diamond included playing for the Corrigal Seals in the PA Commercial League and with the PA Tribesmen, SMDC Native Sons and PA Building Movers in Native Fastball. The Corrigal Seals won the league and playoff championship in ’76. In ’77 at the Saskatoon Merchants tournament the Seals finished runner-up to the hosts with Primeau being named the Tournament MVP after a .478 batting average. In ’77 Primeau was picked up by the Bruno Merchants for the Senior B Westerns in Kelowna, BC where they finished second to the host team. Twice teams Primeau played on were runners-up at the Senior B Provincials – in ’78 with the Seals and in ’81 with the PA Stealers.
In Native Fastball, Primeau went to the Canadian Championships half-a-dozen times from ’78 to ’85. In ’83 in Invermere, BC as part of the SMDC Native Sons, Primeau was voted Tournament MVP, All-Star Shortstop and Most Sportsmanlike Player. In ’85 the PA Builders hosted the Canadian Tournament in Prince Albert, losing the final 3-2 to the BC Arrows. At the ’76 North American Native Fastball Championships in Gallup, New Mexico, Primeau and the James Smith Redmen finished 5th out of 24 teams. The PA Tribesman would travel to the North American Native Championship 3 times – ’78 in Calgary, ’79 in Albequerque, New Mexico and ’82 in Calgary. In ’83, Primeau and the SDMC Native Sons finished 2nd at the NAMC in Norman, Oklahoma, losing 12-6 to the BC Arrows in the Final.
Manny Primeau also had a presence in the sport of slo-pitch winning the Provincial title 6 times: in ’93 on Frank Dunn Toyota, in 2003, ’04, and ’05 with the PA Old Spikes and as coach of the PA Legends in ’06. At the 1996 Canadian Slo-Pitch Championships in Calgary, Primeau was voted the all-star 2nd baseman. He also appeared at the ’04 and ’05 Canadian Slo-Pitch championships. He also umpired slo-pitch from 1996-2005.
Bowling is another sport in which Manny would have tremendous success. The ’78 Prince Albert Men’s 5 Pin Bowling Team of which Primeau was a member, won the 1978 Provincial and Canadian Championships and were inducted into the PA Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. At the ’76 Canadian Bowling Championship in Thunder Bay, the PA team went 12-6 including a 1478-1106 final round robin win over Manitoba to clinch the title.
He was on Provincial Championship men’s teams in 1981 and 1999. The mixed team Primeau was on in 2001 won the Saskatchewan title and finished 3rd at the Canadian Championships in Hamilton, Ontario. At those nationals, Manny was named to the All-Star team with a 273 average over 15 games.
For career highs in bowling, Manny Primeau has rolled a 440. He had 11 games over 1000 with his highest 3-game total 1061.
On March 29, 1989 the Prince Albert Men’s Team set a Provincial Record at the Saskatchewan Championships being held in Regina with a total pinfall of 1616 for their 5 member team including Manny Primeau’s 338.
Manny Primeau’s career included two strong nicknames: “Grey Owl” given to him by Milt Burns as he had grey hair by the time he was 30 and “Gramps” because he was still playing ball when he was 60.
Andrew Taszlikowicz burst onto the City wrestling scene in 1968 as a member of the Riverside Collegiate Wrestling Team. Within two years Taszlikowicz was a National Champion.
In 1970 Andrew Taszlikowicz became a decorated wrestler in the 132 pound weight class. He won the Saskatchewan Championship, was awarded the Athlete of the Year for the province as well as the Dairy Pool Fitness Foundation Award.
Taszlikowicz then would win the Western Canadian and Canadian Championships in 1970 qualifying him to represent Canada at the World Championships late in 1970 and early 1971.
His success on the mat continued as he won the 1974 Armand Bernard Trophy for Most Outstanding Wrestler.
When he retired from competing, Andrew gave back to the sport and coached the Prince Albert Wrestling club for over 10 years. He was named the Coach of the Year in 1989/90.
