From a very young age, Joel Mihilewicz distinguished himself as an exceptional athlete in the sport of racquetball.
Joel was a proud member of the Prince Albert Racquetball Association Junior team from 1990 to 2000 and represented the Saskatchewan Racquetball Association Junior team from 1991 to 2000. His commitment and competitive spirit led him to win numerous local and provincial tournaments. Joel’s provincial titles include championships in Boys 8 and under double bounce in 1990, Boys 10 and under in 1991 and 1992, Boys 12 and under in 1993 and 1994, Boys 14 and under in 1995, Boys 16 and under in 1997 and 1998, and Boys 18 and under in 1999 and 2000. He was also the provincial runner-up in Boys 14 and under in 1996.
On the national stage, Joel competed at junior nationals from 1992 to 1999, securing the title of national champion with gold medals in Boys 10 and under in 1992 and 1993, and Boys 12 and under in 1994 and 1995. He placed fourth in Boys 14 and under in 1996 and earned a silver medal in Boys 18 and under doubles in 1999.
Internationally, Joel represented Canada at the world junior championships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and again in 1999. Among his remarkable achievements, Joel captured a bronze medal in Boys 10 and under doubles at the 1993 world junior championships.
Joel continued to give back to the sport once he finished his competitive career. He coached junior racquetball and was also a member of the Saskatchewan Racquetball Association board.
Katelyn Lehner started competing in track and field when she was 12 and her rise to the podium didn’t take long. She got her first taste of competition in the P4A track meets.
When she moved on to high school, her track and field success took off. During her four years of high school, she took home gold in each event she was entered in, both in the Prince Albert High School City Championships and the North Central District Championships. Her success during those years was in the 100 meter, 200 meter, high jump, long jump and 80 meter hurdles.
With her success in the city and district meets, Katelyn earned the right to represent the district at the SHSAA Provincial Track and Field Championships. She earned gold her first year in all four of her events and was named Aggregate Midget Female Athlete. In her grade 11 year, Katelyn won gold in five events at provincials as well as being named the Aggregate Senior Female Athlete at the meet. Her success continued in grade 12 with another four gold medals and the title of Aggregate Senior Female Athlete. The events she competed in at provincials were the 100 meter, 200 meter, long jump, hurdles and the 4×100 meter relay.
Katelyn’s success during her high school years also included numerous medals in more than a dozen meets including the Saskatchewan Summer Games. That success did not go unnoticed as she also took home the hardware in the way of awards including the 2012 Saskatchewan Sport Female Athlete of the year and the Prince Albert Kinsmen Female Athlete of the year.
During this time, she excelled at western Canadian events including the Midget Track and Field Championships and the Western Canada games. But she didn’t stop there. Katelyn also competed on the national and international stage including the Canada Summer Games and the 2012 Olympic trials. Her travels also took her to Hershey, Pennsylvania in 2009 to compete in the Hershey Track and Field games, earning a fifth-place finish in the 200 meters. At the Pan American Junior Championships in Columbia, Katelyn finished sixth in the heptathlon.
From high school she would move on to a bigger stage as a member of the University of Calgary Dinos and University of Saskatchewan Huskies track and field teams. During her time with the Dinos, she would earn one gold and two bronze in the pentathlon and a silver in the 4×100 meter relay at the Canadian Western (Can West) University Championships. As a member of the Huskies, at the Can West championships, she would take home medals in the 60 meter hurdles, long jump and 4×200 meter relay.
Katelyn also had success at the CIS national championships during her university career earning bronze and silver medals in the 60-meter hurdles and long jump, competing against the top university athletes in the country. She capped off her career in 2020 when she was invited to compete in the Saskatoon Knights of Columbus invitational meet in the 60-meter hurdles where she would finish sixth in a field of world-class athletes.
Katelyn Lehner had a remarkable journey through local, provincial, national, and international competitions attaining success at every level.
Leah Tyree is a multi-sport athlete who excelled in soccer, volleyball, track and basketball. On the family acreage east of Prince Albert, she would spend hours kicking a soccer ball, running the dirt track her dad made in a field, practicing high jump, playing volleyball in the driveway with her siblings and shooting hoops. It was here that Leah’s immense love of athletics took root.
She began competing in track in elementary school and won multiple aggregate awards for overall points at the city track meets, breaking the Prince Albert juvenile girl’s high jump record two years in a row as well as the juvenile girl’s triple jump record.
In high school she broke the junior girl’s high jump record and brought home two bronze and one silver medal from the provincial high school track and field championships.
When she wasn’t breaking records in track and field, Leah excelled at soccer, volleyball and basketball. Her Prince Albert Celtics soccer team was a provincial champion in 1998 earning a spot to compete at nationals. At Carlton High School, Leah captained both the volleyball and basketball teams, with the volleyball team winning provincial silver and gold under her leadership.
Leah’s abilities earned her a spot at tryouts for the junior national volleyball team. She was successful at making the team, becoming co-captain and earning a fourth-place finish in the NORCEECA world championships in the Dominican Republic.
With so much success, not surprisingly, she entertained multiple offers to play university volleyball, settling on the University of Maine. During her first two years with Maine, she played in 231 of 232 games, leading the team both years in kills. She was named to the American East all rookie team and American East all conference honourable mention.
Despite suffering an injury in her third year, Leah was able to battle back and play in 99 games. Her team advanced to the championship game of the American East Conference in both her junior and senior years. In her senior year, Leah was co-captain of the team and once again earned an American East all conference honourable mention.
Since graduating from university, Leah continues to be involved in sports competing in long distance running and cross-country skiing, while coaching her kids and playing women’s league volleyball.
Elizabeth Tenaski was an accomplished all-around athlete, but it was the sport of soccer where she made her mark. Elizabeth started playing soccer at the age of five in a co-ed league where she would win a number of house league championships.
By the time she was 12 she started playing Celtic soccer and began to really make a name for herself. She played with the Celtics for five years and won the Golden Boot and MVP for the Provincial Soccer League in 2003. She was also the Saskatchewan Soccer Association MVP in 2006 and 2007 and the youth player of the year.
Her skills caught the eye of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies who recruited her to begin playing in 2007. She started her Huskies career off strong and was named the Huskie Athletics Female Rookie of the year for the 2007-2008 season. During her time as a member of the Huskies, she was a five-time Huskies Golden Boot winner and four-time Huskies MVP. She was named to the Canada West all-star team in 2008, 2010 and 2011. She also received multiple honours as the Canada West player of the week.
Elizabeth made her mark in the soccer world on the national and international level. She competed in the 2005 Canada Games for Team Saskatchewan. She was also a member of the Saskatchewan team at the 2012 national championships, scoring all three goals in Team Sask’s 3-2 bronze medal game win over Quebec. She won the Golden Boot for the tournament as well.
On the international stage, Elizabeth was a member of the 2005 Saskatchewan Summer Games team that travelled to San Diego to play games against teams from California. Additionally, she was selected as a member of Team Canada Under 15 team which participated in international games against Germany.
Once Elizabeth moved on to her teaching career, she shared her skills in other sports with young athletes, helping coach St. Mary High School to a provincial volleyball championship in 2017. Elizabeth has always been a fierce competitor but humble in her success and a strong advocate for sports and athletes in her home town of Prince Albert.
As an athlete, Frank Dunn excelled in gymnastics, diving and triathlon, competing on the provincial, national and international stage. Early on in his athletic career, Frank was a member of the PA Kinsmen Gymnastics Club. He would always make the podium in all six apparatus in multiple meets held in Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Winnipeg; winning at least three of those events and placing second or third in the others.
Frank showed incredible skill, strength and flexibility at those competitions, performing moves that many others couldn’t. He made a name for himself in the gymnastics world, winning a Western Canadian meet in Winnipeg.
Frank began competing in the sport of diving when he attended the University of Manitoba in 1971 and he quickly excelled, later transferring to the University of Calgary to join that university’s diving club. At the U of C, Frank was named the male athlete of the year in 1975-1976 and was CIAU all-Canadian for two years in 1974-1975 and 1975-76, winning both events one meter and three-meter springboard and setting two new all high records in both. In 1975, Frank won Alberta provincials in all three events including 10 meter and on a national level Frank won Canadian one meter springboard and placed third on 10 meter tower. His success earned him a spot in Canada’s National Diving team program and included the honour of being a member of Canada’s Diving Olympic training program for the 1976 Olympics. He earned a spot as the first alternate on Canada’s Olympic Diving team.
He continued his diving career as a member of the Canadian team invited to compete in the CanAmMex series which involved competing in diving meets in Canada, the US and Mexico. In Mexico’s Open international meet, Frank received a fifth place finish for 10 meter tower. After his career with the national diving team, Frank returned to diving in the 1980s in the Masters division and continued on in Prince Albert coaching both the sport of diving and gymnastics, receiving the Saskatchewan (Keith Russell) male gymnastic coach award.
When he wasn’t diving or involved in gymnastics or trampoline, Frank decided it would be a good idea to start the Frank Dunn Triathlon in 1982. Frank continues to sponsor the now second longest running triathlon in Canada. He, of course, also competed in a number of triathlon events including Vancouver marathon and Penticton Ironman.
Lonny Akers has made his mark in Canadian bowling circles and deservedly so. Bowling runs deep into the Akers family, with Lonny now being a third generation into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame with both his grandfather and father gracing these halls with their own inductions. Lonny embraced the family legacy at an early age becoming an exceptional bowler and an ambassador of the sport not just in Prince Albert but across Canada.
Lonny’s journey as a competitive bowler started before he was even five years old, spending much of his time as a youth in the local Minto Bowling alley. That early start and dedication was only the foundation for setting the stage for an extraordinary career. As a member of the Youth Bowling Council, Lonny competed in numerous provincial and national championship events. His first major victory was the Saskatchewan Winter Games. Despite it being only Lonny’s first year of eligibility and being the youngest player on his team he would help the Zone 8 team go on to winning gold. This victory early on in his career only fueled his fire and passion for the sport of bowling.
Over the years, Lonny made his mark in the bowling world with remarkable performances at provincial and national competitions. His impressive list of accomplishments includes being a member of Prince Albert’s open team for 30 years, along the way being a member of the provincial all-star team 12 times. Lonny went on to compete on a televised National stage by bowling on TSN twice but finally broke through in 2005 where bowling was on showcase on CBC Sports Saturday televised National Championships, Lonny went on to win the event, taking home a purse of $20,000. For this accomplishment Lonny would also go on to be Prince Albert’s Kinsmen athlete of the year. In 2010 Lonny would go on to win his second major title when he beat the best of the best from each province winning Masters Nationals singles championship. Lonny would later go on to secure titles on the Western Canadian Bowling Tour in 2013 winning the Regina Classic and again in 2018 coming out victorious winning the Player’s Championship in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Lonny has earned many accolades recognizing his contributions including an induction into Riverside Community School’s Wall of Fame and receiving the Ted Akers Memorial Award for his efforts in promoting the sport of bowling. Lonny has also set records in Prince Albert by recording an average of 281 and a high 5 game block of 1736.
His impact on the sport of bowling extends well beyond his personal achievements. Lonny volunteers his time not only to help adults hone their craft but is also a mentor and coach for the youth bowlers of Prince Albert helping to nurture the next generation of talent. He has also been involved for over 10 years serving as an instructor and pro at the Saskatchewan Bowling School which draws in aspiring youth bowlers from across the country.
The future of bowling in Prince Albert looks to be in great hands with Lonny Akers’ legacy as a competitor and a mentor helping to lead the way.
From an early age, Francois Fournier was involved in athletics. He started out as a member of the Prince Albert Gymnastics Club at the age of seven. By the time he was 15 he would place in the top three as an all-around gymnast in various meets including two seconds and one third place finish.
However, his accolades in athletics didn’t stop with gymnastics. He was also a keen competitor with the Prince Albert Polar Bear Swim Club with many first to third place ribbons to show for his hard work. In basketball, he helped his St. Mary High School team win a city and provincial championship. In addition, his Molson Canadian Men’s Basketball Team claimed the Molson’s Northern Classic Championship in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Fournier also served as a basketball referee for many years and was awarded the Clayton Shaw Basketball Association Referee of the Year award for his commitment to excellence. Fournier was one of the driving forces who helped resurrect competitive swimming in Prince Albert in the mid 70’s. As co-coach of the Prince Albert Kinsmen Aquatic Association (PAKAA), Fournier saw nine of his 14 swimmers qualify for provincials in their very first year. By the end of the second year, the PAKAA advanced from a fifth place ranking in Northern Saskatchewan to first. In addition to swimming, Fournier also completed his diving level 1 instructor course and passed on his knowledge to young divers as he coached them in the sport. As a builder, Fournier was instrumental in bringing a water show to Memorial Pool for residents of Prince Albert to enjoy. There were demonstrations on everything from swimming, to diving to lifeguarding and speed swimming. It was at this water show that the World Famous Flying Tanks were born. This group would go on to entertain at water shows across Saskatchewan in the 70’s and 80’s. They were well known for their skits and crazy, non-stop stunt dives. On the national front, Fournier served as Vice President, Canadian Amateur Diving Association; 1981-1985. During this time, Fournier also helped implement a marketing campaign for Canadian Diver and Olympic gold medalist, Sylvie Bernier. Fournier was a member of the organizing committee for the 1989 Canada Summer Games diving competition and chairman of the 1990 National Diving Championships. He was recognized for his work by the Canadian Amateur Diving Association and presented with an award as an athlete and a builder. Internationally, Fournier was the chairman of the Dive Canada International meet and received a certificate of merit for his work as an announcer at Universiade in 1983.
Locally, Fournier served his community of Prince Albert as a member of city council and a Director with the Prince Albert Raiders.
Ashley Viklund made her mark on the football scene as an athlete and a coach. Viklund was always interested in playing football as a youngster growing up in Prince Albert. However, there were not a lot of opportunities for young females to play tackle football.
Viklund’s football career took off in 2012 when she became a member of the Regina Riot Women’s Tackle Football team. During her time with the Riot, she was a two-time winner as the most valuable offensive lineman and also received the honour of being named the most valuable offensive player.
Viklund began playing for the Saskatoon Valkyries Women’s Tackle Football team in 2018. During her tenure, the Valkyries won three championships and she received the most valuable lineman award in 2021.
On the provincial front, she was named to the Saskatchewan provincial team in 2012, winning a silver medal. She also helped her team win gold in 2016 and was recognized as an all-star.
Viklund made her mark in football on the international stage, representing Canada twice at the Women’s Football World Championships. Team Canada took home a silver medal in 2017 and placed fourth in 2022.
Outside of football, Viklund competed in ringette, equestrian and powerlifting. In 2016, she took home bronze at the National Powerlifting Championships and in 2021 was named the top female lifter for Saskatchewan Powerlifting.
Viklund also took the time to develop young football players as a coach for Prince Albert Minor Football and the U18 Women’s Tackle Football provincial team, bringing home a silver medal as the special teams co-ordinator and offensive line coach in 2022. She is an NCCP certified positional coach in Tackle Football and a Level 1 referee.
Dedication to the sport of hockey, first as a top-level player, then as a coach and administrator makes Rod Dallman an inductee in the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame as both an Athlete and Builder.
Working his way up through Prince Albert Minor Hockey ranks, Rod Dallman first skated for the Midget Raiders in 1983. The following season he was picked up by the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League where he would have three stellar seasons. His first was 1984-85 when the Raiders hoisted their first Memorial Cup.
The long playoff run by the Raiders that year gave Dallman more exposure to NHL scouts, and in the 1985 NHL Draft he was selected in the 6th round, 118th overall, by the New York Islanders.
After graduating from the Raiders, Dallman joined the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League in 1988. His 355 penalty minutes that season was third in the AHL, even though he spent some time with the Peoria Rivermen of the IHL. He also made his NHL debut that season with the Islanders, playing in three games and scoring his only NHL goal.
The following season was spent almost exclusively in Springfield — Dallman played only a single game for the Islanders that year — where he had the second-most penalty minutes in the league. He was also part of an infamous incident where Ed Kastelic of the Binghampton Whalers was suspended for 20 games by the league for biting an official during an altercation with Dallman; Kastelic claimed that he thought he had been biting Dallman.
He played only one more game for the Islanders, in the 1990 playoffs, but was once again a champion, as the 1989-90 Indians won their sixth Calder Cup championship. Dallman served as an assistant captain on that team and had a sparkling five goals and five assists in fifteen games in the playoffs to be one of the Indians’ inspirational leaders, although he had been battling injuries all season long. The Indians’ Cup-winning victory in Game Six of the Calder Cup playoffs came on a power play goal in overtime, the result of Rochester Amerks forward Donald Audette receiving a match penalty for spearing Dallman in the face just before a faceoff.
The following season, Dallman signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, but played only briefly with farm teams in San Diego and Hershey while spending most of the season recuperating from his injuries of the previous year. He was healthy once more the following year, playing two games with the Flyers — his last NHL action — and 31 with the Hershey Bears before suffering a career ending knee injury, ironically in Springfield against the Indians.
After his career, home was calling and Dallman returned to Prince Albert. He became the Prince Albert Mintos Midget AAA Assistant Coach in 1992-93, then named Head Coach the following year, before joining the Raiders as an Assistant Coach from 1994-96, He would stay close to both organizations in the years following helping the Mintos as Assistant Coach in 1998-2000 and 2014-15 and Head Coach in 2000-01, and the Raiders as Scout from 2009-2012.
Rod Dallman has had a huge impact on minor hockey in Prince Albert and throughout the Province, starting as a Minor Hockey Coach in 1998. He was the President of PA Minor Hockey from 2011-13 implementing the city-wide draft. He coached the Pee Wee AA Ice from 2015-19 then took on the Head Coaching role with the Bantam AA program which he continues to hold.
Dallman is also highly involved in what is now called Hockey Saskatchewan. He took their development program in 2009 to become a top tier coach in the province. He then was an Assistant Coach for Team Sask at the 2018 Canada Winter Games in Men’s hockey. At the 2019 WHL Cup Dallman was again an Assistant Coach on Team Sask that won the Gold Medal at that event for the first time ever.
Born in Lethbridge, Alberta in 1997, Jessica Vance and her family moved to Prince Albert when she was four. The youngest of three children, Jessica would follow along and intently watch her older siblings’ sports. She was very active and competitive from a young age, trying a variety of sports, but would excel in softball and hockey.
In recreational and elementary school athletics, Jessica established herself as a strong physical force, even against older boys. She competed in many activities including: lacrosse, flag football cross country, badminton, basketball, volleyball and track. She was female athlete of the year at John Diefenbaker elementary school in 2011.
In softball, Jessica started at age five and would play in older age classes in both house league and developmental levels. She played in the Aallcaann Developmental Fastpitch Organization (ADFO) for nine years beginning at age eight, as primarily shortstop and catcher. The Saskatoon Hustlers Bantam team, added Vance to their roster for the 2012 Bantam Canadians in Brantford, Ontario. She worked her way into the starting outfield position for the team and was named a Canadian All-Star outfielder at the event. In 2013, she helped lead the Bantam Aces to a gold medal at the Western Canadian Softball championships in Winnipeg. In addition, Vance was named an all-star for the Girls Prairie League of Softball (GPLS) during the three seasons she played. In 2015, Vance was with her Aces team at the Midget Canadian Softball championships in Montreal when she suffered a knee injury. Despite her injury, she was able to still compete for Team Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Summer Games later that summer. At the Fort McMurray, Alberta, Vance drove in the game-winning RBI in the bronze medal game.
Although Vance had success in many sports, hockey was her passion. Starting at the pre-novice level, she would gravitate toward being a goaltender and become a student at that position. When she started playing female hockey, she would play in older age classes, and, in fact, played for the Prince Albert Midget AAA A & W Bears for five years, starting at age 13. During her time with the Bears, Vance received recognition in the Saskatchewan Midget Female AAA Hockey League in 2013-14 and 14-15 receiving the Brittony Chartier top goalie award and first team all-star. She was also named second team all-star in 2011-12. She is the all-time league leader in games played (91), wins (48) and shutouts (16). She was the starting goaltender for Team Saskatchewan at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, placing fourth, with a highlight eliminating the host province in a shoot out.
For her achievements in softball with the Aces and hockey with the A & W Bears, Vance was named the 2015 Prince Albert Kinsmen Club Female athlete of the year.
Vance would move on from minor hockey to a stellar career in USports with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. In 2017-18, Vance was named the Canada West Player of the Year and USports First Team All-Canadian. In that same year, the Huskies were Canada West finalists, qualifying for nationals where they finished fourth. Vance was named the Huskies U of S Women’s’ hockey team MVP in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. She finished her Canada West career atop or near the top of many lifetime individual statistics. Vance was number one all time save percentage (.946), second in goals against average (1.17) and second in shutouts (20), tied for ninth in wins (38). She also has the fourth longest shutout streak in Canada West history playing 273 minutes and 41 seconds of shutout hockey. Of note, Vance accomplished these goals, playing 3 years of her five years of eligibility, playing in only 70 USport games.
On the international front, Vance was named to Team Canada for the 2019 FISU World University games in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Vance played five games for Team Canada, starting four, including two playoff games. Team Canada and Vance would go on to win a silver medal, losing in the gold-medal game 2-0 to host Russia (including an empty net goal). In those five games at FISU, Vance finished with a save percentage of .959 and a 1.12 goals against average.
Vance has been a role model for young female athletes in Prince Albert, volunteering to run skill clinics and mentor those with like-minded goals. She is completing her Masters in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto.
