Prince Albert Mintos
Encyclopedia
The Prince Albert Mintos are a franchise in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL). Their home rink is the Art Hauser Centre
Art Hauser Centre
The Art Hauser Centre is a multi-purpose arena in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was built in 1971 and is home to the Prince Albert Raiders Ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League...

 formerly Comuniplex.
The Prince Albert Mintos won the Telus cup and western Canada Regionals back to back years starting in the 2005-2006 season and 2006-2007 year.

1800s-1911

The Mintos team is named after a district in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. But back in the 19th century, the land was controlled by a baron without a proper name of distinction. They decided to call him the Earle of Minto
Earl of Minto
Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The family descends from the politician and judge Gilbert Elliot, who served as a Lord of Session under the judicial title of Lord...

, or Lord Minto.

In 1884 the fourth Earle of Minto was working together with General Middleton
Frederick Dobson Middleton
General Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton KCMG, CB was a British general noted for his service throughout the Empire and particularly in the North-West Rebellion.-Military career:...

 in the Riel rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

 before being named governor general of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1904.

Canada was looking for different ways of showing unification and national identity at that time and as such, sports and past times became very popular. Any of the sports that really started to grow and catch on, a lot of the politicians got behind them and supported them because it helped promote national unity and identity in Canada as a young country.

The Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 was made by Lord Stanley at around this time period, as well as the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

. Those politicians through that era tried to promote and support sports and that’s why a lot of our national trophies are connected to high profile politicians.

At this time the Minto Cup
Minto Cup
The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's lacrosse team of Canada.It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto, and from 1901 until 1909 awarded to the senior men's champion of Canada...

 was made by Lord Minto, which is still a junior national lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 trophy. The link wasn’t just between politicians and trophies, but between politicians and teams as well.

In 1909, there was a senior hockey team in Prince Albert and they called themselves the Mintos. The Mintos were then allowed to compete for the Stanley Cup in 1911 due to being deemed as a professional teams as they had to paid players on the roster.

The Mintos went to Winnipeg in 1911 and played off an Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 team called the Bearcats. They fell in defeat to the Bearcats in three games. The Bearcats would then go back to Ontario and face the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

, who won the cup.

The Mintos senior team would stay afloat until the 1930s, then changed into a junior team.

1912

The Mintos franchise in 1912 had seven men made up the team that season. They were: Bruce Wright, Archie MacDonald, Jim Sims, Jim Leach, Gordon Forbes, and Alf Holman. They would go on to fight Melville
Melville, Saskatchewan
Melville is a small Canadian city located in the east-central portion of Saskatchewan. It was declared a city by the province in 1960. The city is north east of the provincial capital of Regina and south west of Yorkton. According to The World Gazetteer, it has a 2004 population of approximately...

 for the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

. The end result was that the Melville beat the Mintos 9-8 and it was the closest any Prince Albert
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

 hockey team would come to winning the Allan Cup.

1928

The Mintos team would make its mark in 1928. It consisted of Larivell, Valois, Ashwin, Woodman, Hoffman, and Sinclair. According to the city of Prince Albert website, the match to remember was the night they played the Moose Jaw Maroons
Moose Jaw Maroons
The Moose Jaw Maroons were a minor-league ice hockey team in the Prairie Hockey League. Based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, they existed from 1926-28...

 for the Henderson Cup. Around 1,800 jam packed the old Mintos Arena, which was located on the west end of Prince Albert by the old railroad bridge. Fans unable to get seats inside the stadium almost completely tore down the south wall of the arena in order to watch the memorial struggle. The Mintos would go on to beat the Maroons 6-4 and claim the Henderson Cup.

1932-1933

Four years later in the 1932-1933 hockey season the Mintos consisted of George Freeland, Scotty Milne, Mac MacFee, Red Hemmerling, George Freeland, Al Fowlie, Todd Klein, Bob McQuarrie, Jack Brown, Jack Dundas, Don Deacon, and Fred Mosher. This Minto teams was the third team to represent Prince Albert and area with distinction. This team would win the Northern League but they would fall in defeat to Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

 in the playoffs, who would go on to win the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

.

1949-1950

The next Mintos team would see action in the 1949-1950 season. The roster at that time included: Wayne Stephenson, Joe Palyga, Ron Clearwater, Hermie Merkowsky, Jim Wilson, Herb Jeffery, Chuck Holdaway, Harry Harasyn, Jack Drew, Don Crawford, and Bill Hunter. This would be one of the best Mintos teams to date that Prince Albert had. They would go onto win the Northerns by beating Flin Flon in three straight games. They would even go as far as winning the BC
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 championships.

Late 40's-60's

In the time period of the late 40's to the 60's, they were a Junior A hockey team and played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).

The 1960-1961 roster included the first French speaking Quebecer ever to have played in the SJHL. His name was Jacques Beaulieu
Jacques Beaulieu
A. Jacques Beaulieu, is a Canadian physicist who invented the first transversely excited atmospheric carbon dioxide laser or TEA laser in 1968.In 1978, he was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Thomas W. Eadie Medal...

 and came from Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

, Quebec. Some of his linemates included Pat Donnely, Nick Balon and Jim Neilson, who had a great career with the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...

.

1961 fire of Minto Arena

An arena was built in Prince Albert in the mid-20th century and decided to call it Minto Arena. Minto Arena burned down in 1961 and without adequate funds to build another there would be no Mintos in Prince Albert for ten years.

1972

The present day Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

 franchise of the Prince Albert Raiders
Prince Albert Raiders
The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the Saskatchewan city of Prince Albert...

 were formed as a provincial Junior A team in 1972. A contest was then held to pick a name for the name the team. The winner was in fact Mintos. Due to a gentleman buying the original Mintos club, they changed the name to Raiders which was the second name. After a number of years a couple of local men were granted permission to start a team, which they called the Prince Albert Midget Raider Mintos.

The reason the Raider name was in there is because the original Midget AAA hockey team was administered by the Junior Raiders team.

1995

In 1995 when the minor hockey association of Prince Albert took over the Mintos Midget team and the Raiders name was dropped, making them the Prince Albert AAA Midget Mintos.

The Midget AAA Mintos have not been in operation all that long, but the Mintos name has been in Prince Albert since 1909

2005-2006

In the 2005-2006 hockey season, the Mintos finished second in the SMAAAHL with an overall record of 31-9-3-1 en route to their first Saskatchewan Major AAA Hockey League title in franchise history. They lost twice in the playoffs en-route to winning the provincial title. At the Western Regional Championships they went undefeated and earned the right to represent Western Canada at the 2006 Telus Cup, the Canadian National Midget AAA hockey tournament held in Charlottetown
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...

, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

. Throughout the round robin and playoff portions of the tournament they finished undefeated and earned a spot in the tournament final. The Mintos defeated the Pacific Regional representatives, the Calgary Buffaloes, in triple overtime by a score of 5-4. Ron Myers, the captain during the 2005-2006 season, recorded the overtime game-winning goal.

Assistant Mintos captain for the 2005-2006 season Matthew Robertson was awarded the top forward at the Telus Cup. Robertson scored 12 goals, breaking the previous record held by Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...

. Crosby scored 11 goals at the 2002 tournament (known as the Air Canada Cup at the time) as a member of the Dartmouth Subways. Robertson scored 33 per cent of the Mintos' 39 goals while Crosby only scored 30 per cent of his team's.

2006-2007

In the 2006-2007 campaign, the Mintos finished the season with a record of 35-7-1-1, an improvement over their record from the previous season. The Mintos finished the playoffs with a 9-4 record and won the provincial Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey title for the second consecutive season. They went on to the Western Regional Championships and once again remained undefeated, leading to a berth in the 2007 Telus Cup, held in Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...

. The Mintos faced the host Red Deer Optimist Rebels, and won the final game by a score of 3-2 in double overtime, with the goal being scored by forward Ryan Fox, of Creighton, Saskatchewan
Creighton, Saskatchewan
Creighton, Saskatchewan was named after Thomas Creighton. It had a 2006 census population of 1,502 inhabitants, down 3.47% from 1,556 inhabitants in 2001.The town lies beside the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, adjacent to Flin Flon, Manitoba...

. With their victory, the Mintos became the first team in the history of the national championship to win in consecutive seasons. They also extended their Telus Cup record undefeated streak to 14 games.

NHL alumni

These are the former Prince Albert Mintos alumni who either signed with a team in or went on to play in the NHL.
  • Kelly Guard
    Kelly Guard
    Kelly Guard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He last played for HC Pustertal-Val Pusteria in Italy's Serie A. He helped lead the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League to a Memorial Cup championship in 2004.-Playing career:Guard spent his entire junior career with...

  • Dustin Tokarski
    Dustin Tokarski
    Dustin Tokarski is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League . He is a prospect of the Tampa Bay Lightning, drafted by the National Hockey League team as their fifth round selection, 122nd overall at the 2008 NHL Entry...


The Rebellion Hockey /Optimist Ice Mania Tournament

Since 1986, Ice Mania has been running in Prince Albert for AAA midget hockey. Teams from all over Western Canada compete in this event.

Ice Mania winners

  • 1986 - Notre Dame Hounds
    Notre Dame Hounds
    The Notre Dame Hounds are a Junior "A" team based out of Wilcox, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Hounds also had a Junior "B" team that played out of the South Saskatchewan Junior B Hockey League, but the team folded after the 2005-06 Season. The team...

  • 1987 - Edmonton Leafs
  • 1988 - Prince Albert Midget Raiders
    Prince Albert Raiders
    The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the Saskatchewan city of Prince Albert...

  • 1989 - Medicine Hat Tigers
  • 1990 - Calgary Buffaloes
  • 1991 - Sherwood Park
  • 1992 - Pembina Valley Hawks
  • 1993 - Saskatoon Blazers
  • 1994 - Saskatoon Contacts
  • 1995 - Saskatoon Blazers
  • 1996 - Saskatoon Blazers
  • 1997 - Calgary Flames
  • 1998 - Pembina Valley Hawks
  • 1999 - Leduc Autoworld Oil Kings
  • 2000 - Beardy's Blackhawks
  • 2001 - Tisdale Trojans
  • 2002 - Tisdale Trojans
  • 2003 - Tisdale Trojans
  • 2004 - Notre Dame Hounds
    Notre Dame Hounds
    The Notre Dame Hounds are a Junior "A" team based out of Wilcox, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Hounds also had a Junior "B" team that played out of the South Saskatchewan Junior B Hockey League, but the team folded after the 2005-06 Season. The team...

  • 2005 - Notre Dame Hounds
    Notre Dame Hounds
    The Notre Dame Hounds are a Junior "A" team based out of Wilcox, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Hounds also had a Junior "B" team that played out of the South Saskatchewan Junior B Hockey League, but the team folded after the 2005-06 Season. The team...

  • 2006 - Moose Jaw Warriors
    Moose Jaw Warriors
    The Moose Jaw Warriors are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League which are based out of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The team plays its home games at Mosaic Place. The franchise moved to Moose Jaw from Winnipeg after the 1983–84 season, where they had previously been named the...

  • 2007 - Lethbridge Y's Men

Ice Mania awards

These are the awards given out annually at the Ice Mania tournament.
Sponsored By Rebellion Hockey Canada
Legend: Name, Number, Team, Year

Top Goaltender

  • Matt Weninger - 1 - Lethbridge Titans - 2006
  • Kieran Millan
    Kieran Millan
    Kieran Millan is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the 5th round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft....

     - 1 - Edmonton Gregg Dist - 2005
  • Kent Morrison - 35 - Moose Jaw Warriors - 2004
  • Real Cyr - 35 - Prince Albert Mintos - 2003
  • Mark Kehrig - 25 - Tisdale Trojans - 2002
  • Jordan Ramstead - 35 - Leduc Oil Kings - 2001

Top Defencemen

  • Bo Montgomery - 2 - Moose Jaw Warriors - 2006
  • Tommy Brown - 10 - Prince Albert Mintos - 2005
  • David Filiou - 5 - Notre Dame Hounds - 2004
  • Ryan White - 7 - Edmonton CAC Gregg - 2003
  • Bretton Stamler - 7 - Sherwood Park Kings - 2002
  • Brett Carson - 6 - Yorkton Parkland Mallers - 2001

Most Sportsmanlike Player

  • Pat Sitko - 18 - Notre Dame Hounds - 2006
  • Torrey Lindsay - 20 - Interlake Lightning - 2005
  • Taylor Procyshen - 21 - Moose Jaw Warriors - 2004
  • Matt Hill - 10 - Tisdale Trojans - 2003
  • Brad Erickson - 10 - Saskatoon Blazers - 2002
  • Josh Sim - 29 - Beardy's Blackhawks - 2001

Top Scorer

  • Braden Pimm - 11 - Notre Dame Hounds - 2006
  • Dustyn Clegg - 12 - Interlake Lightning - 2005
  • Matthew Robertson - 15 - Prince Albert Mintos - 2004
  • Jeff Swain - 19 - Beardy's Blackhawks - 2003
  • Brad Cooper - 12 - Dallas AAA Stars - 2002
  • Kurtis Kisio - 11 - Calgary Flames - 2001

Most Valuable Player

  • Michael Small - 9 - Edmonton SSAC - 2006
  • Keldon Sanderson - 55 - Beardy's Blackhawks - 2005
  • Collin Long - 9 - California Wave - 2004
  • Jordan Knackstedt - 20 - Beardys Blackhawks - 2003
  • Brad Cooper - 12 - Dallas AAA Stars - 2002
  • Tommy Green - 26 - Saskatoon Blazers - 2001

Exhibition results

Legend:
T = Tie, OTL = Overtime Loss
SeasonGamesWonLostTOTLPointsGoals
For
Goals
Against
Standing
2005-06 8 4 2 2 0 6 35 21
2006-07 8 6 1 1 0 13 42 15
2008-09 6 4 2 0 0 8 26 20

Regular Season results

Legend:
T = Tie, OTL = Overtime Loss
SeasonGamesWonLostTOTLPointsGoals
For
Goals
Against
StandingPlayoffs
2003-04 44 26 11 2 1 49 193 131 ? Lost in second round
2005-06 44 31 9 3 1 63 152 103 2nd Won league championship, regionals, and Telus Cup
2006-07 44 35 7 1 1 71 181 149 ? Won league championship, regionals, and Telus Cup
2007-08 44 26 12 4 2 48 183 145 ? Lost in second round
2008-09 44 23 15 4 1 52 37 41 ?

Regionals

Legend: T = Tie
SeasonGamesWonLostTGoals
For
Goals
Against
Standing
2005-06 4 3 0 1 16 7
2006-07 4 4 0 0 12 6

Ice Mania results

Legend:
T = Tie
YearPoolGamesWonLostTGoals
For
Goals
Against
PointsStanding
2001 B 4 3 1 0 21 10 6 1st
2002 A 4 3 0 1 26 15 7 Tied 1st
2003 A 4 3 0 1 22 5 7 1st
2004 A 4 3 0 1 28 7 7 1st
2006 D 3 2 1 0 19 2 6 1st
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