REGINA - It’s been 28 years since Saskatchewan won a hockey gold at the Canada Winter Games. On Saturday night in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Team Sask will look to put an end to the lengthy drought.
It was 1995 when Saskatchewan won their first, and only, gold medal in Winter Games history.
That winning team in Grand Prairie, coached by now Washington Capitals Assistant GM Ross Mahoney, was led by future NHLers Patrick Marleau, Cory Sarich and Cam Severson.
Also on the team was Jeremy Rondeau, a Swift Current Bronco at the time of the ’95 Winter Games and an eventual Saskatchewan Huskie.
“I don’t think going into that tournament that anyone predicted we would even have a shot,” said Rondeau, recalling his time at the Winter Games. “We really had no business being there."
That team beat Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Newfoundland in the round robin and tied with Ontario. In the semi-final, Saskatchewan beat Quebec 3-1 to set up a gold medal game against Alberta.
“It was a crazy experience,” said Rondeau. “Our coaching staff, everyone that was involved in the whole program, convinced us that we were the best players there and we deserve to win the tournament.”
"We all believed it. Maybe we were that naïve or that young and impressionable, but we found a way to do it.”
Saskatchewan would beat Alberta in the final 3-1 to claim gold. Now, 28 years later to the day, in Charlottetown, P.E.I, Team Saskatchewan is back in the big game, and Rondeau’s son Parker is following in his dad’s footsteps.
“(My dad) showed me his ring and stuff, and he showed me how cool of an experience (it was),” said Parker, talking about his father. “He shows me all of the newspapers and it looked pretty cool when Sask won it that time.”
15-year-old Parker has spent this season on the Swift Current Legionnaires, amassing 17 goals and 39 points in 41 games.
This team doesn’t have the make-up for an under-dog story like the 95-squad did, and they don’t need convincing they’re the best team in P.E.I. The team has six players drafted in the first round of 2022 WHL draft, including P.A. Raiders top prospect Luke Moroz.
The talented team finished first in their preliminary pool, beating every team in the round robin by three or more goals.
Parker is one of the many talents on this team, and he has a skill set, he says, that is quite different than his father’s.
“He was just this big grinder back in the day when he played on the team and that was his role,” said Parker with a smile. “I would really like (to win the gold medal) … Maybe I’d help the team more than he did.”
Jeremy laughed when he heard the jab from his son.
“Of course, he would say that,” he said. “I probably had a role too back when I was playing. You look at the list of players that were there. It was just an opportunity to be a part of something. Whatever role they gave us, everyone bought in.”
With his son playing in the P.E.I. tournament, Jeremy was quick to compare the dorms and other amenities to that of his time in Grand Prairie, with both of them light-heartedly agreeing Parker is probably having a slightly better time.
But Jeremy did not discredit the experience of their 1995 gold medal run. It clearly sits near and dear to his heart.
“Looking back on it, I’ve run into all of these guys at rinks, then you look at some of the old articles. I brought my ring with me, and my jerseys, all signed. I haven’t shown it to anybody yet, I’m just waiting to see if they want to use it as motivation,” said Jeremy.
Team Saskatchewan did welcome the reminder and had Jeremy, and other members of the team share their experiences with the young group, including seeing the rings.
One of those messages came from Patrick Marleau, who’s 1,779 NHL games played are the most in NHL history. He sent in a video and wished the team good luck.
Now, on Saturday night, in front of a sold-out Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, PEI, and exactly 28-years to the day that Marleau, Rondeau and Team Sask won gold, the 2023 team will look to do the same.
