SASKATOON — Dawson Holt knew it would be difficult balancing his ambition to be a physician with his mission to win a championship with the Huskies.
But halfway through the 2024-25 season, Holt is indeed successfully juggling academics and athletics, completing classes and passes with surgical precision while leading the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskie men’s hockey team in scoring as the Huskies sit just two points out of first place in the Canada West conference standings with a 12-4 record and ranked sixth in the country.
“It is definitely a challenge managing both, but I have been able to make it work,” said Holt, who is in his fourth year with the Huskies and his first year in the Medical Doctor (MD) program in the College of Medicine. “I love playing hockey, but I understand and respect the amount of work that it takes to be in med school and to be successful, so that was something I was struggling with but I thought I would try it and see if it was possible to do both. I have had lots of support from our hockey coaching staff working around my schedule and from the team at the College of Medicine who have been super helpful in allowing me to make adjustments to my clinical work. So they have been very helpful in allowing me to pursue both and I am extremely appreciative.”
Holt has held the hot hand for the Huskies with seven goals and 22 points in 15 games to sit second in league scoring at the midpoint of the season. Holt has scored power-play, shorthanded, shootout and game-winning goals this season and has been just what the doctor ordered on special teams, helping the Huskies put on a clinic on the power play at a league-leading 32.3 per cent success rate and sitting second in the league in penalty killing at an impressive 87 per cent.
“We have a really good team this year and we want to make a strong push for the Canada West championship and ultimately go to nationals,” said Holt, who is just a point away from matching his point total of 23 last season. “We are looking to have a good second half and to put ourselves in a good position for the playoffs this year.”
Holt’s success on the ice has been matched by his excellence in the classroom, earning national recognition as a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian for four years in a row at USask after posting grade point averages of better than 80 per cent while completing full course loads. One of 121 Huskie student-athletes who earned the distinction of being Academic All-Canadians this year, Holt said his dedication in the classroom comes naturally.
“We are student-athletes, so school comes first,” said Holt, who began his first year of med school in August, 2024. “And I think it’s something that has been ingrained in me for a long time. My parents helped foster that idea and that culture in our family. We have all these privileges to play sports, but school comes first and classrooms have priority and that is kind of the way that I have lived my life through school and through sports, through managing those two. So obviously success in the classroom is something I am extremely proud of and I have worked hard to ensure that happened.”
A master of multi-tasking, Holt’s commitment in the classroom and on the ice make him the consummate student-athlete role model for the Huskies program.
“Dawson has contributed so much to Huskie Athletics, not only has he been a leader on the ice, but he was also the president of the Huskie Athlete Council over the past couple of years,” said Huskies Chief Athletics Officer Shannon Chinn. “We are very proud of him. It takes exceptional determination and hard work to be successful in all that he is doing, and med school hasn’t slowed down the number of goals he has scored this season!”
To complete his courseload, Holt regularly puts in long hours studying on road trips, and has even taken an exam remotely between games.
“There has definitely been times when it has been harder to manage with exams and mandatory classes,” he said. “And there are definitely more hours spent doing homework on the road in the hotel rooms and catching up on lectures, but those are small sacrifices in the long run and I am managing well so far.”
On the ice, Holt is quick to credit his teammates for his success, in particular his linemates Chantz Petruic (seven goals, 20 points in 15 games) of Moose Jaw and former NHL fourth-round draft pick Josh Pillar (six goals, 17 points in 16 games) of Warman, who are currently 1-2-3 in team scoring.
The Huskies begin the second half of the season with a home-and-home U-Prairie Challenge series versus the University of Regina Cougars on Jan. 10 in Regina and Jan. 11 at USask’s Merlis Belsher Place at 7 pm. While the ultimate goal is to advance to the national championship in Ottawa, March 20-23, Holt said the Huskies know their toughest test will come right in their own conference, where five of the top 10 ranked teams in the country are found.
“It’s a challenge,” said Holt. “There are some really good teams here and even some of the teams that are not ranked in the U SPORTS Top 10 are very good, so there are no easy games. We have to play our best every night to give ourselves the best shot of our ultimate goal of a Canada West championship and ultimately a national championship.”
Huskie Highlights:
High-scoring forward Chase Bertholet has joined the Huskies men’s hockey team for the second half after starting the season playing professionally with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. Bertholet was a point-a-game player in the Western Hockey League for the past two seasons
The Huskies begin the second half of the season with three teams in the national Top 10 rankings: women’s basketball (No.6), men’s hockey (No.6), and men’s volleyball (No.9)
Forward Liam Keeler, a third-year business student with USask’s men’s hockey team, is one of 23 players who will represent Canada at the 2025 FISU Winter World University Games in Torino, Italy from Jan. 12-22
USask Huskie Health’s Jessica Pawlik will serve as a sports therapist for Team Canada at the FISU World University Games. Pawlik works with the Huskies track and field, wrestling and women’s hockey programs
Former Canada West Player of the Year and All-Canadian Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus has returned to the program to serve as assistant head coach and passing game co-ordinator on Head Coach Scott Flory’s coaching staff. Originally from Regina, Nyhus set multiple passing records with the Huskies and helped the team to three Hardy Cup championships and two trips to the Vanier Cup, before spending the past two seasons serving as the quarterback coach for the UBC Thunderbirds
Third-year guard Logan Reider of Saskatoon set a new Huskie women’s basketball record on Nov. 30 for most points scored in a game (40) and most three-pointers made (11 of 14), tying a national record co-held by Winnipeg’s Sandra Carroll and Queen’s Brittany Moore
Canadian women’s basketball Olympian and FIBA 3X3 champion Paige Crozon of Humboldt will be this year’s keystone speaker at the Huskie Women of Influence breakfast on Feb. 11. Tickets are available .
