ESTEVAN - Two alumni of Estevan Lacrosse represented Saskatchewan at the Founders Cup national tournament in Ontario in late August.
Goaltender Cole Blondeau and defenceman Kaden Chrest were both on the Queen City Kings team out of Regina. The tournament brought together the best junior B Tier 1 lacrosse teams from each province.
"I got to witness great lacrosse players and goalies, some of whom will probably be in the NLL [National Lacrosse League] in the future," said Blondeau, who also played for the Kings last year at nationals.
The Kings went 1-4. Their lone win was in their second game, an 8-6 decision over the New Brunswick Rapids. Blondeau started the game and stopped 42 of 48 shots to earn player of the game award honours for the Kings. It was the club's first-ever win at the tournament.
Their losses were 8-6 against the Winnipeg Blizz, 6-5 to the Victoria Shamrocks, 11-3 to the host Hamilton Bengals and 8-7 in double overtime against Calgary's Mountainview Mavericks. Blondeau also started against Hamilton.
"I think for the most part, I played pretty well," said Blondeau. "Definitely, from the start of the season to the end of the season, I excelled at my craft and I improved on some of the habits I was forming."
"It was pretty fun, getting to see teams from all over the country," added Chrest. "Each province brings a different playing style that's fun to watch and play against, that you don't normally get to play."
Chrest expects the tournament will help his development as a player.
"There are a lot of players that are going to be moving on in the next couple of years. It taught me a lot. It also taught me resilience because we had to play five games in a week, and lacrosse is very physical," said Chrest.
Blondeau and Chrest both played for the Estevan Voltz program when they were young. They were part of the Estevan team that went undefeated en route to a provincial title in 2018, and they played for the Regina Barracudas program that travelled to tournaments.
Once they graduated from minor lacrosse, they made the Barracudas junior team that later rebranded to the Queen City Kings, who play in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League.
This season they went 15-5, finishing first in the East, but lost in two straight games to Winnipeg. They qualified for this year's Founders Cup in Hamilton by defeating the Saskatoon Swat and the Prince Albert Predators in the playoffs.
Chrest is now playing field lacrosse at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Que. He spent last season at Harford Community College in Harford, Md., where he won a national junior college title. Chrest transferred to Bishop's for this season.
He said Bishop's has been a good experience.
"The guys here are really nice. We have a good culture going around the room, and they're just big on building it for the next four years, and hopefully we can win the Baggataway Cup [national university lacrosse title]," said Chrest.
Both players are grateful to Estevan Lacrosse for helping them develop and find a love for the game. They were initially introduced to the sport because their respective older brothers played, and they became friends through the game as they progressed through the sport's different levels together.
"Just being able to play the game in Estevan and go in tournaments, and seeing different skilled teams, you're improving and improving," said Blondeau. "There were a lot of memorable moments, from bantam, winning a championship undefeated, to just being on good teams."
