Visit HockeySask.ca
Team
1995 Team Saskatchewan
The Canada Winter Games (CWG), a showcase of the nation's young talents, witnessed an extraordinary upset in 1995 when the Team Saskatchewan Male Under-17 Program triumphed over incredible odds at the competition hosted in Grande Prairie, Alta.
Team Saskatchewan started off the national tournament 2-0 defeating Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Their greatest test in the round-robin came against Team Ontario, where Saskatchewan came out with a 3-3 tie. After a convincing 9-3 win in their final round-robin contest over Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan was the only undefeated team.
Even though Saskatchewan was the top seed, they would still be considered an underdog through the medal round. Their journey to the gold-medal final included upsetting Team Quebec 3-1 in the semi-final before facing the host, Team Alberta. Saskatchewan was victorious 3-1 over their prairie rival to secure its first-ever medal in boys’ hockey at the CWG.
Since their CWG debut in 1979, Team Saskatchewan’s 1995 achievement also stands as the province’s lone gold medal in hockey at the quadrennial tournament and one of the biggest upsets ever in boys’ hockey at the event. While the then 15-year-old prodigious forward Patrick Marleau showed his future potential with a goal as well as an assist on Donnie Kinney’s game-winning goal in the gold-medal final, it was a collective team effort that led Saskatchewan to an undefeated record (5-0-1) at the national competition.
Marleau's NHL career would not be the only one linked to this Team Saskatchewan. With a dozen players on the roster drafted by NHL teams, three other future NHLers would emerge alongside Marleau, including fellow SHHOF inductee Cory Sarich as well as Cam Severson and Joey Tetarenko. Additionally, at the helm of the 1995 squad were coaches Darrell Baumgartner and Ross Mahoney, who both went on to help the Washington Capitals capture the 2018 Stanley Cup as staff.
Members of the 1995 hockey team include:
Jim Currie, Cam Severson, Jeremy Rondeau, Trevor Wasyluk, Derek Schutz, Cory Sarich, Joey Tetarenko, Carson Loftsgard, Murray Brookbank (Mgr), Brian McGregor (Coach), Gerad Adams, Chad Hinz, Marty Standish, Jason Ulmer, Kent Silbernagel, Aaron Karpan, Darrell Baumgartner (Coach), Ross Mahoney (A. Coach), Aren Miller, Donnie Kinney, Dylan Kemp, Patrick Marleau, Kevin Kellet, Warren Larocque, Scott Buhler.