By Shane O'Neill

Morrison, Mintos and P.A. Minor Hockey highlight 2017 Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Feb 3, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Six new portraits will adorn the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in April.

The hall’s 2017 induction class was introduced on Friday afternoon.

Douglas Primeau, Ken Morrison and Deanna (Hemstad) Rindal will be inducted as athletes and builders, while Sensai Chris Lair will be inducted for meritorious service to sport. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 Prince Albert Mintos and the Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association will be inducted as a team and sports organization.

Ellen Grewcock, president of the Prince Albert Hall of Fame, said the achievements of this year’s crop of inductees serve as inspiration for young athletes in the city.

“It shows them that you don’t have to come from Toronto or Vancouver or Saskatoon or Regina for that matter to be a successful athlete,” she said. “You just have to grow up in a community where you have good coaching and programs where it’s affordable for kids to compete.”

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Lair, a fifth-degree black belt and licensed instructor, examiner and judge, has started up dojos in La Ronge, Saskatoon and Onion Lake in addition to Prince Albert’s Budokai Karate Club. As an athlete, Lair has won multiple medals in national and international competition.

For Lair, the development of young people is what makes karate and all sports in general, so crucial for communities.

“My focus has never been on developing athletes to win medals at tournaments, it’s always been to help young people becoming better adults and better members of society,” he said.

Rindal, a fixture at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club, has travelled the Canada and the world building the sport of curling as a coach, organizer and official.

The late Douglas Primeau found success in bowling, softball and baseball throughout the 1970s and 80s. He was a part of the 1978 Prince Albert men’s bowling team which won the national championship in Thunder Bay, Ont. Primeau was also a mainstay on the 1978 and 1979 Prince Albert Bohs baseball team which won back-to-back provincial titles.

Morrison, a member of the 1985 Memorial Cup champion Raiders went on to set scoring records with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He also coached minor hockey at various levels, including leading the Mintos to a Telus Cup championship in 2014.

He will be inducted as an athlete and builder, as he found success as a teacher and high school basketball coach.

The 2005-06 and 2006-07 Mintos established a new standard of excellence in minor hockey, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Telus Cup titles in the tournament’s 29-year history.

The Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association (PAMHA) will also be recognized for its 60-year history of developing young hockey players. The PAMHA produced over 40 provincial champions, four western region champions, two western Canadian champions and three national championships since being founded in 1957.

The four individuals and two organizations will be enshrined into the hall at a banquet on April 29.

shane.oneill@paNOW.com

On Twitter: @stroneill