Mintos defenceman Chase Friedt-Mohr will lead his hometown team this year as captain. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Chase is on the case

Captain Chase to lead from the back; Favreau gets first AAA shutout for Mintos

Sep 22, 2019 | 4:36 PM

Chase Friedt-Mohr has been around hockey since he can remember.

His family has been a billet family for the Prince Albert Raiders his whole life. He’s been to the Art Hauser Centre to watch every Raider and Prince Albert Minto game he could and would only miss one if it interfered with his own hockey teams. He even said in the Mintos’ game day program that his favourite tune is ‘Runaround Sue,’ the Raiders’ goal song.

But now, Friedt-Mohr transformed from that hockey-crazy kid in the stands, wondering if he could one day play for his hometown clubs, to becoming a leader. He was named as the Mintos’ captain for this season, a team that’s 2-0 to start the year after a 5-0 win on Sunday over the Swift Current Legionnaires and 5-4 shootout win over the Battlefords Stars on Saturday.

“It’s an absolute honour. Ever since I was little, I’ve been watching the Mintos and the Raiders both, wondering if I can play for this team, can I get there?” said the second-year Minto Friedt-Mohr, who had two assists in Sunday’s win. “It’s a true honour to lead this group of such great guys, hopefully to a championship.”

Friedt-Mohr was also drafted into the WHL by the Spokane Chiefs in the fifth round in the 2018 draft. Friedt-Mohr said he learned a lot in seeing how the Chiefs’ big players carry themselves, especially their top defenceman in Ty Smith.

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“All those guys, I just watched them prepare for the games and just the way they come to the rink. I really try and incorporate that into my preparation. Just watching those guys, like Ty Smith, and seeing what they have to do; it’s something special.”

Friedt-Mohr seems to have done that, and has impressed the coaching staff.

“He’s just an incredible personality, a hard-working kid. He’s the first guy in the rink, the way that he practices, the way he listens and tries to implement what we’re doing,” Mintos head coach Danton Danielson said. “He’s both a lead by example guy and a vocal leader. You couldn’t ask for a better captain. So far so good.”

No-no from Favreau

Turner McMillen and Dawson Springer led the way for the Mintos offensively, both scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist each in the Mintos’ 5-0 win over the Legionnaires. After leading the SMAAAHL preseason in scoring, Mintos sophomore forward Cooper Chisholm scored his first Midget AAA goal.

But the star of the show was Prince Albert’s Joel Favreau, who recorded his first ever Midget AAA shutout and turned aside all 25 shots that came his way.

“That’s probably about as good as it could go,” Favreau said. “You don’t dream of it to be any better. It was a great start. The guys played well ahead of me. I didn’t have to do too much, but when I was called on, I was ready.”

The rookie seemed to impress his team, especially second-year goalie Spencer Welke who almost seemed more excited than Favreau himself in the victory. Welke sprinted off the bench to give a jumping hug to Favreau on the accomplishment. The coaching staff was really excited with Favreau’s performance as well.

“I thought he was strong all night. I thought he was solid and square to the puck. There wasn’t any situation where it looked like he lost the crease in any way,” said Danielson, who himself picked up his first two Midget AAA wins on the weekend. “I thought he did a great job for us. There were a couple scrums, and some power plays particularly in the second period where they put up quite a few shots on us, where he did a good job.”

Looing ahead

The Mintos will be on the road next weekend, taking on the Saskatoon Blazers on Friday and the Notre Dame Argos in Wilcox on Saturday as part of the Warman Showcase. The Mintos will play two more road games, Oct. 3 against the Saskatoon Contacts and Oct. 9 against the Blazers, before returning home on Oct. 12 to face the Regina Pat Canadians.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW