From left, Jaxon Herchak, Luke Moroz, Dayce Derkatch, and Raiders assistant coach Ryan McDonald after earning a silver medal at the Canada Winter Games. (Prince Albert Raiders/Facebook)

By Rob Mahon

McDonald Wins Silver For Sask

‘I couldn’t be prouder of our group’: Raiders assistant coach steers Saskatchewan to silver

Mar 1, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The last time Team Saskatchewan won a medal at the Canada Winter Games in men’s hockey, Ryan McDonald had barely started his own hockey career. The players he was coaching at this year’s event were 12 years away from being born. It had been a long drought for a hockey-crazed province.

Thanks to McDonald and the young men he coached, however, that drought is over. McDonald coached Team Sask to a silver medal at this year’s games, falling in the gold medal game in double overtime to powerhouse Ontario.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment for the guys,” McDonald said. “Obviously it’s a little short of what we set out to do, but in the end they bought in right from the very start. The process started about 12 months ago and they’ve been getting better and better every day. I couldn’t have been prouder of those 20 guys on the ice.”

The gold medal game was actually the first loss of the event for Team Sask, who went undefeated through the round robin and then knocked off Nova Scotia and Quebec (for the second time) en route to the gold medal game. According to McDonald, it didn’t take 20 individual players (all of them stars on their usual teams) to form a cohesive team.

“We had guys come in and play five or six minutes a night when they’re used to playing 20 and just relishing their roles,” McDonald said. “Guys who are going out there, creating energy, playing hard, keeping their sticks down and creating energy for the team.”

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Prince Albert hockey fans had a greater interest than usual in the tournament, with McDonald not only representing the Raiders behind the bench but three Raiders prospects on the team in Luke Moroz, Dayce Derkatch, and Jaxon Herchak. Herchak ended up being named the team’s captain.

“Jaxon carries himself with a lot of confidence and a lot of pride, and does a lot of the little things right and leads by example,” McDonald said. “As a staff, we did interviews, meetings, extensive stuff with our sports psychologist, and that’s where the path led to.”

Although the team fell just short of the golden result following 28 minutes of relentless three-on-three overtime against Ontario, the fact they stared down a province with more than 12 times Saskatchewan’s population and nearly got them to blink helped them come home with their heads high.

“Getting into that final game, being 5-0, essentially leading the tournament in points and having home ice advantage throughout the quarter finals, the semis, and then the final, was a tremendous achievement for our group,” McDonald said. “Into that final against Ontario, they have a lot more kids to pick from than we might have, but we were very confident in our group.”

McDonald rejoined the Raiders in time for the win over the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday, February 28, while his players have returned to their teams ahead of the Saskatchewan U18 AAA playoffs.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP