Twitter/Hockey Harvest Lottery

By Jeff D’Andrea

Hockey Harvest

Former Raiders talk about what WHL Scholarship Program means to them as Hockey Harvest nears deadline

Dec 18, 2020 | 2:20 PM

This weekend will be the last opportunity for hockey fans to get their hands on Hockey Harvest Lottery tickets. The progressive 50/50 jackpot is over the $300,000 mark as of Friday. The deadline for tickets is on Sunday, with a winner being crowned on Monday.

All five Saskatchewan-based WHL clubs teamed up together to create the Hockey Harvest Lottery, in order to raise money for each team’s WHL Scholarship Fund.

For every year a player plays on a WHL roster, he gets a year of post-secondary education covered.

Four former Raiders talked about what that contribution has meant to them.

Curtis Miske. File photo/paNOW Staff

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Curtis Miske

Forward, former Raiders captain

Played 105 games for the Raiders from 2016-18, 42 goals, 93 points

University of Alberta Golden Bears, 3^rd year finance major

“It’s incredible,” he said. “I think the Hockey Harvest Lottery is a good idea. That scholarship has been really important to me, and to be able to have my schooling paid for, for playing in the Western Hockey League, it’s absolutely incredible. It’s helped me and at the end of the day, hockey doesn’t last forever. You need a little backup plan after that, so this scholarship program allows us WHL players to get that and it’s really important to us. I’m super happy that the lottery’s going to try and help fund it.”

Tim Vanstone. File photo/paNOW Staff

Tim Vanstone

Forward, former Raiders captain

Played 399 games for Raiders from 2012-17, 36 goals, 94 points

University of Calgary Dinos, 4^th year finance major

“Especially this year when you’re learning from home and there’s lots more stress on your plate and you’re kind of in unknown territory,” he explained. “But I think the great thing about the Western Hockey League scholarship is you don’t have that burden of financial distress, paying off student loans and whatnot. That helps students like myself succeed in the classroom, you don’t have that extra distraction.”

Rylan Parenteau. File photo/paNOW Staff

Rylan Parenteau

Goaltender

Played 101 games for Raiders from 2014-17, 44-37-9 record

University of New Brunswick Reds, 4^th year geological engineering

Won USports University Cup Championship with Reds in 2018-19

“The WHL Scholarship program has given me this amazing opportunity that I’ve received at the University of New Brunswick, along with a lot of my fellow WHL players that have moved on out of the league,” Parenteau said. “I can’t thank the Western Hockey League enough for the opportunity given to me while playing there, then the tremendous opportunity for me to grow as a person, an athlete, and a student.”

Sean Montgomery. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

Sean Montgomery

Holds record for most games played by a Raider with 345

Won 2019 WHL Championship with Raiders in 2019

Western University Mustangs, 2^nd year in financial economics

“You don’t really think about it until you’re maybe in your 20-year-old year,” he said. “You kind of start thinking a little about it. But when you start seeing guys that didn’t play in the major junior, they have to take out loans and stuff like this. It’s definitely a huge privilege, you don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff. It’s taken care of.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW