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Hockey traveller and P.A.’s Yeo to feature in Senator’s Cup

Apr 7, 2015 | 5:30 PM

Hockey has taken Prince Albert’s Dylan Yeo all over the place.  

After playing in the WHL with Prince George and Calgary, Yeo has played professionally in Winnipeg, Victoria, Hershey, South Carolina, Ontario (California), Oklahoma City, Toronto and Orlando. This last season, Yeo played with the Straubing Tigers in the German Ice Hockey League (otherwise known as the DEL).

But for this weekend, Yeo, 28, will strap his skates back in Prince Albert for the Senator’s Cup Aboriginal Full Contact Hockey Tournament put on by the Prince Albert Grand Council.

“After playing professionally for so many years, it’s nice to come back and play with a bunch of your buddies too,” said Yeo, who’ll be playing on a team with friends Korey Diehl and Kelly Guard. “It’s really nice and it means a lot.”

Yeo played seven professional seasons in North America, highlighted by winning the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears in 2009-2010. The Bears are the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate.

After that tenure, Yeo signed a one-year contract in Germany with the Tigers. Yeo finished the year as the Tigers’ top scoring defenceman with 23 points in 49 games and was tied for third on the team in points.

The transition to working in Germany took a bit of getting used to.

“It was different, it was a culture shock, obviously. It took a few weeks to get into the groove of things,” said Yeo. “I kinda got comfortable and used to a little bit of the language—that was a tough barrier to break. But other than that, it was really good.

“The fans were great. The hockey in Straubing, Germany, it means a lot to the fans and they’re a huge hockey city. We were sold out every game,” added Yeo. “It’s nothing like watching a hockey game here, it’s a lot more rowdy, I guess I could say. The fans are upbeat and show a lot more emotion than they would here.”

There are probably more videos on YouTube of Yeo singing than there are of him actually playing hockey.

Yeo loves to sing and pick at guitar strings, and is quite good at it. The Tigers approached Yeo and asked him if he’d sing a bit after a win, which quickly became a tradition after each home win.

“After that, it was pretty much every game I’d go out there after the game for our ritual lap after a win, and they always wanted me to sing,” said Yeo. “It’s kinda a tradition there now, I guess.”

The Senator’s Cup will feature athletes like Yeo, Craig McCallum, D.J. King, Wacey Rabbit, Darren Reid, Raiders goaltending coach Kelly Guard and his pupil Rylan Parenteau.

There are 12 teams confirmed for the inaugural tournament, which will be held Friday to Sunday at the Art Hauser Centre. Tickets are $10 per day. Games will go from 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The tournament champion will take home a $15,000 grand prize.

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On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea