Fresh faces hit the ice and Bears and Mintos spring camps
April 20, 2026
Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
It was out with the old and in with the new as both of Prince Albert’s U18AAA hockey teams turned the page by holding spring camps to identify future talent for their upcoming seasons next fall.
The Bears attracted roughly 70 players to their camp held at the Art Hauser Centre on Thursday and the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre on Friday while the Mintos had more than 150 players attend their three-day camp at the Northern Regional Recreation Centre.
For the Bears, who are undergoing a sponsor change with the Prince Albert Raiders stepping in to replace Mann-Northway, the camp provided the coaching staff with plenty of options to fill what could be as many as eight open positions on the roster.
“It was really good,” says Bears’ head coach Steve Young. “Anytime you are looking for specific positions it gets real competitive. We have some tough decisions to make.”
The Bears, who finished the past season by winning eight of their final nine regular-season games before falling to the Saskatoon Stars in a third and deciding game of the Saskatchewan Female U18AAA Hockey League quarter-finals, definitely lose five players to graduation and Young says another three have indicated they won’t be returning next year. Young said prospective players were given a simple message.
“All the girls we are talking to we told them this is a tough league and for them to come to (fall) camp in top shape,” says Young. “We believe we have some players that can step into the league, but they will have to adjust to the league.”
For a number of veteran players this camp was an extension of a busy spring as eight players were in Balgonie a week ago for the Sask First Top 80 identification camp. Jana Simonson, Londyn Hoffman, Zoey Krienke, Olivia Trann, Rowan Clement, Jersie Andersen, Andie Marshall and Avery Brunen were all auditioning for possible spots on the provincial U18 squad. All had strong showings, but Marshall was the most noticeable putting up three goals and two assists in four scrimmage sessions.
The Mintos, meanwhile, are unsure of how many spots they will need to fill, but the large turnout certainly provided the coaching staff with possible solutions to that problem.
“It was great to see a lot of interest in the program,” says Mintos’ head coach Dion Antisin. “Right from the first skills session there was a lot of skill and compete. Every kid was competing and it was a good surprise.”
The Mintos are coming off a tough season that saw them finish out of the playoffs with a 14-24-4-2 record. Antisin says in addition to the players who are aging out the club could lose as many as five more to junior programs so having the opportunity to identify future talent is important.
“There were definitely some big surprises,” says Antisin. “It was all positives; there were no negatives.”
It was Antisin’s first spring camp as he was coaching in Sweden for two years prior to coming to Prince Albert last season, but now he can focus on his second go-around with the Mintos when
fall camp is held in late August. The Bears will also take a break for the summer with their fall camp set for the end of August as well.
Next season will be upon us soon enough, but this past weekend certainly has both the Bears and Mintos excited for the future.
