Two members of the Western Hockey League champion Prince Albert Raiders made a triumphant return to Estevan on Saturday.
Defenceman Brayden Pachal, who was the team’s captain, and forward Cole Fonstad, are both originally from Estevan. They brought three trophies the Raiders won this year – the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the regular season champions, the Eastern Conference champions trophy and the Ed Chynoweth Cup as the league champions – to Estevan on Saturday for the Rafferty Rumble.
Fans could greet the two champions, see the trophies and receive autographs on Fourth Street in downtown Estevan.
Fonstad said it was great to be back in Estevan for the Rafferty Rumble, and to bring the trophies with him, particularly the Chynoweth Cup.
“It’s a pretty big deal to win that trophy,” said Fonstad. “There’s a lot of big names on it, and it was probably the best moment of my life winning it. You don’t really know what it feels like until it happens. I think once you win it, you want to win it just as bad again the next year.”
He was invited to be part of Team Canada’s summer evaluation camp for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships, but couldn’t attend due to injury. The camp is getting underway, and Fonstad will attend it next week so he can get to know the other players at the camp.
Pachal said that each player on the Raiders was allowed to spend a couple of days with the trophy, and he thought the Rumble weekend would be a perfect time to bring the trophy to Estevan.
He said it’s finally settled in what the Raiders accomplished this season.
“It took a little bit to settle in, but it’s special, obviously. We wanted to do better in Halifax (at the Memorial Cup), but any time you can win the league championship … it’s pretty cool.”
Pachal attended the summer camp for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and will attend their training camp in the fall. He hopes to play well enough to earn a contract from the third-year team.
The Munro trophy is named after the man who moved the Humboldt Indians to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957, and was a key player in the formation of the WHL. The Estevan Bruins, meanwhile, have their names on the Chynoweth Cup thanks to their championship victory in 1968.
The next edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
