Four Sask. players named to Canada world junior hockey championship team
22h ago
Berkly Catton, Brayden Yager, Caden Price and Tanner Howe were all named.
Riffel Royals quarterback Ashton Brandt was heading into his Grade 12 season with a chip on his shoulder.
Now he’s hoping to just play a game.
Brandt was told Thursday night that Regina’s school divisions had decided there would be no interschool play this fall.
While Brandt has had conversations with some universities, there’s nothing concrete in place for him, so he was looking to showcase his talents this year.
“This season was what we were banking on, the guys who had something to prove,” the 17-year-old said. “Losing out on it definitely sucks, since I have a lot more to prove from my junior year. I played well, but I think I’ve got a lot more potential to show off.”
He said the recruiting process has definitely changed this year due to COVID-19.
“It’s hard to get exposure and to get schools to see you when you haven’t played football in a year,” Brandt said. “It’s a lot of trust and workout videos and stuff. (My) future is uncertain as of now, which kind of sucks because we have to apply for universities soon.”
He was also looking forward to the chance to play the LeBoldus Golden Suns and try to get some revenge following a 22-8 loss in the 6A Schwann Conference final last season.
“(There’s) still a bad taste in our mouth from last year and we want to get them back, but who knows if we will,” Brandt said.
Like many other Grade 12 students in Regina, Brandt is also trying to process the idea that he might not get a chance to suit up and play a game again in his high school career.
“We worked so hard the last three, four years since Grade 9 for this year. It’s a shot in the foot that it’s not going to happen, but we’ve expected this for a while now so it’s not a big shock or anything,” Brandt said. “It’s not an ideal situation that the season is going to get cancelled.”
He said his teammates are dealing with a range of emotions right now.
“Some guys are really sad or angry. Some guys expected this from the beginning so we were prepared for this news,” Brandt said.
A decision on winter sports hasn’t been made yet by the school decisions and Brandt remains hopeful for a spring league.
“The health and safety of others is the No. 1 priority in this pandemic situation,” he said. “(The fall sports decision) is understandable but it still kind of stings the heart a little bit.”