The province has a new health plan. But you know the old saying about the best laid plans o' mice and men ...
In today's Wood File, Murray appreciates everyone has good intentions regarding health care, but notes it's been a long ...
A longtime pillar of Saskatoon’s minor hockey community has died.
Former Saskatoon U18 AAA Contacts coach and builder Jim McIntyre passed away at the age of 87 last week, leaving behind a framework of four decades of involvement with the organization.
Read more:
- Kian Schaffer-Baker inks two year extension with Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Jolene Campbell ready to return to Scotties: The Green Zone
- New home plate seating coming to Saskatoon Berries games at Cairns Field
“It’s a big loss,” Contacts head coach and general manager Ryan Keller said.
“He’s a huge part of why a number of us alumni are still involved and why the program means so much to us. His place in our development as hockey players and as people is second to none.”
McIntyre was the face of the Contacts franchise for years, purchasing the club in 1980 before going on to serve as the team’s owner, coach, general manager and bus driver at different points.
Keller was coached by McIntyre in 2000-2001 before going on to star with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades and eventually play six games in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators.
Joining the Contacts as head coach prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, Keller said McIntyre’s presence was key in his decision to return to his old minor hockey program.
“The experience he provided us here with the Contacts organization is a big reason why it was important to me to come back and why the organization means so much to me,” Keller said.
Known throughout the organization by the nickname of ‘Mr. Mac,’ McIntyre coached hundreds of players over his tenure including several future NHLers such as brothers Luke and Brayden Schenn, Scott Scissons, Jeff Friesen, Chandler Stephenson and Darcy Kuemper.
The team’s alumni list isn’t what stood out to Keller the most however when it came to McIntyre’s impact on the program, but how he was able to create an impact in their lives.
“We have a wall in [the dressing room] of all the alumni that went on to the NHL,” Keller said. “It’s a large number and a large number of Stanley Cup winners, but I think first and foremost people will remember him for the quality of people that he produced and came out of this program.”
Named the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League’s coach of the year in 1995, McIntyre would go on to win six league championships and the program’s lone Telus Cup national title in 2005.
His legacy, according to Keller, will be the work done off the ice in giving players over the years a place to push themselves and grow into community contributors.
“It just created a culture around here which fed off of hard work, everybody coming to the rink and there being that expectation of hard work,” Keller said.
“It wasn’t just about being a hockey player, it was about being a good person in society and day to day life. He developed a lot of good hockey players, but he developed a lot of good people.”
Read more:
