Winnipeg pair wins first senior international ahead of Skate Canada debut

For athletes heading into a milestone competition, nothing delivers a jolt of confidence quite like recording a first international win and personal-best scores mere weeks before the big event.

That scenario played out for figure skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov over the Thanksgiving weekend at the Tayside Trophy in Dundee, Scotland, where they dominated the nine-pair field from start to finish. The Winnipeg duo tallied career-best short program, long program and total scores.

“There were some teams there that had been to the Olympics, so it was cool beating them,” Elizarov said.

As the 2026 world junior champions counted down the days before their debut in senior Grand Prix competition at Skate Canada International next week (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), Elizarov explained how many more points they could score in Kelowna, B.C., by avoiding deductions incurred in Dundee.

Barron brothers clash for eighth NHL dogfight

ST. LOUIS — This is what all of those endless games of mini sticks, countless hours on the outdoor rinks and extra reps in the gym were meant to bring about one day.

While the shine might not be quite as bright for Morgan and Justin Barron, the appreciation for the opportunity to go head-to-head in an NHL rink has yet to dull and it’s not something they’re about to take for granted.

Tuesday’s clash against the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues marked the eighth NHL meeting between the Barron brothers, who took divergent paths after growing up in Halifax.

“I’m always pulling for him and then all of a sudden, you’re fighting in the corner for a puck,” Morgan recalled after the morning skate on Tuesday. “It’s no different than in the summer or playing mini sticks in the basement and all of that stuff.

Clay Stevenson credits therapeutic side of hockey in learning to live with mother’s suicide

Hockey has always been more than just a game to Clay Stevenson. That was especially true after he suffered the biggest loss of his life: his mother, Holly, died by suicide seven years ago.

Inconsistency plagues Bombers as season hangs in balance

It’s reached a point where members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers can no longer hide their frustration.

They’ve been inconsistent all season, and it caught up with them again Friday at Commonwealth Stadium in a 35-27 loss to the Edmonton Elks.

The Bombers (8-9) could’ve clinched a playoff berth with a win. With both the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-8) and Calgary Stampeders (9-9) winning Saturday, Winnipeg must now beat the B.C. Lions (10-7) in Vancouver on Friday to qualify for the post-season.

Meanwhile, the Elks improved to 13-4 and secured first place in the West Division for the first time since 2015.

New twist in Hellebuyck saga, suspension ends Friday

Connor Hellebuyck has played the reverse Uno card. What we don’t know is if he has any intention of coming back to friendly Manitoba or if this is simply the latest attempt to put the Winnipeg Jets' feet to the flames in an effort to move him to an American market.

Wesmen women’s hoops team feeling primed for a successful season

Wesmen women’s hoops team feeling primed for a successful season

Get to know your Jet: Neal Pionk

“Give it 110 per cent.” “Get pucks in deep.” “One shift at a time.” “Play our game.” “Keep it simple.”

Hockey has a language all its own. Unfortunately, after hearing the same phrases repeated often enough, that language can start to sound a lot like white noise.

So we’re going to try something different.

The Free Press will occasionally sit down with a Winnipeg Jets player at his locker-room stall for a wide-ranging conversation about the stuff you don’t always hear in a media scrum.

Possibility of Hellebuyck’s return grows each day as pay slips away

CHICAGO — Buckle up, folks. The next plot twist in the ongoing soap opera between the Winnipeg Jets and Connor Hellebuyck could be a doozy.

Let’s start with a few cold, hard facts. Or, if you prefer: “Previously on As the Hellebuyck Turns…”

The franchise goaltender, with five years remaining on a contract extension he willingly signed with Winnipeg in 2023, refused to report to training camp last month as he awaits word on a trade request made at the end of last season. He’s the first NHL player in more than a quarter century to essentially go on strike.

The Jets are under no obligation to move Hellebuyck, but have indicated they would try to accommodate him if another team meets their needs. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has made it clear he needs to “get this right” and wants a haul for a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and one-time Hart Trophy recipient.

Bombers continue to be a mystery

Not even Mike O’Shea can put his finger on the 2026 edition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

At times, his team has resembled a flaming dumpster. At others — including Saturday’s crucial 33-28 victory over the Calgary Stampeders — it has looked like a legitimate Grey Cup contender.

Despite all the twists and turns, the Bombers are now in position to clinch a playoff spot this week if they can beat the first-place Edmonton Elks (12-4) at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday.

“Every year is different, but this one feels a little odd,” O’Shea said with a laugh after Tuesday’s practice at Fort Garry Lions Field.

A dozen straight titles for Indigenous trainers at Assiniboia Downs

THAT’S a wrap!

The 69th season of live racing at Assiniboia Downs came to a close on Wednesday and for the 12th consecutive year the training title was won by an Indigenous horseman.

Trainer Jerry Gourneau of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota won his sixth trainer title at the Downs with a record of 54-45-43 from 280 starts and purse earnings of US$559,191.

And for the eighth straight year, Gourneau’s main owner, former champion race car driver Henry S. Witt, Jr. won the owner title at the Downs. He compiled a record of 46-41-40 from 242 starts and purse earnings of US$535,983.

Stuart-Stevenson tandem gives Jets time for best Hellebuyck trade deal

A weekly lap around the NHL by Free Press hockey writers Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre

The New York Islanders are first-overall. The Calgary Flames are in the league basement.

We’re talking about goaltending, specifically the metric of “goals against above expected” as tracked by the Money Puck website which factors in shot quality and location and is a much better measure than traditional numbers such as goals-against-average and even save percentage, which can be heavily influenced by team factors.

In a nutshell, you want to be as high as possible on this list, suggesting your masked men are doing their job by stopping everything they should — and hopefully a few more. The lower you are in the 32-team league, the more likely you have a leaky crease.

Consequences of verdict on City Football Group satellites primed to be even more damaging

There is a map of the world on which City Football Group shades its influence in blue.

As an illustration, it is not so different from those maps that show the Roman Empire’s territory — mostly around the Mediterranean, coloured red in history textbooks — or on which the extent of the British Empire — also in red — takes up about a fifth of the page.

The visual effect is not an accident.

This map, published on City Football Group’s official website, is introduced by a preamble that declares the holding company to be “the world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs — with total or partial ownership of 12 worldwide.”

Herd of rookie and sophomore talent ushers in new era of University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team

Life is bound to look different when you’re without one of the best cores in the country.

Just ask Chelsea Siebenga, the standout fifth-year libero who, along with fifth-year middle Aviendah Plett, is all that remains from a decorated era of Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball.

“It’s definitely different,” Siebenga said. “Those six people had been on the team the whole time I was a Bison. Those were my friends basically, the people that I would hang out with, so having them gone, it makes the team feel… like a completely different team, to me, at least.”

For the first time in five years, the Bisons will enter a season without Raya Surinx on the left side of their attack. The two-time U Sports Player of the Year opted to forgo her final year of eligibility and begin her professional career in Italy.

Longtime voice of the Blue and Gold marks major milestone

Bob McGregor made his debut as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ public-address announcer on June 7, 1997, during a pre-season game at Winnipeg Stadium between the hometown Blue Bombers and their western rivals, the Calgary Stampeders.

McGregor will be behind the microphone again this Saturday, detailing the action on the field in addition to leading a boisterous Princess Auto Stadium crowd through what has become his signature call, “And that is another Winnipeg Blue Bombers first down!”

The Bombers’ final home date of the 2026 regular season will mark a major milestone for McGregor, and the former newscaster feels it’s only fitting the same two teams as 10,717 days ago — the Bombers and Stampeders — will be the ones butting helmets.

“I knew at the start of the season I was closing in on 300 games as the PA guy, only it wasn’t until I went through the schedule that I realized my 300th would be Winnipeg-Calgary, which struck me as kind of cool,” McGregor says, seated in a St. James breakfast nook, dressed in dark trousers and a blue-and-gold Blue Bombers golf shirt.

Wesmen women’s volleyball vets set on leading team to new heights

The Winnipeg Wesmen have taken their lumps over the last two years.

The women’s volleyball team has been the younger sister to some of Canada West’s more veteran programs while it refilled its cupboard with talent and cut its teeth.

The Wesmen are optimistic that those days are behind them, however.

The core of this squad is all grown up now and looking to jump into the next echelon with the rest of the conference heavyweights.