Four Jets clear waivers to join Moose

The Winnipeg Jets organizational depth has yet to take a hit on the waiver wire.

On Saturday afternoon, all four players exposed to waivers — defenceman Isaak Phillips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford — cleared, which means they can be assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Owing to injuries to captain Adam Lowry and winger Cole Perfetti, both Chibrikov and Ford started last season on the NHL roster but spent the bulk of last season with the Moose.

Chibrikov, chosen in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, has dealt with multiple lower-body injuries during the prior two seasons and is still working his way back to peak form.

Crusaders football celebrates 95th anniversary

Few understand better than Stacy Dainard how steeped the St. Paul’s High School football program is in history.

The head coach of the Crusaders’ varsity team for the last 25 years has watched the institution’s presence on the gridiron blossom over four decades since he donned the maroon and white as a player from 1984-87.

Dainard figures he will harken back to those days more this weekend when a flock of Crusaders alumni from across the country gather to commemorate the football program’s 95th anniversary.

“We were a competitive team. We had some very committed coaches and some very committed student-athletes,” said Dainard, who reached the provincial championship in each of his first three seasons as a student-athlete. “It was a good time. Football wasn’t as big as it is now, or at least high school football wasn’t as big as it is now. But it was a very competitive league.”

Shoal Lake Lodge a manifestation of reconciliation in action

Before proceeding with this story, it is so very important to acknowledge that Shoal Lake (Treaty 3 Territory) is the source of Winnipeg’s drinking water.

Ironically, for all the years that we have enjoyed the gift of some of the best and safest water in the world, those who reside on the shores of its source have suffered without. Years’ long boil water advisories caused insecurity of not having a safe source of water for children and families. That this was only very recently addressed and solved in a just and hopefully lasting way is commentary for another time and in another place.

Today, in the interest in encouraging positive and meaningful conversations in these difficult and divisive time — and in the spirit of looking at the energy of what lies ahead rather than looking back at what was — there is hope. And possibility.

Shoal Lake is situated approximately two hours east of Winnipeg, sitting astride the Manitoba-Ontario border. Two different roads access separate First Nation communities that are on the lake. The first being Freedom Road, completed in June 2018, which intersects the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Falcon Lake, and now allows community members of Shoal Lake FN 40 vehicle access. Second is Ontario Highway 673, across the provincial border, which allows road access to Iskatewizaagegan (Shoal Lake) No. 39.

East St. Paul product’s next wheelchair basketball chapter in Spain’s best men’s division

Every time Joshua Brown takes the court, the line between dreams and reality blurs.

You see, Brown, born and raised in East St. Paul, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy early in life. Understanding his condition, he came to terms with the challenge it would be to play stand-up sports competitively.

That didn’t stop him from dreaming, though.

Brown remembers watching Canada’s best in wheelchair basketball at the Paralympic Games on television as a youngster, and vividly recalls what went through his mind at the time.

Rudick banks win, Bisons nab first team victory in seven years

Jack Rudick knew what it meant personally. He was surprised to find out how significant his breakthrough victory was for his program.

Earlier this month, the fourth-year Manitoba Bisons golfer strung together 36 holes of excellent play to win by four strokes over teammate Rory Neill at the Augsburg Fall Invitational at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, Minn.

Rudick not only earned the individual victory, but his 5-under-par finish also helped the Bisons to their first team victory in seven years. With Neill (1-under), Terence Rafferty (6-over) and Ethan Portey’s (9-over) cumulative scores, Manitoba combined for a dominant 12-stroke victory.

For Rudick, it was a long-awaited breakout as a university player.

Former Winnipeg Jet doing his part for future of funded deaf athletes

Jim Kyte defied the odds to have the hockey career that he did.

The hard-nosed defenceman from Ottawa made history by becoming the first legally deaf NHL player when the Winnipeg Jets drafted him 12th overall in 1982.

“Right now, I’m the only one in history to play in the NHL, but I’d like to be able to say I am the first player — which would imply that there would be a second player, and hopefully a third, fourth, fifth,” Kyte recently told the Free Press.

Between 1982 and 1996, he suited up in 598 career NHL games, including 399 as a member of the 1.0 Jets.

Big time roster turnovers reflected in Rifles play

The Winnipeg Rifles needed to get out of their own way.

That was the consensus in the junior football club’s locker room after it opened the Canadian Junior Football League season with four straight losses before breaking through with a 37-23 home win over the Edmonton Huskies last weekend.

The Rifles kept their playoff hopes within reach with three games remaining in the regular season. If nothing else, it injected some much-needed confidence into a group that believes it has the talent to compete with the rest of the Prairie Conference, but needs to stop shooting itself in the foot.

“It was definitely a sense of urgency. It was definitely a must-need win, and especially a lot of our other games, we would be in the game, and then we would kind of start beating ourselves almost,” said Jarome Penner, the club’s leading receiver.

Bisons look to bounce back against Dinos at Murray Field

Nathan Udoh has been around long enough to know how quickly things can change in the Canada West conference.

The fifth-year Manitoba Bisons receiver is one of the oldest players in a youthful locker room that is experiencing the ebbs and flows of a U Sports season for the first time, and to say his experience if being leaned on would be an understatement.

“I try to lean on that and help guys who haven’t been in these situations just to keep their heads and how hard you have to play,” Udoh said Wednesday. “I think that’s the biggest thing that there is no snap that you take off, and playing with that intensity is really where it starts.”

The Bisons have already endured a roller-coaster two games into the season. After shocking the country by steamrolling the reigning conference champion Saskatchewan Huskies 40-22 in their season-opener, the Bisons fell back to earth in a 22-8 road loss to the Regina Rams last weekend.

Summer success sends Brezden to the Black Sea

Breken Brezden got off to a flying start as a new figure skating season dawned in August making the Manitoban one to watch, once again, among the sport’s elite in Canada.

The Dauphin athlete pocketed a silver medal in Montreal, then notched a win in Waterloo, outscoring a handful of Canada’s higher ranked women along the way.

In Montreal, Brezden, 20, topped the standings in the free skate portion of the competition and, with a total score of 171.03, exceeded the 166 benchmark Skate Canada set for international assignments.

“I’m quite happy with how my summer competitions went,” said Brezden, who trains in Hamilton, Ont.

American takes men’s senior title, Manitoban Fanning finishes third

Todd Fanning did everything he could. The decorated local golfer knew he would need to go low to have a chance at becoming the first Manitoban to win the Canadian men’s senior national championship on Friday, and while he held up his end of the bargain, in the end it was not to be.

Canadian Olympic champion Katzberg upset in hammer throw at Ultimate Championship

BUDAPEST - Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg suffered a stunning upset Friday, failing to record a mark in the men’s hammer throw at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

The Canadian was eliminated after the opening two rounds, while Germany’s Merlin Hummel, who finished second to Katzberg at the 2025 world championships in Tokyo, won with a throw of 81.46 metres.

Katzberg, from Nanaimo, B.C., entered as the world’s top-ranked hammer thrower after winning the last two world championships, this summer’s Commonwealth Games and the Diamond League title.

The Canadian quartet of Eliezer Adjibi, Audrey Leduc, Brendon Rodney and Sade McCreath just missed the mixed 4-by-100-metre podium, finishing fourth in 40.34 seconds behind the United States (39.64), Jamaica (39.72) and England (40.26).

First Manitoban to win national senior’s title within reach for White, Fanning

Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?

Todd Fanning, one of the most decorated golfers in Manitoba history, is attempting to author one heck of a compelling tale at his home course this week.

After falling a whopping 10 strokes off the lead at one point in the opening 18 holes of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, Fanning has roared back to life and heads into Friday’s fourth and final round at Niakwa Country Club with a puncher’s chance.

He followed up Tuesday’s six-over 78 — a performance he told the Free Press was “kind of embarrassing” — with rounds of 71 and 70 on Wednesday and Thursday. That has him at three-over for the event, five shots out of first place.

Closure of Nomads field massive upset for North End

The North Winnipeg Nomads have a flag on the field.

The long-standing minor football club was recently informed that its field is unfit to host games and that it would need to find a new home for its five youth and adult teams until repairs are made to the playing surface.

“Our board has made every effort to address the condition of our home field,” the club wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, following a professional assessment, the field has been determined to be unsafe and unstable for our athletes.”

All five of the club’s teams will play their 2026 season at Frank Whyte Field, part of the Northwood Community Centre, with no confirmed date for when they can play on their home field again.

Canada’s men’s, women’s squads both pick up wins to open wheelchair basketball worlds

OTTAWA - Canada enjoyed a successful opening day at the wheelchair basketball world championships on Wednesday at TD Place.

Colin Higgins and Nikola Goncin each scored a game-high 24 points in leading the Canadian men's team to a 74-51 over Morocco. 

Canada only led 34-32 at half, but outscored the Moroccans 21-4 in the third quarter to blow the game open before adding to its lead in the fourth quarter. 

Arinn Young led the women's team with 18 points as Canada had five players score in double figures in a 76-51 win over Spain.

Wiseman leans on pro experience

Todd Wiseman knows what pressure feels like in a sporting arena.

The Port Moody, B.C. resident faced it every summer across an eight-year playing career as a defensive back in the Canadian Football League with the B.C. Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Wiseman, who switched from knocking down passes to knocking down birdies after the 1994 season, is feeling a different kind of weight this week in the Canadian senior men’s championship at Niakwa Country Club, but has managed it well through two rounds.

Wiseman turned in a rather clean three-under 69 on Wednesday, his two bogeys outweighed by five birdies, to grab a share of the lead in the 55-plus national event. Wiseman tied a single-round tournament low to share the 36-hole lead with Winnipegger David White and America’s top-ranked senior amateur Bryan Hoops.