The Predators have big shoes to fill if they are going to live up to last year's undefeated McDonald Cup winning season. (Submitted Photo/Lucas Wells)

By Nick Nielsen

Lacrosse season begins

Predators welcome Saskatoon SWAT in season opener

Apr 25, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Lacrosse season is officially here and the Prince Albert Predators are looking to build off of the best year the program has ever had.

Last year, not only did the Predators put together a perfect, undefeated season together, they also won their second straight provincial championship and capped off the season by winning their first Western Canadian Championship at the McDonald Cup in dominant fashion.

Because of the success from last year, Head Coach and GM Lucas Wells says this one could be even better with the amount of hype they were able to generate.

“I think it was the most successful year Prince Albert Lacrosse has had in the junior aspect going undefeated in the PGL, winning the McDonald Cup, being the second team from Saskatchewan to ever do that, I think is very impressive and it’s exciting for Saskatchewan lacrosse in general. Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a better year. We tried to make a founders run, which was your Junior B nationals, that didn’t work out, but we did put a lot of eyeballs on our program. We put a lot of eyeballs on the sport in PA and and it was very good. So I couldn’t be more happy with the the outcome of last season.”

The season starts tonight against the newly reinstated Saskatoon SWAT and, while they are a new team to the league, Wells expects rivalry to form quickly. Each team in the PGL will play each other twice this season except their closest opponent who they will play four times.

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Not only do the Predators and SWAT faceoff four times, but they will both open and close the season against each other in Prince Albert. Right now the Predators biggest rival is the Swift Current Wolverines thanks to how often the teams have played each other, but Wells sees that changing this year.

“That’s where the big rivalry is right now. I can foresee it changing to Saskatoon. I know it was Saskatoon before they dropped out of the PGL. Now we’re playing them four times, starting the season against them, ending the season against them. I think after tonight, it’ll be a very heated rivalry, I will say.”

As for the team itself, the Predators are shaping up to be a solid force again. The team is losing 10 players from last year’s team and brought in eight rookies this season, so the roster is going to look different. That said, Wells believes the strategy from last year that overwhelmed their opponents with speed and pressure is going to stay strong.

“I would classify us as a relatively fast and physical team. So we play very much in your face, our offense is going to press you if we turn the ball over, defense is going to press you right at right at the RAG line. We’re not going to give you any time and space. We’re going to try and take that away.”

This year’s captain will be forward Braden Shewchuk, who put up 2G-1A in three games with the Predators last year, and 10G-5A in 11 games at the Senior level with the Prince Albert Prairie Dogs. Defenceman Tobey Oshanek and forward Matthew Cudmore are the assistant captains.

This year’s team has a mix of young talent and veterans, and not a ton of players with that middle level of experience. As a result, not only is Wells expecting big jumps from his leadership this year, but with the extra time on the court he expects some of the younger talent to step up this year as well.

“You got guys like Owen Bear, Mason Crain, I expect those guys to take huge leaps. Another couple guys that have been on the team but haven’t really been able to carve out roles, Luke Eggerman, Bennett Acorn, Tayt Beaven, I see those guys taking massive steps and we’ve already seen it in practice where they’re kind of taking over those leadership roles, jumping into drills first, executing things very well. So it’ll be exciting to see those guys take a roll.”

Add on rookies like defencemen Tucker and Gage Prodaehl, Jake Boettcher, Rowan Rudderham and Logan Rieger on the back end, forward Chase Lehner, and goaltender Oliver Volek, and there is a ton of young talent on the team that makes for an exciting season ahead.

“The first two-three games are going to get your feet wet and see how it is, and I expect by the end of the year we’ll be firing on all cylinders.”

The Predators faceoff with the Saskatoon SWAT for the first game of the season on Friday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena. You can find the full schedule here.

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Nick.Nielsen@pattisonmedia.com