SAIT Trojans have no fortress to defend

By: Kaiden Brayshaw

Game day on college campuses are often accompanied by shouts and cheers. But on the SAIT campus, the only “buzz” on gameday is the cranes, bulldozers and drills in the Taylor Family Centre redevelopment site.

SAIT will be without a hockey arena until the redevelopment is complete in late 2027. SAIT’s hockey team, the Trojans, haven’t played on campus since 2023.

In the interim, the SAIT Trojans men's and women’s hockey teams practise and play home games at WinSport, a multi-purpose sports facility in Southwest Calgary.

Tyler Drader has coached the SAIT Trojans men's hockey team since 2019. Drader believes his team has done well through what he calls a “not ideal” situation.

“Obstacles are always going to be varied (you) have to find different solutions. I think once we knew we weren't going to be there it was just about trying to make the best of the new situation,” he said.

The Trojans men's and women’s teams are two of many users vying for ice-time at WinSport.

"WinSport has been a little more challenging, and the fact that we have to go before school or at night... At SAIT, we could essentially pick whatever ice time we wanted (and) game times were always whatever we wanted them to be," Drader said.

The team stores their gear at the WinSport facility.  "We're still able to keep our equipment at the rink... So, it's not like guys are having to lug their gear all the way home,” said Zach Cain, Trojans team captain.

Because of the shared ice and players school schedule, the team practices early in the
morning on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

"You kind of get used to (6:15 AM practices). We only do it twice a week, so it's
manageable...It gets guys up early, as opposed to sleeping in, and kind of just building
good habits early on,” said Cain.

After morning practice, most players head straight to campus for class.

“To go along with the 6:15 (AM) practices, guys usually have to leave right away. The
dressing room is kind of where you build a lot of the camaraderie that you want with a
team. So that's kind of another challenge,” said Cain.

Every top 10 team in the Men’s Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) hockey
standings have an on-campus arena, outside of SAIT. Drader believes the Trojans arena
situation does not hinder recruiting, but admits some players weren’t thrilled with the early starts.

“SAIT is still a sought-after school. Calgary is a great place to live...I think we recruit pretty
well in comparison to places...I think at first, especially for people when they found out
that we were going to practice early in the morning, there's a lot of guys that just don't want to get up at 5am to practice,” he said.

Arena situation aside, SAIT’s men’s hockey team is in first place in the ACAC. Drader
credits their success to his team “focusing on what they control.”

“We have access to a gym, we've got ice, we'll have practice...even though we might not
have a dressing room and our home rink conveniently a few steps away from class,” he
said.

As for the Trojans eventual home, Coach Drader’s influence might be felt.

“(They) did invite me to kind of look at some plans, and I had made a couple suggestions,
some of which they did...But ultimately, engineers and all of that at once, making those
decisions, right?”