First take for Shake-and-Bake! Popular pass-catcher pumped about Monday’s matchup with Winnipeg
SASKATOON — Kian Schaffer-Baker is a fourth-year CFLer with only two pre-season games beside his good name.
Three years ago, he was named the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ top rookie despite not having the benefit of pre-season acclimatization. The tune-up games were dispensed with at the outset of a COVID-shortened 2021 season.
In 2022, Schaffer-Baker played in both pre-season games before leading the Roughriders in catches (68) and receiving yards (960).
Then came a 2023 campaign that, for the popular pass-catcher, did not begin until the 10th game as a result of off-season surgery to repair a torn labrum.
With all that in the rear-view mirror, Schaffer-Baker is especially excited about Monday’s long-weekend date with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“I haven’t had too many pre-season games,” he noted after Thursday’s workout at Griffiths Stadium. “It’s good to get the feet back under you and get a couple of looks and go beat up on some people. That’s the best part.”
Along, of course, with interacting with the fans.
“There’s nothing I miss more than hearing that roaring crowd,’’ Schaffer-Baker said with a smile on Day 5 of Coors Light Roughriders Training Camp.
“I’m just excited to see this new group of guys come out there and see all that new energy we’re going to bring out there and just go out there and have fun.”
What is the origin of that energy?
“It starts with one person,” Schaffer-Baker replied, lauding first-year Head Coach Corey Mace. “It’s starting from the top down and it has become contagious throughout the entire locker room.
“It starts with his confidence and the way he walks in every single day with his head held high. He just leads us with everything he does, whether it’s walking over to the lunchroom or making sure we’re on time for meetings. There’s no room for any BS. It’s all work.
“Everyone’s hungry and everyone’s got something to prove. From the quarterbacks to the D-linemen to the receivers, we all have a fresh start and we all have something to prove.”
That is the mindset as the Roughriders prepare to face a Blue Bombers team that has represented the West Division in the past four Grey Cups.
“There’s a lot of value that can be taken from (Monday’s game),” Schaffer-Baker said. “We’re going to see them three times during the season and definitely more in the playoffs, too.
“We’re definitely going to get familiar with them and this is the best opportunity we get right here, to put everything together on Monday.”
REMEMBERING “DUTCHY”
Beloved sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen, who grew up in Saskatchewan, passed away on Wednesday.
Dutchyshen, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, was 57.
Born in Regina, Dutchyshen later resided in Hudson Bay before his family moved to Porcupine Plain when he was in Grade 6.
After graduating from Western Canada Broadcasting College in Saskatoon, he remained in the city as a sportscaster with Global (then STV).
He subsequently worked in Dauphin, Man., and Edmonton before joining TSN in 1995 and becoming a mainstay a network that has been the CFL’s exclusive rights-holder since 2008.
In 2015, Dutchyshen returned to his home province to emcee the Roughriders’ SaskTel Plaza of Honour dinner.
More recently, he also hosted TSN’s telecast of the 2022 Grey Cup Game, which was played at Mosaic Stadium.
The Roughriders, in a statement that was issued Thursday, honoured Dutchyshen as “someone who was always so proud of his Saskatchewan roots,” adding that “we were so proud that he was from Saskatchewan and a member of Rider Nation.”
After the untimely death of Biggar-born curling legend Sandra Schmirler in 2000, Dutchsyhen referred to Saskatchewan as “a province where home and heartfelt go hand-in-hand.”
A career milestone for Dutchyshen was hosting SportsCentre, alongside Kate Beirness, in August of 2012 when the Kraft Celebration Tour visited Porcupine Plain.
“You can be a sportscaster from a town of 900 people,” Dutchyshen told the Regina Leader-Post during the Tour. “You can be a doctor or a lawyer. You can be a business leader. You can be the prime minister of the country. I’m a firm believer that you can do pretty much anything you want if you’re motivated.
“That’s the one thing I love about Porcupine Plain. Everybody works there. It’s a hard-working town. I do have a western work ethic. A lot of Canadians work hard, but I’m kind of proud of the fact that we’re from Saskatchewan.
“We do the jobs when we first start out that nobody else wants to do. We do it better than anybody else and we move up. The next thing you know, we’re running the company or starting our own.”
That down-to-earth, roll-up-the-sleeves philosophy helped to endear the personable Dutchyshen to a legion of viewers, fans and friends.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones, to our friends at TSN, and to everyone who shared in his humour and infectious joy while watching him on SportsCentre,” the Roughriders’ statement concluded. “He will be deeply missed.”
THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
After stopping Wednesday’s practice to loudly lament a lack of discipline, Mace didn’t have to initiate any unplanned intermissions on the morning that followed.
“The guys came out and responded from yesterday and we had a smart practice,” he said on Thursday. “We had the refs out today. There weren’t a lot of flags being thrown, which was really good to see.
“Then we ended with a compete period. The level of compete was high. The intensity was dialed back — we weren’t in pads today — but it was fun to see those guys go back and forth.
“I was really pleased with today’s practice.”
The same can be said for training camp as a whole.
“Are we just coming out here to punch a clock or are we coming out here to earn it and build it with every single rep?” Mace said. “We’re getting (the latter) right now, from all three phases.
“If those guys put in the work there, we’ll take care of them and make sure they continue to stay healthy so it allows them to compete the next day. We’re really pleased with how these guys have been approaching it from a professional standpoint.”
Some specific high points from Thursday’s session:
- The offence completed a deep touchdown pass on three consecutive plays. After Antonio Pipkin went over the top to KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers for scores, Shea Patterson found Jerreth Sterns behind coverage for six points.
- Earlier, Sterns had made a catch near the sideline, despite tight coverage, and also toe-tapped to keep his feet in bounds.
- Linebacker A.J. Allen returned an interception for a touchdown.
THE DAYS AHEAD
The Roughriders return to the practice field on Friday, 8:30 a.m., for this week’s final full workout at Griffiths Stadium.
Everything shifts to SMF Field the following afternoon for Green and White Day. The gates are to open at noon. The State of the Nation discussion/Q&A is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., with the team’s on-field activities to follow at 3 o’clock. Fans are invited to line the fence for an autograph session that is scheduled to commence at 5 p.m.
Following a walk-through on Sunday morning, the team will travel to Regina and then dive into final preparations for Monday’s matchup with Winnipeg.
“I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone out there,” Schaffer-Baker concluded. “I know the fans are going to be ready to go. Now we’ve just got to go and put on a show for them.”
