SASKATOON — Upon being introduced to the remarkable Klara Belkin, Jermarcus Hardrick extended his right hand and gently inquired: “How are you doing, young lady?”
Belkin, 95, beamed while marvelling at the towering presence of the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive tackle following Thursday’s Coors Light Training Camp workout at Griffiths Stadium.
The height difference was soon minimized when Hardrick, in his kind way, knelt down and chatted with Belkin — a Holocaust survivor who resides in Saskatoon.
Seconds later, offensive lineman Logan Ferland entered the conversation and he, too, was honoured to meet Thursday’s special guest.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Ferland said.
During the practice, Belkin had sat in the stadium’s first row, alongside her daughter (Lisa) and a close friend, Brittany Caffet. The Roughriders had been advised in advance that Belkin would be in attendance.
Several players walked over to say hello when practice ended. When the crowd dispersed and media interviews were over, she made her way to the field and was soon introduced to Ferland and Hardrick.
It was subsequently suggested that the two linemen give Belkin a lift for the purpose of taking a fun photo.
“Don’t put me down!” she said with a laugh. “Just keep me up here.”
Once Belkin returned to ground level, Jeremy O’Day walked over to extend his greetings.
“You have a wonderful, wonderful team,” Belkin told the Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager.
The conversation soon turned to ensuring that Belkin attends a Roughriders home game this season.
“Now that I know everything,” she was quick to add.
The Hungarian-born Belkin spent the latter part of the Second World War in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, in northern Germany.
She returned to her homeland after the War, but escaped to Vienna during the Hungarian revolution in 1956.
The ultimate goal was to settle in Canada. She lived in Winnipeg for 60 years before moving to Saskatchewan following the passing of her husband. Lisa and her family live in Saskatoon.
A renowned musician, Belkin has been invited to play the cello at the Legislative Building to commemorate Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
In a different context, her visit with the Roughriders will always be something to remember.
“I’m going to tell my friends,” Belkin said with a smile. “They’re all between 80 and 100 … and they’re going to be jealous!”
A.J. OFF AND AWAY FOR A BIG RUN
A.J. Ouellette’s acceleration was on display to begin a 12-on-12, run-oriented session.
He accepted a handoff from Trevor Harris and — vroom! — exploded through the hole before anyone could blink.
“He spent a lot of time in the off-season getting in good shape and certainly, with how he has been running the ball and how the offensive line has been working with him, it has been a pleasant thing to watch,” Head Coach Corey Mace said.
“I’m very pleased with how A.J. and how he has conducted himself and we’ll see what that looks like come game days.”
Despite being hampered by a hip injury as a first-year Roughrider in 2024, Ouellette rushed for a team-high 558 yards in eight regular-season games. His yardage total, extrapolated over a full 18 games, works out to 1,256.
Ouellette rushed for 1,009 yards in 15 games with the Toronto Argonauts in 2023 before signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent.
Always one for an intense workout, the 5-foot-8 power back took it upon himself to pare down his frame from 225 pounds to 200 during the off-season. He plans to settle at a preferred playing weight of 205 to 210 pounds.
The Roughriders’ pre-season opener is set for Saturday afternoon against the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2 p.m., CKRM, CFL+).
Winnipeg will also provide the opposition for the pre-season finale (May 30th, 7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
The 2025 CFL regular season is to open June 5th when the Roughriders oppose the Ottawa REDBLACKS (7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTS
• Ouellette’s performance in general — as a ball-carrier, receiver and blocker.
• Quarterbacks Jack Coan and Jake Maier were both 5-for-5 in 12-on-12 drills. In a red-zone drill, Coan found a diving Daniel Wiebe in the back of the end zone for six points. “In practice, you want to be able to take pride in completing the ball,” Maier told reporters on Thursday, “and right now I think the entire (quarterbacks’) room is doing a great job of that.”
• Harris hit Tommy Nield down the seam for a touchdown. Nield, who has had an impressive camp, spent the past four seasons with Toronto.
• Nield, with five catches, was Thursday’s busiest receiver. Fellow Canadian pass-catcher Kian Schaffer-Baker was next in line with four grabs.
• Defensive back Gideon Agyei, the Roughriders’ sixth-round selection (52nd overall) in the 2025 CFL Draft, had a pass knockdown. Agyei is a product of the University of Calgary Dinos.
“A LITTLE BIT OF BUSINESS”
Although Mace wants camp to be competitive, parts of Thursday’s practice were too intense for his liking — with tempers boiling over after the play on more than one occasion.
It reached a point where the Roughriders’ Head Coach abruptly stopped the proceedings and ordered the players to do some extra running, stretching from sideline to sideline, before the drills resumed.
“There was some undisciplined football,” he said. “We’re trying to get better and what we found is that there’s still room for improvement, certainly, on the penalty side — the ones that you can avoid, anyway.
“We didn’t execute that today, so we just handled a little bit of business.”
