Sanheim commits to Saskatchewan

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This article was published 23/08/2017 (2938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Taylor Sanheim endured a lot during his overage season in junior hockey.

The 21-year-old Elkhorn product was waived by the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen on Nov. 30, 2016, after spending a little over three seasons with the organization. His junior A rights were then traded from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Portage Terriers to the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia league.

He joined the Vees in January but broke his jaw in February and didn’t return to the lineup until Game 7 of their first-round playoff series against the Merritt Centennials. He scored one goal in that game and helped Penticton to a BCHL title and an appearance at the RBC Cup, where they reached the semifinals.

Sanheim is taking on a new challenge next month as he has committed to join the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team. He believes enduring last season has him ready for anything.

“It was a lot of adversity in one year, but that’s what made me a better player even now is you go through adversity and pick yourself back up and be a better player than you once were,” he said. “That’s what I thought I did.

“I came back in the playoffs in Game 7 against Merritt and we were at home. That was my first game back since my broken jaw and I scored a goal in that game so I thought a little adversity isn’t too bad. You just have to push through it.”

With his junior career behind him, Sanheim started trying to figure out his future. He decided to pursue an agribusiness degree and wanted to continue playing hockey. It limited his options mainly to the University of Saskatchewan and University of Manitoba. The Huskies showed more interest in him so he committed to play for them.

After spending the past four years in Alberta and B.C., the five-foot-11, 192-pound winger is looking forward to being a little closer to home.

“They’re only five hours away and my parents can come up any weekend basically,” he said. “They know the schedule and it will be two games in Saskatoon or somewhere else, usually, so it’s easy for them to come for a weekend here or there.

“Now it’s living on your own instead of billets so they can come and stay in an apartment with me as well. It just makes it easier for them. It’s easy to go home if you have a weekend off.”

Sanheim, who tallied 12 goals and 51 points in 132 regular-season WHL games before scoring five goals and setting up three more in 13 BCHL games last season and adding six goals and an assist in the playoffs, goes from a championship team in Penticton to a pretty good one in Saskatoon. The Huskies topped the Canada West conference with a 21-5-2 record last season before losing the best-of-three final in three games.

Saskatchewan still advanced to nationals and reached that final before falling 5-3 to the host University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

Sanheim is familiar with a few Huskie players, including Colby Harmsworth, who played with Sanheim in Calgary, Neudale’s John Lawrence and Morden’s Michael Sofillas, who spent time with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and MJHL’s Dauphin Kings and Winkler Flyers.

Although things appear to be lining up well for Sanheim, he does have one regret. Since he knew he would play in the WHL, the former Yellowhead Midget AAA Chief didn’t take all the courses he needed to get into agribusiness, so he has to upgrade some of them this year.

“Now I know I should have taken them and my advice to any young guy growing up is I’d tell them to take courses (you will need in the future),” he said.

Sanheim is currently in Penticton for a week and a half before heading to Saskatoon in September to start the next phase of his career and life.

He’s looking forward to his first U Sports season and filling whatever role he can for the Huskies.

“I just try to bring my game,” he said. “I don’t want to try to be someone I’m not. A lot of guys know the game I play and that’s all I want to do. I don’t want to sway away from my game. I just want to do my part and help them, even if it’s fourth-line guy or whatever, I’m just going to try to be the best player I can be.”

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