Shaping Saskatchewan: Trevor Lakness

For more than two decades, Trevor Lakness has played a role in developing hockey talent across Saskatchewan, working with players from their early years on the ice to the professional ranks.

The longtime skills and shooting coach is the co-founder of TS Hockey Training and has worked with some of the province’s biggest hockey names, including Connor Bedard, Jordan Eberle, and rising stars Maddox Schultz and Landon Dupont.

Lakness credits his reputation to years of experience and the success of the players who have trained with him.

“I’m very fortunate for that, and you know I work hard to keep those names coming,” Lakness said.

While seeing players reach the NHL is rewarding, Lakness says what separates elite athletes from the rest is often their dedication away from the rink.

“They look at hockey as their job,” he said. “These guys are putting in way more hours”.

Lakness has also witnessed the growth of women’s hockey in Saskatchewan over his 20+ years in training, recalling a time when smaller communities struggled to put girls’ teams together.

” I remember our early 90s; small towns were trying to put girls’ teams together, and they could barely do it,” Lakness said, adding that seeing the sport expand and create more opportunities for female players has been encouraging. With that trend, Lakness has had some of the local PWHL talent training with him in the off-season.

For Lakness, however, the greatest reward isn’t necessarily seeing a player get drafted or sign a professional contract. It’s the relationships that remain long after the success.

“You made a difference in someone’s life,” he said, adding that seeing former players return years later with children of their own means a great deal to him.

Watch the full interview above to hear more from Lakness about developing Saskatchewan’s hockey talent and what it takes to reach the next level.