The Success Starts Here series features profiles on SJHL Alumni who are currently, or have played hockey at a post-secondary institution. Check out the full interviews every Thursday on the SJHL Insider Podcast and check back at SJHL.ca for profile pieces Wednesdays.
There isn’t a much more beautiful view in Saskatchewan than a sunset over Lac La Ronge, though a local might say that an Ice Wolves win takes the cake.
Whichever is the case, Parker Layton is a fan.
The now 22-year-old grew up watching Bob Beatty’s Ice Wolves of the late 2000s and early 2010s play a physically dominant style at the cramped, classic confines of the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
Led by Beatty and the likes of Travis Eggum, Marc-Andre Carre, and Adam Bartko, those won two straight SJHL titles in 2010 and 2011.
They also planted dreams in young Parker’s heart.
“They were my NHL,” Layton says. “They were my heroes.
“I think about it every day—about being an Ice Wolf. I remember shinny with my buddies in La Ronge, standing on the blue line pretending we were one of the La Ronge Ice Wolves. All the billets I had throughout my childhood—it was always a dream of mine to play for the Ice Wolves.
“To be able to put that logo on for the time that I did is nothing I take for granted,” he adds.
“It was a true honour.”
Layton, a 6-foot-2, 194-pound defenceman, suited up for the Wolves 149 times in the regular season and played in seven post-season contests. He posted 90 points and added 206 penalty minutes over that span, as his game perfectly matched the toughness and beauty of Saskatchewan’s north.
Straight after an outstanding 49-point, 100 PIM season as the team’s captain in 2023-24, he signed a professional deal with the Columbus River Dragons of the Federal Prospects Hockey League in Georgia.
It was an eye-opening experience for a kid fresh out of junior.
“It definitely humbled me, going from having food on the table and everything ready for me at home, to playing against guys who are doing it for their kids,” he says.
“I can’t complain—it was a great opportunity and a great experience. There were definitely some nerves going into making that decision, but I talked to a lot of good people who pointed me in the right direction, and I don’t regret it at all. The fans and the atmosphere were crazy. You’d walk out after games, and there’d be lines of kids and adults waiting for autographs, and they really make you feel like a true pro. I learned a lot about how to be a pro, how to prepare yourself for the game, and what hockey could look like after university as well.”
He joined the University of Alberta at Augustana in the ACAC in the summer of 2024 and has since arguably been the club’s best defenceman, adding 24 points and playing shutdown defence in 47 contests over the season and a half.
As a Viking, he played in every game of the 2026 Viking Cup, scoring goals against the ACHA team Midland University and the SAIT Trojans, their fierce ACAC rivals.
He also logged big minutes and put two shots on goal against the eventual Gold-Medal champions from Team SJHL, a club that included his former teammate and good friend Ethan Andrews.
“That was a lot of fun,” Layton says.
“I’ve been here two years, and guys who’ve been here longer—fourth- and fifth-years—have been talking about it for a long time. It was such a special opportunity for us to showcase this league, our town (Augustana is located in Camrose, AB), and our team on another level, and the fan turnout was unbelievable.”
Augustana fell to Team Czechia in the bronze medal game, though they scored a big win in the group stage against SAIT, which has propelled them into a solid second half of the ACAC campaign.
But if the Vikings were not to win, there was only one other team Parker wanted to see with the gold around their necks.
“It was great to play a good team like the SJHL,” he says, “and if we weren’t winning, I was hoping they were winning.”
“It was pretty cool how that turned out.”
Kevin Kaminski, the veteran of 139 NHL games, and Layton’s coach in La Ronge, only had a taste of playing for his hometown senior team in Churchbridge, SK.
But even from that small experience as a youngster, he appreciates what it meant to Layton to wear the teal.
“(It was great for Parker) to play in (his) hometown,” Kaminski says.
“I know growing up in a small town myself, as a 14-year-old playing a couple of games with the senior team. I know it is only seniors, but it was a thrill. It was kind of what you wanted to do, and to play in front of your hometown and your family, your buddies and friends and the community, I don’t think there is anything better.”
For Parker, who is having success in the classroom and on the rink in beautiful Camrose, AB, success started in the SJHL, and he got to do it while playing for his beloved Ice Wolves.
Find Layton’s full interview here:
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