ROBSERVATIONS: The spectacularly selfless Mitch Picton … Riders recruited HARRY POTTER!!! … and quarterbacking trivia!
As a grizzled gargoyle of a sports writer who refuses to retire — flagrantly disregarding the petitions — I have attended countless media conferences at which someone has concluded an accomplished athletic career.
Not one of those announcements has been quite like Friday’s gathering at which Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Mitch Picton retired as a CFLer.
He is the first athlete I can recall who not only thanked the assembled reporters, but also began the session by doing so.
“Thanks for being here today,” he said in the media room at Mosaic Stadium. “Thank you for being here over the last eight years.
“You have treated me with a great deal of respect and professionalism in my time here, and that’s something that I am very thankful for. I hope I’ve given you the same in return through our interactions.
“I know pro athletes can be a little bit difficult to deal with at times, but I saw it as a very respectful relationship going both ways. So thank you very much.
“That’s part of what makes it special playing in Saskatchewan. You go to other places across the league and there’s not going to be media members that are at practice every day, in the locker room, that kind of thing. So it makes the guys feel special. It’s part of what makes guys really recognizable playing in Saskatchewan.”
I cite that quote for reasons that aren’t entirely self-serving, I assure you.
The quote speaks to the consummate class with which the Regina-born Picton conducted himself even before becoming a full-time Roughrider in 2018.
I first interviewed Picton when he was lacerating defences in the high school ranks as a member of the LeBoldus Golden Suns. His cousin, Noah, was the quarterback. It truly was something to see.
Picton to Picton was also a potent duo with the University of Regina Rams. When Noah won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the premier player in Canadian university football, his favourite target during that 2016 season was No. 6 — which rhymes with Mitch.
Saskatchewan’s fifth-round selection in the 2017 CFL Canadian Draft, Mitch outlasted most of the 36 players who were chosen before him.
Although he made it look easy while collaborating with Noah on one big play after another, Mitch had to scratch and claw his way into the Roughriders’ lineup.
A practice-roster player in 2018, he did not dress for a CFL game until the following year.
He had to wait two more years — and through a global pandemic — for his first reception, his first start, his first touchdown.
Picton ended up with 96 catches for 1,081 yards and six touchdowns over 64 games as a Roughrider. The total increases to 69 when you factor in playoff games and, best of all, the 2025 Grey Cup.
“I think it’s a testament to the work that I put in,” he said. “Something I’m very proud of is that I wasn’t a high draft pick. I had to come in and earn everything that I had and that I achieved.
“It was a lot of long hours, long days, early mornings. There’s no shortcuts in this game. The game knows when you put in the work and when you don’t. You’re rewarded for the work that you do put in.”
The work did not begin and end at Mosaic Stadium. He devoted countless hours to community appearances in all corners of the province, treating everyone he met like they were the celebrity in the interaction.
And when it was time to retire, he made it about everyone else.
Media members aside, here is a complete list of everyone Picton mentioned during Friday’s media conference:
• His wife (Kaylee, a “real-life super-hero”), parents (Derek and Cheryl), siblings (Aaron and his wife, Megan; Sydnee and her husband, Steve), nieces (Piper and Molly) and nephew (Jack) — all of whom were present on Friday — along with “grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins … we really are a football family.”
• Noah Picton, of course.
• Dwayne Masson, a beloved Rams assistant coach who passed away on April 16.
• A variety of coaches, including Corey Mace, Frank McCrystal, Marquay McDaniel, Travis Moore, Marc Mueller, Bernie Schmidt and Rick Seaman.
• The Roughriders’ current Football Operations staff — most notably O’Day, Kyle Carson, Larry Dean and Jordan Greenly.
• Teammates such as (where do you start?) Mario Alford, Rob Bagg, Devon Bailey, Jake Dolegala, Samuel Emilus, Logan Ferland, Trevor Harris, Jorgen Hus, Adam Korsak, Brett Lauther, Brayden Lenius, Kian Schaffer-Baker …
• Dan Farthing, Greg Mayer, Brooke Kosolofski, Dalton Clarke and everyone who provides their expertise and care in the areas of strength, conditioning and athletic therapy.
• Cindy Fuchs, Marnie Forsberg and everyone with the Roughrider Foundation.
• Dr. Jordan Buchko, Dr. Martin Heroux and “our whole medical staff, which is incredible.”
• Arielle Zerr, Director of Communications, who may have set a Roughriders record for tissues dispensed (eight) during a media conference.
• Gordon Gilroy (Equipment Manager) and his assistant, Ty Robinson.
“Gordie, I see you,” Picton said at the media conference. “Now I’m going to cry.
“I spent a lot of time in (the equipment) room (with Gilroy and Robinson). They took incredibly good care of me. I’m going to miss these guys a lot.
“It might have seemed like I was just going back there to hang out and shoot the breeze with those two. But there are some hard days in this job, and sometimes just going into their room and having a cup of coffee and getting made fun of by Ty for a few minutes was exactly what I needed on certain days, after a bad practice, a bad game, a bad loss … whatever it may be.
“We’ve been here for nine years. It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, but thank you, Gordie and Ty. I’m looking forward to more coffee and lunches in the future that maybe will turn into Happy Hour beers.”
It was a happy time on Friday, even though tears were shed.
One of the many laughs resulted from the reminder that his name will always appear on the Grey Cup.
“My sister-in-law’s name is Megan and my grandma’s name is Mildred, so they’re also ‘M. Picton,’ ” he said. “It could be me, or it could be them.”
True to form, Mitch Picton ensured that the discussion was about everyone except the person whose career was being celebrated for reasons that include, but are not restricted to, what he accomplished on the field.
“Stats are stats, and they’re great,” he said. “Was I a guy who had incredible stats throughout my entire career? No. Was I a guy who took great pride in being trusted by my teammates, earning the respect of my teammates? Yes.
“Whether I was on the roster that week or off the roster, I was trying to be the same guy every day. Especially in my later years, I kind of blinked and I was like, ‘Holy smokes! I’m the old guy in the receivers’ room now.’
“Trying to show guys what it looks like to be a true pro is something that I took a lot of pride in.”
He showed it once again on Friday, when one of the stats was, in fact, “incredible.”
Mitch Picton acknowledged 47 people by name. The number increases exponentially, and incalculably, when you consider all the groups of people he mentioned — aunts, uncles, teammates, coaches, Foundation staff, physicians, athletic therapists and, yes, even the media.
The pleasure was all ours.
NOVEL IDEA
The Roughriders recruited Harry Potter.
This is not fiction!
Dale Richter, a brilliant historian, passed along some tidbits he extracted from 110 1/2-year-old editions of the Regina Leader-Post.
I wrote those stories, so I should have remembered them, but Dale was thoughtful enough to bail me out.
Sept. 20, 1915: “Potter, a former Nebraska college star who is now located on a farm of his own within a few miles of Regina, may possibly line up with the local Rough Riders. He is a big husky youth, and according to records can play the gridiron game to perfection.”
Oct. 5, 1915: “Potter, the former Nebraska university star, may get in harness. He has a farm about six miles from Regina and has practically assured Coach (Hick) Abbott that he will get out of needed.”
Oct. 25, 1915: “Potter … has gone home to Lincoln, Neb., to spend the winter. He has been in Regina for some time looking after two farms that he owns in the vicinity.”
Alas, the Regina Rugby Club — periodically referred to as the Rough Riders in those days — did not reach into its farm system and activate Potter.
He was, however, active in local bowling circles before returning to Nebraska.
QUARTERBACK TRIVIA
• Mitch Picton was in the lineup with 20 quarterbacks during his time with the Roughriders. The list, which includes pre-season games, consists of: Harris, Dolegala, Jack Coan, Cody Fajardo, Mason Fine, Isaac Harker, Jake Maier, Shea Patterson, Antonio Pipkin, Tommy Stevens, Bryan Bennett, Brandon Bridge, Zach Collaros, B.J. Daniels, Ty Gangi, Kevin Glenn, Noah Pelletier, Marquise Williams, David Watford, Troy Williams.
• Bridge, Bennett and Williams directed passes toward Picton in the Roughriders’ first game at Mosaic Stadium — a pre-season matchup with Winnipeg on June 10, 2017. Picton spent the 2017 season with the Rams and on the Roughriders’ practice roster.
• Saskatchewan’s all-time list of quarterbacks includes Jack Coan (2024-present) and John Coen (training camp 1974). The latter pivot had a Hall of Fame nickname: Cyclone Coen!
• Coan wears No. 14, which was also Coen’s number during his stint in Saskatchewan.
• Coen attended President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, as did another future Roughriders quarterbacking hopeful.
Hawaii-born Pat Silva, who was with the team in a 14-day trial in July of 1980, was known as the Silva Bullet.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Mitch Picton (and everyone he mentioned), Kenzi Hus, Makaia Hus, Livvy Hus, Jennifer Ackerman, Clinton Ackerman, Pam Busby, Bernie Schmidt, Dallas Skulski, Jack Coan, Dale Richter, Peter Godber and Campbell Godber.
