Hooker-Rigden climbing the lacrosse ranks

Since he was four years old, Winston Hooker-Ridgen has had a lacrosse stick in his hands.

Going from club teams to representing Team Manitoba and joining national development programs, Hooker-Ridgen has steadily climbed the lacrosse ranks. But this week, his focus is on the Prairie Cup, where he hopes to find gold and redeem last year’s finish.

The Prairie Cup, now in its second year, is an annual lacrosse tournament for U13-U17 boys and girls from Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and is being held Friday through Sunday at the Keystone Centre in Brandon.

In his first year playing the Prairie Cup, Hooker-Ridgen was on the Team Manitoba U15 boys squad, where they came second, losing to Alberta in the finals.

This year, Hooker-Ridgen is on the U17 team, where they’ve been practicing together for nine months, prepping for the Canada Summer Games, and hoping to get a Prairie Cup championship on home soil.

“We’ve had a long opportunity to sort of gel together,” said Hooker-Ridgen. “I think that’s one of our main strengths, is we’ve been building chemistry for those nine months, and we have an opportunity to do something pretty special.”

Fresh off a silver medal at the 2025 Lobster Trap tournament in Halifax at the end of June, Hooker-Ridgen says both he and his teammates have improved a lot since last year’s Prairie Cup.

“Probably playing new guys again,” said Hooker-Ridgen on what he’s looking forward to for the tournament. “Playing Saskatchewan, Alberta is going to be tough, but I think our team has what it takes to definitely have a good game with them and hopefully come out on top.”

Playing for the Team Manitoba squad is a different experience from how Hooker-Ridgen began his lacrosse journey. In the early stages, there was a lot more regular season play, but at the higher levels, everything builds toward the big tournaments like nationals.

“The first eight or nine years, it was kind of just all club with my buddies and just going out to have fun,” said Hooker-Ridgen. “And then three years ago, it became Team Manitoba and that was when it started to get a bit more serious.”

The U17 player has done it all with Team Manitoba, competing in both field and box lacrosse, from being focused on scoring goals to keeping them out.

In box, Hooker-Ridgen plays as a runner on offence, and in field, he was an attacker until last fall, but when his team needed a goalie, he made the switch.

“It wasn’t really a crazy big change,” said Hooker-Ridgen. “Because I’d only been playing field for about a year. But yeah, that’s definitely something I enjoy, and I’m pretty glad I made the switch.”

Just three months after making the move, he was selected for the Team Canada West U17 Development Team.

“It’s even a step up from Team Manitoba,” said Hooker-Ridgen. “You know, you’re playing with guys from B.C., Saskatchewan, Alberta. So it’s just a step up in the calibre of lacrosse, so grateful I get to do it.”

In August, Hooker-Ridgen and the Team Manitoba U17 boys will head out to St. John’s, where they will compete in the Canada Summer Games.

And looking forward, Hooker-Ridgen hopes to keep working on his lacrosse game and eventually earn a spot down south to continue playing college lacrosse in the United States.

“I love the lacrosse community, it’s super tight-knit,” said Hooker-Ridgen, who says he’s seen lacrosse in Manitoba continue to grow. “Everyone knows everyone, and it’s just a good community.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca