Saskatchewan Roughriders' running back A.J. Ouellette made a little trade with Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko when the two met during the bye week.
"We might set up in the offseason, if I get approval by coaches, set up a skating thing where he teaches me how to skate because I've never been on ice. He said: 'As long as you teach me how to throw a football," Ouellette said. "I'm going to have one of these quarterbacks teach me how to throw a football first."
According to Ouellette, Stojko believes skating would not be too much of a challenge for him.
"He said I would pick up on it pretty quickly. He said at first I might be a little too flexible and try to manage it all," Ouellette detailed. "He goes: 'Once the core realizes, you let the ice move under you and you do not move so much." He said I'd pick up on it."
Ouellette shared how meeting Stojko was possible.
"Segway Motorsports partnered with Demon Powersports and the guy that does the Demon Powersports used to work for MLSE who own the Argos. He knew me that way and he asked if I wanted to be a guest appearance for one of their events," Ouellette explained. "Stojko was also one of the guest appearance people and I didn't really recognize him until someone said the name -- recognizable name, though. I got to talking, great guy, when it comes to the one percent of professional athletes he definitely has the mindset of that one percent."
Since Ouellette shared time with Canadian figure skating royalty, he was asked how much knowledge he had about Stojko.
"The only reason I knew of him was Olympic stuff," Ouellette said. "Of course the girlfriend was with me, she's Canadian and knew him right away. I got the whole backstory before I actually met him."
Stojko's figure skating resume is extensive. He won two Olympic silver medals in 1994 and 1998. Besides Stojko's Olympic medals, he has won 23 other championships in his career across different tournaments: 12 gold medals, 9 silver medals and two bronze medals.
During the 1998 Olympics, Stojko managed to win silver while competing with a bad groin injury, which Ouellette admired for his grit.
"You get through stuff with adrenaline, but then there's also the passion you have for the sport that you play and you want to participate every chance you get," Ouellette said. "That was an opportunity once in a lifetime, pretty much for most people. You're not gonna let a little injury stop you from at least trying your best."
During the 2025 CFL season, the 30-year-old Ouellette has started eight times for Saskatchewan, rushing for 564 yards on 107 carries with three touchdowns.
"I'm sticking to a routine, I've had the same routine since about Week 1. I get in there, I get my lower body lift early, my upper body lift and then today is a mobility day," Ouellette said. I'm trying to get the hips moving and taking care of myself after practice. Then, working with Marc [Mueller] in my second year, I'm not afraid to voice my opinion. In the meeting room: 'Hey, what do you think about this or that.' I'm learning a lot more about the offence with him explaining why we do things a certain way."
The Riders face Hamilton on Saturday at home. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 10 a.m. Afterwards, Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 1 p.m. You can listen to or watch extensive coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
