The Okotoks Dawgs' influence on Canadian baseball continues to be felt at the highest levels. In the Canadian Baseball Network's 2025 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball list, the Dawgs organization appears four times, representing six individuals of the Dawgs family-are John Ircandia, Matt Stairs, Vince Ircandia, and the leadership trio of Savannah Blakley, Angela Burger, and Lou Pote, underscoring the organization's lasting impact on the game in Canada.
12. John Ircandia, Owner and Founding Director
Ircandia was at the deep end of a swimming pool playing catch with his young grandchild who was standing in the shallow end. The Big Dawg left the pool for a moment and his replacement asked, “I can’t reach the bottom, were you treading water?” John answered jokingly, “No, I’m nine feet tall.” Some days the man seems that tall.
Last July, when I was there we were standing by the Duvernay Fieldhouse and I asked, “What off-season improvements are you making?” It was said in wise-acre manner because Ircandia always has something on the go. He told someone nearby to “pace off 150 feet.” Workmen are in the process of building a 150-by-50 feet extension. Pitching coaches refer to it as a pitching lab. Hitting coaches call it a hitting lab. Also the one-year-old weight training room will be expanded by 300%, on par with many D-1 programs. Additionally, 200 more grandstand seats with another field level suite will be added to Seaman Stadium.
Ircandia is waiting for spring to decide whether to add a Bleacher Creature section adjacent to Kore 4 Corner in left. The Okotoks Dawgs drew 110,029 for its 27 Seaman Stadium home dates in 2025, for an average of 4,075 fans, including 6,498 on Canada Day. And all roads will lead to Okotoks this summer as the best 19U teams from across the country compete on the Road to Okotoks for the Justin Morneau Cup. Sandlot coaches ask why Okotoks? Can you name me one better amateur stadium in Canada?
56. Matt Stairs, Dawgs Academy Hitting Coordinator
In 2025, Stairs enjoyed his first full year as a hitting coordinator in the Okotoks Dawgs’ organization. He worked with over 120 youth players, ages 10 to 18, in the Dawgs’ program. Stairs also ran a hitting clinic for kids at the Dawgs’ Duvernay Fieldhouse in February and a two-day hitting, pitching and defence camp at the end of November. In between, he continued in his unofficial role as WCBL All-Star Game ambassador at Seaman Stadium.
When he’s not in Okotoks sharing his wisdom, Stairs is back East doing the same. He serves as technical director of the Fredericton Minor Baseball Association, a position that entails regularly going to practices and offering advice to coaches. “On the weekends, I’m probably at the ballparks eight or nine hours a day watching games,” Stairs told the Canadian Baseball Network in 2024. “Some days, I’ll sit in my car and watch a whole practice and take notes and call the coach up the next day.”
79. Vincent Ircandia, CEO StellarAlgo
Years ago, the Expos hired a new marketing director. A gruff old writer asked “when and where are you buying the fireworks for July 1?” How times have changed. StellarAlgo claims it is the world’s leading sports Customer Data Platform (CDP) making it easy to access and take action on fan data across teams and leagues, increase fan engagement, revenue and sponsorship opportunities. The company is a partner with more than 200 sports properties and 14 leagues including NBA, WNBA, MLB/MiLB, NHL, CEBL, ECHL and the NBA, which has equity in the Calgary firm.
By opening day more than 80 teams (two-thirds of minor-league franchises) were part of the fan engagement platform, which helps boost revenue through data insights and activations in StellarAlgo lingo, that can appeal to segments of fans. For example: your season-ticket holders, out-of-state fans and people who might be first-time attendees at a venue. The minors has 120 teams with a total attendance of over 30 million during a full season.
102. Lou Pote, Savannah Blakely & Angela Burger, CEO StellarAlgo
In January of 2019, Pote underwent a live-saving course as ordered by the big Dawg John Ircandia and thought “well there goes a bunch of hours in my life I won’t get back.” In 2025, Pote co-managed the Dawgs. His son, RHP Owen Pote, attended Barton College and was signed by the Reds. You go through stages in life. My all-time fave was No. 41, Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves, then No. 5 Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds and now it is former Los Angeles Angels No. 57, Pote.
Again Blakley was voted Western Canadian Baseball League trainer of 2025 (by me). Blakley sprung into action Feb. 2, 2019 and gave me the gift of life after I collapsed on stage at the Okotoks Dawgs banquet. Twas a really bad speech. The good doctors at Foothills Hospital were unsure if I had a ventricular tachycardia or a ventricular fibrillation.
Burger, voted WCBL photographer of 2025 (by me), was also thumping on my chest way back then. Okotoks fireman Geoff Brown and Burger saved my life again after I crashed a second time. Angela is also one of the most respected ringette officials in Canada. How do I know this? Well, one snowy night we drove to Richmond Hill, became lost and caught the tail end of the game. I told Angela “it was the finest 43 seconds of officiating I have ever seen.”
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