REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon is looking to get back to the place he was in last season when, for a few weeks’ time, he was one of the most popular players on the roster.
Filling in for an injured A.J. Ouellette at the beginning of the campaign, the 6-foot, 220-pound running back quickly became a fan favourite for his hard-nosed style, quickly garnering the ‘Thomas the Train’ moniker and becoming one to watch.
And then, bad luck on the injury front brought it all to an end.
A previously injured shoulder re-aggravated itself in Week 4 against the B.C. Lions, and he wouldn’t see the CFL field again until Week 18 against Ottawa, more than three months later.
Now, Bertrand-Hudon is back in action, with a fully healed shoulder, and a quest to get back to where he was at the beginning of the 2026 campaign.
“I feel great, honestly, I feel like I could have taken more reps in the preseason,” Bertrand-Hudon said after a recent pre-season practice. “I don't know if the coaches were just being careful, but I've been able to show in camp what I've been doing most of the time, basically. My shoulder hasn't been a single problem, so I'm pretty happy about it.”
It’s the second time Bertrand-Hudon has had to deal with a major injury to that shoulder, but this time around the recovery was much more quick and efficient.
“One month after (surgery), the surgeon had to tell me to ease up on the weightlifting because my shoulder actually did not hurt even that bad,” he said. “I wanted to run as much as possible and I pushed it as much as I could without hurting it. I was pretty smart about it, so I'm very happy that the results came out clean.”
Bertrand-Hudon finds himself in a running backs room filled with talent, from the likes of incumbent starter Ouellette to fellow veteran Mario Anderson and newcomer Quail Conley, all of whom looked effective at times during Saskatchewan’s two pre-season games.
How it all shakes out when it comes to the first game of the regular season in two weeks’ time is up to the coaching staff, but one thing is for certain — the will compete and help each other improve will always be there.
“The thing that we say in our running back room is not that there's one alpha, we’re all alphas,” Bertrand-Hudon said. “Everyone competes and everybody wants to be the best at it, but we're also in brotherhood at the same time. So we support each other, but we compete against each other every day.”
That’s even led to a change in habits to get up to full speed this preseason, with an assist from none other than Ouellette.
“A.J. for sure helped out a lot, especially coming back from the injury,” he said. “Making sure that I come in early and start rolling early and move my body a lot earlier than what I used to do. I'd wake up an hour before practice and just go ahead.
“Now I show up two hours before I go to the gym. I do my exercises. He and [running back coach] Andrew [Harris] have been on my ass during the offseason of trying to keep that routine and basically just do it every day. It's been helping a lot “
All that leads into the goal for the coming campaign — play as much as he can and get another ring for his fingers.
“The main thing is just stay healthy, get as many reps as I can, and do what I can to win another one,” Bertrand-Hudon said. “Honestly, anything that I can do, if they trust me to get the ball on the court, by my play and by me being available, I'll take it.”
Bertrand-Hudon and the Roughriders wrapped up pre-season practice Friday at Mosaic Stadium before embarking on a Week 1 bye to start the CFL's regular season.
Saskatchewan’s home opener is set for June 13 when the Riders host the Calgary Stampeders, with kick-off set for 5 p.m. on the Rider Broadcast Network.
