The road to the National Hockey League runs through this tiny Saskatchewan town.

 At least it did for the likes of Maple Leafs greats Wendel Clark, Curtis Joseph and Gary Leeman as well as other NHL stars such as Rod Brind'Amour, Russ Courtnall and Gord Kluzak.

Stained glass in the Tower of God at Notre Dame. See more photos

 This is Wilcox, home to Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a private high school that believes in training the body, mind and soul. The philosophy was carved in stone by founder Father Pere Murray, who established the school around St. Augustine's Parish in 1927.

 Since then, the Hounds of Notre Dame have gained national and international recognition with athletic and academic achievements.

 "With Pere Murray's teaching and coaching, youths learned life-altering lessons, spiritually, academically and athletically," explains the school's Web site (www.notredame.sk.ca). "His goal was for Notre Dame students to be able to apply their keen minds and steadfast character to whatever they wished to master. He authored the motto for Notre Dame: Luctor et Emergo - Struggle and Emerge."

 It's a place you'd expect people to struggle. This prairie province is hardly an icon of prosperity. The population has been shrinking for years, the politicians are musing out loud about turning some of the paved highways back to gravel and the farmers are always fighting bad weather or bad commodity prices - or both.

 And so, to emerge from Wilcox is a success worth noting. After all, with just 200 full-time residents, Wilcox barely qualifies for a spot on the map.

 The town sleeps its way through summer and then, as if jolted by a current of nuclear energy, comes alive in September with the return of 370 full-time students.

 For this, the town, the province and, yes, the nation can thank the late Father Murray. And they have. Murray became a member of the Order of Canada in 1968, was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1972 and, finally, found a place in Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.

IF YOU GO: Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is about 50 kms south of Regina. From Regina, the provincial capital, go south on Hwy. 6 then west on Hwy. 39. Wilcox is the first town west of #6. Besides the college, Wilcox highlights include its post office, Co-op and beverage room. If you go in the winter, check the school hockey schedule. The games draw thousands every year. Notre Dame has the best ice in Saskatchewan.

 "Pere did it all," said Dennis Ulmer, the college's dean of academics, while standing in the middle of Main Street.

 He also instilled discipline at the school, helping not only athletes, but the odd delinquent, too. Teachers have the authority to control their classrooms in Wilcox. Students are expected to toe the line. There are no exceptions.

 "There is still a big demand for discipline and order," Ulmer said. "We offer that here."

 And it's offered at quite a value, compared to big-city standards. Tuition fees start at about $12,000 a year, including the residential component. In most big cities, infant daycare can cost more than that.

 In the 1930s, the college charged $18 a month, or whatever the family could afford, including sides of beef, chickens and produce.

 However, a tour of the campus today shows how things have changed. The school boasts an Olympic-sized ice rink with room for up to 2,000 spectators, an equally impressive gymnasium, the best fitness centre in Saskatchewan, computer and science laboratories, museum and archives, church and the Tower of God - a place that celebrates all religions.

 The dorms, equipped with sprawling bedrooms, are all wired for computers and Internet access. One of those dorms, Seaman Hall, was built with a $1.2 million donation from Calgary's Doc Seaman.

 The Seaman brothers, who grew up in the neighboring town of Rouleau, founded Bow Valley Industries, a multi-million-dollar oil and gas conglomerate.

 The Seaman brothers must have adopted another of Father Murray's favourite philosophies. "Every life is insignificant unless you yourself make it great."