Over the last 25 years, various Wheat Kings could be deemed as “iconic” and one player that fits that category is Chris Dingman. When you go to Elite Prospects, a website that many hockey industry people use, and type in Dingman’s name it states he was a “cult/star player for the Brandon Wheat Kings”. Dingman spent 4-years in a Wheat Kings uniform before turning pro in 1995-1996. He appeared in 385 regular season NHL games, winning the Stanley Cup twice in the process.
Upon completion of his playing career, Dingman had a morning sports talk show “Kirk and Dinger 98.7 The Fan”. The ratings were good, they made it to the top 5 but after two years the owners changed formats. After doing TV, he moved into coaching and running youth programs for a number of years. His last year in Tampa he coached 6 teams ranging from 8yr old’s to 15yr old’s.
In 2017 the family decided to move back home to Edmonton where both of his sons now play prep hockey for NAX (AAA program in Edmonton). On Oct 22 of last year they welcomed a daughter, Willa Rose, to the family.
When Chris moved back to Edmonton, he decided to help his brother in law with a company called Stout Gloves. The gloves are designed for use in the oil and gas sector and Chris (Senior Account Manager) says they can ship gloves the same day. His wife and other brother in law work for the company as well. “Basically working to pay for youth hockey and diapers” joked the now 44-year old Dingman. “I am always open to getting back into the game, but really enjoy being able to watch my kids and take them” he added.
When asked about his thoughts on Kelly selling the Wheat Kings, Dingman said “Was I surprised at the sale of Wheat Kings? A little, but nothing really surprises me when Kelly is involved, he is a brilliant business man. I texted with Kelly through the playoffs mostly congrats on wins and congrats on the sale. I don’t like bugging people in playoffs”.
