Brandon's Tanner Jago has signed an AHL contract to play hockey with the Texas Stars. Jago recently completed his fourth season with the Bentley University Falcons. The 5'11" defensemen amassed 86 points while at Bentley. He is a former member of the Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings hockey program and spent time in the MJHL with both the Winkler Flyers and the Portage Terriers. In preparation for his first season of pro hockey, Jago is skating with the Settin' the Tone Samoyeds in the Wendy's Summer Hockey League.

The Westman Magic took home the Softball Manitoba U14 'A' Girls' title after a lopsided 7-1 victory over the Manitoba Thunder. Natalie Draper reached base three times and scored a pair of runs to pace the Magic offensively in Sunday's gold medal contest. Danika Nell allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts to pick up the win for Westman while Luka Solomon reached base twice and scored a pair of runs. Overall, the Magic went a perfect 9-0 on the weekend in their games played at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex.. They advanced to the gold medal contest after defeating Smitty's Terminators 5-4 in the 1-2 game earlier in the day. Luka Solomon's three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning earned the Magic a spot in the Provincial final. Danika Nell added two hits and two runs for the Magic.  Manitoba Thunder claimed the silver medal  and Smitty's Terminators go home with the bronze. (with files from Bruce Luebke)

Brandon, MB – The Brandon Wheat Kings have a new General Manager. Kelly McCrimmon, the Western Hockey League club’s Owner and Governor, has appointed Darren Ritchie for the job. A former WHL All Star, Ritchie becomes the twelfth GM since the Wheat Kings joined the Western Canada Hockey League in 1967. A Winnipeg native, Ritchie brings a wealth of WHL experience, having spent nine seasons as an Assistant Coach before being named Director of Scouting in 2016. “It’s a real honour to have been given this opportunity,” says Ritchie, who was a member of McCrimmon’s coaching staff when the Wheat Kings hosted the MasterCard Memorial Cup in 2010, when they captured the Eastern Conference Title in 2015 and when Brandon captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as WHL Champions in 2016. “I’ve always been proud to be a Wheat King and I look forward to working with our staff to ensure this club continues to improve and become a consistently successful team.” “Being a leader for our hockey club, I am excited about having the chance to help make this club the best that it can be,” he went on to say. During his WHL playing days, Ritchie scored 152 goals (7th most in franchise history) and 278 points in 232 regular season career games. His best season came in 1994-94 when he recorded a team leading 62 goals and 114 points in 69 games. Not only was he named to the Eastern Conference First All Star Team, he was chosen winner of the Brad Hornung Trophy that goes to the league’s Most Sportsmanlike Player and he was instrumental in leading the Wheat Kings to the WHL Championship Final and a berth into the 1995 Memorial Cup in Kamloops. Following his junior career, Darren spent nine seasons playing professional hockey in both North America and Europe. “I am proud today to name Darren the general manager of our team,” says McCrimmon. “He has a tremendous background in the game in a variety of roles. This experience base will serve him well in his new position.” “Darren has been a Wheat King for sixteen years and no one understands better what our organization is about,” McCrimmon went on to say. Two of Ritchie’s most important moves should come shortly as he will be instrumental in leading the search for not only head coach but his replacement as director of scouting. “Our search for a new head coach continues,” says the 45-year old Ritchie, who expects to have an announcement in the next week. Ritchie and his wife Rhonda have two children – Quinn and Nolan. In addition to McCrimmon, Ritchie joins a list of former GMs that include the likes of Bill Shinske, Les Jackson, Jack Brockest, Jim Foubister, Doug Clark, Rudy Pilous, Gerry Brisson, Ron Maxwell, Glen Lawson and Grant Armstrong. (Source: Brandon Wheat Kings)

Unrestricted free-agent Micheal Ferland has reached a new four-year, 14 million, agreement with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The 27-year old Ferland spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes where he tallied 17 goals and 23 assists. Now 27, the former Wheat King (2009-2013) joins his 3rd NHL team since entering the NHL.

The Westman Magic will be hoping to take advantage of home field this weekend when the Softball Manitoba U14 ‘A’ Girls’ Championship takes place at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex in Brandon. The Magic have had a highly successful season to date, posting a 14-4 regular season record in the Manitoba Ladies’ Super Softball League. The club has also captured gold this season at the ICT Tournament in Winnipeg, the Saskatoon Presidents Tournament and, most recently, the Red River Rage Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota this past weekend. The 2019 event will also feature the introduction of a four-day Provincial Championship by Softball Manitoba. The eight-team Championship will include a full round-robin on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a playoff round to follow on Sunday. This will guarantee that there will be a gold medal game on the final day. In addition to determining the Provincial Champion, the Softball Manitoba U14 ‘A’ Girls’ Championship will determine the teams that will represent Manitoba at the Softball Canada U14 Championship in Montreal, Quebec from August 7-11 and the Western Canadian U14 Championship to be held in Winnipeg from August 8-11. The Softball Manitoba U14 ‘A’ Girls’ Championship is being co-hosted by the Westman Softball Association, the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex Committee and the Westman Softball Umpires’ Association. A .pdf of the schedule can be found here: Schedule (2019). (article submitted)