The U18 Westman Wildcats had a very successful campaign in 2021/22 capturing the U18 Provincial AAA Female Hockey League title. The team recently completed their training camp for the coming season and head coach Guy Williams told bdnmb.ca that he is really looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish. "Our team expectations don’t change from year to year. We expect a 'First Place Effort' each and every day we step on the ice." said Williams. "We expect a team-first approach with a consistent effort and repeatable style of play.  If we play the right way every day we will give ourselves a chance to win." The team graduated three skaters from last year's squad (2 defensemen - Makenna Beard and Kelsey Page - and 1 forward - Emma Ramsey) and all 3 were character individuals who formed the team's leadership group. "They were tremendous leaders by example with a team first mentality and strong work ethic. They played in all situations for us and set a great example for our young team." Williams noted. According to Williams, the strengths this season will be their depth up front and their tenacity on the puck everywhere on the ice. The Wildcats will rely on a solid core of returning forwards led by their 4 grade 12 forwards (Hayley Kolosky, Paige Kozak, Brooklyn Franklin, Sophia Anderson) and their playoff MVP goaltender, Grace Glover. Williams added that Grace was invited to the Team Canada u18 Summer Development Camp and will suit up for the second straight year with Team Manitoba. They also return 4 defensemen from last season’s team as well. Billie Baranyk (05) returns to the team for her final year after a year absence from the program. "We have some exciting newcomers as well led by Paige Crossley (07) and Reese Shutte (08) up front as well as the Blaine twins (Madison-Forward and Haley-Defense, (07's)." Prior to the kickoff of the regular season on October 2, the team will play a number of exhibition games in Brandon and then participate in a tournament in Calgary.

Westman Radio Ltd. is proud to announce that Brandon Wheat Kings hockey is returning to Q Country 91.5 FM (Q Country) and 880 AM. Q Country has been the radio home of the Wheat Kings for a combined total of 27 years. Dating back to 1985, CKLQ has been synonymous with the most exciting moments in Wheat Kings’ history, including the Ed Chynoweth Cup Championships in 1996 and 2016 and Memorial Cup appearances in 2010 and 2016. “This is a great opportunity for Q Country listeners to re-engage with the Wheat Kings brand,” said Westman Radio Ltd General Manager Brian Wortley. “When people think Q Country and CKLQ, they think Wheat Kings Hockey. We were there when Marty Murray scored 43 goals in 93,’ and now he’s leading this franchise into a new era…an era that we’re proud to be a part of moving forward.” Fans can hear all 68 regular season games on Q Country 91.5 FM and 880 AM, and online at qcountryfm.ca. Each game night will include a pre-game and post-game show. “The Wheat Kings and Q Country go together, in my view,” said Wheat Kings General Manager Marty Murray. “As a young man, this is how I stayed in touch with the Wheat Kings. It's how everyone stayed connected to the team, and it just feels right to be going back.” The Wheat Kings open the WHL Regular Season on Saturday, September 24th, versus the Winnipeg ICE. You can hear all the action starting with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.  

Too often in our community we find children with disabilities relegated to the sidelines, being a fan rather than a participant, simply because of the lack of opportunities present for them. VOLT Hockey is the perfect opportunity to change that for kids that just want to same opportunity as their peers. By establishing a program called VOLT Hockey in our community, it will allow children to be a participant rather than just a fan. It will allow them to be part of a team. It will allow them to play in a sport where their disability is not debilitating and most importantly, it will provide them an outlet to be social, make friends and have fun in a safe and inclusive environment. VOLT Hockey is an accessible form of hockey, played in a specially designed Hockey Sport Chair by people with a variety of disabilities including Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Osteoporosis and Dwarfism. VOLT Hockey is played by over 50 teams in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and now, it’s reaching communities in North America and having the ability to put Brandon on the map in Canada as one of the few in Canada at the grassroots level. VOLT Hockey is the ultimate team sport for physically disabled children and young adolescents. It is played by children with many different types of disability from around the age of six. What they all have in common is the love for speed and the appreciation of the community and friendships across the clubs. Many players deal with great physical limitations in their everyday lives. But on the VOLT hockey court they only face challenges in the form of opponents and teammates all the while feeling like part of a team in an inclusive environment. If you would like more information, would like to volunteer or donate, please email us at Westmanvolthockey@gmail.com

Looking to buy-trade-sell some sports cards or memorabilia? CK Sports Cards will be holding a 1-day show at the Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre (3550 Victoria Avenue) on Saturday October 22, 2022 from 10am-4pm. Come check out vendors that will be showcasing cards and memorabilia from all you favorite sports. Their first show in Brandon (July 30) had 12-15 vendors including a couple from Saskatchewan and one from Toronto. Admission tickets are available at the door for $2 or online on their website for $1. Vendors interested in setting up a table can contact the host here.

When is a dollar a dollar to a professional hockey player? That is one question which was left out when the National Hockey League created its hard salary cap after the 2012-13 lockout. It’s not just a question of who’s face is on that dollar. Whether the face on that legal tender is Her Majesty, a past Canadian prime minister or a now deceased president of the United States, teams are allocated their cap space in U.S. dollars. But there are other factors which come into play.  Several NHL markets, particularly in the sunbelt, are located in low-tax states, where residents of La Belle Province are taxed back into the stone age. If the decision to play in Las Vegas or Montreal turns into a purely financial decision, it’s Vegas Baby. And you can’t really blame someone for making that choice.  Just how much of a difference can this make? Using the ADP Canadian Payroll Calculator, a $1,000,000 contract turns into a net pay of $493,335.20 in Quebec, $521,843.77 in Manitoba, and $551,965.39 in Alberta. However, in Florida, Texas and Nevada, that million-dollar payday becomes $641,022 (using the salaryaftertax.com calculator). These figures are just for argument’s sake, as a good accountant with knowledge of tax law will get more precise figures. But if you had a limited number of years to make a million dollars a year, would you leave $150,000 in someone else’s pocket? Probably not.  There are actuaries out there who have crunched the numbers to figure out what the premiums are to insure Gene Simmons’ tongue, Troy Polamalu’s hair, and to guard against an alien abduction. It should be possible to figure out what the tax differences are in NHL markets. The next step to financially even up the playing field for all NHL teams is to have a differentiated salary cap.   The end result of that change is simple. Those in high-tax markets get to spend more. Those in low-tax areas get to spend less, so that a dollar earned is actually worth the same across the league.  You can’t bring South Beach to Portage and Main. How could you? The city can’t figure out what to do with that intersection. You can’t bring summer heat to a chilly Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal in January. Those geographic differences and travel challenges will remain. But the financial inequities can — and should be — addressed.