City of Brandon Parks & Recreation Services is pleased to advise the public that Brandon’s outdoor skating oval, located immediately west of the Parks Complex on 2020 McGregor Avenue, will open for the 2021-2022 winter season as of 4 p.m. today, Friday, December 17th, 2021.   As there are still some fringe areas of the oval under development, all users are asked to respect the signage and barricades which remain in place in those outer areas at this time. Hours of operation at the oval will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. through the course of the winter season, weather-permitting.  The oval is developed each year by Parks & Recreation Services staff and provides warming shacks, portable washroom facilities, flood lighting, ambient music, and fire pits to cook on or warm up around. In addition, the Manitoba Hydro Waterfall of Lights is also lit until 11 p.m. each evening so the public can skate around the oval and take in the brilliant, festive displays. Due to provincial public health orders, limited space is available in the warming shacks. Please follow posted signage.  The public should note that while use of the skating oval is FREE, it is unsupervised, with no sticks, pucks or pets allowed on the ice surface. The public is encouraged to park in designated areas on McGregor Avenue or Hilton Avenue, as NO public vehicles are allowed in the direct area of the Manitoba Hydro Waterfall of Lights display or the skating oval. The public is also asked to enjoy all lighting displays at a safe distance and not to walk in areas where power cords are present.   For more information on the many other public winter activities overseen by the City of Brandon’s Parks & Recreation Services, including its various sledding/toboggan hills and outdoor trails, please call 204-729-2148 or visit brandon.ca/winter-recreation/toboggan-hills.  (CITY OF BRANDON PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT )

Brandon, MB – The Brandon Wheat Kings have added ten new faces to the franchise, in one of the busiest hockey operations weeks in recent memory. Eight players heard their name called in the WHL Prospects Draft today, following a pair of additions to the franchise in Wednesday’s U.S Priority Draft. In a rare occurance, the Wheat Kings held a trio of first round selections in the WHL Prospects Draft, including #3 and #4 overall. Both of those picks were acquired during the 2016/17 season as part of the packages that sent Tanner Kaspick and Kale Clague to Victoria and Moose Jaw respecitvely. “We were in a very fortunate poisition this year,” said General Manager Doug Gasper. “Having that many opportunities for a franchise type player doesnt happen very often. In the past I was lucky to be part of a program with two first round picks, but never three.”  With the 3rd overall pick the Wheat Kings went to Alberta to take 6’2″ defenseman Charlie Elick from the Edge Academy. The son of former New York Rangers draft pick Mickey Elick has appeared in 11 games in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League this season, scoring three times and adding nine assists. Moments later, the Wheat Kings used the 4th overall selection to take Saskatoon native, Roger McQueen. McQueen is a member of the Saskatoon U18 Blazers, and has put up 20 points in just 17 games this season. In his last season of U15 with the Saskatoon Stallions, McQueen recorded 87 points in just 31 games. With the final pick of the first round, the Wheat Kings went back to Alberta, selecting forward Caleb Hadland from the Yale Hockey Academy. In total, Brandon chose players from three provinces and two U.S states, and spread the picks out amongst one goalie, five forwards and four defensemen. “Today we bring in a great blend of size, skill and players with high hockey IQ and compete,” added Gasper.  “Those are the intagables we value as a Wheat King and we want to keep that tradition of having those type of players in our organization going and I think we did that today.” All players selected today are eligible to play a maximum of five games as an affiliated player this season. WHL Draft Selections #3 Overall – Charlie Elick, D – Edge Hockey Academy “A complete player that leads by example.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton   — #4 Overall – Roger McQueen, F – Saskatoon U18 Blazers “A great combination of size and skill.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #22 Overall – Caleb Hadland, F – Yale Hockey Academy “A real leader that contributes offensively.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #64 Overall – Carter Klippenstein, F – Lethbridge U18 Hurricanes “Competitive player that leads by example.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #86 Overall – Carter Rimstad, D – OHA Edmonton Prep  “A hard nosed defender that makes a great first pass,” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #108th Overall – Evan Lambert, F – Winnipeg Bruins “A steady defenseman that makes good puck decisions.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #114 Overall – Ethan Eskit, G – Yale Hockey Academy “A goalie that shows up when his team needs him to make the big saves.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #152 Overall – Drew Williamson, F – Airdrie U18 Bisons “Complete player that playes the game the right way.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton ________________________________________________________________________________ U.S Priority Draft Selections #13 Overall – Colin Frank, RW – Anaheim Junior Ducks U16 “Colin is a gifted goal scorer that has the ability to put himself in position to create offense every shift.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton — #32 Overall – Ethan Gonyeau, D – Dallas Stars Elite U16 “Ethan is a creative puck moving defenseman, that transitions the puck up the ice well and creates offense from the back-end.” -Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton  Season Team League GP G A TP PIM     Playoffs GP G A TP PIM  2020-2021 Dallas Stars Elite 14U AAA T1EHL 14U 8 2 1 3 2 |         Dallas Stars Elite 14U AAA 16U AA 20 1 5 6 4 |          2021-2022 Dallas Stars Elite 16U AAA T1EHL 16U 8 0 2 2 6 |         Dallas Stars Elite 16U AAA 16U AAA 31 2 13 15 - |         Player statistics powered by www.eliteprospects.com (Brandon Wheat Kings Release)

Brandon’s Clarke Caswell was selected 6th overall by the Swift Current Broncos in today's 2021 WHL Prospects Draft for players born in 2006. Caswell, a forward, is currently playing with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League where he has amassed an impressive 51 points in 20 games to date. "I am glad I went to the team that wanted me the most and am thrilled that it was Swift Current. I’m Pumped to be a Bronco!" Caswell told bdnmb.ca. "It was a long process with the draft being pushed back so yeah I’m real happy it’s over and I can now plan my path going forward." "Several of the Swift players, current and former have contacted me today already which is amazing. It’s been very welcoming!" Caswell recently competed at the 2021 Western Hockey League (WHL) Cup in Red Deer, Alberta with Team Manitoba. As for his future Caswell stated "My next goal is to play in Swift Current as a 16 year old and be a contributor right away. Lots of work ahead of me but can’t wait to be playing as a Bronco." It should be noted that with the 7th overall pick, the Broncos drafted Boissevain's Josh Fluker. The talented rearguard has suited up in 19 games with the Southwest Cougars of the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League this season. He has registered 16 points in those 19 games. Brandon's Ethan McCallum, a goaltender, was selected in the 2nd round, 39th overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers. This season McCallum is playing for the Notre Dame Hounds U16 Prep in the CSSHL. Owen Wallace, a teammate of Caswell's on the Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA squad, was drafted in the 7th round, 138th overall by the Prince Albert Raiders.

Golfers looking to swing and putt year-round will be pleased to hear that Golf Brandon Inc recently launched an amazing state of the art indoor golf simulator at 3500 McDonald Ave (Wheat city Golf Course). The activity is ideal for everyone from families looking for fun to serious golfers looking for a chance to swing while escaping the elements. The Trackman 4 wall-sized golf simulator allows patrons to putt, chip and drive on famous courses (150) across the world or to test your skills at the various practice and game modes. Using real clubs, golfers strike a ball into the screen where their course is projected. Sensors analyze their swing and speed to determine where the shot goes. Playing costs are $50 an hour (8am-8pm, 7 days a week) and can be split amongst the number of people playing. Besides golf, customers can also take advantage of some amazing food from the recently opened Eagles Nest Bar & Grill. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Eagles Nest Bar & Grill's menu features something for everyone, including a number of appetizers, entrees, beverages and even a kid's menu.

The City of Brandon is providing an update regarding the re-opening of Brandon’s Community Sportsplex Pool. On November 9th, we announced that we were anticipating reopening the pool in the coming month. Since then, further mechanical issues and deficiencies relating to the main drain were discovered, resulting in additional delays. These delays have impacted the re-opening date. The plumbing work related to the main drain repairs has now been completed, and we are hopeful that the construction and commissioning of the Sportsplex Pool is nearing completion. Before we can officially re-open the pool, the following milestones must be completed: Mechanical commissioning of the pool operating system, which verifies that the mechanical systems are working properly Flow rate testing on the corrected main drains to ensure proper circulation in the pool Chemical balancing and heating of the pool Public Health inspection. Upon completion of these milestones, a firm reopening date will be communicated with the public. The City of Brandon thanks all patrons of the Sportsplex pool for their continued patience. More information on Parks & Recreation Services programming can be found at mycommunity.brandon.ca or by calling 204-729-2471. (City of Brandon PSA)