Former Brandon Wheat Matt Calvert announced his retirement from the NHL. Calvert appeared in 566 regular-season NHL games over the course of his career. For his career, Calvert scored 95 goals and added 108 assists. In a statement, Calvert thanked those that have helped him along the way: “I’ve been lucky enough to play the game I love since I was five years old. I never played to make it to the NHL. I played to compete. I played for my teammates. I played for the fans. I played for my family. I played because I loved to battle, and I played to win. I dreamt of becoming an accountant when I was 18 years old and three years later, I was playing in the NHL. My favourite parts of the ride were the locker room and the fans. It wasn’t the same without the fans cheering us on this last year. We feed off of them. The fans make the game special. It was an absolute honour to wear the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche jerseys throughout my career. I would bleed for those organizations any day. Thank you to the best parents in the world. You sacrificed everything to give me the opportunity to play in the National Hockey League. You mean the world to me and I wouldn’t have played a game without you. Thank you to my brothers for pushing me to be the best I could be. Thank you to my beautiful wife Courtney, and my boys Kasey and Beau for being my biggest fans. Thank you to my extended family for all the support. Thank you to every coach and GM that pushed me to be my best. Thank you to the Wagons. Thank you to all the special people I met along the way. What an amazing journey. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have had this opportunity. I look forward to skating on the outdoor rinks with my boys in retirement. I love you all!  

Mallard's Brigette Lacquette recently was named to the Chicago Blackhawks organization as a pro scout. Lacquette started playing hockey at a very young age and learned to skate on a rink on the family yard. Following her minor hockey days, she went on to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 2018 Lacquette became the first First Nations woman to join the Canadian women's Olympic hockey team, where she helped Canada win a silver medal.

The fourth installment of the IG Wealth Management Bobcat BIRT Cup reached a new milestone. The alumni/charity event raised a record $63,000 on Friday, July 9 at Wheat City Golf Course. The proceeds go towards Brandon University student-athletes; Baldur Day Care; Glenboro Minor Sports; Alzheimer Society of Manitoba; Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex; Neepawa's Manitoba Junior Hockey League team and minor hockey association and the Westman Wildcats U18 AAA female midget hockey club. A whopping 55 teams had 10-minute tee times from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the 221 golfers were greeted by sponsors and volunteers offering free food, beverages and majoe prizes throughout the 18-hole extravaganza. The foursome of Greg Misener, Dave Newman, Ross Sheard and Doug Stinchcombe captured the championship on a count back after a two-way tie at 19-under par. Original BIRT Cup founders Scott Hlady, Dwayne Gylywoychuk and their squad finished runner-up for the title. The next IG Wealth Management Bobcat BIRT Cup is scheduled for Friday, July 8, 2022.

Canada’s quest for back-to-back gold medals in Olympic mixed doubles curling will begin in Portage la Prairie, Man., it was announced today by Curling Canada. The Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials will be played Dec. 28-Jan. 2 at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, and will determine the pairing who will represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. “Portage la Prairie did a superb job hosting the first Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials four years ago, so it was an easy decision to bring the event back to Stride Place,” said Amy Nixon, Chair of Curling Canada’s Board of Governors. “Portage la Prairie has proven repeatedly that it can put on top-calibre curling championships, and I’m positive the city will show its support for these Olympic hopefuls.” Four years ago, at the inaugural Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials in Portage, Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris prevailed, and then went on to claim gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where mixed doubles curling made its debut as an Olympic medal sport. “The City of Portage la Prairie is very excited to be hosting this world-class event at Stride Place. We look forward to welcoming curling fans and curlers from across Canada in December,” said Portage la Prairie Mayor Irvine Ferris. Sixteen teams will be competing in Portage la Prairie, and six have already qualified, including the top two finishers at the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, presented by Nature’s Bounty Vitamins — gold-medallists Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue and silver-medallists Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott. Also in the field are the top four finishers (as of May 1, 2020) in the 2019-20 Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings: Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing, Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith, and Rachel Homan and John Morris. The remaining 10 berths will be decided this fall (further details available by CLICKING HERE). “Canad Inns is a Manitoba Owned, Manitoba Grown and Manitoba Proud company. And what can be more Manitoban than curling,” said Dan Lussier, CEO for Canad Inns. “We are thrilled and honoured to be the Title Sponsor of the Mixed Doubles Curling Trials once again. The City of Portage la Prairie and its residents have a proven track record of hosting large sporting events and we know that they will put on a world-class event. In 2018, Manitoba’s own Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris won the Trials and went on to win Olympic gold. We know whoever wins this year’s Trials, will be great ambassadors for Canada at the 2022 Olympics and we wish all teams a great bonspiel.” A fourth-place finish by Einarson and Gushue at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Championship last month in Aberdeen, Scotland, clinched Canada’s berth in the 10-team mixed doubles field in Beijing. “I’m not sure Canadian curling fans realize just what an amazing accomplishment that was by Kerri and Brad in Aberdeen,” said Scott Pfeifer, national mixed doubles coach for Curling Canada. “They were both exhausted from spending so much time in the bubble in Calgary, away from friends and family, and went to Scotland under an immense amount of pressure to secure our Olympic berth. It was a performance Canada should be proud of.” The event will follow the 2021 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials in Saskatoon, where Canada’s four-player men’s and women’s teams for Beijing will be decided. Members of Canada’s Olympic four-player teams won’t be eligible to compete in the Canada Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials because of the rigours of the Olympic curling schedule. "It seems that curling fans and volunteers in Manitoba step up every four years for events such as the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings in Winnipeg and the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, and we all know what the winning teams did in both Sochi and Pyeongchang," said Craig Baker, Executive Director of CurlManitoba. "We hope Manitoba continues to provide our Canadian team with a bit of luck heading into what is sure to be a thrilling curling season. We're proud that our province will be part of the excitement." Stride Place, which opened in 2010, has 1,675 seats in its main arena, and is home to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Portage Terriers. “In 2018 our city became part of history as the first to host a Canadian mixed doubles trials event and we can’t wait to continue that legacy in 2022,” said host committee chair Rob Gemmell. “Our community is passionate about curling and we’ll be proud to once again say that Team Canada’s path to the mixed doubles curling podium begins in Portage la Prairie.” (submitted)

As COVID-19 has pushed people to explore the outdoors in numbers never seen before, a new outdoor recreation space is now planned for the Little Saskatchewan River valley that runs through the community of Minnedosa and the R.M of Minto-Odanah. Located on Highway #10 and #16 in the valley adjacent to the Town of Minnedosa, Valley Life Recreation is planning a dramatic expansion of the cross-country ski and hiking area known as the Squirrel Hills Recreation Area. The plans for Squirrel Hills Trail Park involve a new machine-built trail system designed by award-winning trail designer Alex Man. The multi-use trail system will accommodate mountain biking, trail running, hiking, snowshoeing, family adventures, fat biking and more. The new trails will double the total trail distance of the area to approximately 16 kms. Also designed by Alex Man, a brand new park-styled trailhead will welcome trail users with a nature play area, pavilion with views of the valley, eating areas, and a beginner mountain biking skills area. Plans are in place for a 2022 park build, provided all funding goals are met. The trail park is budgeted at approximately $650,000 and financial commitments have already been put forward from municipal levels and the local Co-op. Both the Town of Minnedosa and the R.M. of Minto-Odanah have committed $15,000 each to the project. The Heritage Co-op Community Fund contributed $6,000 to help expedite final planning which included the above conceptual drawings. Valley Life Recreation has also fundraised over $10,000 since the beginning of 2021 through its calendar fundraiser and a recently launched 50/50 cash lottery. With this project announcement today, a major capital fundraising campaign for the Squirrel Hills Trail Park formally begins. Valley Life Recreation has prepared a comprehensive Sponsorship Package available for download and donations can be made online at their newly launched website, www.ValleyLifeRec.ca. A very limited selection of naming rights have also been made available for contribution amounts between $22,500 and $100,000. With this new trails infrastructure project, Minnedosa will be joining the likes of trails at the Brandon Hills and Riding Mountain National Park, along with the success of Dauphin’s Northgate Trail System, Assessippi’s downhill trails and the recently opened Hylife Back Forty bike park in Neepawa. The Squirrel Hills Trail park will help to further cement Westman as a marketable provincial and national trails destination. Valley Life Recreation looks forward to engaging our entire community in helping this new piece of community infrastructure come to life. The Squirrel Hills Trail Park will create yet another reason for Minnedosa and R.M. residents to be so proud of the place they call home and demonstrate why they believe, valley life is the best life. For any questions or comments, please reach out to any VLR Board member or send an email to valleyliferec@gmail.com. (Valley Life Recreation Press Release)