The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) Board of Governors announced today that it has granted an expansion franchise to operate in Niverville, MB. The new MJHL member will play its inaugural season from the brand new Niverville Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC) in the 2022-2023 campaign. “Niverville is recognized as one of the fastest growing communities in the province and the MJHL is thrilled to bring a new organization into this community, while adding another first-class, state of the art facility to our League,” said MJHL Commissioner, Kevin Saurette. “We have been in ongoing discussions with this group for a number of years and are very confident that the community owned non-profit organization and the Town of Niverville will provide an ideal new home market for the MJHL going forward. I would also like to recognize the significant commitment and efforts of Clarence Braun who was instrumental in helping bring a new MJHL franchise to the Town of Niverville,” Saurette concluded. Niverville’s Mayor, Myron Dyck shared his excitement in welcoming Junior A Hockey to the growing Town of Niverville. “On behalf of the Town of Niverville I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the MJHL to our community and to congratulate the group of local residents for their hard work in making their dream a reality today. We are excited for this news and wish both the MJHL, local resident Clarence Braun, his management team, and all their supporters much success in the years ahead,” shared Myron Dyck, Mayor of Niverville. Niverville Junior A Hockey Inc. After considering this opportunity for some years, we at Niverville A Junior Hockey Inc. are both excited and proud to be accepted as the newest franchise entry into the MJHL. As we have been exploring entry into the MJHL, we have extended the opportunity for ownership and have seen many new shareholders added within the past few months. That opportunity will continue as we follow a plan to be ready for the 2022-2023 MJHL season. As a shareholder group for this community owned not for profit team, we are excited to be in the community we are in. We are aware of the many young families that have made Niverville their home and the investment that they have made to our community. We look forward to engaging with many hundreds of volunteers in the surrounding area as we put the various leadership teams into place in the weeks and months ahead. We are especially grateful to the Council of the Town of Niverville and administration for their vision in the building of this awesome community recreational space called the CRRC. We are thankful for their support as we move forward and make plans for it to be our hockey home for many years to come. I want to personally express great appreciation to Kim Davis the former commissioner of the MJHL and its present commissioner Kevin Saurette. Kim was their back in our early meeting’s. He was gracious in helping us understand what this opportunity could look like. In the past few years Kevin has been there for us at every turn in his support in representing our cause to the league governors. We are grateful to all the league partners, governors and their representative for having the confidence to welcome us in. We are looking forward to providing a great game experience and a quality hockey product on the ice that will add value to the MJHL as a league. We believe that this initiative will provide another great opportunity for young players in the surrounding area to play Junior A hockey at the highest level. We anticipate our initial website to be functional within a short period of time and will release that info as it becomes available. Stay tuned for further updates and we thank you all. For more additional information please contact Clarence Braun at 204-791-2587 or email at clareb2@shaw.ca. The MJHL looks forward to working with the new management and ownership group along with the Town of Niverville in the days ahead as they begin their journey towards their inaugural 2022-23 season in the MJHL. Please stay tuned for further exciting announcements to come.(MJHL Media Release)

Brandon Wheat Kings Jake Chiasson (61st), Vincent Iorio (71st), Riley Ginnell (191st), Nolan Ritchie (197th), Yaroslav Busygin (34th, international skaters), Ethan Kruger (32 NA goalies) landed on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. In total 57 WHL players were named. Carson Lambos (11th Winnipeg ICE) was the top Manitobans listed among the 57. The 2021 NHL Entry Draft will be held virtually, the first round is scheduled for July 23rd and rounds two through seven will be July 24th. The full lists can be viewed at the links below: Central Scouting North American list Central Scouting International list In other Wheat Kings news, the Arizona Coyotes announced the signing signing of rugged forward Ben McCartney to a three-year entry level contract. McCartney tallied 151 points in 205 regular season games during his tenure with the Wheat Kings. He was the 204th player taken (7th round) in last year's NHL Entry Draft. News: We have signed forward Ben McCartney to a three-year entry-level contract. #Yotes https://t.co/dAvhhhdYMr — Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) May 27, 2021

Trent Miner, who spent time with both the Brandon U15 AAA Wheat Kings and the Brandon U18 AAA Wheat Kings, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Following a 2-year stint with the U18 Wheat Kings, Miner joined the WHL's Vancouver Giants. He was drafted in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Avalanche. Miner split his time this season between the Vancouver Giants (15 games) and the AHL's Colorado Eagles (6 games). The 6-foot-1, 185-pound netminder recorded four shutouts, a 2.16 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in his 15 games with the Giants, this past season. Zach Miner (brother), Dan Averill (step dad), Trent, Danica Averill (sister)

Brandon’s Calen Addison made his NHL playoff debut last night with the Minnesota Wild in their contest against the Vegas Golden Knights. Addison logged 13:18 of playing time, picking up an assist on Jordan Greenway's first period goal. He suited up for 3 regular season games this season with the Minnesota Wild and 31 games with the AHL's Iowa Wild. The highly skilled defensemen played minor hockey in Brandon with the U15 AAA and U18 AAA Wheat Kings. He then played several seasons in the WHL before turning pro. Brandon product Calen Addison in tonight on D for #mnwild vs #VegasBorn— Ken Wiebe (@WiebesWorld) May 25, 2021

Rick Dillabough, a familiar face, and long-term employee of the Brandon Wheat Kings organization, has announced via his LinkedIn page that he was stepping down from his position of Director of Business Operations, Sales and Sponsorship. In his more than 30 years with the organization Rick witnessed three trips to the Memorial Cup, which included two WHL Championships. In his post, he went to on to thank everyone he worked with along the way for making it such a rewarding experience. Prior to working for the Wheat Kings, Dillabough spent 4-years as the Sports Director/play by play announcer for Riding Mountain Broadcasting.