BRANDON, MB. – The Brandon Wheat Kings have announced their roster for the 2020-21 Western Hockey League season. The roster includes 16 returning players from the 2019-20 campaign and eight playing in their first Western Hockey League season. First year players include Jaxon Dube, Nate Danielson, Logen Hammett, Jacob Hoffrogge, Brett Hyland, Rylen Roersma, Connor Ungar and Tyson Zimmer. They will be looking to make an impact in their first season taking cues from the 16 returning players, in particular the team’s three 20-year-olds who are back for their final junior season; Lynden McCallum, Marcus Sekundiak and Reid Perepeluk. The Wheat Kings’ season – taking place in the hub city of Regina, Saskatchewan – will feature 24 games between the seven East Division teams (Brandon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Winnipeg) beginning on March 12th. Don MacGillivray will be stepping into his first season as Head Coach with the Wheat Kings and will be supported by assistant coaches Todd Miller and Mark Derlago, as well as video coach Dan Johnston. Behind the scenes, Scott Hlady returns as equipment manager, assisted by Jody Norminton, and William Sadonick-Carriere is back as Athletic Therapist. Player Position Birthdate Hometown Jake Chiasson F 5/25/2003 Abbotsford, B.C. Nate Danielson F 9/27/2004 Red Deer, AB Jaxon Dube F 4/24/2003 St. Albert, AB Riley Ginnell F 10/9/2002 Calgary, AB Ridly Greig F 8/8/2002 Lethbridge, AB Brett Hyland F 2/18/2003 Edmonton, AB Lynden McCallum F 1/26/2000 Brandon, MB Ben McCartney F 7/13/2001 MacDonald, MB Reid Perepeluk F 5/1/2000 Prince George, B.C. Nolan Ritchie F 5/27/2002 Brandon, MB Rylen Roersma F 7/25/2004 Lethbridge, AB Marcus Sekundiak F 4/20/2000 Oak Bluff, MB Ty Thorpe F 1/27/2002 Brandon, MB Tyson Zimmer F 9/5/2004 Russell, MB         Logen Hammett D 4/3/2003 Regina, SK Jacob Hoffrogge D 2/18/2003 Saskatoon, SK Vincent Iorio D 11/14/2002 Coquitlam, B.C. Jonny Lambos D 1/14/2001 Winnipeg, MB Chad Nychuk D 3/6/2001 Rossburn, MB Neithan Salame D 1/1/2001 Edmonton, AB Braden Schneider D 9/20/2001 Prince Albert, SK Rylan Thiessen D 2/7/2001 Brandon, MB         Ethan Kruger G 9/27/2001 Sherwood Park, AB Connor Ungar G 1/12/2002 Calgary, AB Owner/Governor Jared Jacobson Brandon, MB General Manager Darren Ritchie Brandon, MB Head Coach Don MacGillivray Winnipeg, MB Assistant Coach Todd Miller Elliot Lake, ON Assistant Coach Mark Derlago Brandon, MB Video Coach Dan Johnston Calgary, AB Athletic Therapist William Sadonick-Carriere Swan River, MB Equipment Manager Scott Hlady Brandon, MB Assistant Equipment Manager Jody Norminton Brandon, MB Fans can watch every WHL game this season by subscribing to WHL Live, for only $59.99. Single day passes are also available for $6.99, giving fans the option to watch all scheduled games across the league as well as access to archived games for 24-hours. Getting access to WHL Live on CHL TV is as simple as heading over to watch.CHL.ca on your web browser, selecting your package and downloading the brand-new app on your preferred device.(Brandon Wheat Kings Release)

BRANDON – The Bobcats are proud to be teaming up with Brandon Source for Sports to add a special digital touchscreen display to the BU Sports Wall of Fame at the Healthy Living Centre. Winnipeg-based Dimension Display will assist in installing and developing the legacy project, which will allow fans to watch alumni interviews, view classic highlights and see vintage Brandon Sun photos. Source for Sports will also serve as the presenting sponsor of the on-going Alumni Spotlight Series with the video profiles showcased on the Bobcats' website and social media channels. Details on the official launch of the interactive touch screen display will be announced at a later date. (Brandon University Bobcats News)

For the past 10-years Grandview's Jarett Robak has been hard at work in his family's yard building his own personal winter wonderland. "The Cabino", a labor of love for Jarett, is nestled nicely inside the Duck Mountains just outside of Grandview, MB. Earlier today Robak told bdnmb.ca that his family had always used the property for walking trails in the summer and as a toboggan hill in the winter. As a snowboarder he saw an opportunity to develop the land further and many years later he is extremely happy with the progress to date. The site currently includes numerous trails for snowboarding, a wood ramp with a 40-ft observation deck, lights for night snowboarding, and several rails, boxes, and jumps. One of the biggest obstacles Robak said they had to overcome was trying to figure out an easier way back up the slope after snowboarding down the hill. In 2017, he did some research on YouTube and after a few revisions and updates the facility now has an 850-foot rope-tow to return you back up the hill. Robak has received plenty of help and support on the project from family and friends and he's not done just yet. Future plans include adding a second rope-tow heading the opposite way up the mountain, essentially doubling the length of the runs. Currently the runs can vary in length from 500-1000 feet. For a great video tour of "The Cabino" and it's features please watch this YouTube video. For additional photos please follow their Instagram page here.

Braden Schneider was recently named captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings for the 2020-21 season. The 1st Round (19th overall) draft pick of the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL entry draft becomes the 64th captain in franchise history. The Moose Jaw Warriors named 18-year-old Daemon Hunt as their captain for the 2020 – 2021 season. Tate Popple (20) and Calder Anderson (18) were named as assistant captains with the WHL club. All three players have spent time previously with the Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA organization.

Wawanesa's Lindsey Gullett spent three full seasons playing hockey in the MJHL, including time with both the Neepawa Natives and the Dauphin Kings. Upon completion of his junior career he then attended Castleton University where he played hockey and continued his studies (Communication and Business Administration). From August 2013-July 2015, Lindsey returned to Manitoba where he was the Sales & Marketing Manager for the MJHL's Virden Oil Capitals. An opportunity to join the AHL's Manitoba Moose followed and he spent just a little over 2-years in their organization as their Game Producer. Currently Lindsey is the Manager, Event Presentation for the Edmonton Oilers, a position he has held since November of 2017. BDNMB.CA recently caught up with Lindsey to discuss his career and working for the Oilers. BDNMB.CA - Lindsey, I would assume most people would have no clue how intense your current job is. Tell us about it. - That is a fairly true assumption. It's something that isn't easy to explain as there are a lot of layers to it, but in short, I oversee the in-arena video board broadcast and atmosphere in the arena. BDNMB.CA- Working during the NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup series in the bubble must have been incredibly difficult. Did working as the Producer, Game Presentation - 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship present any unique challenges to fix and correct? - We had no idea what to expect going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was a big "learn as you go" experience for everyone and things were likely to change daily. There was a tremendous team of people from the NHL that joined forces with our staff at OEG and pulled off, what ended up being, a very successful playoff run. As for World Juniors, we gained a lot of experience from the SCP bubble to know what to expect in terms of how the show would be delivered. However, it still was a different vision with TSN taking the lead and wanting to make it look and feel different than what Sportsnet did with the Stanley Cup playoffs. Add in the curveballs of working within the very strict COVID compliance measures for all the staff, I thought it was equally as great of a feat as the fall. BDNMB.CA – How often do you get buddies that come to Edmonton texting you looking for free tickets or looking to meet McDavid? - Indirectly this might happen a bit, but it comes with the territory. If I'm ever able to help anyone out, I'm happy to do so, but overall people understand that it's a business and sometimes things will or won't line up. BDNMB.CA – You met your wife while attending school at Castleton University in Vermont, has it been a culture shock for her living in Edmonton? - I would say the bigger culture shock came in 2013 when we both moved back to Virden. For LeeAnne to live in a rural setting in a predominantly winter climate, knowing very few people, that was the toughest adjustment. With that said, she's a very outgoing and adaptable person which has allowed us to meet some of our greatest friends over the past eight years. Virden and Winnipeg were both great to us. The transition to Edmonton wasn't nearly as overwhelming as our previous moving experiences. QUESTION – Millions of young boys dream to be in the NHL, for you this must be at times a very surreal feeling to be among the superstars of the game. - It's definitely a different path than you would originally dream about as a kid, but it has been a great opportunity for me to work in a venue like Rogers Place with the team of people I'm surrounded by. As a hockey person, I definitely don't take for granted how fortunate I am to get to see some of our stars do extra special things on any given night. I think seeing the playoff bubble this past year put that in perspective even more. Getting the opportunity to see other teams multiple times in a playoff setting made you realize not every team has those instant game changers in their lineup and how special those guys are to a team. BDNMB.CA –You obviously have lots of people to thank for the career you have today, who was a very key person in helping you get to where you are today? - Cliche to say, but my parents supporting me to play DIII hockey in Vermont opened my eyes to a much larger world and other opportunities that are out there. Beyond that, as I got started in sports, you quickly realize you have to be willing to make sacrifices to take advantage of opportunities, especially in a niche role like I'm in. With this said, my wife has been my number one support through it all. She's the only one that lives the life and sees the hours and commitment that is required for this line of work. If she wasn't willing to adapt with her own career, we never would've been able to make the relocations work and I'm not sure I would even still be working in sports if it wasn't for her. BDNMB.CA – Any regrets? During the NHL playoffs with COVID – 19 you must have had some days where you wondered why are you doing this.- Some days can become a grind, but you realize that any job field you work in can have challenging stretches. It definitely has to be about perspective. As much as the stretch of 81 games in 65 days during the playoffs was a marathon, there's not many jobs where you can play a small part in something that millions of people are engaging with on tv, and hopefully soon again in a live audience setting. That's rewarding to me to help tell the story and assist in those memories that people will have forever. To quote Bruce Luebke, the Wawanesa product Lindsay Gullett showing you can still be a huge part of the game even if you are not on the ice. Photo Submitted