Softball Manitoba Umpires held their annual appreciation lunch and awards presentation a few months ago and Brandon's Jason Goudreau was named the Kahunaverse Wayne Deschouwer Umpire of the Year for 2019. Jason has been a softball umpire for 5-years now and estimated that he does about 40-50 games a year. He tells bdnmb.ca that he first got involved umping as he had friends who were umpires which also helped make the transition easier. He also was quick to point out that he wouldn’t be where he is today, and accomplished what he has, without strong mentors in Earl Cheasley, Bruce Luebke, and Brad Degraeve. Some of Jason's accomplishments in 2019 included: Received his Level III certification at a two-day clinic in Winnipeg in the spring of 2019. Attended the 2019 Blue Convention in Montreal in April and took his Instructor / Evaluator course. Instructed at the Level I-!! clinics held in Brandon. Mentored young officials in Western Manitoba during the season. Officiated at the Kiwi Cup, Softball Manitoba U16 Girls’ Championship and at the MHSAA Championship. Officiated at the Softball Canada U16 Boys’ Championship in Saskatoon, and was rewarded for a strong week by being given the plate assignment in the gold medal game. As for the 2020 ball season, Jason will be taking his practical for his level 4 and getting himself prepared for nationals next season to get his full 4. This year he will doing 19 Westerns in Winnipeg, hopefully, and the Kiwi Cup men’s ball here in Brandon.

Central Plains Capitals goalie Ty Houge made an astounding 83 saves in a single game on Sunday against the AAA Bantam Parkland Rangers. The 15-year old faced 96 shots in total as Parkland toppled Central Plains 13-2. Brayden Dube tallied five goals and added two assists for Parkland who improved to 20-8 on the season. With the loss the Capitals dropped to 0-30. A copy of the league's game sheet can be found here.

Yesterday, the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights announced that they had recalled Zach Whitecloud from the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. At the time of his recall, Whitecloud had registered 7 points in 35 games this season with the Wolves. The  6-1, 209 lb defensemen signed with the Vegas Golden Knights after finishing his collegiate career in March of 2018. He made his NHL debut later that year (April 5, 2018) against the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights are in Nashville this evening to take on the Predators. There is no word yet if Whitecloud will be the lineup. Zach skated with the Brandon AAA Midget Wheat Kings in the 2013-14 season, and followed that up by playing two seasons with the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be bringing their Manitoba Grey Cup Tour to Brandon's Princess Auto on Friday, February 21, 2020 from 2:30 PM – 5 PM. Fans will be able take a photo with the Grey Cup and shop official Grey Cup merchandise. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their first Grey Cup in 29 years on November 24 defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12. The stop Brandon is one of many scheduled around the province.

Winnipeg, MB – The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is pleased to release details about the future leadership structure of Jr.A hockey in Manitoba. Kim Davis, current Commissioner of the MJHL, will be stepping down at the end of June 2020 concluding an impressive eighteen seasons with the league. The league’s Board of Governors have concluded a succession plan with current Director of Operations, Kevin Saurette, who will take over as the next Commissioner of the MJHL. Now in his fourth season with the MJHL, Saurette will officially take over the lead role at the end of June 2020. Kim Davis began his tenure in the 2002-03 season where he was hired as the league’s first full-time Commissioner. Since his appointment in June 2002 there has been over 6,000 MJHL regular season games played along with over 700 playoff games and over 200 regional or national championship games. Davis, a native of Flin Flon, MB, was selected in both the NHL and WHA Amateur drafts in 1977 (NHL – Pittsburgh 48th Overall, WHA – Edmonton 24th Overall). After a five-year professional career with experience in the AHL, IHL, and NHL he completed his Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Manitoba. Prior to joining the league Kim Davis held coveted marketing positions in the retail banking, provincial lotteries, and food service industries. Hired in 2016 by the MJHL, Kevin Saurette had previously enjoyed a nine-year professional playing career in the ECHL, AHL as well as oversees in Germany and the United Kingdom. After a junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL), Saurette played five seasons with the University of Manitoba Bisons (U Sports) and eventually was named captain. The Brandon, MB product completed his Master of Business Administration while playing for the Belfast Giants (EIHL/UK) where his finished his playing career. As part of the progression of the MJHL leadership structure a recruitment process will begin in February 2020 to appoint a new Director of Operations along with a new full-time staff role to manage league marketing and partnerships. Both Davis and Saurette will jointly lead the initiative to oversee the application process and hiring of the new personnel. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is one of ten Junior ‘A’ Hockey Leagues in Canada and is a proud member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL and its eleven member clubs take pride in providing the best development opportunities for players to advance on and off the ice. (Source: MJHL Release)