WEYBURN – The Weyburn Red Wings had a strong showing in the 2022-23 season, with good numbers financially and in attendance, supporters and board members heard at their annual meeting on Wednesday evening at the Ramada Hotel.
The meeting was emceed by Jeff Richards, and included a financial report, election of board members, bylaw changes and a presentation by SJHL commissioner Kyle McIntyre about plans for the league going forward.
There were also reports from head coach Cody Mapes, and from the office manager and public relations manager Nick Nielsen.
Mapes noted that the fall training camp is coming up on the Aug. 25-27 weekend, with 80 players expected to attend, forming four full teams which will play three games each. The camp will wind up with the Eric Calibaba cup, formerly the Red-and-White game, on Sunday evening. He noted three Weyburn players are hoping to make the team roster this year.
As of June 1, five players had been drafted, and a couple more have been added by trades, he said. “It was a good day for the immediate future. We were lucky enough to get all the players that we wanted.”
Mapes noted some very good local players are coming up through minor hockey, and he plans to continue improving relations with minor hockey teams, along with having players be involved in the community and in the schools.
A total of eight players have scholarships at colleges or universities, including Ty Mason, heading to Western Michigan.
Of the incoming players, Mapes said the team will be led by character players, with six having served as captains on their minor hockey teams, and three as assistant captains.
“For us, that’s very important. Wherever they are, we want them to be leaders,” he said.
In his remarks, Nielsen pointed out that everything is getting more expensive, including meals for the team for road games, noting it cost the team $26,000 before they set foot on the team bus.
The overall operations budget for the Red Wings is over $800,000 this year, and of the 116 sponsors the team had last year, only two have said they will not be renewing their sponsorships. Eleven sponsors will be spending more than last year, and six are new sponsors.
Many of the fundraisers from last year will be returning, said Nielsen, such as the golf tournament, Field of Dreams, the big 50-50, 12 days of Christmas, and the comedy and awards night as a few examples.
There is currently a raffle for a firepit, and a snowblower has been donated to the team which will also be raffled off early in the new season.
The financial statements were explained by Kyle Patterson of MNP, and he noted the balance sheet for the team is much improved over last year, with a net income of $57,300, up from $6,000 a year ago.
The cash flow statement showed the cash from operating was $76,000 this year, up from a loss of $4,000 last year.
Fundraisers are up from $165,000 last year to $219,000 this year. Expenses are also up, going from $530,000 to $632,000, covering things like equipment, meals, travel and billet fees.
The SJHL commissioner gave a presentation, noting that after his first full year in the position, he and the 12 governors got together to develop a new mission station and vision for the league.
He noted that the team parity is very good in the SJHL, as “any one team can win on any given night.”
The league has had a bad reputation as being rowdy and rough, but the fact is the teams have very high level of speed and skill that surprises many outsiders., and this needs to be promoted more.
McIntyre said last year the SJHL had its highest-ever number of students achieving scholarships for post-secondary education, including 20 NCAA Division 1 and 20 for Division 3 schools, along with 10 Usports, nine in the ACAC.
In attendance overall, the 12 teams totaled 300,000 in spectators, and the Red Wings averaged about 577 for regular season games.
The league has 39 per cent players who are from Saskatchewan, said McIntyre, and they want to see that number higher, with a goal of at least 50 per cent players from this province, and five to 10 local players on each team.
