With the 2009-2010 season and 2010 Memorial Cup now behind us, I thought I'd take a bit of time to put together a lengthy post (novel? :) ) that reflects on the road to the Memorial Cup and the season-gone-by. Please feel free to add thoughts of your own!
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THE BID
I'll never forget the day during the summer of 2008. A very reliable source indicated to me that the Wheat Kings of all franchises were planning on putting in a bid to host the Memorial Cup... and not only that, it sounded like it would be a very realistic bid with significant government backing. All that was needed was financial backing from the City and Brandon would be able to put forward a very competitive bid to host the tournament I often dreamed of attending as a kid. Brandon? The Memorial Cup? Nah... it has to be some kind of pipe dream! We're just a small market prairie town with an arena that pales in comparison to the meccas in some of the CHL's larger centres.
Then came August 14, 2008. A special meeting of City Council to decide whether or not to commit nearly $3 million of city funds, largely to go toward necessary upgrades of Westman Place. Council support and Brandon puts forward a bid that would have a very good chance of winning. No support and the bid is dead in the water. In the days and hours leading up to the meeting, rumours were circulating that there just wouldn't be enough support around the table to make it happen.
Then came meeting time. I was fortunate enough to get into packed Council chambers to listen in. As they went around the table and took questions from those in attendance, you could sense the excitement in the room and for the vote that was about to take place. As each councillor would say their piece, I can remember making note of how I thought each was about to vote but still not being sure what the final verdict would be. When the vote took place and Brandon agreed to commit up to $2.9 to a successful bid, the room was taken over by somewhat guarded celebration. Celebration because the WHL commissioner hinted that Brandon would be very hard to beat as long as they had the City commitment, guarded because we really didn't know for sure who would and wouldn't be bidding against Brandon. For an eBrandon thread from that day, check out this link:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=104725&cat_id=1
Next up was October 15, 2008 where Brandon would present it's bid and find out whether or not they were successful. A little after 4 PM, an inside source posted on eBrandon that the vote had gone in our favour and that Brandon would turn into junior hockey paradise on May 14, 2010 (this eBrandon post was where myself and many others first heard the news). CKLQ would then officially confirm the news, and Brandon's hockey fans could start getting excited. This thread has discussion from that day:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=114858&cat_id=3
THE SEASON
Skip ahead to the 2009-2010 WHL season. As the year began, a very unique excitement surrounded the Wheat Kings. Excitement for the quality of players that would be on this year's team (return of key players like Brayden Schenn, Scott Glennie, Matt Calvert as well as two quality imports in Toni Rajala and Alexander Urbom), and the kind of excitement that comes with the expectations placed on a Mem Cup host team.
They would have their ups and downs in the opening months, some of which could likely be attributed to the same ups and downs that teenage hockey players go through while developing as players and young men. Others could be attributed to dealing with sky-high expectations, others still attributed to the realization that the WHL's other 21 teams weren't going to take a year off for “our year.”
In the weeks leading up to the WHL's January trade deadline, the team would stock up for it's Memorial Cup run... adding Shayne Wiebe and Brent Raedeke to one of the most impressive groups of talent you might ever see in the Black and Gold. Trade deadline day in particular sticks out as a day where fan excitement was at a high, where rumours were abound of the team acquiring anyone from Jordan Eberle to Travis Hamonic. When news of the Hamonic trade broke, there were a lot of happy people to say the least. Adding perhaps the best all-around defenceman in junior hockey would give the Wheaties a missing piece from their championship puzzle. Here is the whopping ten page thread relating to the deadline:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=239091&cat_id=1
Over the final months of the season, the team started to come together.. still experiencing a few ups and downs, but thrilling the Wheat King faithful by coming from behind to win the regular season East Division pennant and finishing just three points behind Calgary for the league's top spot.
After a quick four game sweep of Swift Current in the first round of the playoffs, they were challenged and forced to get better by a very good Saskatoon team. Their convincing game six series-clinching win in Saskatoon had to be one of the highlights of the year before the Memorial Cup. Here is the thread from the Saskatoon series:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=271465&cat_id=1
Their five game series loss to Calgary brought with it it's share of high points and low points in a series where Calgary played its system to perfection and seemed to get every break known to mankind. For Wheat King fans, any disappointment coming from this series loss and the accompanying three week break before the Memorial Cup would be avenged at the Memorial Cup. Here is the thread from the Calgary series:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=276325&cat_id=1
2010 MEMORIAL CUP
What an experience! To see people coming from across the country to watch hockey in the building we've come to know and love was at times surreal.
From a Wheat King fan perspective, it was quite the roller-coaster ride. First the pre-game mystery and then shock of the opening 9-3 loss to Windsor, then the huge bounce-back win over Moncton. The big loss to Calgary to close out the round-robin and all of the doubts that were caused from it. Then finally the highlight of my time as a follower of junior hockey, this past Friday's emotional overtime semi-final win over the same Hitmen. Unfortunately the team came up one game short in yesterday's loss to Windsor, but I'll never forget the excitement in Brandon over the weekend as fans prepared for the championship game.
To re-live community chatter during the Mem Cup, please check out the eBrandon discussion group that was dedicated to the tournament:
http://www.ebrandon.ca/group_discussion.aspx?cat_id=352
FINAL REFLECTIONS for 2009-2010
The 2010 Memorial Cup has come and gone and is now a part of Brandon's history. It leaves behind it many memories that I'll personally take with me to the day I die, and I'm sure there are thousands of others who can say the same. Brandon proved that it was a quality hockey town and helped to re-enforce its reputation as a city with an enthusiastic volunteer base capable of supporting world-class events.
In terms of a tangible legacy, the Keystone Centre/Westman Place are much better off for the upgrades that took place in the year leading up to the tournament. The new scoreclock and jumbotron had the National media raving, and the luxury boxes really are top-notch. Both will be a significant part of hockey and other events in Brandon going forward.
If I take two lasting memories out of this season as a whole, they will both involve the Calgary Hitmen. One is Matt Calvert's remarkable three shorthanded goal performance against Calgary in the playoffs. The other is the semi-final overtime win over the Hitmen. One could live an entire life and never get to experience anything quite like either of these.
Looking forward, the impact of a long playoff run on the *next* season's team is often overlooked. All one has to do is look at this year's Calgary Hitmen, the previous year's Kelowna Rockets or even the 95-96 Wheat Kings to know what the experience of this season could do for the development of players returning for 2010-2011 regardless of what players graduate.
To those moving on in their careers and lives, thank you for your time playing for the Wheat Kings. As 20-year olds Matt Calvert, Jay Fehr and Aaron Lewadniuk have played their last games as Wheat Kings. Colby Robak and Travis Hamonic will almost surely play pro next season. Brayden Schenn or perhaps even Scott Glennie could have shots at playing pro next year, however because of their age either would have to make the NHL or be sent back to junior. The status of many of the 19-year old players would have to be considered up in the air, as it is in any other year.
Thanks to everyone that came on eBrandon as we experienced this ride together, to everyone that helped make this season happen, and to everyone that helped make the Memorial Cup the thrill of a lifetime. It's hard to believe, but in three short months we'll be looking at training camp and a chance to build on the excitement of this past season!