No regrets.
That was, understandably, the way Brad Denis felt Saturday night at the Weyburn Red Wings' annual awards banquet in the Elks Hall. During his three years as a Red Wing, the product of Deux-Montage, Quebec went to the national Tier II tournament twice and walked away with the lion's share of the 1998-99 team awards on Saturday.
"I'm not bitter about this year at all," Denis said of a relatively disappointing season that saw the Wings fail to appear in the post-season for the first time in a decade.
"How many guys get to go to the Royal Bank Cup twice in their career? I'm happy. If I could do it all over again, I'd do it in a second."
Strangely enough, Denis had never even heard of the Royal Bank Cup before arriving in Weyburn. In fact, the young defenceman even credits Red Wings general manager Ron Rumball with keeping him in the game of hockey.
"If I was going to stay in Quebec, I told myself I would never play," says Denis, describing his disillusionment with the sport three years ago.
"That's when Ron called. It pretty much saved my hockey career."
As a result, Weyburn's rookie of the year in '96-97 finished his tenure here by earning no less than five awards for his efforts this season: the Harold (Bud) Rodine Memorial Award for Most Valuable Defenceman, the Dee Jay's Kentucky Fried Chicken Award for Most Popular Red Wing (chosen by fans), the Ralph Johnson Memorial Award for Most Popular Player (chosen by teammates), the Graham Christie Memorial Award for Most Inspirational Red Wing and the Fellner Farms Rock 'em Sock 'em Award.
During the season he was also honoured for appearing in his 201st consecutive game on Dec. 18.
Denis is currently looking at playing with one of several schools or with pro teams on either coast - but he will never forget where he spent what he considers the best three years of his life.
"I'm really going to miss this town from the bottom of my heart," he said.
Local product Scott Giroux, who won the Harold Voechting Memorial Award as the team's Unsung Hero, admitted it will be a strange experience not attending the Red Wings training camp this fall. Another departing veteran, he found it difficult not to think of this year's season as anticlimactic after two previous trips to the national championship.
"With the way we finished, it's a pretty empty feeling," he said of his bittersweet exit after three years as a defenceman. Even so, Giroux expects that in years to come the magnitude of what he achieved while playing with the Red Wings will hit home.
"You can't say enough about what we accomplished in those first two years. You can't beat it."
Some of his fondest memories, however, didn't originate on the ice; even after living here all his life, Giroux was surprised at how much he discovered about his hometown on a different level while playing with the team.
Now with almost a full year of post-secondary education under his belt, Giroux still has several Division I schools among his playing options and Rumball is assisting him in that respect as well.
Rumball expressed his own appreciation for the team's head coach Dwight McMillan and assistant Darcy Pindus, pointing out that McMillan's .621 win percentage as coach of the Red Wings - 740 wins (excluding playoffs) and 468 losses - is beyond compare.
"That's a tremendous record," Rumball said. "I bet there's a long time before another record is amassed like that one."
McMillan himself said his priorities are with the players.
"The season isn't measured in wins or losses. For me, I enjoy working with these young guys," he said, adding that there's always next year.
"We can't go back, but we can start over."
Other awards presented on Saturday include: Greg Johnston, Hoium's MVP Sports Award for Most Valuable Player; Christian Cote, Pressman's Style Shop Award for Rookie of the Year; Brian Kerr, Marcel Labelle Memorial Award for Most Dedication and Ability; Jeff Schaeffer, Weyburn Family Foods Award for Best Defensive Forward and Weyburn Security Award for Outstanding Ability and Gentlemanly Conduct; Travis Tipler, Weyburn Co-op Award for Top Scorer and Mildred Metheral Memorial Award for Most Valuable Forward; Terry Denike, York Jewelers Award for Most Improved Player; and Michell Giroux, Family Pharmacy and Gift Award for Most Valuable Volunteer.
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