Apparently, back on May 15, the Weyburn Red Wings didn't win the Royal Bank Cup.

Got luckier than heck, maybe. Stole it, probably.

But won it? Not likely.

Even before one attendee mentioned there were people in Weyburn that believed the Red Wings didn't deserve the RBC Cup, general manager Ron Rumball seemed determined at the Red Wings' AGM on June 20 to defend his team's unbelievable victory at the national Junior 'A' hockey championship.

"There is no question, none whatsoever, that the Weyburn Red Wings were the best hockey team in this tournament. That's conclusive," he said.

Rumball said the Wings have received many e-mails from teams, hockey fans and others since their May 15 victory. Though he didn't outright say it, Rumball implied a undercurrent of condescension in most of the messages.

"Approximately 144 teams begin the quest for the RBC in September of 2004," he said. "Four of those teams, plus the Weyburn Red Wings, ended up in Weyburn, Sask. Those four teams have to be deemed worthy champions of the divisions they played in.

"We played each of those winning teams, losing only one game We beat the Camrose Kodiaks and the Hawkesbury Hawks twice," he said. "You don't see many newspaper reporters or e-mails alluding to the fact that, not only did we give them one chance to beat us, we gave them two."

Though people may say Weyburn got in the back door, Rumball said it really didn't matter how they got into the Cup.

"We met four teams at the front door of our house. And you know something? We put the 'Welcome to Our House' doormat right out and let them cross."

"Some people say if we had played Camrose in a best-of-seven series, what would the outcome be? I say, we already have a 2-0 lead on them right now."

Looking forward to next season, Rumball said roughly 10 forwards, three defencemen and a couple of goalies born in 1986 are eligible to return next year.

Coming off a "highly successful" training camp in April, Rumball said they had a very strong list of prospects, many of whom are from Saskatchewan.

Of course, one of the greatest challenges a coaching staff must face is to gather experience, said Rumball; with the departure of 10 veterans at the end of the year, the Wings lost a tremendous wealth of experience "that can be only replaced by experience," he added.

Looking to the fall, Rumball said the training camp will commence on Aug. 29. Following a one-day recess on Sept. 1, the camp will resume and the Red and White Game will be held Sept. 5.

Exhibition games are tentatively slated to start with a home-and-away series with Estevan on Sept. 7-8, followed by another series with Bismarck, N.D. They will again be participating in the September Showcase this year.

Both Rumball and coach Dwight McMillan took time during the meeting to thank the efforts of the RBC host committee, which put on, based on their experience, one of the best Junior 'A' tournaments ever.

"I believe that without their efforts and what they did, we'd never have the opportunity to win the Royal Bank Cup," said McMillan.