A press conference was held in Virden today to announce that the Winnipeg Saints have been sold to Virden Hockey Ventures Inc. and will move to the southwestern community for the 2012-13 season.
Speculation has been rampant about Virden getting an MJHL franchise since the town's new arena was completed last summer. Several teams were rumoured to be moving but in the end it was the Saints.
Bruins scout Troy Leslie has been named the new head coach and general manager of the as-yet unnamed Virden franchise. Chad Leslie, who was the Bruins' interim head coach for the end of the 2010-11 season and is Troy's brother, will be the assistant coach and director of player personnel.
Troy was a finalist for the Bruins' head coaching vacancy last year, and Chad has been scouting for the team in Manitoba since the end of his stint as interim coach.
Troy has helped the Bruins mine a considerable amount of young talent out of southwestern Manitoba, particularly from the team he used to coach, the midget AAA Southwest Cougars. Cole Olson, Jesse Bernard and Jordan Greig are only a few of the players who have come from the Cougars in recent years. The Cougars are based 20 minutes down the road from Virden.
You'd have to think Virden getting a team, especially being run by people VERY familiar with the talent in the area, will hurt the Bruins' recruiting efforts in the region.
