By Sabrina Kraft
The legacy of the Weyburn Red Wings will be recognized during the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame ceremonies.
The Hockey Hall of Fame will be held at Crescent Point Place on Friday, July 8. Dwight McMillan and Ron Rumball are being inducted into the builder’s category, Thomas E. Huston is being recognized at the grassroots level, and the 1983-84 Red Wings will also be enshrined.
Winston Bailey had submitted the nomination for Tommy Huston into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame. “Anyone that came to know hockey in Weyburn and area somehow would have been in contact with Tommy. He was Mr. Hockey for Weyburn for many years.”
“I truly believe the Weyburn Red Wings would not have been the organization it is today without the dedication, support and hard work that was done by Tommy,” said Bailey. “Right from the work of the organizing at the league level, through writing the constitution for the Red Wing club to the daily operations of just keeping things going, Tommy was there until his passing.”
“Tommy received many honours from the Red Wings, minor ball, figure skating, at provincial, and national levels,” said Bailey. “I do believe his greatest recognition his family can be very proud of is when he was accepted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame.”
Dr. John Corrigan is one of the members of the 1983-84 Red Wings. “It is a tremendous honour to be recognized as a group. I am looking forward to getting together with the team, and renewing friendships.”
“The Red Wing organization has a tremendous legacy. The team has had lots of great years and great recognition due to the people who were involved as players, as coaches, as management, and who volunteered on the board.”
Corrigan was coached by Dwight McMillan at both the midget and junior hockey levels. “I believe that success always breeds lasting relationships. That success formulates who you are later in life.”
Another alumni who had McMillan as a coach and Rumball as a manager is Ray Erickson, the vice president of the Red Wings alumni. Ray played for the Red Wings from 1980 to 1982. His son Tanner played from 2009 to 2011.
“I remember Dwight came back to coach our team in January 1982 along with Wayne Lazar and Ron Rumball when I was a 20 year old. They turned a fifth place team into a third-place finish in the very tough South Division, which went on to defeat the second-place Moose Jaw Canucks in five games.”
“We then lost the South Final in a series that went several overtime periods including the game seven double overtime disputed goal loss.”
“It has been said by many players over the past 30 years that you don’t have to love a coach to be successful, but you have to respect him and Dwight has earned plenty of that over the years not only by his players but around the league as well.”
“When it comes to Ron Rumball there isn’t much more to say than experience and the knowledge of the game and recognizing talent,” said Erickson. “Ron has more connections and contacts across North America than anyone I know.”
Erickson also played with a number of the 1984 Centennial Cup champion team, including Mike Spencer, Mark Schneider, Jeff Canning, Mike Bolton, John Corrigan and John Brunoro. He also billeted several of those players during their 1984 season.
In recognizing the Red Wings legacy, Erickson also noted that it was important to highlight Tom Webb and his wife Julie, who took it upon themselves to purchase the Red Wing team in 1981.
Two more Red Wings alumni also spoke about the far-reaching legacy of the team. Both Preston Shupe and Kyle Haines have moved into professional careers in Europe. During the summer, they run the Top Notch Training Centre in Weyburn.
“The one memory of Dwight that sticks out the most to me, is when we were up in La Ronge and he won his 1,000th game as a coach,” said Haines. “I was proud to be part of that moment, and proud to be captain at that time. I think it is remarkable to win 1,000 games with the same team and might never be done again.”
“My fondest memory of Dwight is not hockey related. It was during the summer when he needed some help working on the yard. I was able to go for lunch with him and his wife Donna, and was able to see a different side of him,” said Shupe.
“Ron was always a funny guy,” said Haines. “He was truly a people person, and always was working on something to help improve the club.”
“He was definitely a great guy for the club, and you could always see Ron interacting with the players during hockey tournaments,” said Shupe.
For both Haines and Shupe, it was the fundamentals that they learned as Red Wings that continued to inspire their careers. “They both shaped so many young men who came into the community. There are so many people who will recognize their names,” said Shupe.
“Both Dwight and Ron truly cared about their guys. Dwight always told us to be the best that we could possibility be,” said Haines. “The lessons that we learned while with the Red Wings definitely carried along with us.”
“Without the guidance and leadership from Dwight, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Tickets are still available for the event and can be obtained by calling the Red Wings office.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame banquet is a great cross-section of Saskatchewan-based talent who will be recognized and a large crowd is expected to be celebrating the continued excellence being turned in by hockey personalities from across the province.
