Skip to content

Red Wings cap off season with awards

The Weyburn Red Wings ended their season on Wednesday night after being swept from the quarter-finals by the North Battleford North Stars, and the accomplishments of the players were celebrated with the team’s awards banquet on Monday evening at McKe
Red Wings awards

The Weyburn Red Wings ended their season on Wednesday night after being swept from the quarter-finals by the North Battleford North Stars, and the accomplishments of the players were celebrated with the team’s awards banquet on Monday evening at McKenna Hall.
There were many strong emotions on the night, including the final speech for captain Mike Eskra who ended his fourth and final year with the team.
He said of his years in Weyburn, “This is what home feels like,” and paid tribute to his billet families, in particular Morley and Kari Forsgren, and thanked the staff for helping him through his shoulder injury.
He also paid tribute to the coaches, staff, his family and fellow players on the Wings. He earned the team’s MVP award and the most valuable defenceman award.
Coach Wes Rudy presented a trophy to each of the graduating players, including Dryden Wust, who played 27 games with the Wings since coming in January; Dexter Robinson, who played 40 games since coming in December; Erik Olson, a “phenomenal” player who saw action in 85 games; Landon Walters, who spent three seasons and played in 118 games; Cole Woodliffe, also in his third season with the Wings with 153 games under his belt; and Mike Eskra, who play 220 games over four years.
Team president Brent Stephanson noted this wasn’t where the team wanted to be at this point of the year, but said the team “gave their all, and that’s all you can ask for.”
He paid tribute to the parents for “a great group of young men”, the billets who became part of the players’ lives, and the volunteers, as “without them this team can’t function, whether it’s game day or the sports dinner.”
Team manager Tanner McCall noted that a year ago, “we really didn’t know what this year would bring.”
In spite of how the playoffs ended, he said, they finished six games above .500 where last year they were one game under.
To the players who will return next year, he told the story of a 14-year-old boy whose mom drove him 14 hours for a two-hour tryout at the spring camp, just so he could have the chance to put a Red Wings jersey on.
“That’s how big an honour it is to be a part of this team. It’s an honour and a privilege to be a part of this team. This franchise has a highly successful history,” he said.
The big winner of team awards after Eskra was Cade Kowalski, who took home the Barber Motors Most Valuable Forward Award, the Prairie Sky Co-op Top Red Wing Scorer Award and the Larry’s Sewer Service Rookie of the Year Award.
The most emotional award presentation was of the Graham Christie Memorial award for the Most Inspirational Red Wing, presented to Blake Dempsey, who had to step away from hockey to battle Hodgkin’s disease.
He was given an extended loud standing ovation as he went to get the award from Ron Fellner, and told the crowd he is often asked about how he’s doing, and said, “That means a lot.”
The Gentlemanly Conduct Award went to Erik Olson, while Garrett Szeremley was presented with the Community Service Award, and Ben Hiltz won the Most Improved Red Wing award.
Will Cruise was voted the most popular player by the fans, while Liam McCloskey was the most popular player as voted by his teammates. Dexter Robinson was chosen as the Best Defensive Forward, and Ty Brown won the Unsung Hero Award.