By Derek Holtom
The MJHL is doing a better job these days of advertising their successes, including pointing out how many of their players are moving onto higher levels.
Heading into training camps last week, there were several players who shone in the MJHL last year and are looking to make the jump to the WHL this coming season.
In Swan Valley, the three players starting the year at WHL camps were Crosby Harrison (Everett), Trace Langan (Everett), and Dayson Martin (Prince Albert).
The three members of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard who were in WHL camps this fall are Atticus Cruz (Penticton), Kasen Harrold (Seattle), and Trystyn Sidor (Seattle).
Waywayseecappo has Cole Hunter at the Brandon Wheat Kings camp.
The two teams with the most players at WHL camps come from the two MJHL finalists last year – the Steinbach Pistons and Virden Oil Capitals.
The Pistons are missing four players - Ben Chornomydz (Penticton), Fenton Mann (Penticton), Ryker Arran (Swift Current), and Jaden Mah (Victoria).
The Oil Capitals have the most players at WHL camps, a whopping seven. That list included Micky Gross (Brandon), Jett Deschamps (Regina), Colten Worthington (Brandon), Cohen Lewko (Saskatoon), Lincoln Black-Greaves (Swift Current), Carson Wright (Edmonton), and Tyson Ulmer (Regina).
Selkirk, Portage, Dauphin and Winkler also have players at WHL camps.
It’s a double-edged sword for the MJHL. One on hand it’s great to be seen as a development league, and that players can succeed and move onto higher levels from here. On the other hand, it makes it more difficult to count on players returning year after year.
That’s something the WHL is still adjusting to, now that their players can make the jump to the NCAA. The American college system has taken to scooping up top WHL talent before they graduate, which in turn forces the WHL to look to leagues such as the MJHL for talent to fill the gap.
It’s also interesting to see how many players are attending the camp of the Penticton Vees. Formerly the top franchise in the BCHL., the Vees are entering their second year in the WHL, making the jump to major junior last year in record-setting fashion, winning 44 games – the most ever by a WHL expansion team.
Also, two of the owners of the Vees are quite well known – current Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele and former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter.
Having the Vees move up to the WHL is good for them, but for junior A leagues such as the MJHL, that’s just less players available to them.
Millionaires. The first game goes tonight (Sept. 8) in Melville, while the return match is tomorrow, Wednesday night, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. at the Waywayseecappo Arena Complex.
CLAW MARKS – The Wolverines faced the Dauphin Kings twice on the weekend. Due to the long weekend, results were not available at press time.

The parking lot of Twin Valley Coop grocery store in Russell was definitely the place to be last Friday afternoon as Fire and EMS crews joined with the volunteer driven Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) with their unique vintage war time ambulance and the RCMP hosting kids and their families. Constable Colin Ho had a bunch of area kids in the back seat of this cruiser.
Deputy fire chief Curtis Boucher showed a number of excited kids the inner workings of the firetruck while Pat MacIsaac co leader of the CERT team showed kids the inside of the antique ambulance.

September 20, is coming up very quickly.
The 46th annual Terry Fox Run will take place in over 525 communities across Canada. This important annual fundraiser has generated over $1 billion to date to support groundbreaking, life-saving cancer research.
In 2025, the 45th anniversary year, the Terry Fox Run saw significant increases in fundraising dollars raised across Canada, breaking numerous community fundraising records. With finalized numbers being released earlier this summer, in year-over-year calculations, Manitoba Communities raised 20% more than the previous year.
In fact, Manitobans, through their Community and School Runs raised a record breaking $975,468! Almost $1 million raised from our 1.5 million population.
The foundation has had great success, but we are not at Terry’s goal yet.
In 1980, 22 year old Terry Fox stated,
“When I started this run, I said that if we all gave one dollar, we’d have $22 million for cancer research, and I don’t care man, there’s no reason that isn’t possible. No reason!”
Terry asked for a $1 from every Canadian and every year we have been striving for that goal.
In 2025, 18 communities in Manitoba knocked the per capita ratio out of the park, going above and beyond Terry’s $1 per person challenge. But we need all of Manitoba to give to help us reach the $1.5 million.
Can we help them beat that number this year?
Help your neighbours by donating just a little more. One extra dollar will cover their portion, help those you can. Cancer knows no boundaries.
Donate in honour of someone you know who had cancer.
Donate in honour of everyone you know who doesn’t yet have cancer. 2 in 5 people will eventually get the disease. Help us stop it before it ever reaches them.
This Run Day help to Finish It. Come to your local Run, sponsor a participant, or donate online to a Run near you.
As always the Terry Fox Run in Russell will start at 1 pm at the George P. Buleziuk Centre. Everyone of all ages are welcome - with bikes, strollers or just running shoes.
Water will be provided.
If you can’t attend, and would like to donate, you can stop by the Municipal Office and speak with event organizers Amanda Roorda and Loren Shaw who can help you out. You can also donated to a specific team by visiting Terry Fox.org.

By Derek Holtom
When we last saw the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, they were in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League final four for the first time in franchise history, giving the eventual league and national champion Niverville Nighthawks their stiffest test of the postseason.
It’s a few months later and a new season of Wolverines hockey is right around the corner. And the question everyone is asking, is what can Wayway do for an encore?
Wolverines Head Coach and General Manager Landyn Cochrane, with a fresh and well-earned contract in hand, says the goal is always to win a championship, while noting last season was an important one for the franchise, which joined the league all the way back in 1999.
“Yes, definitely last year was a great step for us,” says Cochrane. “But that is our goal and standard every year is get into the playoffs and the rest will take care of itself.”
 The Wolverines lost some key players from last season due to graduation, including Sebastien Hicks (University of Western Ontario), Ben Roulette (University of Regina), Kurt Rookes (University of Regina), and goaltender Jase Wareham (Minot State University). Those are some big skates to fill, but the team does have some players eligible to return with plenty of experience, including netminder Mariko Bercier, and forwards Dylan Duzan and Cole Hunter.
And overall, there will be plenty of competition at training camp this (past) weekend,
“We will have 15 returning players,” noted Cochrane. “At our main camp we will have 48 players divided into 3 teams.”
Cochrane also made sure to bring in some experienced players to help restock the team, both of which have previous MJHL experience.
“There’s definitely lots of new guys that we’re excited about,” says Cochrane. “Two of those include Ian Buors, a 20-year-old forward from Winnipeg, and Tavon McCorrister, a 20-year-old defenseman also from Winnipeg. They both have a ton of Junior A experience and will be impact players right away.”
Last week
After training camp, the Wolverines jumped right into the pre-season on last night (Monday) as they hosted their expansion cousins, the Swan Valley Stampeders in what’s become an annual kickoff game featuring mostly rookie players. Results were not available at press time.
Up next
The rest of the preseason looks like this for the Wolverines. They have a return clash with the Swan Valley Stampeders tonight (Sept. 1) in Swan River. It will be the first time many on that bus trip will get to see the lasting impacts of last spring’s flooding of the Parkland in that region.
The Wolverines also play a home-and-home against the Dauphin Kings this Friday and Saturday. Dauphin hosts Friday’s game, while Saturday takes place in Wayway with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.
The preseason ends the following week next Tuesday with a home-and-home against the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. The two teams meet next Tuesday (Sept. 8) in Melville and play each other again Sept. 9 in Waywayseecappo.
CLAW MARKS – A late July trade saw the Wolverines ship forward Lynden Green-Gould to the Niverville Nighthawks for a player development fee … Another summer signing for the Wolverines saw them ink former Winnipeg Blues forward Ryden Duchon. He had 15 points last year with the Blues and played in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships for Team Manitoba last year, helping them win a gold medal.

Additional charges have been laid against a Dauphin male as part of a months-long investigation into firearms trafficking.
In July, Manitoba RCMP announced a search warrant had been executed at a Dauphin residence as part of the investigation. Investigators seized hundreds of firearms, an antique cannon, ammunition and more than $300,000 in cash.
The male was arrested and subsequently charged with 12 weapons-related offences, including firearm trafficking, possessing a firearm with a tampered serial number and possession of property obtained by crime.
In the weeks that followed, the RCMP West District General Investigation Section – supported by officers from the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) – continued to investigate.
Investigators were contacted on July 13, the same day an arrest was announced, and told of an incident involving the suspect that occurred sometime between December 2024 and February 2025. Officers learned the suspect responded to a social media post from a friend complaining about a coyote on their property by going to the person’s home unprompted and handing them a firearm with ammunition. The individual did not use the weapon, which has been recovered by RCMP.
While officers pursued that investigation, work to complete the processing of evidence seized last month continued and has since been completed.
The suspect possessed 445 firearms at the residence, up six from the number reported last month. Of those 445 firearms, RCMP have determined that:
• 295 firearms were unsafely stored;
• Ten were prohibited;
• 11 were restricted or prohibited firearms that were not registered to the suspect; and
• 26.5 kilograms of explosives were recovered, which is more than four times higher than what licensed individuals are allowed to possess.
A number of restricted or prohibited firearms were stored with readily available ammunition. Two firearms registered to the suspect were not located.
The male was re-arrested on Aug. 12 on the new charges.
In addition to the previous charges, 78-year-old Inky Mark of Dauphin is now also charged with 26 new offences, bringing the overall number of charges to 38. The new charges include:
• Weapons trafficking;
• Possession of a prohibited weapon when knowing possession is unauthorized x3;
• Possession of a restricted firearm/prohibited weapon with ammo without licence or registration x9;
• Possession of a firearm when knowing possession unauthorized x9;
• Possession of firearm with tampered serial number;
• Failing to report losing firearm x2;
• Having more than six kilograms of explosives.
Mark was released on an undertaking.

By Ed Doering
The Roblin Review
Hugh Skinner thinks it may be time for area residents to make more noise about the closure of the bridge over the Shell River on PTH #83.
The bridge was closed indefinitely back in June after flood waters undermined its supports and raised concerns about its structural integrity.
“I sent a letter (dated July 27) to the minister and I haven’t gotten nothing back,” he said in an interview Aug. 14. “Maybe we, as a community, should be making more noise.”
Skinner lives just five miles north of the bridge and if he follows the official detour route down the Boundary Road it adds almost 50 miles (80 kms) to any trip he has to make to destinations south. And that includes Inglis and Russell.
He said he’s talked to various people with regard to the bridge closure and the speculation is that permanent repairs will take one to three years.
“The heavy traffic on PR.482, the detour, is causing significant damage to that road which will only get worse as movement of grain ramps up with harvest,” he said in his letter to transportation and infrastructure minister (MTI) Lisa Naylor.
“I feel, along with my neighbors, that it’s unacceptable that this important route for the people of western Manitoba should remain closed for that length of time.”

Read more on page 2 of this week's Russell Banner.