Players and volunteers of the 100 Mile House Wranglers hockey club were recognized for their contributions this season at an annual Awards Banquet on Feb. 19.
Coach Dale Hladun addressed the audience at the 100 Mile House Community Hall, thanking members of the organization and lauding their hard work in already making the local team “a flagship franchise” in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) in only its second season.
“It’s a big engine to run a team,” Hladun says. “I think over the next decade or more there will be more and more associations contacting this group on how to run it right.”
Hladun also spoke about the players’ off ice contributions in the community: carolling in the hospital at Christmas time, visiting local schools and neighbour communities like Canim Lake, and being a regular presence at youth hockey events.
The Wranglers are in the midst of a Round 1 playoff series with the Chase Heat, a Doug Birks Division rival. The series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is tonight (Feb. 26) in Chase.
The coach, in his unique rhetorical fashion, also talked playoff hockey.
“All five teams in our division had winning records. There’s a weak sister in every one of those other [divisions]… Steel sharpens steel, and we got the toughest division. When we get out of here, we’ll be slingshotting through the rest of this thing.”
While this drew a round of applause, the biggest ovation of the night went to Oral Peel.
Peel, the club’s skate-sharpener and skate-fixer, bus-driver and bus-maintainer, was the recipient of the President’s Award, a top honour from the Wranglers organization.
Driving the team bus is an important job, Hladun says. Road trips in the KIJHL are often long and the weather is not always good.
“There are a lot of lives on the bus in his care. He is a pro.”
Of Peel’s other contributions to the club, Hladun adds: “He’s great in the room with the kids and gives them someone to talk to. He gives up many, many evenings and weekends to be involved. The boys love him.”
Volunteer of the Year Award: Don and Voula Martin
Builder’s Award: Tom Bachynski
Fan Favourite Award: Micky Turner
Outstanding Defenceman Award: Jayden Syrota
Outstanding Forward Award: Brett Harris
Outstanding Sportsmanship Award: Austin Turner
Player’s Choice Award: Brady Ward
Top Scorer: Brett Harris
Rookie of the Year Award: Tate Page
Most Valuable Player Award: Kristian Stead
President’s Award: Oral Peel
