A Winnipegger who played junior for Winnipeg Monarchs, Moose Jaw Warriors and the Canadian Junior team, Mike Keane went on to play 1161 NHL games and was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams, Montreal in 1992-93, Colorado in 1995-96 and Dallas in 1998-99. He also played for New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He finished his career as captain of Manitoba Moose. Keane was a great leader, penalty killer and shot blocker. Keane lives in Winnipeg.

George Konik - Defense

Born in Flin Flon, Konik captained his hometown Bombers to a provincial juvenile title and was the SJHL most valuable player in the 1956-57 season when the Bombers went on to win the Canadian junior championship. Choosing education over pro hockey with the New York Rangers organization, he earned an engineering degree at the University of Denver while helping the Pioneers win two NCAA championships. At Denver, he earned All-America honours and later was selected as one of the top players in NCAA hockey history. In 1970 when the US National team won the World B Championship, he was named top defenseman. Konik lives in Eagan, Minn.

Jason More – Defense

A native of Deloraine, Jason More played with Notre Dame Hounds and then junior with Lethbridge, later Swift Current Broncos, Brandon Wheat Kings and New Westminster Bruins. He was a WHL all-star in 1987. More played 406 NHL games with New York Rangers, Minnesota, San Jose, Phoenix, Chicago and Nashville. He was often used as a penalty killing blueliner. Not a big scorer, he had 18 goals and 72 points. After joining Nashville in 1998 as a free agent, he suffered a concussion in December of that year.

He tried but was never able to play again. More lives in Brentwood, Tenn.

Neil Wilkinson – Defense

Born in Selkirk, Neil Wilkinson began with Selkirk Steelers, played a year at Michigan State and junior with Medicine Hat Tigers. He went on to play 460 NHL contests and appeared in a Stanley Cup final with Minnesota. He also played for San Jose, Chicago, Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh. A defensive rearguard, he scored just 16 goals and had 83 points. After 10 NHL seasons, he played a few games in lesser leagues but serious problems with his abdomen and groin forced him to retire. Wilkinson lives in

Sherwood, Ore.

BUILDERS

Bob Cornell

Bob Cornell received the prestigious WHL Governor’s Award for 2006-07 recognizing his more than three decades of service to the Brandon Wheat Kings and to the league. At that time James Shewaga of the Brandon Sun wrote, “perhaps no one has done more to ensure the Wheat Kings have remained in Brandon for the past 40 years.” Cornell, born and raised in Brandon, twice was involved in helping prop up the financially troubled franchise and twice negotiated lease agreements with the Keystone Centre. He sold one third of the club to Kelly McCrimmon in 1993 and eventually sold him his remaining shares, confident that the team would remain in the Wheat City.

Don Dietrich

Don Dietrich of Deloraine, a former defenseman and captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings, soaked up a lot of knowledge as a player in the AHL, NHL, East Coast League, with Team Canada and in Germany and Switzerland. He has passed on this knowledge as an assistant coach in Switzerland and after returning home, as a coach with the

Southwest Cougar midgets, the SWHL Deloraine Royals and as a scout for the Spokane Chiefs. Dietrich has been an active member of Canada’s national coach mentorship program, doing “one-on-one” mentoring as well as clinics. Despite personal health problems, he was instrumental in developing the Breakfast Club where young players have come out twice a week to practice their skill development. 

Ted Foreman

A Memorial Cup finalist with the St. Boniface Canadiens in 1952-53, Ted Foreman turned to coaching the following year after breaking his leg in three places. He coached midget hockey and eventually was one of a group of ten people who took over the Fort Garry Blues, (later changed to the Winnipeg South Blues) of the MJHL. Foreman’s vocation was in financial planning with Investor’s Group. Pro hockey players were beginning to sign large contracts and they needed guidance in handling their money. He eventually acted as a financial advisor to almost 100 players. He also was a longtime director of the Winnipeg Jets. 

Glen Lawson

Glen Lawson was born in Brandon. He played junior for the Wheat Kings in 1953-54 after which he played for the Fort Williams Hurricanes when the Wheat Kings ceased to operate. Lawson coached a group of juveniles and entered them in the Senior Big Six League in 1956-57 and in the Riding Mountain League, where they became champs the next year. Both teams also won the provincial juvenile championship. He also coached provincial bantam and intermediate champions. Based on the juvenile teams’ success, Brandon returned to junior hockey. In 1967-68, Brandon became part of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League. On three different occasions Lawson took over coaching the team. In 1968-69, he had been the team manager, in 1969-70 a team director and in 1970-71 part owner when he became the coach partway through the season. He continued to coach youngsters as well as play intermediate hockey. 

OFFICIALS

Laura (Vanderhorst) Loeppky

Laura (Vanderhorst) Loeppky grew up in Charleswood and started officiating minor hockey in Assiniboine Park. She worked her way up through the AAA bantam and midget levels and became the first female to officiate men's junior hockey in Manitoba. In 1998 she officiated the first of five consecutive national women's championships. She represented Canada in Finland in 1999, in Latvia in 2000 and in 2001 at the Women's Pool A World Championship in Minneapolis. The highlight of her career took place in 2002 when she was selected to referee at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. There her ability earned her the distinction of refereeing the bronze medal game. She also conducted clinics for Hockey Manitoba and acted as a mentor to young female officials.

Bud Ulrich

Bud Ulrich started refereeing in the Greater Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association in 1961and spent two years as a referee-in-chief. He quickly moved up through the officiating ranks in the province working in the Manitoba Junior and Senior leagues, GPAC university hockey and MAHA intermediate playdowns. When the Western Canada Junior Hockey League came to Winnipeg in 1967-68, he started refereeing Winnipeg Jets home games. Later as a head referee for the league, he spent several years travelling across Western Canada working games in league centres. He also officiated in Memorial Cup playdowns and in 1974-75 was selected by the CAHA as Canada's referee for the World Junior Championship and officiated games in Minneapolis and Winnipeg.

MEDIA

Bob Picken

Bob Picken began writing sports for the Winnipeg Citizen when in high school. The short-lived paper appeared while the Free Press and the Tribune were on strike in the 1940s. He has been on the sports scene for more than half a century and covered hockey from minor and junior to the Warriors of the WHL pro league, the Jets and the Moose during his career at CJOB and CBC. We aren’t the first to recognize Pick. He is in the following Halls: Manitoba Baseball, Manitoba Curling, Blue Bomber, Football Reporters of Canada, Canadian Curling, plus the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Wall of Honour. He has been the MC for several Hockey Hall of Fame induction dinners. This year, however, he will be on the other side of the stage. 

Curt Keilback

Curt (Sod) Keilback did his first hockey play-by-play when he was 11 years old and his father, Jim Keilback, had him do a period of a Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League game as part of minor hockey week. He must have liked it. His father broadcast MJHL and pro Winnipeg Warrior games, and like his dad, Curt decided to make it a career. He began in Yorkton and Regina and was hired by CJOB Winnipeg in 1979. He did radio at CJOB and CKY and television at CKY and CKND, becoming the voice of the Winnipeg Jets and following them to Phoenix. He called more than 2400 NHL games.

TEAMS

1955-56 Winnipeg Warriors

In 1955-56 the Winnipeg Warriors were an expansion team in the Western Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs both provided players and the roster included several players with a connection to Manitoba. Warriors took first place in the Prairie Division and led the league in points with 84. Winnipeg beat Saskatoon Quakers in the Division semi-final and Calgary Stampeders in the final to earn the right to play the Coast Division champion Vancouver Canucks. In the league final, Warriors won two of the first three games in Vancouver. Back home in the new Winnipeg Arena, they beat the Canucks 4-0 and 6-3 to win the President's Cup. Four days later the team was in Calgary to begin play against Montreal Royals of the Quebec Hockey League in a best-of-nine series for the Edinburgh Cup. This new trophy was to be awarded to the winner of a Canadian east-west minor professional playoff. Warriors won games one and three in Calgary, but Royals took game two that was played in Edmonton. The series then moved to Winnipeg where the Warriors won three straight and the Edinburgh Cup.