The Brandon Wheat Kings may be one of the most well travelled teams in the WHL but the task of packing up an entire hockey club and moving it 165 KM north for a trio of “home” playoff games, is a daunting one.
In a repeat of last year, the Wheat Kings are forced to play the home schedule of their WHL Eastern Conference Quarter Final away from Westman Place, due to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. In the past, the team has played games in Winnipeg and even Regina, so it’s certainly not a new concept.
With support from the City of Dauphin and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings, the transition from the Wheat City to Credit Union Place has been an easy one.
“It feels like it’s getting to a point where the Brandon Wheat Kings are basically our extended family,” said Dauphin Kings Director of Marketing Christian Laughland. “We just open the door and welcome them in. They have full use of our dressing room and facilities inside the arena, and we want to make the transition for them as simple as possible especially considering it’s playoff time and there are some big games on the line.”
Having the Wheat Kings and the Medicine Hat Tigers in town for an extended stay is a boost to the economy in town. The teams are staying in hotels and eating at local restaurants, meanwhile fans that travel from around the province will be spending money at gas stations, hotels, bars & restaurants as well. This added boost to the economy of the sleepy northern town is a welcome opportunity.
“While we (the Kings) welcome the Wheat Kings into our dressing room and facility with open arms. The people of Dauphin do that exact same thing from a community perspective,” added Laughland. “It’s easy to find people that want to help in a great community like Dauphin. There are some great organizations, people and groups that always do a great job helping us (the Kings) out throughout the season and that’s once again the case with the Wheat Kings in town for a second straight year.”
With this being the 2nd time in two years the Wheat Kings have moved to Credit Union Place, the transition is becoming “old hat” for the front office staff. After last year, staff with the City of Dauphin left the infrastructure for the WHL’s video replay system in place and even painted the trapezoid area in behind both nets when installing the ice.
