Manson’s Bray Rookes cannot wait to get on the ice with the Virden Oil Capitals.
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League team hosts its Comfort Inn and Suites Fall Camp on Sept. 2-5. Last season the squad posted a league best record of 8-0-1-0 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension and eventual cancellation of the season. The Oil Caps’ last game was Nov. 6 – a 5-4 home victory over Swan Valley.
“This camp I am definitely most excited to see all the young talented guys come join our team,” Rookes said.
The Oil Caps expect to have 40-45 players, including 12 returning athletes, at camp as they prepare for their 10th anniversary season. They will range from 16-year-old youngsters looking to earn a spot on a Junior A roster to 20-year-olds seeking to cap their junior careers in style.
“Just looking forward to getting guys back to town and getting on the ice,” head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “It feels like it's been a very long time since we have had our group together and I'm looking forward to seeing our team take shape for the coming season.”
One of the highlights of the Oil Caps’ fall camp is always the Garry Cup. The top players are divided into two teams and compete for the championship named after dressing room attendant Garry Remple. The event is at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“I love playing in the Garry Cup,” veteran forward Dylan Halliday said. “It’s the first taste of game action we all get and it’s always a fast game that all us players enjoy and the fans. Garry is such an important piece of our team and we all love him so for the game to be named after him makes the game that much more special.”
Teasdale Trade
The Oil Caps have traded 18-year-old defenceman Tyler Teasdale, who suited up for them the past two seasons, to the Winnipeg Blues. In return the team receives 17-year-old defenceman Logan Belton of Winnipeg, the rights to Portage la Prairie’s Carter Halamandaris, and a 2023 MJHL fourth round draft pick.
Last season Belton had two goals in as many games for the U18 AAA Winnipeg Wild. His teammate, Halamandaris, had four assists in five games with the Blues. The 18-year-old Halamandaris, a forward, also had two assists in 16 games with the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos.
Teasdale recorded two assists in five games with Virden last season. On Twitter, the Oil Caps stated. “We would like to thank Tyler for his contributions to our hockey club and wish him good luck moving forward.”
Paddock Receives Scholarship
Former Oil Cap Brett Paddock received the MJHL’s Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba Scholarship Award. He receives $2,000. Paddock is enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba.
“It is an amazing honour to receive this scholarship from the IBAM and the MJHL,” Paddock said on the MJHL website. “I am so grateful to have played in the MJHL, and to be awarded a scholarship through the league makes for such a surreal experience. I am incredibly thankful for the coaching staff, players and billet families who made my time so memorable, and to the MJHL committee and staff for letting it all happen.”
