Kevin Saurette, the newly appointed MJHL Commissioner was the guest speaker for Virden Oil Capitals banquet. Saurette grew up playing minor hockey in Brandon, played in the WHL, the ECHL and in the American Hockey League as well as in Europe.
Ever an achiever, Saurette was male athlete of the year at University of Manitoba and graduated with a Master of Business Administration.
At 39, Saurette has served four seasons with the MJHL and will begin as the league’s Commissioner in July.
He, his wife Sarah, and their two little girls reside in Winnipeg.
Saurette praised the Caps’ organization saying, “From a league standpoint, if we had 11 Virden Oil Capitals (clubs), the league would be in a very good spot.”
His address was geared to the young players in the room, as he talked about his first years of play with the Regina Pats, where he said he “earned his way into the line-up”. Other organizations including the NHL were showing interest in him.
“It was an amazing year,” he said, until he sustained an injury. That summer in training, he made a simple move and ended up out of the action for five months with a torn cartilage.
“Looking back now… I didn’t handle it properly. I did what I think a lot of young guys do, I blamed the injury, I blamed the coach, I blamed my line-mates…. Looking back now, it’s still a big regret of mine, how I handled adversity.”
Saurette received many accolades in his years of play, but also disappointments, including several more debilitating injuries. His message to aspiring competitors, the right attitude is very important.
