The Dauphin Kings were busy at the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s (CJHL) trade deadline, with five deals made.

The deals started, Jan. 5, with the Kings sending forward Blake Boudreau, 20, to the Carleton Place Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League for a player development fee (PDF).

Boudreau had 10 goals and 16 points in 25 games for Dauphin this season.

In a move that surprised many Kings fans, 20-year-old defenceman Anthony Bax, who led the team in scoring with 32 points, including 13 goals, was shipped to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Flin Flon Bombers, the top team in the CJHL.

In exchange the Kings get forward Ashton Paul, 19, and future considerations.

In 28 games this season, Paul had four goals and 19 points.

Last season, playing with OCN, Paul tallied 26 goals and 56 points in 57 games.

Defenceman Nolan Wickham, 20, was sent to the Winkler Flyers for defenceman Ty Pratte, 18, and a second round draft pick in this year’s draft.

Wickham had two goals and 10 points in 29 games this season, while Pratte had a goal and an assist in 15 contests for Winkler.

Defenceman Aidan Brook, 20, along with forward Rhett Perrin were traded to the Portage Terriers in exchange for defenceman Brett Magarrell, 18, as well as a third and fifth round pick in this year’s draft.

Brook played 31 games this season, tallying four goals and 13 points, while Perrin had a goal and three points in 17 games.

Magarrell played 30 games with the Terriers and recorded a goal and six points.

Another deal saw the Kings send the list rights of forward Kai Clayton to the Swan Valley Stampeders for a PDF.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the trade landscape has changed with advisors now representing players.

Players, Hedley said, now have to consent to trades, which he understands when they are sent to a different league. But giving consent when being traded within the same league makes no sense to him.

“I think it’s going to have to be looked at,” he said.

Hedley tried to improve the team’s offence, but the deals he was working on fell through.

“Our original plan was to add some offence, some experienced guys that could score,” he said.

When those deals didn’t work out, Hedley gave the team’s 20-year-olds a choice to stay with the Kings or be moved to another team.

“We wanted to be fair to the 20-year-olds,” he said.

Only Logan Walker and Alex Senf chose to stay.

“They didn’t even hesitate. They came back in and said they wanted to be Kings, they wanted to wear the crest. They felt we had a good young group and we could challenge,” Hedley said.

Dealing away Brook and Wickham is particular was hard with both players being in their third year with the team, as well as being part of the championship squad that won the league in 2022.

“There’s all kinds of respect on our end for those kids. We just felt that they deserved a chance, they made the decision and we accommodated them,” Hedley said.

Hedley likes the return he got in the various deals.

“We think that we got some good young players back in return with Ty Pratte from Winkler and Brett Magarrell from Portage. Both are 18-year-olds that are going to be good D-men in the league,” he said. “In fact, if you look at our back end now, I really think we got younger, but we got more mobile and we’ve got real good speed, real good attitudes and real good work ethics.”

The Kings won their third straight game the day before the deadline, beating the Neepawa Titans, 3-0, with Cole Sheffield making 29 saves to record his second shutout in three games.

Hedley said the team played with a renewed energy and emotion in that game.

“We’re looking forward to working with this group and the work ethic and compete. Kyan Grouette has really helped us out as far as work ethic. He’s a real good addition,” he said.

Fans will get their first chance to see the new players in the lineup tonight when the Kings host the Stampeders at 7:30 p.m.

The Kings then visit the division-leading Virden Oil Capitals, Friday, before hosting the Niverville Nighthawks, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Sesley Sloboda signs a copy of her book, Mother, Mother, for Dr. Jim Rae at a private book launch for family and friends, Saturday in the Old Fire Hall at the Watson Arts Centre.

The book, which is the second Sloboda has written, will be available on all online book stores starting in March.

The Dauphin Kings started the new year with a pair of home ice wins.

Cole Sheffield stopped 24 shots to lead the Kings to a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Freeze, Friday.

On Sunday, Anthony Bax scored twice in a 5-2 victory over the Selkirk Steelers.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley felt the team got back to playing the way they did at the start of the season when they built a 14-4-0-0 record.

“Guys were skating. That’s what separated us early in the season, was our speed, playing fast and how hard we worked,” he said.

Dauphin product Kyan Grouette made his debut after he was reassigned to the Kings by the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips.

Hedley was impressed with what he saw from the young forward.

“It’s unbelievable the way he works. And he’s made Zali (Carter Zalischuk) better player and he’s made (Madden) Murray a better player. He’s got a positive attitude. He’s come in here and he’s working hard. So it’s a great center-hole to fill.”

While recognizing the offence isn’t where the Kings want it to be, they created opportunities in both games.

“And our speed tonight on our back end was outstanding,” Hedley said.

With the trade deadline coming on Wednesday, Hedley has a lot of irons in the fire trying to work out some deals. But he is also willing to stay the course, stating he doesn’t have to do much at the deadline.

“I think we’re as good as any team in this division if we’re playing hard. And with the goaltending we have and the back end that we have, like our back end tonight was really good,” he said. “So we’ll see what happens in the next couple days. We’ve got a lot of things going on. If we can add a couple of guys on offence, we will.”

Regardless of what happens at the deadline, Hedley said the important thing is just to make the playoffs.

“As long as you get to the dance, if you get hot goaltending at the right time, guys coming up with big goals at the right time,” he said. “Our bottom six, with Kyan Grouette and Zalischuk and Murray, and then you’ve got (Rylan) Gage, (Joshua) Schmidt and (Sheldon) Shyiak, playing outstanding. And those guys can win a playoff game, because they’re heavy, they provide energy and they get the other guys going. They’re buying into exactly what we want to do as a team and how we forecheck. They get it. They pay attention to detail and they figured it out. It’s contagious.”

It was the play of the bottom six forwards that helped the Kings win the Turnbull Trophy in 2022, with players such as Garrett Hrechka and Cordell Coleman scoring key goals in the playoffs.

“Hrechka got the game winner in game six here, didn’t play in game seven and was one of the first guys on the ice to celebrate, because he understood. He was a teammate,” Hedley said.

Dauphin plays three games this week, beginning tonight in Neepawa against the Titans.

On Saturday, they host the Portage Terriers at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, they hit the road to OCN to battle the Blizzard.

Four local football players were part of the Manitoba Selects football program which took part in the Winter Showcase, Dec. 27 to 29 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Lars Gudbjartson, Owen Tyschinski, Sully Fox and William Miner put their football skills to the test, hoping to impress American college and university scouts.

Fox said the four players were invited by the Selects head coach Frank Devine to attend tryout camps every Saturday in Winnipeg.

“It was a pretty cool experience going to Minnesota this past weekend,” he said.

Fox said it was pretty cool to make the Selects program.

“It felt great. It was a good experience. I was really glad to be out there in my Grade 11 year, just to get lots of experience playing football and try to come back to help the team here at home,” he said. “I think more people should get into it, because it’s an open tryout. You just have to go there, work hard. If you make it, they want you there.”

Miner said the showcase consisted of individual skills, where players were expected to show the coaches what they could do.

“And you basically tried to show off what you could do. It’s not a team thing, hence the name showcase. You want to show off,” he said.

Fox added they had a couple of practices the first day and attended the facility where the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild practice, where a combine was held for players attended the football camp.

On the third day, he added, players visited the Minnesota Vikings stadium, which was a new experience for the young players.

Fox and Miner hope the experience will help them in their football careers.

Fox noted Joseph Lopez played on the Selects last year and received a couple of offers from different schools.

“So we’re kind of hoping for the same for both of us,” he added.

It was a year marked with celebrations and wondering what could have been when it comes to sports in 2023.

Dauphin Kings

The Dauphin Kings finished the 2022-23 season in fourth place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division, with a 32-21-3-2 record, just nine points out of first place, which was occupied by their Parkland rival, Swan Valley Stampeders.

The two teams met in the quarterfinals, where the Stampeders needed six games to dispatch the Kings and advance to the semifinals.

This season, the Kings started strong, but began to fade as the new year drew close. They enter 2024 in third place with a 16-11-1-0 record.

Parkland Rangers

With a 12-25-7-0 record, the Parkland Rangers missed the playoffs in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League.

This season, the Rangers are in the midst of the playoff race, sitting in 10th place with a record of 9-11-2-1, but they are only one point out of a playoff spot and sit just seven points out of sixth place.

Check this week's Dauphin Herald for more!

The Parkland Rangers remain in the hunt for a playoff spot as the Christmas break looms.

The Rangers split a pair of games with the Pembina Valley Hawks, this past weekend on home ice.

Ryzlie Nepinak’s goal with 9:18 remaining in the third period lifted Parkland to a 4-3 win, Saturday night.

Alex Campbell, Cam Sarna and Hayden Seib also scored for the Rangers, while Kam Thomas with two and Sam Delaquis replied for the Hawks.

Chase Glover had 34 saves to pick up the win in goal. Bryson Yaschyshyn made 28 saves in a losing cause.

On Sunday afternoon, Liam Goertzen scored twice to lead the Hawks to a 7-2 win.

Acoyen Fehr, Haiden Friesen, Charlie Hill, Thomas and Brett Lesage had Pembina Valley’s other goals, while Maddox Shindle and Cash McCallum scored for Parkland.

Ryler Gates had 21 saves in the win, while Ethan Myhre stopped 16 shots in taking the loss.

Parkland’s record now sits at 9-11-2-1 for 21 points. They are in 10th place, but sit just one point out of a playoff spot and are two points out of seventh and five back of thew sixth-place Winnipeg Thrashers.

Following Sunday’s loss, a frustrated Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot was not pleased with the team’s play in either game.

“We greased one out (Saturday). Found a way to win. If you look back at the last seven games, we got points in five of the last seven games. The standard of accountability changes as you win more and as you earn points,” he said. “So (Saturday) we found a way to win, we greased one out. But overall, collectively, I didn’t like a lot of things about (Saturday’s) game. But we got the two points.”

Sunday’s game, Carefoot said, was “super discouraging”, adding the game was emphasized for its importance.

“And right from puck drop, lack of urgency, lack of puck management, lack of game management. We were flat. Everything was flat. Pretty much from top to bottom, it was flat.”

In a league where there is so much parity and every game is important with playoff implications on the line, Carefoot feels the Rangers are in a position to write their own ticket when it comes to the postseason.

“Did we think we would be in a playoff spot right now? We’re battling for playoff position. So now to have a result like today in very discouraging,” he said. “But the Parkland Rangers, we’re resilient, we’re going to persevere and Tuesday is now the most important game of the season.”

That Tuesday game Carefoot spoke of is the final game before the Christmas break, a tilt in Shoal Lake against the Yellowhead Chiefs, who trail Parkland by five points.

Carefoot said the team has to overcome its lackluster play to beat the Chiefs, even though some players are playing sick.

“But we can’t use that as an excuse. There’s guys that have to step up. We have to simplify our game. The more urgent we play with all the little details that teams talk about that brings success, everything just gets a little bit easier. But this weekend, lackluster,” he said. “It’s a choice. It’s hard to work hard, but Tuesday is massive for our group. Because we have an opportunity to have to 10 wins. I’d be lying to you. Did I think we were going to have 10 wins this season? No, I didn’t. We can have 10 wins before Christmas. That’s pretty awesome. But we laid an egg this weekend.”

NOTE: Tuesday's game has now been postponed as players on both sides continue to fight illnesses.

Dauphin skips Tiffany Armstrong and Greg Todoruk track incoming shots during the regional playdowns, Saturday afternoon in Dauphin.

Armstrong and her team of Morgan Kropelnicki, Stacy Sime and Tamara Kolida defeated Terry Ursel of Arden-Lansdowne twice to earn a berth to the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, presented by RME, Jan. 23 to 28 in Morden.

Todoruk and his team of Darcy Todoruk, Rob Fisher and Terron Stykalo were one of three teams to qualify for the Viterra Championships, Feb. 6 to 11 in Stonewall.

Also qualifying were Jeff Stewart of Gladstone and his team of Eric Zamrykut, Jason Vinnell and Geoff Trimble and Dauphin’s Glenn Toews, Nick Ogryzlo, Cory Toews and Logan Devos.

The Dauphin Kings are showing signs of coming out of their slump, but they are not getting the results.

The Kings lost two of three games, last week, including a pair of home ice losses to the division-leading Virden Oil Capitals.

Virden scored a 2-1 win, Dec. 5, and a 4-3 triumph, Sunday.

In between was a 4-1 Kings victory over the Winnipeg Blues, Saturday.

In their last 11 games, Dauphin has a 3-7-1-0 record and have scored just 24 times in that span, while allowing 32 goals against.

With a 16-9-1-0 overall record, the Kings now sit in third place, one point behind the OCN Blizzard and they now trail Virden by nine points. Dauphin has two games in hand on both teams.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley, who is serving a 10-game suspension for a gross misconduct assessed in a 5-1 loss to Steinbach, Nov. 24, said the Kings have gone through a stretch where the work ethic wasn’t good.

“And prior to that, we were winning games, but finding ways to win. We got away from our what our strengths were and doing little things well. It finally caught up to us in certain games where we lost one-goal games,” he said. “We got away from being patient. We got away from playing on the right side of pucks and managing pucks. Basically, right now, we’re finding ways to give games away instead of finding ways to win.”

Sunday was an example of that.

After Virden built a 3-0 first-period lead, the Kings slowly chipped away and tied it in the second.

But the Oil Capitals took advantage of some sloppy play on the first shift of the third period and scored what proved to be the winning goal.

“It starts from goaltending out. You have to have goaltending. You have to have guys buying in and getting into shooting lanes and making smart plays and reading off teammates,” Hedley said. “The last two weeks there’s been some individual play rather than team play. We’ve just got to figure it out and get better.”

Among the positives the team can take from Sunday’s loss is the comeback from that early 3-0 deficit.

“There’s a lot of little things we can get better at. We know we’ve got a good hockey club. It’s just a matter of staying on course and thinking about the process it’s going to take,” Hedley said. “The league is getting better and we’ve got to get better.”

The Kings have relied on balanced scoring all season, with Jordan Bax, Logan Walker and Blake Boudreau leading the way.

But they got offensive contributions from Gavin Nemis and Madden Murray on Sunday, and Rylan Gibbs and Alex Senf on Saturday.

“We knew coming in that the back end was going to run (things) and help us win games. But right now we’re at a point where the forwards have to start contributing regularly,” Hedley said. “We have done a lot of experimenting, moving guys in and out and different line combinations. And the last few games, we’ve been creating opportunities. For a while there we weren’t.”

The great start the Kings had at the beginning of the season, Hedley said, allows the team to go through some adversity.

“But we’ve got to find our way here, soon,” he added.

The Kings have two games left before the Christmas break.

They are in Selkirk, Friday, before visiting the Flyers in Winkler on Sunday.

Both games will be tough.

“Selkirk is playing really well. They’re beating some good teams lately. And they always play us tough at home,” Hedley said. “We’ve got to get hungry on the road. It’s the Christmas break, guys have other things on their mind. But at the same time, it sure would be a good way to finish with two road wins.”