A familiar face has rejoined the Dauphin Kings to lead the team’s business aspect.
Christian Laughland was named the Kings’ director of Business Operations and will be responsible for managing and developing the team’s strategic marketing plan, partnerships, fund-raising, promotions, game day operations, advertising and events on behalf of the franchise.
Laughland previously worked for the team from 2016 to 2021.
“The Kings approached me and asked if I wanted to come back, if there was any interest there. And obviously, I did,” Laughland explained.
“I live and breathe hockey, so it made sense for me to make the move, and I did.”
Laughland will be stepping down as the team’s governor, a role he has held since last year.
Recognizing there is always room for improvement, Laughland said the team is in a pretty good place right now.
“The team has wiped its debt clean and I think just going forward, it’s kind of keep moving in the right direction. And with the good board that we have, good staff and players, this is going to be an exciting season,” he said.
Last week, the Kings announced a pair of player signings.
Forward Dylan Duzan signed with the Kings after playing last season with his hometown Moose Jaw U18 Warriors of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League, where the five-foot, 10-inch, 161-pounder led the team with 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points in 38 games.
Also signing on the bottom line was six-foot, 190-pound defenceman Austin Watts of Medicine Hat, Alta.
Watts tallied one goal and 10 assists for 11 points in 41 games with the Notre Dame Hounds of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League.

The 2024 Manitoba Summer Games powered by Manitoba Hydro hospitality committee is looking for torch bearers for the torch relay which will begin in June.
Games co-ordinator Bryan Mintenko said they are looking for people who meet the required criteria, which includes former athletes who competed in the 2004 games and are from Dauphin or surrounding area; former games athletes in any year who represented the Parkland from Dauphin or surrounding area; or a celebrity from Dauphin or surrounding area who achieved a significant level of performance.
“What we’ll do is we’ll do a video montage of the people carrying the torch at each of the venues. So there’s about seven different venues. So we’re going to have two or three torch bearers per venue,” he said.
Then during the games itself, they will make a live video of someone of their choosing to light the cauldron to open the games.
“So a good 15 to 20 people. If there is a good amount of interest, we don’t want to turn people away. We’ll be doing these videos, so we can always edit it. And have a few people running per venue,” Mintenko said.
“It depends really on how much interest we get. We’re hoping to locate people who have formerly been involved in the games and connect it to the history of the games and the legacy of previous events that we’ve hosted here.”
The application deadline is May 31. Anyone interested can email Mintenko at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., stating how they meet the criteria.

The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams are set to defend their Westman High School Rugby league titles, this week.
After finishing the season with a perfect 4-0 record and outscoring their opponents, 310-0, the Clippers girls earned a bye into the final when Swan Valley forfeited, so Dauphin will now play the winner of Tuesday’s Souris-Crocus Plains semifinal game in the final, slated for May 25 in Dauphin.
Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak said it is disappointing not to play the semifinal match, a game he said the girls earned.
“And when you don’t get the game time, you don’t get a chance to really execute what you’re working on in training,” he said.
“So I guess we can look at it that we have an extra day for training to prepare for finals. But we’re definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to continue to showcase the great season that we’re already having.”
Sarkonak said it would have been nice if Swan Valley could have fielded a team to play the match to continue their own development.
“We definitely need to figure out a way to increase our numbers and increase our teams and continue, for the league as a whole, to be competitive and not just have the strengths of one or two teams,” he said.
When it comes to the final, Sarkonak feels both teams can be competitive against the Clippers.
“Both teams are very well coached. We’re looking forward to who ever comes out of that and having a great final,” he said.
When it comes to provincials, the final will be a one-game winner-take-all as there is no representation on the women’s side from Winnipeg. So the league final will also be a preview of the provincial final in Dauphin, June 1.
The Dauphin boys were 3-1 on the season, finishing first and will meet the Vincent Massey Vikings, Wednesday, in Dauphin, at 5:30 p.m., while Souris and Crocus Plains will meet in the other semifinal in Brandon.
Clippers coach Aaron Miner is expecting the game to be similar to their 38-19 win over the Vikings, last Wednesday in Brandon. The game was close in the first half, before the Clippers pulled away in the second half.
“At halftime, you’ll notice one team pull away. Our pack is definitely a little more experienced and in better physical condition than their pack. So we hope to do the same thing as we did last game and kind of wear them down and then take over at halftime. And then it will be a battle in the trenches,” Miner said.
Beating the Vikings in the regular season gives the Clippers some confidence heading into the semifinal match. But the coaching staff will have to ensure the players are not overconfident.
“They’re quite an improved team from the team they were last year. They picked up a few athletes, a few football players, actually, that have really rounded out their top end players. So we can’t go into this game overconfident at all,” Miner said.
The winners of the semifinal matches will not only earn a berth into the league final, but also earn a berth to provincials in Dauphin, May 31 and June 1.
To help with the financial costs of hosting provincials, the Clippers will host a second fund-raising barbecue, Thursday, at the Dauphin Co-op Food Store from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Mountain View School Division and Assiniboine Community College Parkland Campus hosted their annual Graduation Powwow, May 16, at the Dauphin Recreation Services grounds in Dauphin. The 12th annual event is a chance to honour all of the graduates in the Parkland for their achievements and wish them well in their future endeavors as powwows represent all peoples coming together in dance to celebrate one another and their diversity.

The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams swept the Crocus Plains Plainsmen in Westman High School Rugby action, May 6 in Dauphin.

The Clippers girls won their game, 52-0, while the Clippers boys picked up their first win with a 21-14 triumph.

Clippers girls coach Shawn Sarkonak felt his team moved the ball fairly well in the windy and rainy weather conditions.

“It did get sloppy at times, a bit. But I think the girls responded really well with the elements they were given. But I think the best part of the game was the tackling and counter-rucking,” he said.

“They were able to get the ball back if it was turned over or lost. And I thought that was part of the strong point of the game.”

The girls ended the regular season, Monday, with a 69-0 win over the Souris Sabres in Souris.

The league semifinals will take place, May 22 and 23, with the finals taking place, May 25.

No matter who they face in the playoffs, the Clippers are looking forward to defending their league championship.

Get all the details in this week's Dauphin Herald!

The Dauphin Clippers baseball team opened its Prairie West High School Baseball League season with a pair of losses.

The Clippers dropped an 18-8 decision to the Neelin Spartans, Wednesday in Dauphin, before suffering a 10-9 defeat at the hands of the Major Pratt Trojans of Russell, Sunday in Dauphin.

In his first year coaching the Clippers, Mark Graham has been impressed with the team’s pitching, especially against the Trojans.

Check this week's Herald for the full recap. 

The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams opened the season last week.

The girls opened their season with a pair of lopsided wins, beating the Swan Valley Tigers, 94-0, Apr. 30, in Swan River, before beating the Vincent Massey Vikings, 95-0, Friday in Brandon.

The boys lost to their season opener, 34-14, to the Crocus Plains Plainsmen. Friday’s game against the Vikings was postponed and rescheduled to May 15 in Brandon.

Raylyn Koshowski led the way against Swan Valley with three tries. Paitin Bougouin and Megan Thompson had two tries each, while Ruth Evan, Mai Maguet, Bree Walker, Alma Schlapfer, Scarlet Ruiz, Felicity Sahulka, Desiree Flower, Ashley Korney and Mila Heschuk added singles.

Thompson added five converts and Walker had two.

Scoring for Dauphin on Friday were Walker and Schlapfer with three tries each and Evans, Tanya Devos, Kiersten Vandekerkhove, Thompson, Breanna Gryba, Sahulka, Ruiz, Ruth Dandeneau and Hailey Garlinsky, all with singles.

Thompson recorded seven converts and Walker had two.

After the depth lost from last year’s roster, Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak knew they would have an athletic squad this year.

“But would be a little more inexperienced compared to last year. But they’ve come out of the gate running, that’s for sure. It’s been amazing to watch,” he said.

The season opener against Swan Valley, Sarkonak said, was the team’s most complete game, even going back to last season, when they went 9-0.

“It was just run, catch, pass. Just running hard lines, committing defenders and passing. It was a treat to watch, really. It was not just one or two people controlling the game. It was a complete team game,” he said.

And that, he added, is what coaches look for.

“When we talk to the girls, we tell them that if you’re wanting to go higher in rugby, those high performance coaches, university coaches, they don’t look to see who does the scoring. They watch what leads up to it. What created that opportunity. They look for the skill set,” Sarkonak said. “They know that there’s finishers out there and there’s people that can go out there and score. But they really want to see the skill set. And that’s what it seems to be happening right now in these first two games.”

Owen Tyschinski and Josh Yakielashek had the Dauphin boy’s tries and Colton Miner had two converts.

Clippers coach Aaron Miner felt the Clippers went into the game a little overconfident after the John Keogh Rugby Festival, Apr. 20. in Brandon.

“The boys felt they had it won before the game even started. And we were surprised by what they brought. They obviously didn’t show all their cards at the John Keogh,” he said. “We heard some of their bigger, stronger players were at a football camp that weekend. So we weren’t totally surprised. But we were definitely surprised when they showed up with six boys in their pack that definitely outsized our pack.”

Miner feels his team needs to bulk up in the front end of the pack.

“Not to make any excuses. They played a great game and they were definitely the better team on that day. But we were missing a few or our key players. Once we get our key players back in the lineup for Monday’s rematch against Crocus, I think we’ll be okay. I think it will be a pretty even game,” he said.

Both Clippers squads hosted Crocus Plains last night in the one and only home game of the regular season.

The girls won their game, 52-0, while the boys picked up their first win of the season, beating the Plainsmen, 19-14.

Both teams will be in Souris, next Monday, to face the Sabres.

Dauphin Co-op has jumped on board as a major sponsor of the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games powered by Manitoba Hydro.

On Friday, Dauphin Co-op donated $50,000 to the games, providing a variety of in-kind support in the form of fuel and food.

This investment will help offset operational costs for more than 900 competing athletes, coaches and volunteers participating throughout the week.

Dauphin Co-op general manager Lorne Eiffert said it was an easy decision to support to the summer games.

The full details are in this week's Dauphin Herald!

The Dauphin Kings got a glimpse into the team’s future at its annual spring camp, this past weekend at Credit Union Place.

More than 100 players hit the ice hoping to make an impression with the team’s coaches and scouts.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said there were two teams of 2009-born players, who will be eligible for next year’s draft.

“We’re looking for a watch list of players to watch for next season and get more comfortable with the guys that we’re going to draft in 2025,” he said. “It’s great to see those kids out. It was tough, because last year we had three teams. But the MJHL is running one this year at the end of May, so a lot of players decided, because we were going to be there, they would skate there. Still, we had a very good turnout.”

There were also four teams of players born between 2006 and 2008.

“Those kids are a lot of our list kids, a lot of kids that we want to draft this year. So it was really good for us to see them skate. Really good for our scouts to see them skate,” Hedley said. “And then we’ll put our list together after camp of the ‘08s that were here and rate them and rank them and get into a situation where we’re comfortable at the draft.”

Hedley liked what he saw on the ice from the young skaters, noting U.S. scout Andy Kubas brought some players from south of the border to camp.

“We’re really happy with those guys. We’re happy with some of the talent we have in the ‘08, ‘06 group and the ‘07 group from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. So it’s a good mixture of players and there’s some real good skill sets out here,” he said.

Hedley anticipates inviting 10 to 15 players back for the fall camp. He noted there were other players who could not attend the spring camp as they were competing at the Telus Cup U18 national championship with the Brandon Wheat Kings, which lost in the final to a team from Quebec.

There were also other players who could not make it to the spring camp, but will be here in the fall.

Since the season ended, Hedley has been busy getting ready for the spring camp and will now shift his focus to the league’s annual general meeting where the schedule for the 2024-25 season will be set. The draft will take place, June 2.

A new champion was crowned last week when the Winkler Flyers beat the defending champion Steinbach Pistons, 5-4 in overtime, Friday in Winkler.

Hedley said the Flyers were a big, heavy team that played heavy all season.

“It was well deserved. They’re a good team. Probably the heaviest group of forwards in the league. They had a great run. I offer my congratulations,” he said. “It’s always good to see different teams and the parity in the league that different teams are winning championships. I think they’ll represent our league very well.”

The Parkland Mavericks have hit the pitch to prepare for the upcoming season.

The Mavericks will play in Rugby Manitoba’s Men’s Division 2, with five other squads. Teams will play 10 games, one home and one away against each of the other five teams.

The Mavericks practiced outside for just the second time last week.

“This week was really the kickoff to the preseason and practicing, working towards the regular season that kickoffs, May 25,” said Mavericks player-coach Shawn Sarkonak.

After Rugby Manitoba failed to schedule any games for the team last year, the provincial organization changed things up to cater to each division’s strengths.

Check this week's Herald for more!