DEREK HOLTOM
Munro enjoys NHL draft experience
Sometimes, getting a front-row seat to a major moment in sports is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Just ask Swan Valley’s Will Munro.
When Tij Iginla was drafted sixth overall by the (newly relocated) Utah hockey team at last month’s NHL entry draft, Munro was there to share in the moment.
Iginla, son of NHL great Jarome Iginla, was a teammate of Munro’s last year with the Kelowna Rockets, and the two clicked almost immediately. This paved the way for Munro to be at the high profile hockey event in Las Vegas.
“When Tij first got traded from Seattle (back in 2022), they (the Kelowna Rockets management) put us together as we have a lot of the same interests,” said Munro. “We don’t do too much outside of hockey, and kept a low profile. Then we started to become fast friends, rode the bus together, and we started to hang out.”
Munro says with having such a high-profile father, Tij much preferred to keep a low profile, and stay out of the spotlight.
“But he’s serious about his hockey,” said Munro about Iginla, who put up 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games last year. “And if he wanted someone to talk to about things, I was there for him.”
Which led to last month’s NHL draft, which has become more elaborate as years have gone by. This year the league held the draft in the Sphere, the newest entertainment destination which includes a 360 degree video experience that has to be seen to believe. And as it happens, the Iginla family had one extra ticket for this year’s event.
“So Tij called me and said I have an extra ticket if you want to come down,” said Munro. Talk about a no-brainer.
“It was a chance to be part of an experience of a lifetime, so I hopped in on that,” he said.
As for draft day, Munro called it a “crazy experience”.
“You look behind you and there’s video – it’s 360,” he said. “We all sat down, and I met his father and his family. So when Tij was drafted, there was a big picture up on the screens of all of us. And there was one of me and him together on the screen, so that was a cool experience.”
Munro also got the chance to meet several hockey greats past and present at the draft.
“When we were on the plane coming back from Calgary I looked back and there was Adam Lowry, the Jets’ captain, on the plane,” he said. “I also got to the meet the owner (Ryan Smith) and general manager (Bill Armstrong) of Utah, so that was pretty cool.”
The three-day trip to Vegas was a bit of a whirlwind for the entire party. But of course being under the age of 21, Munro and Iginla couldn’t quite go everywhere in Las Vegas.
“I just kept a low profile, hung out at the hotel and enjoyed the hot weather – it’s a lot different from Swan River,” says Munro.
But, being part of the draft day experience with his friend was just the start of his adventure. The day he was to fly home, WestJet employees went on strike, leading to a bit of a diversion.
“I got the call around 5 a.m. from my mom saying your flights are cancelled except the one to Calgary, so we hopped on the flight to Calgary, and got stuck there for a minute as our connecting flight was to Kelowna,” he said. “Then we had to go downtown to rent a car (as the airport was sold out) and made the eight hour drive to Kelowna.
“When we got there I was able to see my billet family, which was good,” he added.
Munro then waited while WestJet dealt with their backlog, and ended up driving back to Calgary, only arriving back home in the Valley this past Saturday.
As for Munro’s hockey futures, that remains a bit of an unknown as his rights were released by the Rockets last week.
“I’m not too sure what I’m doing right now – I’m just waiting to see where everything falls into place,” says the 19-year-old. “I’m just going to keep doing my regular regiment and working hard. And when I find a place to play I’ll move forward with that. And what I really wanted was a fresh start and that’s what I’m going to get.”
Valin set to lead Blizzard in fall of 2025
The saying used to be “Go West” to seek your fortune and opportunity. But if you’re already as far west as you can get, perhaps the saying is now “Go East”.
That’s what the Northern Manitoba Blizzard’s new head coach is doing. Coming off a championship season that saw their coaching staff depart for a new opportunity, the Blizzard have hired Ty Valin to lead what was a very young, but talented hockey club.
Valin has deep ties to hockey in Alberta and British Columbia, contacts and experience he hopes to parlay into a successful move to the MJHL. A native of Peace River, Alta., and Valin played his junior hockey with the Grande Prairie Storm and the Bow Valley Eagles of the AJHL, as well as the Vernon Vipers and Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL. He won a Centennial Cup in 1999 as a defenseman with the Vernon Vipers, proving he knows what it takes to win a championship. He also played college hockey at a pair of Alberta secondary schools before transitioning to coaching, last guiding the Fernie Ghostriders of the KIJHL two seasons ago.
Blizzard in search of new leadership for next season
The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are in the market for a new head coach and a new assistant coach, which of course means that Blizzard Head Coach Eric Labrosse and Assistant Coach P.A. Deslaurier are moving on to pursue other opportunities.
The announcement came on May 24, just days after the Blizzard had competed in the Centennial Cup in Calgary.
Though it may come as a stunner to fans, it probably shouldn’t. Labrosse guided two young teams to a pair of outstanding seasons – making it to the MJHL final four last season, and winning it all this season.
It’s not public where either Labrosse or Deslaurier will end up for the coming year, and that won’t be known until early June.
The Blizzard owners wished both men the best, praising them for their efforts over two seasons in an announcement on their website.
“Two years ago they came to the club, in the middle of the team negotiating a new venue service agreement, a complete organizational restructure, and a fresh rebuild. Through all the challenges, they were able to take the club into Game 7 of the semifinals of the Turnbull Cup Playoffs in 23/24, then a League Championship and Centennial Cup birth in 24/25.
Blizzard season ends, but what a season it was
All good things must come to an end. And, while the Blizzard wanted to be the Centennial Cup champions, they bowed out of the national tournament last Friday, falling 4-0 (EN) to the Rockland Nationals in the quarter-final round, thus settling on being the reigning Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions.
The Nationals, who would lose to the host Calgary Canucks in overtime in the semifinal round, (and the Canucks in turn would win the national championship on Sunday) scored once in the first and second and twice more in the third to officially eliminate the Blizzard, who may have simply run out of gas.
“For the first three games we had lots of energy,” said Blizzard Head Coach and General Manager Eric Labrosse. “But when we hit our fourth game of the round-robin, I felt our guys started to get the heavy legs. We just didn’t have the same energy, and I think that caught up to us.
Blizzard have national championship aspirations
With four of a possible six points in their first two games, and no regulation losses, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard are well poised to make the playoff round this coming weekend at the 2025 Centennial Cup in Calgary.
The top junior A champions from across the country are battling it out for national supremacy, and the Blizzard are showing they can hang with the best. They rallied for a single overtime loss point in their opener, and had their best period in the third of their second game to earn a crucial round-robin victory. And in a tournament where winning in regulation earns you three points in the standings, a clean victory can make all the difference when it comes to who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t.
“If you go down with zero or one points in two games, you’re basically chasing the rest of the tournament,” noted Blizzard Head Coach and General Manager Eric Labrosse. “It’s pretty tight in the standings, pretty much everyone has beat everyone else so far, so it’s really important to pick up points every game if you want to make the playoffs. We feel you need probably eight points to get into the playoffs.”
Blizzard crowned champions
It took the Northern Manitoba Blizzard three attempts and three extra overtime periods, but it was well worth the effort as they finally captured the Turnbull Cup as MJHL champions last Thursday in Dauphin.
Quincy Supprien (fifth) scored on an innocent looking shot off a draw in the Dauphin zone at the 14:03 mark, lifting the Blizzard to a 2-1 (3OT) Game 7 victory in front of 2,246 fans.
Second year Blizzard Head Coach and General Manager, Eric Labrosse, said once they were sure the puck crossed the line, the celebration was on.
“It was a feeling of relief, excitement and joy all mixed together,” said Labrosse. “It was tough to see on the bench if it went in, and when the light went on and the players started jumping, I realized we scored. After that, we had a huge group hug, and the players were on the ice celebrating. It was pure joy for several minutes.
Blizzard punch ticket to MJHL Final
For the first time since 2017, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard will vie for the Turnbull Cup.
The Blizzard swept the Winker Flyers out of the playoffs Thursday night, denying the defending champions, and the top seeded team in the MJHL, a chance to repeat.
“The sweep was never a thing for us when we prepared,” said Blizzard Head Coach and General Manager, Eric Labrosse. “You never go into any series thinking you’re going to sweep, you just want to win.
Blizzard continue hanging on to second
The status quo was maintained this past weekend as both the Northern Manitoba Blizzard and Neepawa Titans split their weekend sets. That leaves the Blizzard two points up on the Titans with two games in hand in the battle for second place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the MJHL playoffs.
Blizzard Head Coach and General Manager says Eric Labrosse says while first place is still possible and within the realm of possibility (see this week’s MJHL column), playing Game One of their first-round playoff matchup at home remains the ultimate goal.
“We don’t want to lose any games, but the key part in all of this is to have home-ice advantage in the playoffs, whether it’s first or second,” he said. “It would be great to finish first, but my focus is to stay ahead of Neepawa.
“They’re two points behind us and though we still have two games in hand, they’re breathing down our backs – we can’t seem to pull away from them,” he added.