The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings will open up training camp for the 2023-24 season on Friday morning. There will be 80 players, across four teams, competing for spots on the historic franchise.
One of the returning players from last season is Braigh LeGrandeur. Known for being a sparkplug in the lineup, he has been gearing up for this weekend.
“It’s awesome – I'm super excited for it,” LeGeandeur told Discover Weyburn. “You know, I’ve been looking forward to it for the last month or so here, just ready to get back on the ice, and see all the fellas, and get things going.”
A new face in the locker room is also a veteran of junior hockey. Tyler Teasdale was acquired in a trade with the AJHL’s Blackfalds Bulldogs earlier this month.
“Coming to a new place is always exciting, meeting all the boys for the first time, so yeah, it’s good.”
Some of the returning players, and some of the new faces, took a chance to get out onto the ice in an informal skate Thursday afternoon. All of the players had smiles on their faces as they got onto the ice at Crescent Point Place.
“People were thinking it was supposed to be a rebuild year for us, and I think we surprised a lot of people with how we played and I think it’s just going to only get better from here,” LeGrandeur added, talking about last season’s successes. “I think we’ve got a really good group coming into this next year here, and I’ll be excited to see what it looks like at camp here.”
Teasdale saw the efforts of the Red Wings last year from the outside and is looking forward to what the season could bring.
“I think just all the boys want to play to the best of our ability – just improve upon everything that the boys did last year and try and get going around this year.”
The camp this year will see the players split into four teams. The practices for the teams get started at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning, and continue through the day with two games being played Friday night. The same schedule is in place for Saturday.
Sunday, the teams will play one more game each before the players will be selected for the Eric Calibaba and Friends Memorial Cup Red and White Game. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Sunday night at Crescent Point Place.
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, DiscoverWeyburn encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the Discover Weyburn App.