Wheat Kings teammates remain tight

WASAGAMING — More than five decades after they played together, a group of former Brandon Wheat Kings has discovered the magic in some old friendships.

The players — Ron Chipperfield, John Paddock, Wayne Ramsey, Scott Hetherington, Wayne Wilhelm, Frank Taylor, Rick Piche, Ed Tkachyk, Kelly Greenbank, Ralph Krentz, Clark Lang, Dale Anderson and Gord Cole — were members of the 1972-73 and 1973-74 teams.

“In some ways, it’s a product of the good things that happened in COVID,” Paddock said. “When I was sick and in the hospital for 37 days, Chip was driving my wife crazy. He said ‘I’m coming.’ We had seen each other a little bit in Vancouver, but that speaks to the importance that we all feel now.

“Two years ago, Greener lost his wife and that shook us all big time, and it was like that. There’s just a lot of caring there for people and it’s getting closer all the time. As we age, we know we don’t have a lot of years left.”

The guys that were missing last weekend included Ron Pronchuk, Dale McMullin, Grant Thomson and trainer Gord Hahn.

Hahn came down with strep throat just days before the event so had to cancel, although he asked the guys to send him a lot of pictures.

Other players have passed away, including Mark Johnston and Rick Blight, and Greenbank’s wife Wendy died in February 2024.

The group has met in 2022, 2024 and 2026, but may hold another one in 2027 instead of waiting two years again.

Paddock is quick to admit he’s not technologically advanced, but was able to work out Zoom calls during the COVID lockdowns just after he got out of the hospital.

It gives them a chance every month or two to share stories and to find out what’s going on in each other’s lives.

“The good and the bad,” Chipperfield said. “We try to share both parts of it because we’re all at the age where somebody can have some life challenges.”

Wilhelm remembers Paddock initially asking his former teammates to meet on Zoom. They did, and the numbers quickly grew.

“We all said ‘We’ve been doing this on Zoom, we have to get together face to face,’” Wilhelm said. “That’s when we decided to do it back in 2022.”

They met on Saturday and enjoyed an evening around the fire pit at Wasagaming’s Arrowhead Family Resort. On Sunday, they went golfing at Clear Lake before enjoying a prime rib meal together. On Monday, they golfed again and then parted ways on Tuesday.

Piche was battling cancer one year but still attended the reunion despite living in Columbus, Ohio. He said it’s been a time of discovery for him because the group wasn’t always this close.

“It’s really funny because when you get with the guys, it’s not about where they went or what they’ve been doing the past 20 years, it’s basically what we did in that time,” Piche said. “Then you realize ‘I don’t know where this guy went.’

“All the guys got drafted and went everywhere and you never followed them, your life just went another way. That’s one thing I feel bad about, because I see some of these guys’ resumes, like John Paddock as a coach, and all these guys and what they did.

“Chipperfield was in Italy for 23 years. Where did the time go? It amazes me. It’s been three years now and I’m still learning what happened with guys in their lives.”

The Wheat Kings played together in the Western Canada Hockey League, the name the future Western Hockey League went by from 1968 to 1978.

It’s a group that holds one unique distinction in team history: On Oct. 14, 1972, the Wheat Kings played their first game in the newly built Keystone Centre, thumping the visiting Winnipeg Jets 13-1 in front of 5,032 spectators.

If you watch them chatting now — a stretch of nearly 20,000 days since that game — it’s almost like the years have fallen away and they’re back in their stalls in the dressing room laughing about they’ve seen and experienced.

“We seem to remember different parts of different stories,” Wilhelm said. “I remember one end of it and another friend will remember another part of it and then we all come into together and just have a great time.”

Paddock agrees, sharing a tantalizing bit of an off-ice incident that still brings laughs from the group.

“It’s the same old stories come up every couple of years and we get lots of laughs out of them,” Paddock said. “There are a lot I wouldn’t repeat and some when somebody is driving their car in a ditch in water and puttering along. It wasn’t me but they were going to my farm.

“There are numerous ones that are pretty funny and others that will just stay between us.”

Chipperfield said those stories and their shared experiences are what makes their bond so tight.

“It’s been something that is really close to the heart,” the Minnedosa product said. “It brings me back to my years in junior. We were all kids growing up and had to rely on each other for a lot of things and were trying to make our way.

“Really, none of us had it figured out so we leaned on each other and those memories of that and the challenges that came with playing junior hockey — the ups and downs of what that is, and there are a lot of ups and downs for all of the guys — it really brings you together.

“I never believed we would come to this point where we would have this type of a reunion but it’s been really good mentally and great to see the guys.”

They have discussed going to Nashville for the reunion, but the difference in currency was one reason for staying in Manitoba. Another is that it’s simply where many of the guys are from and where some still live.

Paddock, for instance, grew up in Oak River and now lives in nearby Onanole.

“This was everybody’s home, for the most part,” Paddock said. “There were a lot of Manitoba guys on this team so it just seems natural we would come here. Two or three of us live in the area and Chip comes back with his roots in Minnedosa. It’s easy to do.”

Chipperfield, whose wife Cristina was unable to attend this year, said a key part of the reunion was making it a couples weekend instead of just inviting the players.

“The wives are a big part of it,” Chipperfield said. “They come and make their presence known and they formed quite a group as well. It becomes a family that comes together.”

Wilhelm’s wife June grew up in Brandon so she knew some of the others, but some women, who were strangers not along ago, have quickly bonded as well.

“It just seems like once we’ve got together, all the girls have got along so great too,” Wilhelm said. “Common interests, I guess.”

Every junior team seems to talk about how close and special their group is, and how they will be lifelong friends. The reality is that most players will grow apart, and while they may stay in touch with a few guys, life will lead them in different directions.

In addition, a common refrain is that as men age, they tend to become more isolated and have fewer and fewer close friendships. While it’s not a universal experience, the former Wheat Kings struggle to put their finger on what made this group special.

“I don’t know what it is,” Wilhelm said. “We all just got along together. We all came from different groups, high-end players like Ron Chipperfield, but we all just grew together. It’s hard to explain.”

He said playing in Brandon, where players are able to spend so much time together, certainly helps.

Paddock’s theory involves geography and life experience.

“I just go back to that so many of us were from Manitoba,” Paddock said. “Chip and Frank and I played against each other from the time we were eight years old and it was from rivalries to teammates to friends.”

The players were all born between 1953 and 1956, so the oldest players are now 73. Wilhelm acknowledges that things can change instantly for any of them, and is intent on enjoying the moment with his friends while he can.

“This is just great,” Wilhelm said. “We’ve had so many conversations where we just feel blessed that we’re able to get together and enjoy each other’s company and their spouses’ company. We’ll keep enjoying it. We really feel privileged to have that connection.”

And for Piche, he’s had a chance to build and expand friendships with men who have found success on and off the ice since he was their captain five decades ago.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Piche said. “They did so much with their lives.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com