Jets GM back in old stomping grounds
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2016 (3618 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is spending his birthday with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The keynote speaker at tonight’s Sportsman’s Dinner turns 46 as the team hosts its annual fundraising event to help pay for its scholarship fund.
Cheveldayoff, the general manager of the Winnipeg Jets and former Wheat Kings blue-liner, said it was an easy decision to make.
“A lot of times, the timing doesn’t work for events like this,” Cheveldayoff said. “I know in years past there have been opportunities to attend as a patron. I know the importance of it to the organization from a fundraising standpoint … It’s a special place. I remember the event from years past and certainly to be able to speak at it is a real honour.”
Cheveldayoff is a former Wheat Kings captain who played 218 regular season and playoff games during four seasons in Brandon,1986-90. It’s his second time speaking at the event; he made his first appearance in 2006 as the general manager of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
Wheat Kings general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon has a long relationship with Cheveldayoff. McCrimmon joined the Wheat Kings organization as an assistant GM when Cheveldayoff was an 18-year-old player on the team.
“It’s great to have Chevy coming back to speak,” McCrimmon said. “He’s obviously one of our alumni and then with the position he has with Manitoba’s NHL team I think it’s a really great tie-in and a real neat story. As we’ve said many times, we’re very proud of what he’s accomplished in the game.”
Cheveldayoff was a first round draft pick by the New York Islanders and the Western Hockey’s League’s scholastic player of the year in 1988. McCrimmon was there when Cheveldayoff lost the entire calendar year of 1989 after blowing out his knee.
The injury would hinder the Saskatoon product through his four-year professional career in the American and International hockey leagues.
It was former Dauphin King forward Butch Goring who invited Cheveldayoff to join him as an assistant coach and assistant GM for the Denver Grizzlies at age 24.
After three years, he left to join the Wolves as general manager for the next 12 seasons.
That led him to a two-year run as assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2011, he joined the Jets as their general manager and executive vice-president of hockey operations, a job he still holds.
He said Brandon remains a big part of who he is.
“In a lot of ways I’ve never left,” Cheveldayoff said. “It was the franchise that I played my entire junior career with. I married a girl from southern Manitoba that I met in my last year playing with the Wheat Kings. We’ve got family in the area. For me, the Wheat Kings have always been something near and dear to my heart.”
A big part of that is the shared connection that he has with both former teammates and other players who played with the Wheat Kings. He jokes about running into other NHL executives and talking about their time here.
But it’s the bonds he forged as a player that he treasures.
“The honest truth is that some of the closest friends that I have today in the game that I stayed in touch with the most and have special relationships are some of the guys that I met in junior,” Cheveldayoff said. “The guy who comes to mind is Jeff Odgers. The time that you spend together and the camaraderie and the special bond that you have on that team, because you’re not playing professional hockey, those relationships are very, very pure and very, very deep. Certainly my message to the players at the event and what I hope to impart is that these are some of the best times of your life.
“Away from the game, enjoy them, be careful and try to learn from all aspects of your life. These players have the opportunity to play a very special sport at a very high level and can build relationships and learn life lessons that they’ll hold near and dear to their heart for the rest of their lives.”
» pbergson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @PerryBergson