The Killam Jr. B Wheat Kings wound up the 2024-25 season with an awards banquet on Saturday, May 3.
Team General Manager Murray Gaume welcomed the crowd after dinner, then introduced Head Coach Nick Mantai to hand out the awards along with Assistant Coach Carson Welke.
The first award of the night was Most Popular Player, sponsored by Banjo Electric and Wagon Wheel Motel, given to Porter Lang.
Most Sportsmanlike, sponsored by Main Street Medley, Alliance, is Kyler Bergseth.
Most Improved Player, sponsored by Guardian Drugs, Killam, is Brady Parchoma.
Most Underrated Player, sponsored by Vision Credit Union, is Keegan McArthur.
Most Dedicated Player, sponsored by Battle River Implements, went to Tyler Krys.
Top Defenceman, sponsored by Killam Tire and Mechanical, was Carson Leroux.
Top Scorer, sponsored by Wild Rose Co-op, and Season MVP-the Brent Danylyshen Memorial sponsored by Rocky Mountain Equipment, went to Jordan Gagnon.
Most Aggressive, the Merlin Prichard Memorial, sponsored by Gaume Farms, went to Cade Schatschneider.
Carter Hogman won Rookie of the Year, the Stephen Hebert Memorial, sponsored by the Muirhead family.
Trey Forster won the Leadership, Laurent Basterash Memorial award, sponsored by the Basterash Family, and presented by Ginette and Kim Dammann on behalf of herself, her sister Elaine, and brother Dan in memory of their father. Dammann said her father spent a lot of time at a lot of Wheat Kings games, as he was their bus driver for many years.
Aidan Borgel won the Playoff MVP, Russell Grant Memorial award, sponsored by Campbell-McLennan Chrysler.
Four Wheat Kings retired at the end of the 2024-25 season. They were: #6 – Trey Forster, #18 – Tyler Krys, #19 – Kyler Bergseth, and #55 – Blake Sitler.
Mantai talked a little about the past season, where the team went through many personnel changes, and recovered, “Playing their best hockey by the end of the season.”
The team called Trainer Brody McDowell up to receive a special gift for his rookie year as trainer.
Team captain Kyler Bergseth and all the assistant captains took the podium after the awards to say a few words of thanks, to GM Murray Gaume, to both coaches, to trainer McDowell, and then also giving thanks to their families for supporting them through their entire hockey journey.
Gaume made a surprise announcement at the end of the night, introducing a third assistant coach, Blake Sitler. One of this year’s retiring players, Sitler joined the Wheat Kings in October 2023. He most recently coached the 2024-25 Camrose Vikings U16AA team while playing his final season with the Wheat Kings.