Welcome to a site where we sometimes provide food for thought, and often provide information about the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation.
OKOTOKS, Alta. (Nov. 19, 2025) — Jim Bzdel, a veteran of more than 30 years in the scouting game, and Garnet (Ace) Bailey, who was part of seven Stanley Cup-winners as a player and/or scout, headline the Class of 2026 that will be inducted into the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s Wall of Honour next summer.
The induction dinner is to be held in Okotoks on Aug. 28.
All told, the Foundation will induct 20 scouts — one (Bzdel) from the early era (1968-80), 17 from the modern era and two from the major junior game.
“I want to congratulate all of the individuals and their families on being selected to the WCPHS Foundation’s Wall of Honour,” said Scott Bradley, one of the Foundation’s directors and the chairman of the Wall of Honour selection committee. “This will be our third induction banquet, and there are still many more individuals to be honoured in the years ahead.”
Bzdel, 91, has lived in Regina since 1954. He spent 24 years working for the City of Regina, choosing to retire in 1993 and get into scouting on a full-time basis. He had started his scouting career with the WHA’s Los Angeles Sharks in 1972, and also worked with that league’s Cincinnati Stingers. In the NHL, he scouted for the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks before retiring in 2002.
Bailey was the Los Angeles Kings’ director of pro scouting and was en route to training camp on Sept. 11, 2001, when his flight was commandeered and flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. He was 53. As a player, he won a Memorial Cup (Edmonton Oil Kings, 1966), Calder Cup (Hershey Bears, 1969) and two Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins, 1970, 1972). He worked as a pro scout with the Edmonton Oilers for 13 seasons, helping them win five Stanley Cups, before moving to the Kings in 1994.
The WCPHS Foundation’s Ace Award is named in honour of Bailey. It is awarded annually to a person, or persons, who have exceeded expectations in helping those in the scouting fraternity.
Also included in the Wall of Honour’s Class of 2026 are Mike Barnett, once Wayne Gretzky’s long-time agent and now a senior executive with the New York Rangers; Dan Ginnell, whose father, the late Pat Ginnell, and brother Erin both are in the Wall of Honour; and twin brothers Rich and Ron Sutter, whose brother Duane was inducted in July.
The list is rounded out by Craig Channell, Paul Charles, Marcel Comeau, Jeff Crisp, Marshall Davidson, the late Laurence Ferguson, Thomas Gradin, Randy Hansch, Ryan Jankowski, Kelly Kisio, the late Jack McIlhargey and John Williams. Ray Dudra and the late Mark Johnston will be inducted as major junior scouts.
“Congratulations to the members of the outstanding Class of 2026 who have been selected to the WCPHS Foundation’s Wall of Honour,” offered Foundation president Erin Ginnell. “It’s always a tremendous honour to be recognized by your peers, especially with so many deserving scouts.
“I’m looking forward to a great evening and catching up with all involved.”
The Foundation has been in existence since 2023. It will hold its third annual Wall of Honour induction ceremony during a dinner in Okotoks on Aug. 28. The dinner has been moved from late July in order to strengthen the Foundation’s partnership with the Yuill Foundation, which is to hold its second annual Golf Classic in Medicine Hat on Aug. 27.
The Wall of Honour, featuring a rolling video display that includes brief bios of each inductee, is located in the Viking Rentals Centre in Okotoks.
The 20-member Class of 2026 will bring the total number of Wall of Honour members to 94.
Information on ticket availability for the banquet will be released early in 2026.
MEDICINE HAT (Nov. 10, 2025) — The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation, a beneficiary of the inaugural Yuill Foundation Golf Classic, is spreading some of that largesse around the Medicine Hat community.
The WCPHS Foundation received $93,000 from the Yuill Foundation after the Golf Classic was held at Desert Blume Golf Course on Sept. 11.
In turn, the WCPHS Foundation has chosen to make donations to the Senior Home Pet Visit Program, the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games, the Equestrian Gymkhana Winter Series and the Hockey Hounds bantam tournament.
“We are deeply grateful to the Yuill Foundation for their outstanding generosity and continued support,” said Garth Malarchuk, the WCPHS Foundation’s chairman of the board. “Their unwavering commitment and exceptional efforts are unparalleled and have set a remarkable standard for others to follow.
“And we are more than pleased to support community programs in Medicine Hat. As our Foundation’s Vision Statement reads, ‘. . . we feel a strong obligation and commitment to give back to charities, communities and individuals, who could benefit from our support and financial assistance.’ ”
The Senior Home Pet Visit Program, which supports those who reside in 11 senior facilities in Medicine Hat and one in Bow Island, was given $15,000 to cover administrative costs for one year. Programs such as this bring comfort and joy to seniors through pet visits, helping with mental health care and well-being. The Medicine Hat program also involves special needs youth from the REDI Enterprises Foundation in the care and handling, thus creating an inclusive and compassionate experience.
The 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games are to be held in Medicine Hat from Aug. 11-15. The WCPHS Foundation donated $5,000 to the organizing committee to help cover costs associated with playing host to an event of this magnitude. The Games are expected to attract more than 1,500 athletes, coaches and officials to the city, with more than 1,000 local volunteers involved in keeping things on track.
The Equestrian Gymkhana Winter Series, which was given $1,000, is a new program that allows youngsters to experience the therapeutic benefits of working with horses. The money will help cover the costs of essential riding props for the inaugural event. Working with horses has proven beneficial to the mental health of young people, many of whom are dealing with anxiety issues and/or come from dysfunctional family environments.
The Hockey Hounds tournament, one of the longest-running bantam tournaments in Western Canada, also received $1,000. The money will help cover costs associated with the organizing and operation of the 2026 tournament.
The WCPHS Foundation’s man behind the scenes in Medicine Hat is associate director Blair Reid, who was a long-time scout and was a part of the Wall of Honour’s inaugural class in 2024.
“It’s wonderful that the scouts foundation has this relationship with the Yuill Foundation that includes participation in the annual Golf Classic,” Reid said, “and for us to be able to help out four organizations that give so much back to Medicine Hat and area is terrific.”
The WCPHS Foundation is continuing its relationship with the Yuill Foundation and, in fact, is working to make things bigger and better. As a result, the third annual Wall of Honour induction dinner will be held in Okotoks on Aug. 28 to allow an easier connection to the Golf Classic, which is scheduled for Aug. 27 in Medicine Hat. The first two induction dinners, in 2024 and 2025, had been held late in July.
Every year, for Remembrance Day, I post the story of Lyman (Hick) Abbott. From Regina, he was a wonderful athlete, a sportsman and a real Canadian hero.
I wrote this story while at the Regina Leader-Post, and it really is a favourite.
It all came about because of J. Lyman Potts, a gentleman who was named after Abbott. J. Lyman’s father, Joe, was something of a mentor to Hick. J. Lyman, who died on Dec. 9, 2018, was a legend in the Canadian broadcasting and music industries. He would have turned 107 on Nov. 11, so this always was a special week for him, too.
It was J. Lyman who acted when he realized in the mid-1990s that the Abbott Cup — originally funded by Potts’ father and named after Abbott — no longer was being given the respect it deserved. He wrote to old friend Tom Melville, a former Regina Leader-Post sports editor, and the two of them mounted a lengthy campaign that resulted in the Abbott Cup being retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Potts contacted me, one thing led to another and I ended up writing this story. Originally, I had a few pictures to include with the post. Then, I later received a handful of additional photos from Mark Abbott, a member of the Abbott family who has been in contact with me from his home in Guelph, Ont., and was able to include some of them.
Here, then, is the story of Lyman (Hick) Abbott . . .
Edward Lyman Abbott was, they all agreed, one of a kind.
He was a superb athlete and, just as important, he was a true sportsman. Everyone in southern Saskatchewan knew Abbott as Hick, which was shortened from Hickory, and he was loved by young and old alike.
LYMAN (HICK) ABBOTT
In the early part of the 20th century, Hick Abbott was the best athlete in Regina and maybe all of Western Canada. To this day, it may be Abbott who is the best athlete Regina has seen.
According to the Regina Leader:
“Previous to going to the war Abbott was one of the greatest hockey players that this Dominion every saw. He also was a stellar lacrosse, rugby and soccer player. He piloted Regina to a western championship in rugby in 1915 and what he did to bring the Allan Cup to Regina any of the old-time fans know.”
As we pause at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, his story is but one of many worth remembering. This, then, is that story. Or, at least part of it.
————
The gentlemen of Regina’s sporting scene would gather at Joe Potts’ Rose Athletic Parlours on the east side of the 1700 block Rose Street. They would go there for a shave, maybe a trim and, most definitely, to talk about how their sporting world turned.
The Rose Athletic Parlours — the name was in honour of a Potts penpal, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack — was a seven-chair operation, with each barber having his own washbasin and mirror. There were two other huge mirrors — floor to ceiling — and a circular leather seat that surrounded a pole on which was beautiful leather backing. A long glass counter was home to a gold-coloured cash register and boxes of chocolate bars. Mahogany-veered cabinets behind the counter were full of tobacco products.
JOE POTTS
And there were photographs — they didn’t call them pictures then — everywhere. Photographs of prominent athletes. Many of them autographed.
The billiard room was separate and featured Boston tables, although there was one billiard table. Each table had its own mahogany cabinet in which players hung their hats and coats.
This is where doctors, dentists, lawyers and businessmen came. This is where they talked about the exploits of their favourite son.
The Abbott family circa 1906 — Back row, left to right, Simon (brother), Rosa (sister) and Lyman (Hick). Front row, Mary Ann (mother), Rebena (sister) and James (father).
Hick Abbott played football (rugby football, it was frequently called then), hockey, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, basketball. He excelled at them all. He played in high school. He played for club teams. He played on playgrounds or in a gymnasium. It didn’t matter. He just wanted to play. He had to play.Hick Abbott was of fair complexion. He had gray eyes that, in a blink, would steal a young girl’s heart. And that hair. Oh, that light brown hair that always had that naturally tousled look. Born in Orillia, Ont., in the Hovering parish, on May 1, 1891, Abbott, who was of the Methodist faith, moved to Regina for some reason long since lost. His father, James Henry Abbott, lived his last days in Toronto. In a file folder full of documents, notes, papers and photographs, there isn’t a mention of a mother. Perhaps Hick Abbott’s mother died and he moved to Regina to live with his sister, Rebena Myrtle, who was a provincial government employee. A brother, Samuel Percival Abbott, lived near White Bear, Sask.
But hockey was his game. He was a right winger who played for as many teams as he could.
He played for the Regina Bees Capital Hockey Club, which won the Valkenburg Cup as the province’s 1911-12 amateur champions.
This a bracelet that ended up with Rebena at some point after Hick’s death. It is believed that he had it made out of a French coin while in France not long before he was killed. He recently had been promoted to Captain, and likely was wearing it when he was shot. The bracelet joined the medals that were secured with Dave Thomson’s help in 2014, just in time for it all to go on display with the Abbott Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of their First World War-themed display.
But how was he to know that the highlight of his athletic career would come in the spring of 1914 when he helped the Regina Victorias to the 1914 Allan Cup title? The team photo refers to the Vics as World’s Amateur Champions 1914. There’s Abbott — bottom row, third from the right, next to Joe Potts, the Vics’ manager. The newspaper refers to Abbott as “the speedy and consistent right wing who is the sharpshooter of the team.”
But there was trouble in Europe where, before long, the First World War would be raging. Soon, newspapers were full of casualty reports. Regina’s sons were dying over there.
A novelty photo from early in the 20th century that shows Hick and Joe Potts as infants, sitting in washtubs and holding hands.
Naturally, Abbott heard the call, as did many of his teammates from that 1913-14 team, including goaltender Fred McCulloch, defencemen Charlie Otton and Austin Creswell, who was the team captain, and rover Freddy Wilson.
Abbott took officer training in Winnipeg, qualifying for the rank of lieutenant. He returned to Regina and enlisted with the 68th Battalion.
On the day Abbott enlisted — Sept. 23, 1915 — he was a 24-year-old student at law who lived in Regina at 2254 Rose St.
Seven months later, on April 28, he was on the S.S. Olympic as it sailed from Halifax. Abbott headed overseas as a platoon commander and officer in charge of records.
Abbott was a true warrior. Whether it was on the field of play or on the field of war, there wasn’t any quit in this man.
Upon his arrival in England, he quickly transferred to the 52nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, a trench unit. In the ensuing 26 months, shrapnel was the only thing that kept him from the front.
He was first injured on Oct. 7, 1916, while in action near Courcelette, about 30 miles northeast of Amiens, in what came to be known as the Battles of the Somme.
Four days later, Abbott was admitted to No. 14 General Hospital at Boulogne with a wound to his left shoulder. Two days later, he was in England, safely ensconced in a war hospital in Reading, a few miles west of London.
A doctor noted a “shrapnel bullet localized near wound.” That shrapnel was removed on Oct. 24; he was discharged from hospital on Nov. 13.
Abbott rushed back to the front and stayed until June 3, 1917, when he was granted 10 days leave, which he spent in Paris.
The medals and bracelet are shown while on display in the case next to the Abbott Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame. They were there as part of a six-month exhibit.
On July 26, 1917, following the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Abbott was awarded the Military Cross “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He handled his men in the most able manner, and successfully led them through an intense hostile barrage. He set a fine example of courage and initiative.”
Three months later, on Oct. 27, he was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross.
The Bar, according to a letter Potts received from Abbott in early November, was “just for a little trench raiding affair.”
Abbott also mentioned that he now was wearing “a pair of plate glass spectacles on account of recent injuries to my eyes.”
The glasses were the result of his being wounded for a second time. He took a bullet — or a piece of shrapnel — in the right temple on Sept. 4, 1917, while raiding enemy trenches near Leuze, just over the border from France in the southwest part of Belgium.
A medical report indicates this was a “Severe G.S.W. (gunshot wound) near right eye.” Before he reached the hospital in Boulogne, the shrapnel//bullet was “removed with giant and small magnet.”
The Sept. 11 edition of The Leader reported, under the headline Popular Regina Young Man Is Among Wounded:
“As the casualty lists come in, more and more Regina soldiers are listed either as killed, wounded or gassed. In the list of yesterday appears the name of one of the best known and popular young men of the city, Lieut. Edward Lyman Abbott, as being wounded. This is the second time within 10 months that ‘Hick’ . . . has suffered injuries on the battlefield.”
The story continued:
“. . . he has written to friends in the city and appeared to be carrying on without much worry. Abbott was one of the finest athletes and best sportsmen in the city, standing at the head in every branch of sport he entered. He was particularly noted for his prowess at hockey, and football, two games in which he had no superior in the west.”
By Sept. 15, he had been “invalided, wounded and detached” to the Manitoba Regimental Depot and was being cared for in the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth.
A doctor’s report noted: “Recommended for convalesence . . . to report back in three weeks.” Abbott was discharged on Sept. 24, 1917, and spent the next month at St. Mark’s College, leaving there on Oct. 25, 1917.
The next entry in his medical record is dated Sept. 14, 1918. It is short and to the point: K. in A.
Killed in Action.
It was, in the words of General Erich Ludendorff, the “black day of the German army.”
It was Aug. 8, 1918. It was the day on which the Battle of Amiens began. It was the battle in which Hick Abbott died.
After recovering from his head wound, Abbott returned to France on Dec. 24, 1917. A week later, he was back with his unit.
With Capt. G.M. Thomson heading for England, application was made for Abbott to be an acting captain with the 52nd Battalion. That was approved on March 16, 1918.
Abbott, then, was a captain when the Battle of Amiens, one of the war’s most decisive battles, began. The German’s spring offensive had been stopped only eight miles from Amiens. Now it was time to push them back. Later, after the Armistice had been signed on Nov. 11, 1918, it was generally acknowledged that this was where the tide had turned. In two weeks, 46 German divisions were defeated — 34,250 prisoners and 270 heavy guns were captured.
“It was,” said Ludenhoff, “the black day of the German army in the war . . . To continue would be a gamble. The war would have to be ended.”
On Aug. 14, with the battle almost won, Abbott — always the leader — was first out of a trench as he led a charge towards the enemy.
According to Earl Longworthy, an acquaintance of Abbott’s, he was killed by a sniper’s bullet to the head.
Longworthy was with Abbott’s battalion the day after his death and reported the platoon “worshipped the ground Abbott walked on and were in sorrowful spirits because of his death.”
A testimonial, author unknown, reads in part:
“Abbott was the type of Canadian, and the type of Britisher, that the Germans cannot understand; the type that fights with a silent fury and yet that does not hate; too much of a sportsman to fight unfairly, but more dangerous in attack than their finest products of hate-inspiration because of utter recklessness combined with a deadly skill and total inability to recognize defeat.”
By the time of his death on Aug. 14, 1918, Abbott’s father also was dead. Hick’s medals went to his sister, Rebena, who was living in Regina at 2072 Angus St. A plaque and scroll went to his brother, Samuel, at White Bear.
Abbott’s will, dated July 1, 1916, indicated that there may have been another woman — besides his sister — in his life.
His will appointed his sister and R.D. MacMurchy, a Regina barrister, as executors. It read in part:
“I give and bequeath unto my sister Rebena Myrtle Abbott all property, real and personal in my possession or due me at the time of my decease and in the advent of her prior decease all said property, real and personal to Miss Edith May Longworthy, 2035 Hamilton St., Regina, Canada.”
Word of Abbott’s death was reported in The Leader of Aug. 22, 1918:
“The death of the popular young Regina officer came as a great shock to his many friends in the city and to the hundreds who knew him through the province particularly as one of the finest athletes who ever appeared before the public in the province.”
Joe Potts was devastated by the news and wrote an appreciation that appeared in The Leader:
“The world of sport of Regina, and for that matter the entire province of Saskatchewan, is the poorer today by the loss of Hick Abbott.
“As long as Regina is, the name of Abbott will live. To the present generation his name stands supreme as a monument to the best that was in sport. To the future generation he has left an ideal for them to attain.
“The citizens of Saskatchewan have lost one of nature’s gentlemen, one who held dear the traditions of his land and one who ever had at heart one thing — the interest of his fellows.
“A hero among his fellows he was equally loved by the boys. No business was ever too pressing to prevent him claiming their comradeship. To the younger lads of Regina his life and glorious death will be an inspiration.
“In expressing these thoughts I am but giving voice to those of everyone in the city who knew him. As one who knew him intimately from the time he grew out of boyhood the loss is personally great.”
Potts had named his first-born son after Abbott — J. Lyman Potts was born on Nov. 11, 1916 — and would make certain that Hick wouldn’t be forgotten.
The Abbott Memorial Cup
Late in 1918, Joe Potts started a fund-raising drive, the result of which would be the Abbott Memorial Cup, which for years would go annually to the champion of western Canadian junior hockey.
When the subscription drive started, the first name on the list was Lyman Potts ($10). The second name was that of Lieut. Austin Creswell, the captain of the 1914 Victorias.
E.A. Jolly, a prominent Regina druggist, sent in $5, along with a note:
“Captain Abbott was one of the highest types of Canadian citizens and his record on the ice and subsequently on the battlefield proved him a man of whom all of us should be proud. I remember the great games with Melville when Abbott worked so valiantly and well for victory, and I also remember what a great power Abbott was to the Victoria team when they won the Allan Cup on that great night in Winnipeg nearly five years ago.”
Dick Irvin, who would later prove to be one of the NHL’s great coaches, wrote from Belgium where he was a private “doing despatch work on a motorcycle . . . and seeing the sights of France and Belgium over the handle bars.”
Irvin was a 21-year-old centre on the Winnipeg Monarchs team that lost the 1914 Allan Cup final to the Vics.
Lyman (Hick) Abbott’s headstone has his age wrong — it shows him as being 25 when he died; he was 27. The family later paid to have a few words added to the bottom of the headstone. It reads: “Hickory . . . a true & gallant gentleman . . . his life still shall speak.”
“I am interested in what you say about the proposed Abbott Cup and you can put (me) down for a five spot,” Irvin wrote. “I think the idea splendid for junior hockey in the west and, as far as the memorial is concerned, you couldn’t have picked on a better name as Abbott was a . . . man all through.”
Hector Lang, the principal of Regina’s Central Collegiate during Abbott’s high school years who later moved to Medicine Hat and would be the Alberta trustee for the Abbott Cup, wrote that Abbott “at his studies, in his games, and on the field of battle, displayed always in the highest degree the character of the true sportsman. I remember, too, the other boys who studied and played with him — all good boys and true sports, and all of them better because of the influence of the big-hearted and fair-minded Hick Abbott.”
Sid Smith wrote from Gull Lake, Sask., expressing the hope that “this trophy will not be handled in such a way that it will fall into disregard, be forgotten as is often the case with such.”
Almost 80 years later, the Abbott Memorial Cup no longer could be considered a prominent trophy. Where it once went to the winner of a best-of-seven series, in its last years it was presented to the winner of one round-robin game between two western representatives during what was then the Royal Bank Cup — aka the national junior A championship.
“I know absolutely nothing about the Abbott Cup,” admitted one member of the Melfort Mustangs, Abbott Cup winners for 1996.
“It’s just an appetizer (for the Royal Bank Cup),” added another player.
It seems, alas, that Sid Smith’s worst fears were recognized.
——
Hick Abbott, who left Regina to fight for his country’s freedom, never returned to his adopted home town.
He is buried in Roye New British Cemetery, a few miles north of Paris.
Plot 1, Row B, Grave 13.
——
Hick Abbott was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation held its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on Tuesday (July 29). . . . Thirty past and present-day scouts were inducted into the Wall of Honour, and that included Duane Sutter. He didn’t have any idea that this was going to happen until he arrived for the dinner, which was billed as A Night With the Sutters and included a couple of hot stove sessions. . . . Over the past while, we introduced you to all of the inductees, so here’s a chance to meet Duane Sutter. . . .
DUANE SUTTER
(March 16, 1960 — )
From Viking, Alta., he is one of six brothers to have played in the NHL. . . . Selected by the New York Islanders with the 17th overall pick in NHL’s 1979 draft. . . . Had 34 points in 21 games with the 1979-80 Lethbridge Broncos when the Islanders recalled him. Won four Stanley Cup titles in his first four seasons with them (1980-81-82-83). . . . Spent two seasons (1990-92) scouting with the Chicago Blackhawks before getting into coaching and working with the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), Indianapolis Ice (IHL) and Florida Panthers. . . . Returned to scouting in 2003 and worked with Florida, the Calgary Flames (three seasons as director of player development), Edmonton Oilers (five seasons as pro scout, three as VP of hockey ops) and Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Left the scouting game after one season (2019-20) as pro scout with Pittsburgh.
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on Tuesday (July 29). . . . If you aren’t aware, the Wall of Honour makes its home in the Viking Rentals Centre in Okotoks. . . . And the dinner will be held right there, too. . . . It’ll be a night of fun, fun, fun, what with various auctions and a Hot Stove session or two involving members of the hockey-playing Sutter family. . . . Tickets for the dinner are available on the Foundation’s website (tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . With all that in mind, we have been introducing members of the Wall of Honour’s Class of ’25 over the past while, and here we close out with a look at Brad Robson. . . .
BRAD ROBSON
(May 23, 1953 — )
From Calgary, started as B.C. area scout with the WHL’s New Westminster Bruins (1977-79). . . . Joined the Great Falls Americans for 1979-80, then, when the team folded mid-season, began scouting southern Alberta for the Brandon Wheat Kings (1980-84). . . . Got into the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and spent seven seasons (1986-93) there. . . . Moved to Dallas with the franchise and was with the Stars for 15 seasons (1993-2008), winning the 1999 Stanley Cup. Also helped the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders (1994-96). . . . Worked with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes (2009-14) and was president and GM of the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers (2015-19). . . . Joined Dynasty Hockey Group in Calgary (2019) as vice-president and director of player development. . . . Spent almost 31 years with the Calgary Police Service, retiring in June 2010 as acting staff sergeant.
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled for Okotoks on Tuesday (July 29). . . . Okotoks, the home of the BCHL’s Oilers, also is the home of the Wall of Honour. Yes, it’s right there in the Viking Rentals Centre. . . . That also will be the site of the induction dinner, tickets for which are available on the Foundation’s website (tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . In the meantime, we are introducing folks to members of the Wall of Honour’s Class of ’25. This time we would like you to meet Milt Fisher. . . .
MILT FISHER
(March 28, 1950 — )
Born in Prince Albert, he spent almost 40 years as a scout and in all that time worked for only two teams — the Prince Albert Raiders and New Jersey Devils. . . . Started with the Raiders of the SJHL in 1979 — he won two Centennial Cups with them as national junior A champions. Was responsible for setting up their scouting system when they moved into the WHL in 1992. . . . Got into the NHL as a part-timer with the Devils in 1986 and moved into a full-time role in 1996. . . . Retired in 2017. . . . Won a Memorial Cup with the Raiders in 1985 and three Stanley Cups with the Devils (1995, 2000 and 2003). . . . Was inducted into the Raiders’ Wall of Honour as a builder on Jan. 17, 2015.
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. On that evening, we will honour 29 scouts — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of major junior hockey. . . . Tickets are available on the Foundation’s website (tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . Now we would like to introduce you to Keith Wilson, one of our 2025 inductees. . . .
KEITH WILSON
(March 5, 1943 — )
Born in Daventry, England, he migrated in 1948. . . . Recalls travelling with Swift Current Broncos scout John Vogel in 1972. . . . Has been WHL scout for every season since then. . . . Worked with Swift Current/Lethbridge Broncos (1972-79), Billings Bighorns/Nanaimo Islanders (1979-83), Medicine Hat Tigers (1983-88), Seattle Thunderbirds (1988-94), Tri-City Americans (1994-95), Prince Albert Raiders (1995-2001), Spokane Chiefs (2001-02), Swift Current again (2002-18) and Edmonton Oil Kings (2018-). . . . That’s 53 consecutive seasons through 2024-25. . . . Was head scout and director of player personnel with the Raiders. . . . Won two WHL championships and Memorial Cups (1987, 1988) with Medicine Hat, one WHL title with Swift Current (2018) and one with Edmonton (2022). . . . Thanks Les Calder, Russ Farwell, Dennis Beyak, Rick Valette, Tim Speltz, Jamie Porter and Kirt Hill “for showing faith in my scouting ability.”
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is only a couple of weeks away. It is scheduled to be held in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. . . . Tickets are available at the Foundation’s website (tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . All told, we will induct 29 scouts — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of major junior hockey. . . . In the lead up to the dinner, we are introducing you to the Class of ’25. So let’s get to know Ray Payne. . . .
RAY PAYNE
(Aug. 25, 1942 — )
Born in Toronto, he began scouting as part-timer with the Minnesota North Stars (1989-90). . . . The San Jose Sharks hired him in 1990 and he was with them through 2004, but left for two years to join Hockey Canada as director of scouting. . . . Won gold at the 1996 World Junior Championship in Boston. . . . Was San Jose’s chief scout for his final eight seasons there. . . . Moved to the Washington Capitals (2004-07) and then spent two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, the last one as associate head scout. . . . Has been in the WHL since 2011, starting with the Calgary Hitmen (2011-17), then Portland Winterhawks (2017-23). . . . Joined the Spokane Chiefs in 2024 as chief B.C. scout. . . . Boston U grad. Played in 1966 Final Four. . . . Taught high school in Toronto area for 17 years before turning to scouting.
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. On that evening, we will honour 29 scouts, from past and present — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of junior hockey. . . . Tickets for the dinner — the evening is being billed as A Night With the Sutters and will include a hot stove session or two with members of hockey’s first family — are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . In the leadup to the dinner, we are introducing folks to each of the honourees. So let’s meet Darwin Bennett. . . .
DARWIN BENNETT
(Aug. 21, 1947 — )
From Arcola, Sask., Bennett moved to Regina at an early age and was a fixture on the city’s hockey scene through his time as a senior player and on into his scouting career. . . . Began scouting with the Prince Albert Raiders in 1982-83, their first season in the WHL. . . . Joined the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques (part-time) in 1985-86 and was full-time through 1992-93. Was acting head scout from April 1993 through the NHL’s 1993 draft. . . . Also worked for the New York Rangers (1993-2001) and Florida Panthers (2001-06). . . . Has scouted for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks since 2012. . . . Won a Memorial Cup with Prince Albert (1985), a Stanley Cup with the Rangers (1994) and a WHL championship with Portland (2013).
OKOTOKS (July 9, 2025) — The celebration surrounding the non-profit Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner will get underway on the morning of July 29.
While the dinner is to be held that evening at the Viking Rentals Centre in Okotoks, home of the Wall of Honour, veteran broadcaster Rod Pedersen will kick things off when he opens The Rod Pedersen Show at 10 a.m. (MT) from the lobby of the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary, the Foundation’s host hotel.
“The WCPHSF is doing a great thing with this Wall of Honour, and what they’re doing for the scouting fraternity as a whole,” Pedersen said. “Scouts are easily the most unheralded part of sports teams, but arguably the most important! To have the opportunity to shed more light on what they do by broadcasting our show from the event is a huge blessing.”
What will make the day so much more special is that Pedersen’s late father Jim, a longtime Dallas Stars scout, will be one of the 29 past and present-day scouts inducted into the Wall of Honour.
“I can’t wait to see my Dad’s scouting buddies in Okotoks and hear their war stories on air,” Pedersen said. “Our family is incredibly grateful to have our father recognized in this way and we’re excited to hopefully add to a great event.”
Pedersen’s show will run until noon from the hotel that is located at 2620-32nd Ave. NE. It is anticipated that a number of celebrity guests, honourees and foundation directors will make appearances.
“The Foundation is thrilled that Rod will be able to broadcast from the Sheraton Cavalier that day,” said Garth Malarchuk, the Foundation’s chairman of the board. “This will be a terrific opportunity for us to get out the message that we are about more than the Wall of Honour, that we are about helping charities and those in the scouting fraternity who maybe have been dealt a bad hand medically and need some help.
“Having The Rod Pedersen Show on the air like that is also an exciting way for us to get our big day started.”
The show is available for viewing on the Game+ television network. It also is available on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify. Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. Or you can visit rodpedersen.com/listenlive/.
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