Wilson takes more than 50 years of scouting into Wall of Honour

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.”

Payne among Wall of Honour’s Class of ’25

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.

Bennett among WCPHS Foundation’s Wall of Honour inductees

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).

Pedersen Show to open Wall of Honour day celebrations

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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Wood member of Wall of Honour class of ’25

It is less than two months until the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation holds its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner. It is scheduled for July 29 in Okotoks, Alta., with 29 past and present-day scouts to be inducted. . . . It also is going to be a chance to spend A Night With the Sutters, with members of the hockey-playing family from Viking, Alta., on hand. . . . Tickets for the dinner are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . In the meantime, we are introducing folks to some of the inductees, like George Wood. . . . 

GEORGE WOOD

(April 2, 1937 — July 31, 2003)

Born in Winnipeg, he was hired as western scout by the Vancouver Canucks prior to 1974-75 and was there for 11 seasons. . . . Later split three seasons between the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals. . . . A goaltender in his playing days, he saw action in the EHL, EPHL, AHL, WHL and IHL. . . . Won Memorial Cup with the Flin Flon Bombers (1956-57). Is immortalized as part of mural on north wall of Flin Flon’s Whitney Forum. . . . Won AHL championship with the 1960-61 Springfield Indians. . . . While scouting for the Canucks, he sometimes went on the ice during practices and worked with the goaltenders. Glen Hanlon, for one, credited Wood with helping him improve his game. . . . Also was an excellent baseball player (first base) and was scouted by the New York Yankees. But size — he was 5-8 — was an issue.

MacGregor will be on Wall of Honour

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. We will salute 29 past and present-day scouts as they take their spots on our Wall of Honour. We also will spend A Night With the Sutters, with members of the hockey-playing family from Viking, Alta., joining us. . . . Tickets for the dinner are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . Before we get there, we want to introduce everyone to some of those who will be honoured, so let’s meet Stu MacGregor. . . . 

STU MacGREGOR

(March 15, 1957 — )

A native of Edmonton, MacGregor has been scouting for more than 40 years. . . . A minor hockey coach (1978-86), he started scouting as a part-timer with the Kamloops Jr. Oilers (1982-84) and then the Blazers (1984-90). . . . Hired full-time by Blazers as assistant GM and director of player personnel In March 1990. . . . Scouted with Dallas Stars for two seasons (1998-2000). . . . Was with Edmonton for seven seasons (2000-07) before the Oilers named him director of amateur scouting (2007-15). . . . Returned to Kamloops as GM (2015-18). . . . Back with Dallas as part-timer for 2018-19.  . . . Was back in WHL as part-time scout with Victoria Royals (2019-23). . . . Joined Moose Jaw Warriors’ scouting staff in October 2023. . . . Was part of four WHL championship teams and three Memorial Cup champs while with Kamloops.

WCPHS Foundation will salute Pedersen

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on 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 at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . With all that in mind, we are introducing members of the Wall of Honour’s Class of ’25, so we would like you to meet the late Jim Pedersen.

JIM PEDERSEN

(June 11, 1937 — July 21, 2018)

From Milestone, Sask., where he was raised on a farm and played goal in minor hockey. . . . Spent 26 years as a scout with the Dallas Stars. Was part of their 1999 Stanley Cup championship team. . . . Prior to the NHL, he scouted for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . From the Regina Leader-Post: “As well, Pedersen assisted people who were dealing with substance-abuse issues and offered counselling to young people. A lifelong 4-H member, he raised purebred Angus cattle.” . . . Ross Mahoney, the Washington Capitals’ assistant GM, knew Pedersen for more than 30 years. “I know he was an extremely hard worker,” Mahoney said, “because every time I went to a game, there was Jim Pedersen. I thought that maybe there were four or five Jim Pedersens, but there was only one.”

Foundation strikes two more partnerships

OKOTOKS (June 27, 2025) — The non-profit Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation continues to add to its organization . . . and always with an eye to the future.

The Foundation has added Jada Yee of Regina as its cultural advisor, while also entering into an agreement with Elevate Auctions to provide a presence at future fund-raisers.

Yee will have input into one of the Foundation’s biggest projects to date, the Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends banquet that is to be held in Regina on Sept. 30.

“This is a huge addition for the Foundation,” said Garth Malarchuk, the organization’s chairman of the board. “Yee is more than a little familiar with the traditions, the politics and all the rest of the Indigenous world, and he absolutely knows everyone. So he will be a huge help to us going forward.”

Yee was named CTV Regina’s Citizen of the year for 2023. Of Chinese-Canadian heritage, he is a member of the Wood Mountain Lakota Sioux Nation. A graduate of the University of Regina’s First Nations University of Canada, where he is a sessional instructor, he has a master’s degree of administration in leadership from the University of Regina.

Yee is the first citizen to be elected to the post of Chair of the Regina Police Commission. He also has served on such boards as the Regina Food Bank and the Regina Aboriginal Professionals Association. And he is a partner in OneHoop, an Indigenous consulting firm.

Meanwhile, the WCPHSF has forged a partnership with Elevate Auctions in a move that can only enhance the experience for those attending the second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on July 29 or the Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends banquet in Regina.

Elevate Auctions isn’t your typical auction house; rather, it deals only with non-profit and charitable organizations who are fund-raising via auctions. It has worked with such organizations as the Hospitals of Regina Foundation, the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, the Keyano College Foundation, the Calgary Flames alumni, the Flames Foundation and the Calgary Stampeders alumni.

Bill Brown, Elevate Auctions’ co-founder, said his firm will have an auctioneer and at least one spotter on hand at the dinners in Okotoks and Regina as the Foundation has plans to entertain bids on sports-related travel packages.

The agreement with Elevate Auctions also will allow the WCPHSF to provide a link on its website from which the public will be able to view and bid on silent auction items that will be made available.

“We feel confident that bringing in Bill Brown and Elevate Auctions will help us raise even more money for the WCPHSF and the many charities we support,” said Mark Stiles, the Foundation’s director of donor and stakeholder relations. “Bill is an expert in the field and works with some of the largest foundations and not-for-profit groups in Southern Alberta and beyond.”

Tickets for the Okotoks and Regina banquets are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com.

Meet another member of the Wall of Honour’s Class of 2025

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled for Okotoks on July 29. . . . Okotoks, the home of the BCHL’s Oilers, also is the home of the Wall of Honour. Yes, it’s right here in the Viking Rentals Centre. . . . That also will be the site of induction dinner, tickets for which are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . As dining time approaches, we are introducing folks to members of the Wall of Honour’s Class of ’25. This time we would like you to meet Brian Gross.

BRIAN GROSS

(Oct. 11, 1942 — )

From Lethbridge, he was raised on a farm, learning to skate on a frozen dugout. . . . Began scouting by working southern Alberta for the Regina Pats (1980-83). Regina hired him full-time (1983-85), and he answered to Glen Dirk and Bob Strumm. . . . When they moved to the Spokane Chiefs, Gross went along (1986-90) as an Alberta and tournament scout. . . . Then it was on to the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets (1991-95), before a return to Regina (1995-97), this time as director of scouting. . . . San Jose hired him in 1997 and he spent 25 seasons with the Sharks, covering Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, before retiring. . . . Worked 32 years with Alberta Government Telephones until 1993. . . . A highlight was getting undrafted Kelowna D Josh Gorges into San Jose’s camp and watching him go on to 13-season NHL career.

Larry Hornung to join son Brad on Wall of Honour

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled to be held in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. . . . Tickets are available at 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 the Class of ’25. So let’s get to know the late Larry Hornung, who will be honoured alongside his late son, Brad.

LARRY HORNUNG

(Nov. 10, 1945 — May 8, 2001)

Born in Gravelbourg, Sask., he grew up in Glenbain, Sask. . . . Went on to play junior hockey with the Weyburn Red Wings and Flin Flon Bombers, before embarking on a professional career that would take him to the NHL and WHA. . . . Played 48 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues over two seasons (1970-72) and split 371 WHA games over six seasons (1972-78) between the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and San Diego Mariners. . . . Began his scouting career with the Jets in 1995. Relocated with them to Phoenix and scouted for the Coyotes through 1997-98. . . . Spent three seasons (1998-2001) with the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . . Worked for 13 years at Pine Lodge, a drug and alcohol counselling and rehabilitation centre in Indian Head, Sask. Was facility director before joining Leafs.