REGINA (May 13, 2025) — The non-profit Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is partnering with the Regina Hotel Association to celebrate Indigenous hockey.
A dinner, billed as ‘Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends’, is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Conexus Arts Centre on Lakeshore Drive in Regina’s beautiful Wascana Park.
The dinner also is being held in conjunction with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
It is anticipated that the evening will include two hot stove sessions featuring some of those legends, including Kalley Armstrong, Ron Delorme, the King brothers, D.J. and Dwight, Jon (Nasty) Mirasty, Rich Pilon, Jordin Tootoo, Hall-of-Famer Bryan Trottier and Dave (Tiger) Williams, with more to be added.
“Having the opportunity to hold an event in a city with one of the richest histories in hockey on such a significant day and adding in the banquet’s theme is just a recipe for a successful event,” said Garth Malarchuk, a longtime scout with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the WCPHS Foundation’s chairman of the board. “This certainly meets one of our foundation’s primary mandates in supporting and giving back to the community.”
The dinner also will feature auctions involving hockey sweaters from Indigenous players.
Some of the proceeds from the evening will be shared with Regina-area organizations, including the Ranch Ehrlo Society’s Outdoor Hockey League, which had a single-season high 466 players participate in 2024-25, its 32nd season. Also receiving some of the proceeds will be Sask Sport, for KidSport Saskatchewan, and the Circle Project, which, according to its mission statement, “provides support and programs based on the Aboriginal vision of wholeness, balance, and healing. By promoting positive human development, we encourage people to help themselves through education, cultural awareness, family and community.”
“Regina has always been a city where hockey lives at the heart of the community. We are proud to welcome the 2025 Western Canadian Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation gala dinner and celebrate the legacy and contributions of the scouts who shape the game we love,” Sandra Jackle, the RHA’s president and CEO, said. “Partnering this event with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation not only amplifies the energy but also highlights the strong hockey culture that defines our city.
“We are thrilled to support this initiative, which not only brings the hockey world together but also gives back to the Regina community through the Scouts Foundation mission and outreach.”
Tammy Hoffart, KidSport’s provincial co-ordinator, added: “KidSport is a children’s charity designated to assist children ages 5-18 of families facing financial obstacles to participate in community sport programs. In 2024, KidSport provided opportunities to 5,500 children in Saskatchewan — 1,254 of which self identified as Indigenous. . . . Hockey remains one of our top-funded sports and in 2024 KidSport helped 861 kids through over $300,000 in grants to participate.
“Connecting with the Indigenous Hockey Legends banquet will help as KidSport looks to broaden our reach in 2025 and celebrate 30 years of helping get kids off the sidelines and into the game.”
Banquet tickets — $250 each or $1,600 per table of eight — are available at the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com).
In the lead-up to the dinner, the foundation and the hotel association will sponsor a contest involving Regina high school students. It will run from Sept. 1-14. The Foundation is looking for a ‘Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends’-related design to use on t-shirts, with sale proceeds to be given to charity. The contest winner will receive a bursary and an invitation to the banquet as a guest of the foundation. Watch for more details on this contest to be revealed in August.
“As a Reginan and a scout, I am really excited for the possibilities that exist for our foundation through an event such as this,” said Ross Mahoney, the WCPHS Foundation’s vice-president and the NHL-Washington Capitals’ assistant general manager. “I also am a former Regina high school teacher, so am really looking forward to being involved with the schools and our contest.”
The WCPHSF is in its infancy, having held its startup banquet less than two years ago. It raised enough money through that dinner and all that went with it, including a roast of Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean and various auctions, that it was able to get its Wall of Honour built and installed in the Viking Rentals Centre, the arena in Okotoks, Alta.
The Foundation held its inaugural induction dinner on July 29, 2024, during which 49 past and present-day scouts were saluted. The theme was ‘Tales From the Road,’ with two hot stove sessions featuring a whole lot of story-telling.
This year’s induction banquet — A Night With the Sutters — is scheduled for Okotoks on July 29, with a class of 29 to be inducted. The night will include hot stove sessions featuring hockey’s Sutter brothers.
There is a whole lot more to the WCPHSF than a Wall of Honour.
Since its inception, the Foundation has operated as a non-profit organization under the Alberta Societies Act; it recently applied for registered charity status with Revenue Canada.
The Foundation’s Vision statement, which is on its website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com), includes:
“Our non-profit foundation is appreciative and indebted to the game of hockey and all that it has provided to our life’s experiences. Because of that 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 Foundation already has helped out in those areas with organizations as varied as Bear Clan Bow River and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It also has provided financial help to scouts with medical issues.
The Foundation’s long-range plan includes providing financial assistant to individuals in the scouting community who are facing medical challenges; conducting seminars to provide future scouts, parents, players and coaches with information about the realities of playing hockey at a professional level; organize ‘Bid for Kids’ auction packages with all proceeds going to a designated individual or child-focused organization; supporting organizations across Western Canada with funding to reduce operational costs; and donations to health-related charities.
For further info, contact . . .
Garth Malarchuk, WCPHSF chairman of the board
gmalarchuk@torontomapleleafs.com
Tim Lenardon, WCPHSF co-ordinator
Gregg Drinnan, WCPHSF editor/historian
greggdrinnan@gmail.com
TAKING NOTE 