Dwight McMillan fancies himself a hockey coach and nothing else. Forget the 1000-plus wins he has accomplished over his career; McMillan says it's something anybody can do as long as he's blessed to have a long career behind the bench. McMillan views the last 37 years as one big cycle that keeps repeating itself season after season after season.

It's a good thing Dwight McMillan isn't writing his own biography, because we'd be left wondering how this modest man ever got into the SJHL Hall Of Fame. The fact remains, McMillan is a hockey coaching legend. He picked up career win number 1000 in early February 2008, putting him in an elite group of company with Scotty Bowman (NHL) and Brian Kilrea (OHL) as the only coaches in the history of hockey to win that many contests. McMillan says while the feat is a great accomplishment, it doesn't actually mean all that much. "You coach every game and it ends up being every year and before you know it, you have all of these wins. It doesn't mean you are going to win the next game, which is what I always want to do. But, it's nice. It tells you that you have been around for a long time and have been successful. The goal is to coach every game and enjoy it, while trying to promote the kids. If it's 50 wins or a thousand, it's good," he says.

Aside from two years in the late 1980's, Dwight McMillan has coached the Weyburn Red Wings since 1972. His own Red Wing history dates back to the very first Red Wing team of 1961, of which Dwight was a rookie player; having been recruited by a Detroit pro scout from Edmonton. "I played until 1964 and then tried out for the Detroit Red Wings. I was traded to New York and played for their farm team for half a year and decided I better come home because I just wasn’t going to make it," said McMillan.

McMillan was asked to coach the Junior 'B' Wings in 1967 and the team, promptly, won two championships in each of his first two years. "I, actually, never thought about coaching at all until Jack Shupe approached my boss at work and convinced him that I should coach. In those days, your boss had a lot more influence and authority than he does now, so when he told me I'd coach or else; I just decided that is what would be best." Incidentally, McMillan and Ron Rumball also coached a fastball team that had just won the 1972 national championship; so as soon as they got home, they started training camp.

At the time (1972), the Wings were, essentially, broke. McMillan is convinced the only reason he and Rumball were asked to take on the task was because they worked cheap. "They had nobody else to come in and take it. I didn't apply and I don't think Ron did either. I think the team had five players on their protected list, other than those that were returning from the previous year. We went all over the countryside looking for players," he recalls.

The Red Wings, with McMillan and Rumball running the on-ice operations, won a national Junior 'A' championship in 1984; which McMillan says is interesting because the 1983 team was better. "The team we built in 1983 was definitely better, but we ended up with a lot of injuries and couldn't finish the job. In 1984, we had a lot of carry over and the big thing was that the players really wanted to win so they took it upon themselves. I remember John Corrigan making some big saves to win 3-0 over Orillia in the final game. When you talk about memories, I think about how well he played in that game and how great the boys were that year."

The Red Wings made multiple trips to the national championship tournament; but didn't pull off another crown (RBC Cup) until 2005, when they were the Cinderella story of the event they hosted; defeating Camrose in the final game; thrilling the hometown fans.

As McMillan reflects on influences and how long he's been around the game, he puts a few things into perspective. "I was raised in the District of Bear Island and went to the country school. I played on outdoor ice until I was 14 years-old. We have come a long way since those days. Just last year, the Red Wings installed luxury boxes," he chuckles.

McMillan credits his dad and a man from England he still, respectfully, calls Mr. Proud. I was in grade five and he really lived up to his name. He drove all of his students to do the best we could. Hockey, ball, running, you name it. He promoted each of us to be the best we could be and he installed the one thing all competitors need and that is to go flat out in whatever you do."

If McMillan is anything like his dad, he may coach his way to 2000 wins. "My dad is 93 years-old and he came to Weyburn this summer to play a game of golf at White Bear. He went all nine holes. He lives alone without any help. He does everything. He cooks his own meals, walks everyday, you name it." When it's suggested to him that he, himself, may still be coaching when most men his age should be long retired from the game, Dwight says, "You might be right. I don't know anything different."

Chris Chelios just might be the best American born player to ever play in the National Hockey League, which should also make him the top United States product to ever suit up for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team.

It’s hard to believe Chelios was cut from two Junior ‘B’ clubs on his initial trip to Canada and was forced to borrow money just to get home to California. His return to Canada the next year went much better.

Chelios played with the Moose Jaw Canucks for three years, beginning in the fall of 1979 and ending in the spring of 1981. In his final season, he racked up 23-goals and 64-assists in 54-games; ending his SJHL career with 131-games, 38-goals, 111-assists, and 149-points. He won the SJHL Leadership Award in 1980 and 1981.

Following his SJHL career, Chelios went on to play for two years in the NCAA with the Wisconsin Badgers, where he left following his sophomore campaign, in which he compiled a total of 97-points in 88-games. He was also a member of the 1983 NCAA champion Badgers. While with the Badgers, he was named the WCHA Rookie Of The Year in 1982.

Chelios played 12-games for the 1983-84 Montreal Canadiens and was a regular during the playoffs, but he really made an impact beginning in 1984-85. He was named to the NHL All-Star Game and also to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He finished as the runner-up to Mario Lemieux in the balloting for the Calder Trophy (NHL Rookie Of The Year).

He suited up with the Habs right up until his controversial trade to Chicago in June 1990. Chelios and a second rounder went to the Hawks for Denis Savard. Chelios ended up being a regular in NHL All-Star Games and won two Norris Trophies with the Hawks; while Savard never lived up to the lofty expectations.

Chelios was dealt to Detroit during the trade deadline of March 23, 1999. He was 37-years-old; but played for the Wings right up until the end of this past season.

In his NHL career, he has won the Norris Trophy for being the NHL’s top defenseman in 1989, 1993, and 1996. Chelios was part of Stanley Cup winning teams in 1986 with Montreal, 2002 with Detroit, and 2008 with the Wings. He was also an integral member and captain of the 1996 United States World Cup Of Hockey championship team.

Chelios keeps himself in incredible physical shape and at the age of 47, isn’t ready to hang up the blades quite yet. Remarkably, in an age of frequent turnover on NHL teams, Chelios has played for only three clubs (Montreal, Chicago, and Detroit).

As of the end of the 2009 NHL season, Chelios has played 1645 games and scored 185 goals, 763 assists, and 948 points. In late July, The Hockey News named Chelios the best American born hockey player ever, establishing himself over an impressive tier that includes the likes of Brian Leetch, Pat LaFontaine, and Mike Modano.

The SJHL is proud to enshrine Chris Chelios into the SJHL Hall Of Fame.

Regina native Wayne Kartusch played competitive hockey in the Regina Pats minor hockey system before graduating in 1958 to the junior program. Following two seasons with the pats, he received a scholarship to the University of Michigan, graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science. A year later, he obtained his Masters in Education from Pittsburgh.

Kartusch came to hockey prominence as far as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is concerned in 1972 when he took over as head coach of the Regina Pat Blues. In 1974, he was named SJHL Coach Of The Year.

He is best known, however, for serving as Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League President from 1977-2003, a span of 26 years. Never afraid to tackle issues and take on leadership roles across the country, Kartusch became Chair of Junior Hockey for Saskatchewan Hockey Association in 1979. Throughout his tenure, Kartusch developed the SJHL into a powerhouse amongst Junior ‘A’ hockey leagues in Canada as he oversaw the league during the glory years of the Prince Albert Raiders in the late 1970’s.

The SJHL also enjoyed the addition of several successful franchises during the peak of Kartusch’s career as the Melfort Mustangs quickly became one of the more pleasant stories in Canada, hosting the RBC Cup in 1996. The addition of the Kindersley Klippers, who have won two league titles in their, relative, short existence has proven to be another added flavor of competitiveness. Adding the La Ronge Ice Wolves has given the SJHL a true Saskatchewan wide presence.

During his time as President of the SJHL, Wayne was a Director of the Junior Council for the Canadian Hockey Association and served on the Hockey Development Council. While at the Hockey Development Council, Kartusch was instrumental in the creation of the Canadian Development Model which is still used nation-wide to this day in developing players from a young age all the way up through junior hockey and beyond. This model has been adopted by almost every hockey nation to encourage growth of their hockey programs.

Upon retiring his post from the SJHL in 2003, Kartusch was immediately heaped with an abundance of awards and recognition. He was given a lifetime membership with the SHA, the highest honor attainable. He was also bestowed as an Honorary Life Member with the CJHL and given Hockey Canada’s highest honor with the Volunteer Of The Year. The SJHL honored Kartusch with the William Shinske Award as Builder Of The Year.

Kartusch was enshrined in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall Of Fame in 2007 and he’s now an inaugural member of the SJHL Hall Of Fame.

Ron Hextall used the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League as a springboard to achieving remarkable success in the National Hockey League.

Hextall was the last line of defense and, often, the only line of defense for the Melville Millionaires in the 1980-81 season as the Mils suffered through a miserable year in which they won just eleven games, of which Hextall was credited with eight victories. Without the Brandon MB native that season, the Mils would have been 3-and-22.

Hextall ended up being a perfect icon for the SJHL motto, Rich Tradition Strong Future. From Melville, Hextall went on to the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League where he played for three years, leaving at the end of the 1983-84 campaign with a 29-win year under his belt in his final season.

He spent two years in the American Hockey League and then took the NHL by storm in 1986-87. In his very first National Hockey League season, Hextall won the Vezina Trophy (top NHL goaltender) as well as the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) as his Philadelphia Flyers pushed the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the Stanley Cup finals. He was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and finished second, to Luc Robitaille, in the balloting for the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year).

The workhorse played more than 60 games in each of his first three seasons and became the first NHL goalie to ever win 30 games in each of his first three years. He also took part in the famed Rendez-Vous 87 in Quebec City, and he also served as Grant Fuhr’s back-up in Canada Cup 1988, arguably the best hockey tournament staged ever.

Hextall may best be known for being the first goaltender to ever shoot and score in a National Hockey League game, something he accomplished against the Boston Bruins on December 8, 1987. He also was the first goaltender to ever shoot and score in an NHL playoff game; April 11, 1989 against the Washington Capitals.

His tenure with Philadelphia ended in the summer of 1992 when he was part of the famed Eric Lindros trade. He led Quebec to their first playoff appearance in years in his first year as a Nordique. He also played for the New York Islanders before returning to Philadelphia in 1994. He helped guide the team to another appearance in the Stanley Cup finals in 1997.

He left the game, as a player, at the end of the 1999 season and was inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall Of Fame on February 6, 2008.

Hextall currently serves as the Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings and the General Manager of the Kings’ AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs.

It was the Fall of 1966 and the community of Weyburn had no idea a future legend was entering the city when Ron Rumball took a position to be Vice Principal at Haig Elementary School.

From there, the native of Bladworth SK (north of Davidson SK) became locked into the Weyburn Red Wings and a path of success was soon to follow.

The Red Wings became a Junior 'A' program in 1969 and Ron was on the Board of Directors. In 1972, he joined forces with Dwight McMillan (for a second time, the first was with the Junior 'B' program in 1966) and began helping to stock the cupboard with prospects. "I was definitely the apprentice. We did a lot of miles together. I remember we didn't have a lot to work with when we took over," says Rumball.

Ron says his role flip flopped throughout the 70's and 80's from Board of Director to Director of Scouting to Team Manager. "In those days, the roles for all of those jobs is different than it is today. There was a period of four or five years in which Dwight wasn't coaching and so I filled in as an interim coach for a few weeks at a time. I never had any aspirations to be a full-time coach and with my professional career as a teacher, I really couldn't anyway," he says.

Rumball became full-time General Manager in 1995 and he continues to serve in that capacity today.

Championships are extremely familiar to Rumball, as Weyburn has won SJHL crowns in 1970, 1971, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001. They also were arch-rivals for the Prince Albert Raiders when the Raiders won seven straight SJHL championships from 1976-82.

The Wings also won the Centennial Cup (now the RBC Cup) in 1984 and also captured a surprise national crown in 2005 when the city of Weyburn actually hosted the RBC Cup.

2005 was a year in which the Red Wing management team may have pulled off their biggest magic act ever. After a fifth place finish in the Sherwood Conference and a disastrous first round playoff that saw them blow a 3-games-to-0 lead against the Humboldt Broncos; the Wings regrouped to play outstanding hockey when it mattered the most. "We played our last game on March 5th and then brought everyone back on April 5th for our second training camp of the year. We, basically, started the season over and the RBC opened on May 5th. We lost our first game against Portage, in overtime, but then won every single game after that."

Rumball says it is unbelievable to have been part of an organization that played for the Memorial Cup, Centennial Cup, and RBC Cup. "I remember everyone getting on the train to play for the Memorial Cup at the Montreal Forum and then reading the reports in the Montreal Gazette about a small town from the prairies playing the best hockey of any team the Montreal Junior Canadiens had seen all season. There were six players on that Montreal team that went up to play for the Habs next year."

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is proud to enshrine Ron Rumball to the Hall Of Fame.17