A salute to the St. James Jr. Canucks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/06/2022 (1550 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On April 25, the St. James Jr. Canucks defeated the Pembina Valley Twisters 5-0 to win the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League championship and the Jack McKenzie Trophy. Let us talk about the champions.

In 1978-79 Carl Wullum and Tom Miller founded the Canucks, who joined the then-nine-year-old MMJHL. The Canucks defeated the St. Vital Victorias 7-2 in their first regular-season game and, on Oct. 13, 1978, the Canucks played their first game at St. James Civic Centre, with Wullum dropping the first puck. The evening also included performances by the St. James Figure Skating Club and a ringette team. Unfortunately, the Seven Oaks Raiders spoiled the party by winning the game 10-4. For the next 44 years, Canucks have continued to provide exciting hockey to the St. James Community.

In 2013, Tom Miller, known as “Mr. Hockey” in St. James, was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. On Jan. 22, 2016, the Canucks played in a game commemorating the 50th anniversary game of St. James Civic Centre Game, and defeated the Fort Garry-Fort Rouge Twins 8-0. Mitchell Lockhart scored the first goal and the first hat trick of the Civic Centre’s second 50 years. Tyler Weiss got the shutout.

In the 2018-19 season, the Canucks made a memorable playoff run, but their season ended in a heartbreaking one-goal, Game 7 loss in the final to the Pembina Valley Twisters in Morris. The Jack McKenzie Trophy was not awareded in 2020 or 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the start of the 2021-22 season, the Canucks executive of Justin Steeves, Jerry Jones, Mike Mooney, and Gavin McLachlan faced tremendous challenges, as renovations at the Civic Centre left the Canucks without a home rink. They ended up playing their home games at Keith Bodley Arena in Westwood and at Bell MTS Iceplex, which is not served by Winnipeg Transit. Less than a week before the team’s first 2021-22 regular -season game, Marc (Wanks) Wankling, the team’s popular equipment manager passed away. The Canucks dedicated their season to him.

The Canucks posted a dominating 37-4-4 record in the regular season record and finished first in league standings, 11 points ahead of the Transcona Railer Express.

After eliminating the Charleswood Hawks in four straight, the Raiders Junior Hockey Club offered stronger second-round opposition. The teams opened by splitting a pair of one-goal games. In Game 3 at the Iceplex, the Canucks recorded 56 shots in a 15-1 victory.

The Canucks are coached by Blair Mooney, Matt Levins, Sean Martin, and Scott Forcand. In the playoffs, Kurtis Luke led all scorers with 32 points in 14 games (he also won the MMJHL regular-season scoring race). goalie Noah Gilbert posted a 2.06 goals-against average and .920 save percentage, while Kale Price with 12 goals led all playoff scorers.