MCCRIMMON TO REMAIN HEAD COACH

Brandon, Manitoba – The Brandon Wheat Kings have announced that General Manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon will serve as Head Coach of the Western Hockey League club for the 2004-2005 season.r 
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A former WHL and Canadian Hockey League Executive of the Year, McCrimmon took over as coach of the club last March when Mike Kelly was relieved of his duties and promptly led the Wheat Kings to six consecutive regular season victories and a first round upset of the favored Prince Albert Raiders in the playoffs.r 
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McCrimmon arrived in Brandon in 1988 from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he had served as both coach and general manager of the Lloydminster Blazers and North Battleford North Stars. After taking over a franchise that had been mired near the bottom of the WHL standings for most of the eighties, the Wheat Kings have been one of the CHL’s most successful franchises since. From an eleven win season in 1991-92, the club has qualified for post season play in eleven of the last twelve years, winning five Eastern Division pennants, one WHL Championship and earning two trips to the Memorial Cup during that time.r 
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This is a decision that was a long time in the making,” says McCrimmon. I wanted to be comfortable that I was making the best decision for the organization. Weighing all factors I feel this is the right choice. There are some trade-offs for people who hold both the GM and Coach position and until I was comfortable that I had those addressed I wasn’t prepared to move forward.”r 
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The GM / Coach position is only possible in situations where you are surrounded by good people and that is the case in the Wheat Kings’ organization. Having said that, I am again very excited with the opportunity to coach this team,” McCrimmon went on to say. I feel we made strides to finish last season and look forward to building on that progress.”r 
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In a related move, McCrimmon is excited to announce the return of former Brandon bench boss Bob Lowes to the organization as the club’s Advance Scout. Among his duties will be to scout the WHL, while based in Regina. The winningest coach in Brandon Wheat Kings’ history, Lowes is coming off three years as head coach of the Regina Pats. During his nine seasons in Brandon, the Prince Albert native compiled an impressive 363-235-32 mark and is one of only two coaches in Wheat Kings’ history to guide the club to a President’s Trophy.r 
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The Wheat Kings have also announced that Brad Wells and Dwayne Gylywoychuk will return to the club as McCrimmon’s assistants. A former bench boss with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Neepawa Natives, Wells will be entering his fifth season as a member of the Brandon coaching staff while Gylywoychuk returns for his second season as an assistant and fourth within the organization.r 
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Wheat Kings’ training camp is scheduled for Labor Day weekend at the Keystone Centre. Brandon will open up it’s 2004-05 campaign with a home and home weekend series against Regina on Friday and Saturday, September 24th and 25th.r 
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