Wheatkings to honor Bison grads..

The Wheat Kings hockey club has announced that
members of the University of Manitoba Bisons Hockey Team that are playing
on Western Hockey League Education Scholarships will be recognized
before Wednesday's WHL game at Winnipeg's MTS Centre between Brandon and
Calgary.

The Bison players will participate in a special pre-game ceremony which
will include Manitoba head coach Mike Sirant.

"Recognizing these WHL scholarship athletes, who are attending the
University of Manitoba, clearly reflects the educational philosophy of the
Western Hockey League," says WHL Edcucation Consultant Jim Donlevy.
"The main objective is to provide every opportunity for WHL players to
pursue their academic goals in Canada."

Among the recipients of WHL scholarships currently playing for the
Bisons include former Wheat Kings Reagan Leslie, Andrew Kaminsky and Travis
Eagles. While Eagles and Kaminsky are in their third and fourth years
respectively, Leslie is in his first year at the U of M after spending
the past four seasons playing for Brandon where the Lampman,
Saskatchewan product scored 29 goals and 132 points in 245 career games. The other
five Bisons benefiting from the WHL scholarship include:

Paul Deniset Prince Albert Raiders
Grant Jacobson Kamloops Blazers
Chris Falloon Prince George Cougars
Krister Toews Portland Winter Hawks
David McDonald Regina Pats

With the Wheat Kings and the WHL, education is a top priority. The WHL
Education Agreement guarantees financial assistance to players, not
only while they are playing but after they graduate from the Western
League. The program provides tuition and books at a post-secondary
institution for each year that a player spends in the WHL. Last season, nearly
one million dollars in financial support was paid out by WHL teams to
former players.

Wednesday will mark the second of four "home" games that the Wheat
Kings will play in Winnipeg. Earlier this month, Brandon skated to a 7-3
victory over the first place Saskatoon Blades.