Eastman Selects set for Southeast Events Centre takeover

Fans of minor hockey in Steinbach will be entertained this weekend, as nearly the entire Eastman Selects group of regional teams will be at the Southeast Event Centre for games Oct. 17-19.

The Eastman Selects weekend is the brainchild of Rob Saurette, who is the secretary for the Eastman Minor Hockey board. Saurette played regional hockey in Eastman before moving up to the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League and joined the board in April, when he began planning the event.

“It will be a good weekend of hockey,” Saurette said.

“Why not promote the nicest rink in Manitoba? We’re coordinated with the Pistons, which is nice. That was one of the important things, to get a Pistons game on the Saturday night.”

Saurette added he hopes to instill a bigger sense of community between teams in the Selects program, similar to how the Eastman Wildcats softball program is run.

“Their culture is so good,” Saurette said, noting he took inspiration for the Selects after seeing his kids play for the Wildcats.

“The older girls are mentoring the younger girls. They really teach them what wearing a Wildcats sweater is. We have to have that culture in hockey with both the boys and the girls.”

Seven of the region’s nine high performance teams will be in action between Oct. 17 and 19, including the male U18 AAA team, which normally plays out of Steinbach. That game will be the only one with an admission price, with all other games open to the public for no charge.

Instead, the program will be fundraising with their progressive online 50/50, which will be drawn in December. Proceeds from that draw will go right back into grassroots programs across the region.

“The regional teams are the gateway to give back to our grassroots,” Saurette said.

“We’re still feeling the effects of COVID. The kids that missed hockey for two years are now in that age range.”

The Eastman program is fighting to keep players, as more kids and parents chose other options to play like academies or high school. Many

“We are a victim of geography in Eastman, because we’re close to Winnipeg,” Saurette said.

“We’re trying to make it cool to stay in the region.”

The major missing team is the U18 AAA female team, which are in Minneapolis this weekend playing at a tournament. Instead, the U18 AA Eastman Sharks will take on the Stonewall Blues Oct. 19 at 3:45 p.m.

Laird Laluk, who moved from the U18 AAA Selects to the U15 Selects to coach his daughter, is excited to head out to the SEC.

“I think (the players) will be blown away,” Laluk said.

“I know talking to some parents this weekend, their minds are going to be blown. It’s a crazy place.”

Saurette said the process to book the weekend was a bit rushed this year, but hopes it quickly becomes an annual event in Eastman. He said the Niverville Nighthawks have already voiced their interest in hosting a similar event, and hopes to have a Nighthawks/Pistons game as part of the weekend’s festivities moving forward.

“We started smaller scale this year,” Saurette said.

“We’re kind of dipping our toe in the water and not trying to bite off more than we can chew.”

The Selects are also bringing in Olympic Gold medalist Jocelyne Larocque for a question and answer session Saturday afternoon.