The Brandon Wheat Kings have a new head coach. Don MacGillivray has been replaced by general manager Marty Murray. MacGillivray has spent the past seven seasons in the Wheat Kings organization, coming on board as an assistant coach in 2016-17 before taking on the role as head coach during the 2020-21 season. MacGillivray finishes his head coaching tenure in Brandon with a regular season record of 61-47-7-2.  The team currently sits at the bottom of the East Division standings with a record of 8-15-2-0. Assistant coaches Mark Derlago and Del Pedrick will remain on the coaching staff.  Murray becomes the 25th head coach in Wheat Kings history.  He brings over a decade of head coaching experience as the head coach and general manager of both the Minot Minotauros of the NAHL from 2011-2020 followed by two seasons with the Sioux Falls Stampede organization of the USHL from 2020-2021. The Wheat Kings host the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday night and the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday at Westoba Place.


Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey has been named the NHL's Second Star of the Week. The 27-year-old Calgary native began the week with his first career multi-goal game scoring two goals, including the overtime winner, in Winnipeg’s 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. On Wednesday, the 2013 first-round pick assisted on the Jets’ lone goal in a 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Morrissey notched his second OT winner of the week in Friday’s 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars. He capped off his week by matching his single-game career high and the club record for assists by a defenceman with three helpers on Sunday in a 7-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Morrissey also recorded the assist on the game winner in Chicago to factor on the winning goal in three straight games. On the season, Morrissey leads the Jets in assists (19), points (23), and time-on-ice per game (23:08), while he’s tied with Kyle Connor with three game-winning goals. His 19 assists through the first 20 games of the season is the most by any defenceman in franchise history. Morrissey is one of three NHLers with a pair of overtime goals and one of just three  defencemen in the league with a trio of game-winning goals. The Jets alternate captain ranks third among NHL defencemen in assists (19) and even strength points (17) and tied for third in points (23). Morrissey has recorded at least one point in 16 of Winnipeg’s 20 games, including a career high six-game point and assist streak from Nov. 3-17. The Jets’ shutout loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 19 is the only game this month where he has failed to record at least a point.


Mackenzie Arbuckle and Aaron Macdonell of the St. Vital Curling Club will represent Manitoba in Mixed Doubles at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island in February. Arbuckle and Macdonell defeated Katy Lukowich and Thomas McGillivray of the Granite 10-8 in an extra end in the CurlManitoba Games Trials at the Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg. Arbucke and Macdonell will join the two U18 teams to make up the Manitoba curling portion of Manitoba’s Canada Winter Games team in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Dayna Wahl and her Altona team (Piper Stoesz, Anna Marie Ginters, Gillian Hildebrand and coach Keith Stoesz) and Virden’s Jace Freeman team (Elias Huminicki, Jack Steski, Rylan Graham, and coach Graham Freeman) won the U18 Women’s and Men’s Games Trials earlier this month. 


The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American offensive lineman Payton Muljo. The Marquette, Michigan native joins the Blue Bombers after a four-year college career with the Northern Michigan Wildcats. Muljo appeared in 19 games and was a large contributor to the offensive line when he was available. Starting at left tackle, he helped the Wildcats reach a new single-season rushing record in 2018 and in 2021 was named an All-GLIAC honorable mention.