The Steinbach Pistons are excited to be hosting this year’s annual Hockey in the City ball hockey tournament on Saturday, June 17th at the T.G. Smith Centre. Hockey in the City is the largest ball hockey tournament in southeastern Manitoba with over 100 kids taking part in the tournament in previous years. It also gives participants the chance to meet their favorite Pistons players, as they will be on hand to referee each game. The 4-on-4 tournament runs from 10 am to 2 pm with registration occurring at 9:30 am. The tournament is a fun filled event that allows children with or without a past hockey experience to enjoy organized sport and the opportunity to play with friends. The cost per player is $5 and the registration deadline is June 5th. Payments for teams must be made in cash. The maximum amount of players a team can have is seven while the minimum amount is four. Players are also required to bring a helmet with a cage, their own gloves and sticks. The tournament allows younger players to play in higher age divisions, but does not allow older players to play in younger age divisions. To register for Hockey in the City, visit summerinthecity.ca. For more information contact Matt Franczyk at [email protected]

The Steinbach Pistons community has come together to support one of its current players in a time of need. Forward Danny Pion and his family, residents of Gatineau QC, have been greatly affected by the flooding that has occurred in the Gatineau area. The Pion family was forced to leave their home when the Ottawa River water levels spilled over the riverbanks and into their community causing $225.000.00 worth of damage to their home. Steinbach Pistons Game Day Coordinator and Danny Pion’s billet, Shannon Dyck, was in contact with Pion throughout this stressful time. “Some of us were talking about the floods in Quebec and how it was affecting the Pion family.” Shannon wanted to help and began to get in contact with members of the Pistons Community to see what they could do for the Pion Family. “I reached out to the other Pistons players families, the billets and volunteers asking them to join Russ (Husband) & I by donating money to help out the family and to show that we were thinking of them.” With the help of the Pistons community, Shannon was able to raise some funds that will help the Pion family with their immediate needs. Pistons Head Coach and General Manager Paul Dyck was able to connect with Danny and his family near his home and provided the gift to the Pion family. “It was truly amazing to see how our volunteers, fans, and the families of other players stepped up to support the Pion family during their time of crisis. They have a lot of work ahead of them in terms of the repairs needed in their home, but hopefully, they feel the support and encouragement from our community during this difficult time.” The Pion family expressed their thanks in a letter directed towards the Pistons community. “We just want to take a moment to say thank you to Steinbach and the Steinbach Pistons family. We are grateful of the generosity that you guys have. Wow! You help us out so much. We really appreciate knowing that we can count on people like you to help us to keep our heads up after a tragedy like this.” The Ottawa River has begun to recede, and this has allowed the Pion Family to return home and begin the process of repairing their damaged home. Although the cleanup process will be extensive, the family is happy knowing that they will always have the support from the Steinbach community. “We will never say thank you enough for your gifts, thoughts and prayers. We are really proud that Danny is in the best hockey and community in Steinbach.” If you would like to donate to the Pion family cause, contact the Steinbach Pistons office by phone at 204-326-1604 or by email at [email protected]. 

Clutch went for a gallop this past Saturday at the Lets Run Steinbach event at the Steinbach Soccer Park. It was a great day as hundreds showed up to get active and support Recreational Opportunities for Children and Youth For Christ. Let us know if you would like Clutch to attend your summer event. 

The Golf Season has begun! The Steinbach Pistons will once again be hosting their annual Celebrity Golf Tournament presented by Creative Audio Thursday, August 31st at Quarry Oaks. Make sure you reserve the date for a unique day of golf with friends and co-workers in support of the Steinbach Pistons. The Day consists of a light breakfast of muffins, donuts and coffee courtesy of Tim Hortons, followed by lunch and then capped off with an awards dinner. Plus many other little treats and eats along the course. Registration/Breakfast: 8:30AM Shotgun Start: 10:00AM Awards Diner: 3:30PM Individual Golfer – $150 Hole Sponsorship – $500 Hole Sponsorship & 4 Golfers – $1000 Email [email protected] to register your team.

The Steinbach Pistons love making kids smile, and that’s exactly what happened at Tiny Treasures Day Care in Steinbach late last month. Both Pistons forward Jack Johnson, and defenseman Declan Graham took time out of their playoff schedule to read some books, answer some questions and sign some autographs with the wide-eyed kids at Tiny Treasures. “We were so excited to hear about these hockey players lives, especially their early years,” said the director at Tiny Treasures Day Care. “The kids realized they had a lot in common with them, even down to favorite childhood toys and hockey teams. “ Graham and Johnson are part of a complete team of players that were heavily involved this past hockey season from volunteering with individuals at enVision Community Living, participating in minor hockey practices, helping at Southeast Helping Hands, building mentorship relationships with younger kids and the list goes on. And the impact locally is evident throughout these people groups. “ The Steinbach Pistons are proud of the effort of our players and are proud to be a part of a great community of people in Southeastern Manitoba.

Steinbach Pistons forward Danny Pion has made an impact in the short time he has been a Steinbach Pistons player. The 18 year-old forward from Gatineau, Quebec found his way to Steinbach after spending the first half of the season bouncing between the Nanamio Clippers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League and the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Looking for an opportunity to be in a Junior ‘A’ lineup on a regular basis Pion made his way to Steinbach right at the January 10th trade deadline.  Pion has since had a regular role on the ice and has also fully embraced being a part of the community. Pion almost immediately started volunteering multiple hours weekly a French school, Ecole Saint-Joachim in La Broquerie, which is a short drive east of Steinbach. This was a perfect fit for the Quebecer, who only started speaking English when he arrived on Vancouver Island back in September. Chantal Brindle-Barkman, a Steinbach Pistons game day volunteer who works at Ecole-Saint-Joachim, helped facilitate the start of the relationship between the school and Pion and it has blossomed since. The entire school knows who Danny is. When he arrives, groups of students start to gather outside to ask him how he’s doing, how many goals he’s scored and to congratulate him on the recent Pistons win. Pion’s number, name, and picture are now hung on the walls around the school, as the students cheer Danny and the Pistons along their playoff run. Danny says the community’s support of the Pistons, which he saw at the games and away from the rink on the team’s Instagram page helped solidify his decision on coming to the MJHL.  

Here are this year's Hockey In The City Winners. Spitfires won the 7-8 year-old Category, SESN Ballhogs won the 9-10 year-old category and Beast won the 11-12 year-old category. Thanks to all of the teams that participated. We hope to see you again next year.

REGISTER YOUR TEAM FOR HOCKEY IN THE CITY HERE Get ready to bring life back into the T.G. Smith Centre when the building plays host to this year’s annual ‘Hockey In the City’ ball hockey tournament June 18th. It’s hard to believe that it has almost been a month since the Steinbach Pistons last played in downtown Steinbach. However, that means that we are almost a month away from hosting the biggest ball hockey tournament in southeastern Manitoba. Last year over 100 kids signed for Hockey in the City, giving kids the chance to play organized ball hockey along with meeting the Steinbach Pistons in the process.. The 4-on-4 event will be held on Saturday with registration starting at 9:30am and then hockey running from 10-2. It’s a fun low key tournament giving kids who play ice-hockey or not, the opportunity to play with friends. The cost is $15/per player and the registration deadline is June 10th.  Teams will play a minimum of 3 games. Age Categories for the tournament are based on where you child will play in minor hockey in the fall. We will allow younger kids to play up, but won't allow older kids to play down.  Register your team of a minimum of four to a maximum of seven players at summerinthecity.ca.

The Golf Season has begun! The Steinbach Pistons will once again be hosting their annual Celebrity Golf Tournament with Title Sponsor Creative Audio Tuesday, August 30th at Quarry Oaks. Make sure you reserve the date for a unique day of golf with friends and co-workers in support of the Steinbach Pistons. The Day consists of a light breakfast of muffins, donuts and coffee courtesy of Tim Hortons, followed by lunch and then capped off with an awards dinner. Plus many other little treats and eats along the course. Registration/Breakfast: 8:30AM Shotgun Start: 10:00AM Awards Diner: 3:30PM Individual Golfer – $150 Hole Sponsorship – $500 Hole Sponsorship & 4 Golfers – $1000 Email [email protected] to register your team. 

The weather was absolutely perfect for the Steinbach Pistons 5th annual Celebrity Golf Tournament sponsored by Creative Audio this past Tuesday. There were close to 200 golfers, including many local and provincial celebrities that came together to support southeastern Manitoba’s Junior A team. There were a total of 31 celebrity golfers divided amongst the registered teams. The list included the likes of Paul Edmonds (Jets Play-by-Play Announcer), Reid Carruthers (World Championship Curler),  Art Stratten (AHL Hall-of-Famer), Brenden Walker (Former Saskatoon Blades Captain), former and current Pistons players and many more. When the day came to a close, it was the Glen Funk foursome came out on top. Their foursome included Mitch Tetrault, Paul Gauthier, Ivan Normandeau and celebrity golfer Jeff Penner, taking home the Piston Cup with a combined score of -19. The Pistons saw tremendous support during the live auction at the awards banquet watching two sports trips and a fishing trip go for multiples of thousands of dollars. The Pistons want to publicly thank all of the supporters, sponsors and celebrities that made the day a great success. The golf tournament is sort of the kick-off to the year, as many of the returning players funnel back into Steinbach in preparation for training camp next week. Rookie camp begins this weekend on Saturday and Sunday with a rookie game taking place at the T.G. Smith Centre on Monday.