Cubs appoint head scout Troy Sandau to serve as president

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on August 11, 2020.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

Medicine Hat Cubs head scout Troy Sandau will be adding president to his duties with the local junior B hockey team.

Sandau was appointed by the new eight-member board to serve as president at its first meeting – which was held online via Zoom on Sunday evening. One of the new board’s first tasks came in the form of a meeting with the Heritage Junior Hockey League on Monday, in which the Cubs were expected to rescind their request to withdraw from the 2020-21 season.

“Tonight is a big one for the Cubs,” Sandau said prior to the meeting. “We have made a decision and we will let the league know.”

While the official decision presented to the league was not revealed by press time Monday, Sandau, as well as other board members, expressed at last week’s annual general meeting a desire to see the team play in the upcoming HJHL season – assuming the league can carry on in the face of COVID-19. The Cubs announced their initial decision to withdraw from the upcoming HJHL season back in June, which prompted some criticism from within the organization.

“That was on the old board, now with a bunch of new faces we hope to reverse that and hopefully have a team going this year,” Sandau said at Thursday’s AGM. “We just want to field a team this year. Financially, I think we’ll be alright.”

Glenn Stahl was named the team’s vice president Sunday, while Lorrie Stadnicki will take on the role of secretary and Deb Wickham will serve as treasurer. Rounding out the board are directors Justin Crawford, Donna Schlosser, Jerry Straub and Dale Roth.

“Our board members are very knowledgeable. We’ve got Dale Roth, he’s huge into marketing, so that’s going to go a long way for us in a spot we really need, as for advertising and sponsorship,” Sandau said Monday. “We ironed out a few things and kind of prioritized a little bit with coaches, a little bit financially, and just a little bit of who’s going to excel particularly at their positions.”

While Sandau couldn’t share too much, he said a number of changes will be coming in the days and weeks ahead as the Cubs work to drum up funds and put together a team.

“There will be some changes, financially, and we’ll just push forward in a positive way,” said Sandau, adding the team has set up a committee to help recruit a coaching staff. “We put a committee together to figure out who best fits. In the past there have been some names floating around.”

Cubs sign defenceman

The Cubs also announced the signing of 18-year-old defenceman Caelan Russell on Sunday.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Clearwater, Man., product recorded four goals and 21 assists over 48 games with the Pembina Valley Hawks’ AAA under-18 squad last year.

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