The Estevan Eclipse Downhole Solutions U18 AAA Bears new dressing room was dedicated to the late Ron Areshenkoff, who was a part of the committee that helped bring the team to reality for the 2020-21 season, and a person who played an instrumental role in the fundraising for Affinity Place in Estevan. He was also a big part of other aspects of the community.
The dedication ceremony took place Friday morning at Affinity Place in presence of Ron's wife Becky, representatives of the new AAA team and the committee, representatives of the City of Estevan, a board member of the Rotary Club of Estevan, a few hockey fans and media.
Bears director of player personnel Cole Zahn was the MC for the ceremony. Head coach and general manager Jeff Smith said that the Estevan Bears are lucky to have one of the best facilities and pointed out that having a new and fully equipped dressing room is essential for the team.
"I'd just like to thank everyone from the board and all the sponsors that put all the hard work and time, it's really appreciated," said Smith.
Smith added that having a high-quality facility and dressing room worked for their benefit during the recruiting for the new team members.
"It helps a lot. These players come here every day and this is a home away from home," said Smith. "And it's far beyond what I've expected."
He added that players were really excited to have their own dressing room, which was a lot better than what other teams they played for previously.
Each player has his own seat and there is one vacant spot in case the team needs to call up an affiliated player.
Chad Farr, chair of the board of directors, expanded his gratitude to the board of directors and specifically thanked Blake Jamieson and Brad Robinson for their work and vision. He was impressed with the quality of the "elite" dressing room the team received. He also spoke about the process of building the dressing room, which started late last fall when the Estevan Minor Hockey Association (EMHA) was awarded a male midget AAA hockey team for the 2020-21 season.
Farr also thanked the sponsors that made the construction of the dressing room possible.
"I want to thank the sponsors … the City of Estevan and the Rotary Club of Estevan and we also had some local contractors come in to help," said Farr. "As a board, we are honoured, as a team and our players we are truly flattered with the quality of the room."
On behalf of the city, Mayor Roy Ludwig congratulated the committee for their work on developing the dressing room, adding that the city was happy to partake in the project.
"It's been a privilege," said Ludwig.
He noted that the city was not only involved financially, he thanked the city staff for their dedication and time they put into the project.
"We'd like to thank everyone involved. This is truly a great dressing room and a lovely facility that we can all be proud of," Ludwig said.
He also thanked Becky Areshenkoff for being at the ceremony and recalled some memories of Ron Areshenkoff.
"I had a privilege of working with Ron on many things, hockey, the Westerns (Western Canada Cup), fundraisers," Ludwig said, adding that working with Ron and other strong community supporters was always a success.
"Who else could get Gary Bettman to the City of Estevan? I mean really? It was unbelievable, the contacts that Ron had in hockey and we'll be forever grateful to him."
Ryan Siever, a board member of the Rotary Club of Estevan, spoke on behalf of the club regarding their financial contributions. He thanked and congratulated the committee and also explained why it was important for local Rotarians to support the new team.
"Ron was a long-time member of the Estevan Rotary Club for over 20 years. He was past president of the club in the 1999-2000 year. We'd like to recognize all the years of the dedicated volunteer service," Siever said, adding that Areshenkoff was involved in many other ways as well.
Siever said when the time came for Rotary to decide on their new financial commitments, the new dressing room for the Estevan Bears was just a perfect project.
"The club has supported minor sports in Estevan quite heavily over the years and it just felt like a natural fit for us," said Siever.
He added that it worked out to be a great tribute to Areshenkoff and his involvement with hockey in Estevan, where he was named the volunteer of the year by EMHA, and with Estevan Bears lately.
Siever announced the dedication of the dressing room and introduced Becky Areshenkoff, who on behalf of their family thanked everyone involved with fulfilling the project that was dear to her husband's heart. She added that Ron would be happy to see it happening and wished the new team success.
Along with Jamieson and Robinson, Becky Areshenkoff unveiled the plaque. The plaque, with a picture, name and short bio is placed by the entrance into the Estevan Bears' new dressing room at Affinity Place.
Areshenkoff made a name for himself in hockey long before moving to Estevan. He was selected in the second round of the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, and played four games for the Edmonton Oilers in their first season in the NHL in 1979-80.
Areshenkoff moved to Estevan in the late 1990s to work selling mutual funds and life insurance, and immediately became a big part of the community. He was involved in numerous causes, becoming a president of the Rotary Club of Estevan and the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, and was part of the executive for such organizations as the Estevan Bruins.
While with the Bruins, he took an active role in the planning of the Bruins Sportsman's Dinner, helping bring such guests as Ken Holland and Scotty Bowman in 2003 and Brian Burke in 2005.
When planning started for Estevan's new arena in 2006, Areshenkoff became the chairman of the new arena fundraising dinners. The five dinners that ran from 2007 to 2011 generated an estimated $1 million towards the construction of the events centre that would become Affinity Place.
Those dinners brought Burke to Estevan twice, as well as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, broadcaster Michael Landsberg, retired NHL linesman Ray Scapinello, Holland and hockey legend Steve Yzerman. Yzerman was in Estevan 12 days after the gold medal game of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; he was the GM of Team Canada that won gold.
During the last dinner in 2011, Areshenkoff was twice given a standing ovation by the audience in recognition of his efforts to lead the committee.
Areshenkoff was also part of the steering committee for the 2016 Western Canada Cup hockey tournament in Estevan, playing a key role in the financial success of a tournament that turned a profit for the first time.
And in recent years, he was involved with the committee that helped make the Estevan Bears midget AAA hockey team a reality.
Most of his time in Estevan was spent working for Spectra Financial.
Ron Areshenkoff died in December 2020, in Grand Forks, B.C., after a lengthy illness. He was 62.
