The Manitoba Junior Hockey League will come under new leadership starting this summer.
The league announced Kim Davis will step down as commissioner at the end of June. He retires after 18 years in the position.
The MJHL’s current director of operations, Kevin Saurette, will be promoted to the commissioner position. This was Davis’ succession plan when he first hired Saurette back in 2016.
“I’ve really enjoyed working for the league as their commissioner,” Davis said. “I really feel strongly that the league needs to continue to operate in a real positive and strong fashion. So I felt it was important for me, personally, to do what I could to help the league move forward in a strong and consistent way.
“And the best way to do that was to work with someone that could understand and learn the business.”
Saurette, who originally hails from Brandon, Man., played nine professional seasons after a five-year career with the Manitoba Bisons. He has a master’s degree in business administration.
“He’s got great character,” Davis said. “He’s a hard worker. He knows the game. He works well with people, so I think he’s well suited to this type of a role, and I’m certainly going to do what I can to help him over the next few months for sure, and beyond that as well.”
“I’m ecstatic that the board of governors and the member teams have trusted me in this role,” Saurette said.
“To be able to work with Kim the past three-and-a-half years, and see how he handles situations, and talk to him about how he’s done things in different situations, and just work day-in and day-out on all facets of the league, has been invaluable for me.”
Saurette officially takes over his new job on July 1.