Alumni update

Former Swan Valley Stampeders star Stephan Vigier is the Sioux City Musketeers’ lone representative for the USHL All-Star Game.
The game will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 26.
By all accounts Vigier has done quite well since leaving the Stampeders to play in the USHL. He is the team’s leading scorer this year with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists).
It’s not going to happen, but Swan Valley fans still occasionally ask me the big “what if?” question. Look at how good Swan Valley is this year. Now add Vigier to the mix. I have no doubt they would be battling the Dauphin Kings for top spot in the division if Vigier had joined the team earlier this year. But by now everyone knows Vigier is not coming back.
Vigier was always a player who knew where he wanted to go in hockey. And he’ll continue that journey next year when he begins to play at Northern Michigan University. And I’ve no doubt he’ll find success there, just as he did here in the Valley.
• Let’s take a look at what another former Swan Valley Stampeder is doing.
Chris Ward, who was a big part of Swan Valley’s exciting seven-game series against the Portage Terriers two years ago (along with, ironically, Vigier) has settled in after being dealt to the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL. It looks like it was one of those deals which ended up being win-win for everyone involved.
Ward is now 12-6 with a 2.76 GAA (eighth best in the SJHL) with a healthy .911 save percentage.
That’s a big improvement from his numbers here early in the season, so it actually looks like this is one of those situations where both teams benefitted from a deal.
• While we’re talking about former Stampeders, we might as well bring up former captain and the team’s all-time scoring leader, Ian Lowe.
The Stampeder star has appeared in this newspaper countless times, but that never generated the sort of buzz his most recent appearance made.
Lowe’s picture recently appeared in the New York Times. It was part of a story which ran in late December, noting how Bemidji State is hanging with the bigger teams in the NCAA ranks and continuing the success they enjoyed last year during their run to the Frozen Four.
The Beavers were 14-4-2 heading into the weekend, and were ranked 11th in the country.
Lowe’s come a long way in hockey. And to have your picture appear in the New York