ESTEVAN - A first-time competitor at the Estevan Strippers' Molson Spring Bust Tournament was the winner of this year's Frank John Oldest Player Award.
Greg Scharf, a 73-year-old who plays for the Portage Plainsmen out of Portage La Prairie, Man., won the award at the 40th annual tournament. The Plainsmen were in the tournament for the first time, and skated in the Bill Dutton Division, which is one of the tournament's over-45 circuits. The club had an average age of 56.7 years.
Scharf is a long-time hockey player, and is listed among the alumni for the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, having played with the team in 1970.
His son Jamie is also on the Plainsmen. It's believed to be the first time a father and a son have played on the same team in the over-45 division at the tournament.
A player can only win the award once at the Strippers' tournament.
This year marks the first time the award has been named after John, a former Estevan resident who was an original member of the Strippers and who played hockey in Estevan for more than 70 years. He was the second winner of the oldest player award, having captured it in 1992 while playing for the Estevan Viking 45s.
