Stouffer Loses Battle With Cancer

The Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings are in mourning today following the passing of former athletic trainer Rob Stouffer.

A Brandon product, Stouffer died Wednesday after a lengthy battle with liver cancer.

He is survived by his wife Maria and son Logan.

“We’re really disappointed to lose Rob,” Wheat Kings’ general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “He was a great friend and a real important part of our organization for a long time. It was obvious with his battle with cancer that this time could come and yet it’s really sad to lose him.”

A former trainer with the Brandon University Bobcats, “Stofe” joined the Wheat Kings in the summer of 2000 and was a valuable member of the organization for seven years, before taking a leave of absence last year due to his illness.

During his tenure in Brandon, he emerged as one of the most respected athletic trainers in Canadian major junior hockey.

“Rob enjoyed people and he cared about people. He was real well suited for the line of work that he chose,” added McCrimmon. “I know that he had a lot of impact on the players that he was around during his time in our organization, not only in terms of what their immediate needs might be medically, but I think just in terms of being a friend and a person that they could talk to as well.”

Rob’s funeral will be held on Wednesday, August 6th at 2 p.m. in Brandon’s Central United Church, located at 327 8th Street.

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I crossed paths with Stouff on a few occasions. Usually we would pull into Brandon at 4am after a game in Moose Jaw or Regina. He was always there to greet the weary eyed travellers after a six hour bus ride through the night.

He was always pleasant to us and was one of the best hosts for the visiting team on the circuit.

The Trainers/Athletic Therapists are a pretty close group and do their best to take care of each others needs. This one will hit that group hard.


Jon