Morden becoming a beacon of immigration

The most important thing about the success of Morden’s immigration program for Valentine Vinichenko is how they personalize it.

Vinichenko, along with his wife and two kids, arrived last week in Canada to start their new life in southwestern Manitoba.

“The services they provided were very useful to us as a family, they made it very comfortable for us to make the move,” Vinichenko said.

“They assist you with the finding a job and learning English through classes,” Vinichenko said. “There’s groups for people to join and everyone has been very supportive of me and my family.”

The initiative is in conjunction with the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program, which aims to grow the province’s labour force through strategic immigration policies.

The personalization Vinichenko speaks of has helped keep new settlers like him in the city. Morden boasts retention rate of 95 per cent, 10 percentage points higher than the provincial rate of 85.

The success is due, in part, to the process by which it follows. It’s rigorous, with prospective candidates having to fulfill a host of requirements, including having settlement funds, past work experience and completion of post-secondary education or a training program of at least a year in length.

Candidates also come for a visit before they agree to make the move, giving them time to learn and adapt to the culture.

The policy that Morden has adopted has allowed for 50 new immigrants to make Morden their new home each year since the program’s inception in 2012. The program gets 1,500 applications every year according to Shelly Voth, Immigration Co-ordinator with the City of Morden.

“It’s a permanent resident program,” Voth said. “We personalize it, and prospective individuals come for visits to see if it works for them.

And there has been very little opposition, if any, from those living in Morden regarding immigrant workers moving into the neighbourhood.

“It’s hard for anyone to complain, the unemployment rate in Morden is at just three per cent,” Voth said. “Some businesses have told us that they wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t for the immigration program.”

Voth said there are few changes planned for the program at this time. She says it’s still in its infancy, but they’re already looking at expanding the program.

And while Morden is alone in its endeavour in the province, the orphan status may not last long. Multiple other communities have inquired about starting similar initiatives, Voth said. She wasn’t at liberty to name those towns yet.

Vinichenko, meanwhile, is looking to finish settling and acquainting his kids with a pastime Russia and Canada both have in common.

“Hockey,” he says with a smile. “I want to get my kids into hockey as soon as I can. We love the sport.”

For more information on Morden’s immigration initiative, visit: www.mordenimmigration.com and regionalconnections.tpn.miupdate.com

Pavelec’s resurgence key in Jets’ push toward the playoffs

By Scott Billeck

Through all the heat Ondrej Pavelec has taken this season, he’s certainly handling the fire and the flames of the Western Conference wildcard race well.

And after his latest performance, a 28-save outing and his second shutout of the season, the question, ‘Where would the Winnipeg Jets be without his resurgence between the pipes?’ has cropped up.

“I don’t know, but he’s the main reason we are winning right now, we owe him big,” said Mark Scheifele, who scored his 13th of the season in the Jets’ 3-0 win over Washington Saturday night.

Scheifele had no insight into Pavelec’s recent vein of form, only joking that it’s probably thanks to Jiri Tlusty and having another Czech-born player in the room. Whatever the case may be — Pavelec was holding his cards close to his chest — it has been working.

Just a month ago Pavelec was an afterthought in this town, a broken cog that brought a cringe to any fan’s face at the mention of his name. And there was the ‘goal’ in St. Louis just a week-and-a-half-ago. But with Michael Hutchinson’s regression from his early season form, Pavelec has been thrown a bone and he hasn’t bitten off more than he can chew.

“It’s always pressure for me as a goalie, you always have to deal with it, whether you’re in the playoffs or not in the playoffs,” Pavelec said. “It’s never easy, I think we have handled it well, especially with all of the injuries.”

For the first time since last season, Pavelec has scraped together four consecutive wins in as many starts. And he has done so with seemingly increased pressure, even if he won’t admit it. The Jets are locked in their most heated playoff battle since returning to Winnipeg and Pavelec is now tasked as the man who must to take them there – something he’s been unable to do in recent years.

“Mr. Pavelec, I think we have to call him mister now. Ondrej was fantastic,” said Paul Maurice.

Fans of the fancy stats game will look at consistency over time, something Pavelec has rarely had during his career. But at this point, analytics aren’t of consequence. The Jets need two points every night, and Pavelec is delivering them.

Some have said that Pavelec has expired his nine lives and then some in in the NHL. But at the end of the game, and a couple times during it, fans broke out the ‘Pavy, Pavy’ chant.

“It’s well deserved, he’s stuck with it,” said Blake Wheeler. “He’s had some ups and downs this year and he’s really won us some games lately. Everything he is getting right now is deserved, he’s been a great teammate all year long.”

Wheeler’s leadership goes beyond goals and assists

By Scott Billeck

Perhaps the most defining moments of Blake Wheeler’s tenure in Winnipeg won’t be the production he’s become known for.

The goals and assists he has amassed in his time in Winnipeg might just take a back seat to the little things that slipped through the cracks, things fans may not have noticed among the lit lamps and raised sticks.

The dramatics are warranted after the Winnipeg Jets pulled out an emphatic 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. And Wheeler’s leadership was on full display on Tuesday night, and it’s what he did in the 60th minute of the game that may have overshadowed the two-goal, one-assist performance he produced in the 59 minutes previous.

With the game all but decided, Wheeler sent his body flailing in front of a blast from the point. The shot nailed his leg, commanding an immediate wince. Wheeler turned toward the ice in obvious pain and then willed himself back up, squared up, and threw himself in front of another cannon.

“That’s just Blake Wheeler,” said Mark Scheifele about his right-hand man. “That guy cares, he’s an unbelievable leader.”

“It’s not really much of a surprise,” said Drew Stafford, Wheeler’s opposite on the Jets’ second line. “Playing with him, you definitely have an extra appreciation for him as a player.”

The sentiment may have resonated with Wheeler’s young linemate and the newcomer, but where it was really felt was with Ondrej Pavelec.

The embattled and sometimes erratic Winnipeg Jets netminder found it tough to find the words to describe what Wheeler has meant to the team. After fielding questions that seem to annoy rather than elicit answers, Pavelec’s face beamed to life with the mention of Wheeler’s late-game heroics.

“What can I say? The guy cares,” Pavelec said, with his hands on his head. “He cares about the team and the win, it doesn’t matter to him what the score is.

“He did whatever it takes to help the team. He scored the goals and he blocked the shots – you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Pavelec’s 38-save performance was not lost on Paul Maurice. After watching a puck sail past him in an almost comedic fashion in St. Louis last week, Pavelec has bounced back to produce back-to-back wins in back-to-back starts for the first time since October.

Maurice was non-committal following the game on who will start against St. Louis on Thursday night, but he did know one thing for certain.

“We are going to put a good goaltender in net every night for the rest of the year.”