Wishewan on fast ride with Knights
Booster Juice founder never expected being minority owner would feel so good
Booster Juice founder Dale Wishewan is living the dream, and no, we’re not talking about making a better smoothie at one of the more than 300 locations in Canada.
We’re talking the Stanley Cup run.
Wishewan was a good athlete who played on the World Curling Tour against Kevin Martin, Randy Ferbey and Dave Nedohin and currently plays on Mark Johnson’s front end, and also earned a college baseball scholarship at Portland State.
When he signed on as one of Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley’s 19 minority partners, it seemed a nice diversion.
It was a way to get into T-Mobile Arena with his pals like Edmonton Prospects manager Ray Brown, wear the grey team jersey as more than just a fan, and hang out with Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Marchessault.
Now, with hockey’s biggest prize in sight, Wishewan can’t believe his good fortune. It’s like Bill Comrie, who got to celebrate the Chicago Cubs’ World Series win in 2016 because he had small piece of the baseball team.
“You couldn’t script this story if you tried, and to be a very small part of it is beyond anybody’s expectations,” said Wishewan from the Alberta dot on the map, Waskatenau. “We (minority owners) know what our role is and that’s to stay out of the way.”
The minority owners include Jose Bautista, Mark Recchi and the longtime item Alexei Yashin and model Carol Alt.
Wishewan got involved through a good friend in Scottsdale who knows Foley well. He thought it would be fun to be an owner, even in a small way, when he got on board.
“Sometimes it’s just timing ... really my passion is baseball. I thought I’d be involved with a baseball team of some sort, and I curl. That was my first on-ice sport, not hockey,” he said. “Back in January we knew we had a good team but we didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, even though we ended up with 50 wins and 109 points. Then we got past the Kings and the Sharks and Winnipeg, one of the best teams in the league. It’s just been incredible,” he said.
Does the local businessman dream of being able to hold the Cup after the players if the Golden Knights can vanquish Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals?
“No, I’ve kept it in perspective ... I mean if it happens that would be terrific, but I just enjoy bringing people down (Vegas) and hosting them,” said Wishewan, who had golfer Mike Weir and his daughter at Game 1. “The ones who should touch the Cup are the ones who are busting their butts and paying the price and winning the games.”
Wishewan was here for the Oilers’ glory days as a teenager, but he was a spectator to history. He wasn’t an owner then, but counts Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and Randy Gregg as friends now.
“I never did get my picture taken with the Cup in those days. I was a small-town kid from Waskatenau (90 km from Edmonton), too far removed. But three years ago I was at the Hockey Hall of Fame for an event and Wayne, such a gentleman, asked me if I wanted a picture. That was special to have it with Wayne and myself and the Cup,” he said.
Wishewan is caught up in the hysteria with the Golden Knights in Vegas like everybody else.
“This is their first professional sport team and if you jump into a cab or an Uber and you bring up the Golden Knights, they’ll talk your ear off,” he said. “I have an acquaintance who’s been with the Anaheim Ducks and the Dodgers the last five years and is now part of the corporate sponsorship with the (NFL) Raiders coming to Vegas, and he sent me a message and he said he’d never experienced a better event than Game 1 and he’s been involved in sports for the last 20 years.”
Canadian teams could learn something from Vegas’ in-house game-night show.
“I couldn’t agree more. The onice component is something, but from a whole game perspective, it’s hard to beat,” Wishewan said. “Half an hour before the game starts until it’s over, you’re wiped as a fan and you’re not for a second going to question the entertainment value.”
Wishewan only saw about five regular-season games in Vegas because he’s got a real job running his Booster Juice empire, but he’s been a regular at Vegas home playoff games in every round.
“If the Golden Knights have a chance to win the whole thing on the road I would go to Washington, too,” he said.
Why not? Wishewan is one of their biggest boosters.