Mark Cheyne - Owner, Westside Warriors
Mark started his career in the oilfield business in 1984 after he graduated from his post-secondary education with an engineering diploma. He immediately accepted a position with JC International and was based in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. After five years with JC International, Mark transferred to Drayton Valley, Alberta, to help with an upstart oil producer, Colin Energy. It was here that Mark forged friendships and acquaintances “that will last a lifetime”. During the five years Mark worked for Colin Energy he had ideas of starting his own company so, in the spring of 1992, he started a small oil producer called Bredal Energy. It took a couple of years to get to the point of stability but, once it did, Mark quit at Colin and started the daily journey of his own business. With the volatility of the oil business, the fifteen years in which Bredal was active led to some trying times, but those were far outweighed by the enjoyable times.
In 1997, Mark’s love of hockey took hold and he was instrumental in helping secure an expansion franchise for Drayton Valley in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. That team became the Drayton Valley Thunder. Right out of the chute the Thunder was a formidable team, missing the playoffs by a single point in their first season. In only their second year, the Thunder went on to capture the conference regular season crown. Year three saw a conference change but that did not stop the winning as the team earned a trip to the league finals. The pinnacle happened in year four as the Thunder rolled to a 15-2 playoff run and won the AJHL championship. Over the next five years, the Thunder had some great teams and created plenty of exciting entertainment. During this time, Mark found himself involved in every aspect of the hockey club, from President and General Manager to Marketer and every job in between. Mark left the Thunder after the 2006 season because of personal business.
In 2007, Mark joined Vision Sports Group, owner of the BCHL Westside Warriors. He and his wife, Janelle, and their kids, Tanner and Tori, moved to the Westside to help out with the operations of the hockey club. Mark is currently the President/General Manager/Governor of the Warriors and is looking forward to another great season of hockey ahead.
