FROM THE JOE RAYMOND TOURNEY PROGRAM...

The next three days of hockey are to honor Joe Raymond and to celebrate his love of hockey and his desire to grow the sport in the Milwaukee area. 

Joe dedicated numerous hours of his personal time working with youth and high school players. He put forth so much effort in developing their skills, work ethics and attitudes. He put spirit and fun into practices and games, all while keeping the moment intense. He taught our children that through hard work they would succeed, not only in hockey, but also in many facets of their everyday life – He truly taught by example. 

As we gather here the next three days, we hope you feel the thrill and excitement of the games, but also a sense of joy and pride as you watch the skaters on the ice. They too, have put forth much effort and commitment. We can be proud of their dedication to the exhilarating sport of hockey. 

We hope you enjoy this tournament and have as much fun as we have had planning it. Thank you for attending and helping to carry on our tradition - Joe would be proud. 

Welcome to the 19th Annual Joe Raymond Memorial. This is an independent tournament that is financed by the Joe Raymond Memorial Fund. We replenish this fund with proceeds from the gate during the tournament and a golf outing held each summer. 

We do not charge the teams a fee; it is free to them. To put that into perspective, if they were to host three home games, the cost would be close to $2,000. There will be three games each night with the 19th Annual Champion crowned the last evening. 

Joe loved tournaments and we felt that if we were to hold one in his name, we would do it right. We give each player and coach food tickets and drink tickets to be used at the Nagawaukee concession. 

We also give six fleece sweatshirts made with the tourney logo and the words “2017 All Tournament Team” on it to the six players chosen throughout the tournament. We have been fortunate to have D1 players and an NHL player receive these in the past. 

Please examine the two trophies in the lobby and read the names of the past winners. The JRM sculpture trophy was made by Joe’s wife, Cindy. 

We have been fortunate to have some very good teams over the years. This tournament has always had some very competitive games. We look forward to more of those this year. Being a six team tourney, we have had to establish tiebreakers in case they are needed. Thus, every goal will be important in this tournament. The teams that can play a full 51 minutes can be rewarded. Good luck to all teams! 

We would like to thank all of the people who have helped over the years, whether it was working at the tourney, supporting the golf outing, or coming to watch good hockey. We thank you. Specifically, Nick Sanchez and the whole “Nags Crew,” Phil Kuta, Doug Owsiak, Mike Benson, Mike Helker, Charlie Hall, Mike Nevins, Carole Marino, Jill Marino, Jackie Kuta, John Zea, Mark Tomchek, Jeff Baldwin, Bill Otis, Steve Chapin, and the whole Raymond family. 

We hope that you enjoy!