Wheat Kings are the toast of Brandon

Jayce Hawryluk (#8) and Nolan Patrick (#19) enjoy a Wheat Kings win.

  Since winning the WHL championship on Friday night in Seattle, the Brandon Wheat Kings and their fans have enjoyed the spoils of victory, and they should enjoy every good moment associated with that win.

    When the Wheat Kings downed the host Thunderbirds 8-4 in Game 5 of the WHL Championship series at the ShoWare Center on Friday night, Brandon claimed its first league title since 1996 with a 4-1 best-of-seven series victory. The win was followed by a joyous plane fight home and huge upbeat rally at the UTC Pavilion in Brandon on Saturday with the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Between league title wins, the Wheat Kings continued to hold the lofty status as being one of the WHL’s elite franchises.

    In the 20 years since the 1996 WHL title win, the Wheat Kings only missed the playoffs twice. During that time, the Wheat Kings finished first in the East Division on eight occasions, which included this season. The run to stay good included having to rebound from loading up to host the Memorial Cup in 2010.

Nolan Patrick became a game breaker for the Wheat Kings.

    That fact Brandon went 20 years between league title wins is more a testament to how tough it is to win it all in the WHL.

    This season, the Wheat Kings topped the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings and placed second overall in the WHL with a 48-18-4-2 mark. The 102 points they collected in the standings ranks seventh best in team history. Last year, Brandon finish first overall in the WHL with a 53-11-4-4 record, advanced to the WHL final and got swept by the Kelowna Rockets.

    When to comes to wins and losses, the Wheat Kings have had a small number of seasons that were better than the record posted in 2015-16, but the current playoff run seemed to resonate with the local fans on a bit of a higher scale than past campaigns.

    Over 11 playoff home games, the Wheat Kings averaged 5,070 spectators at Westman Place, which seats 5,102. The WHL Guide for 2015-16 states the Wheat Kings’s rink can accommodate 600 people for standing room, but we all know that number depends on how the fire marshal is feeling.

    Brandon’s crowds swelled into the standing room spots on six occasions in the post-season. The Wheat Kings highest attendance figure came when they drew 5,621 spectators to their final home game, which was a 3-2 overtime victory over the Thunderbirds in Game 2 of the WHL title series on May 7.

Jordan Papirny came up with critical saves for the Wheat Kings.

    During the regular season, the Wheat Kings averaged 4,212 spectators per game. In last year’s playoffs, they drew an average of 4,778 spectators for 10 home dates.

    It is hard to pin a reason why the Wheat Kings run this year seemed to do a better job of capturing the attention of the citizens of Brandon. There might have been a new appreciation for the positive characteristics the Wheat Kings bring to the rink night in and night out.

    The Wheat Kings success begins with head coach, general manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon, who is a strong community minded individual. He is good at building chemistry, when you note that seven of the 24 players on Brandon’s current roster arrived via trade including steady captain Macoy Erkamps, who came in a deal with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept 30, 2014. Those additions mixed in with 13 Bantam Draft selections, three list players and one Import Draft pick.

    McCrimmon is like a second dad to his players, and behind the bench, he does a stellar job of remaining composed and focused no matter what happens on the ice. The players mirror that demeanor, which has to help them stay even when things go bad.

Fans packed Westman Place in Brandon for Wheat Kings games.

    The Wheat Kings players have had a history of being know has the favourite road team in the WHL among the hotel and restaurant staffs in other cities. They always carry themselves in a classy and personable manner, and those positive traits also help the team on the ice.

    The club’s assistant coaches in Darren Ritchie and David Anning and goaltending coach Matt Cockell have to be credited for helping build the team to what it is. Brandon also benefited from strong work performed by a scouting staff headed up by Wade Klippenstein, who is the team’s director of scouting.

    During post-game interviews after winning the WHL title, all the Wheat Kings players and staffers said that everyone on the team was a good character individual. When you look up and down their roster, you can see that is an accurate assessment, especially when you look at overage defenceman Mitch Wheaton and 19-year-old rearguard Jordan Thomson.

    Wheat Kings’s fans were able to see a lot of brilliant performances form a number of individuals. Three of the key ones had to come from Nolan Patrick, Jayce Hawryluk and Jordan Papirny.

Wheat Kings captain Macoy Erkamps (#20) battles for the puck.

    Patrick, who was born four days after the cut off day for this year’s NHL Entry Draft, was a star, but the skilled centre became a game breaker, who made key plays at critical times. He topped the Wheat Kings in post-season scoring with 13 goals and 17 assists in 21 games.

    Hawryluk, who was an NHL Entry Draft selection of the Florida Panthers in 2014, further cemented his reputation as being one of the hardest players to play against in the WHL. Standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 194 pounds, Hawryluk actually can play the physical bang and crash game, and he has the ability to be one of those pest/agitator types that knocks opponents off their game.

    The Roblin, Man., product delivers offensively too as he collected seven goals and 22 assists in 21 playoff games. In the victory that clinched the WHL title, Hawryluk had one of those special nights firing home a hat trick and collecting a pair of assists in an 8-4 win.

    In goal, Papirny delivered the big saves when the Wheat Kings needed them the most, and performed like a money goalie in the playoffs on most nights. His 2.93 goals against average and .897 save percentage doesn’t do justice to show how good the Edmonton product was. When Papirny had a bad game, he rebounded the next night in spectacular style.

Defenceman Mitch Wheaton is a character player for the Wheat Kings.

    On Monday, the Wheat Kings return to practice to gear up for their next big challenge, which is the Memorial Cup tournament in Red Deer. Brandon enters that four-team event as an underdog squad. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights will be pegged as the favourites.

    The Huskies topped the final Canadian Hockey League Top Ten rankings posting a 54-9-3-2 regular season record. They recorded a 16-4 playoff record in their run to a QMJHL title.

    The Knights were third in the final CHL rankings after posting a 51-14-2-1 regular season record. They were 16-2 in their run to winning the OHL championship.

    London opens the Memorial Cup this coming Friday against the host Red Deer Rebels. The Rebels finished sixth overall in the WHL with a 45-24-1-2 regular season mark, and they made it to the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series before falling to Brandon.

The Wheat Kings next focus is capturing the Memorial Cup.

    The Wheat Kings open play at the Memorial Cup this coming Saturday against the Huskies. The tournament’s championship game is slated for May 29.

    Brandon has never won a Memorial Cup. The Wheat Kings come a long way to gain a rare opportunity to capture major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

    Everyone associated with the team will note there is no point stopping now, and they might as well finish things off by going all the way. The Wheat Kings are battle hardened and will prove to be a tough out on the national stage.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

The magic of "right now" revisited in Brandon

Wheat Kings gave home faithful a night to remember

The Wheat Kings celebrate a goal from Nolan Patrick.

    If you were inside Westman Place in Brandon on Friday night, you couldn’t help but be swept up in “the now.”

    In an age where one is bombarded with social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it seems like people forget to interact with or even enjoy the actual real world around them. It feels like people keep seeking instant gratification of getting a tidbit of information in 140 characters or getting a post out there about something they have on their mind.

    For those that saw the Brandon Wheat King play at Westman Place on Friday night, you were reminded that the real world can still be a cool place to be.

    A total of 5,605 spectators packed into the Wheaties home rink that seats 5,102, and they had to admit they saw something special when the home side claimed the WHL Eastern Conference title with a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. A couple of days later, you get a better appreciation for how cool it was to be focused on the current moment over a period of three hours.

    The Wheat Kings entered Game 5 leading the best-of-seven series 3-1. There was an excitement in the air throughout Brandon and the atmosphere in Westman Place moments before game time was giddy. People decked out in Brandon jerseys and #Goldrush T-shirts were anticipating the Wheat Kings would win the conference title that night and advance to the WHL championship series for a second straight year.

The "Gold Men" celebrate the Wheat Kings conference title win.

    During the singing of O Canada, the crowd gave an emphatic yell of the words “true north” and from that moment on you could feel the passion of the Manitoba-based hockey fan.

    The Wheat Kings fed off the energy of the home crowd, and for the first seven minutes of the game, the Rebels rarely got out of their own zone.

    The visitors were able to withstand that opening surge scoring the first goal of the contest and exiting the first period with a 2-1 edge. The Rebels were only delaying the inevitable.

    Just 86 seconds into the second period, Wheat Kings star centre Nolan Patrick drove hard to the net and converted a nice setup pass from linemate Jayce Hawryluk to tie things up at 2-2. The tally was Patrick’s second of the contest.

    He potted his hat trick goal with 3:41 to play in the second to put the hosts up 3-2. As hats rained down to the ice, it hit you that the 17-year-old Winnipeg product was indeed having one of those spectacular individual performances in a big playoff game that you would always remember. It would be the item that led almost all the media reports about that night’s game.

The Rebels could not stop Nolan Patrick (#19) of the Wheat Kings.

    Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 195 pounds, Patrick has the physical dimensions for a forward that are an NHL scouts dream to go along with his exceptional skill.

    Due to his late in the year birthday, Patrick isn’t draft eligible until next year, which made his performance on Friday night look that much more amazing. Patrick’s big night also came from playing inside of Brandon’s system, and his stellar chemistry with his linemates produced the offensive outburst.

    With 47.2 seconds to play in the second, Patrick became the setup man. He assisted on John Quenneville’s short-handed goal to put the Wheat Kings up 4-2.

    Brandon’s momentum continued in the third when netminder Jordan Papirny stoned Rebels captain Luke Philp on a breakaway. The Wheat Kings proceeded to go up 5-2 with 7:52 to play, when Patrick hit pinching defenceman Kale Clague with a beautiful back door feed, and Clague roofed home a goal during a period of four-on-four play.

Part of the 5,605 at Westman Place begin to celebrate the Wheat Kings win.

    The celebration started. With 5:30 to play in the third, the fans pulled a classic and started singing the “Goodbye” song to the Rebels. If anyone in the rink was dealing with worries regarding work or their home life, those worries were far from their minds at that moment.

    The party hit a fever pitch when the final seconds expired and the Wheat Kings poured off their bench to mob Papirny.

    Some laughs ensued during the presentation of the WHL Eastern Conference championship trophy. To superstitiously avoid bad luck, Wheat Kings captain Macoy Erkamps ensured he didn’t touch the trophy and snuck his hand underneath it to shake the hand of WHL vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen.

    Big cheers erupted a couple of times, when the Wheat Kings players raised their sticks to salute the fans.

    The people in Westman Place that night were enjoying a big community moment they would always remember. All that mattered was right now, and it was a pretty good place to be.

Random observations – Valkyries get youth infusion

Valkyries newcomer Emmarae Dale takes down a Storm ballcarrier.

    There are a lot of new young faces among the Saskatoon Valkyries women’s football team this season.

    The Valkyries have 27 new players on their roster this season. A large number of the newcomers appear to be coming from the girls’ flag football league that exists in the Bridge City.

    With the newcomers on the field, the Valkyries opened their 2016 campaign on Saturday downing the Edmonton Storm 30-17 in an exhibition tilt. Like a lot of early season football, the Valkyries had their moments when they looked good and other moments when you could tell some improvement was needed.

    Under head coach Jeff Yausie and his staff, the Valkyries always improve a huge amount as the season goes along, and you can expect this campaign will be no different.

    The Valkyries open their Western Women's Canadian Football League regular season this coming Sunday on road in Winnipeg against the Wolfpack, and their regular season home opener is set for May 15 at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field against the Manitoba Fearless.

• I wonder how many people are anxious to get their next Saskatchewan Rush hit. The local National Lacrosse League team won’t play again at the SaskTel Centre until May 21^st at 7:30 p.m., when they host Game 2 of the Western Final. The Rush topped the Western Division standings with a 13-5 record. They have played in front of crowds of over 10,000 in each of their last six home games, which included drawing 15,027 to their final regular season home game on April 16, when they downed the Colorado Mammoth 11-8. I suspect a few people will avoid a lake trip during the May 21^st weekend.
• I have a feeling that the magical 2015 Major League Baseball season for the Toronto Blue Jays will be a one off. The 2015 campaign came out of nowhere, and it was the Jays first post-season appearance since they won their last World Series in 1993. From 1985 to 1993, the Jays made the playoffs on a frequent basis. They currently don’t have that type of history and it might be showing in their 12-14 start. Expect them to miss the playoffs entirely this year.
• Expect the best-of-seven WHL championship series between the Wheat Kings and Seattle Thunderbirds to be must watch TV. Both clubs have exciting and talented rosters. Game 1 from Brandon is set for Friday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Sportsnet. Shaw takes over the rest of the way starting with Game 2 on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
• It would be sweet of the Saskatoon Blades are successful in getting an inner city outdoor rink built in Saskatoon. One of those classic Canadian experiences is playing shinny on an outdoor rink during winter. I believe that type of facility would be well used. If you build it, the people will come.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Rebels face huge challenge in Wheat Kings

Rest gives Brandon an edge in WHL Eastern Conference finals

Adam Helewka and his Rebels will battle the Wheat Kings.

    One of the slogans the Red Deer Rebels have gone by in the 2016 WHL playoffs is “#allheartrebels,” and they are going to need all of that heart and more against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

    The Rebels advanced to the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference championship series after taking a thrilling and memorable seven-game set against the Regina Pats. Red Deer will be making its first appearance in the conference final since 2004.

    In the Wheat Kings, the Memorial Cup hosting Rebels face their toughest test of the post-season to date. The Wheaties have been resting since dumping the Moose Jaw Warriors 7-3 in Game 5 of a second round series at Westman Place last Friday in Brandon.

    With Brandon hosting Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals this Friday, a one week break means the Wheat Kings will be rested, but rust shouldn’t really be a factor. The Wheaties are also deep, and they have one of the best team cultures in the league.

    You can bet there are Red Deer hotel and restaurant staffers who are looking forward to the arrival head coach, general manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon and his Wheat Kings bunch in the central Alberta centre for Games 3 and 4, because Brandon is known for being one of the best mannered and classiest clubs off the ice. Those off-ice characteristics transfer to success on the ice as well. Brandon finished second overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-18-4-2 mark.

John Quenneville had been hot in the post-season for the Wheat Kings.

    Under head coach, general manager and owner Brent Sutter, the Rebels have traditionally been known for their heart and never quit work-ethic. Those characteristics allowed the Rebels to overcome a talented and spirited young team in the Regina Pats, who will likely be a force for years to come.

    Red Deer is as deep and talented as Brandon due to the fact Sutter loaded up his roster to be strong due to hosting the Memorial Cup in May. The Rebels were sixth overall in the WHL with a 45-24-1-2 record.

    With all things being equal, this series should be a tossup, but it may not be. Since April 13, the Rebels have endured three different eight-hour bus trips between Red Deer and Regina. Red Deer faces a 12-hour haul to get to Brandon.

    The Rebels have only two off days between their 2-1 victory over the Pats in Game 7 of their second round series on Tuesday and the start of the conference finals on Friday. The bus hours and the volume of games played does take its toll on a team.

Haydn Fleury fires a shot on goal for the Rebels.

    If the Rebels are to win the series, they are going to need starting netminder Rylan Toth to steal a couple of games. Toth returned after missing about two months due to a low body injury in a relief appearance in Game 4 of the series with the Pats and has gone the distance since. The Saskatoon product has a 2.31 goals against average and a .929 save percentage in the post-season.

    The 19-year-old entered the season as the Rebels money goalie. Toth is also aided by what has become strong group of starting six defencemen in Haydn Fleury, Kayle Doetzel, Nelson Nogier, Josh Mahura, Colton Bobyk and Austin Strand. That group just has to play smart, and Toth’s job becomes that much easier.

    With that in mind, Brandon’s big offensive players have been rolling in the team’s 11 post-season games, where five players are averaging over a point a game in John Quenneville (7g, 9a), Reid Duke (6g, 10a), Tim McGauley (6g, 7a), Nolan Patrick (5g, 8a) and Jayce Hawryluk (2g, 10a).

    Kale Clague, captain Macoy Erkamps and Ivan Provorov have been dynamite on the back end for Brandon. Jordan Papirny has gone the distance in goal in the playoffs posting 2.65 goals against average, a .898 save percentage and one shutout.

Captain Macoy Erkamps steadies Brandon's back end.

    Adam Helewka (8g, 4a) and Jake DeBrusk (5g, 7a) have topped the Rebels in post-season scoring. Captain Luke Philp, Michael Spacek, Evan Polei, Brandon Hagel and Adam Musil have all added key contributions at different times. Musil had the series winner against the Pats.

    While both teams have good players, the rest factor in Brandon’s favour looms large as a series-deciding intangible. The lengthy series definitely favours the Wheat Kings.

“Retired” Meachem still on WHL beat

    Veteran Red Deer Advocate sports writers and editor Greg Meachem retired, but he didn’t stay out of action for long.

    Shortly after his retirement, the Rebels brought Meachem on board to write web stories on the team on reddeerrebels.com. Meachem’s presence ensures the Rebels top the WHL in the best written content on any team website in the league.

    Big props have to be given to Sutter and his staff for ensuring Meachem remained active in covering the team. He is one of the best on the WHL beat. It seems Meachem is enjoying his new role as well.

Back on the cover of the Express thanks to Flinton

Julia Flinton looks to make a setup pass for the Huskies.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week writing the cover story on the duel life of Julia Flinton, who recently wrapped up her career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    During her playing career with the Huskies, Flinton returned home to Williams Lake, B.C., in the off-season to be a forest firefighter. The 23-year-old will return home to follow that career on a full-time basis now.

    My sit down chat with Flinton ranks up there with as one of my most favourite interviews I have ever done. Flinton topped all Huskies defenders in career scoring with 14 goals and 66 assists in 131 regular season games.
    Flinton was also part of the Notre Dame Hounds squad that won the Esso Cup female midget AAA national hockey championship in 2011. 

    The Saskatoon Express on Flinton can be found here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Why not the Wheat Kings?

Brandon set to challenge for a WHL title

Kelly McCrimmon has built another championship contender in Brandon.

    They are arguably the favourite road team on the WHL circuit among hotel and restaurant staffs.

    When the Brandon Wheat Kings come to down, they dress to impress and carry themselves with a class that matches their look. Hotel and restaurant staffs for years often compliment the players for how well-mannered, nice and personable they are.

    Excitement usually follows when Wheat Kings head coach, general manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon phones to make a reservation. Road businesses want the Wheat Kings to come to town.

    Those intangibles have been some of the key reasons as to why the Manitoba’s only major junior franchise finds itself contenting for a WHL title on a regular basis going back to the start of the 1992-93 season. Since that campaign, the Wheat Kings have won more than 40 games 15 times. The good habits and culture they create off the ice translates to a good culture and habits on the ice.

    Going into the 2015-16 campaign, the Wheat Kings were viewed as a favourite to possibly challenge for another WHL title. While they won’t match their blistering league leading 53-11-4-4 record from last season, the Wheat Kings have been steady.

    In the current campaign, teams like the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals have all had surges at different times that have allowed them to float to the top of the league standings.

Reid Duke (#27) battles for a draw for the Wheat Kings.

    The Wheat Kings hovered near the top of the WHL’s East Division for about the first two-and-a-half months of the campaign and have remained in the division lead since returning from the Christmas break. After downing the Blades 5-1 in Saskatoon on Friday night, the Wheat Kings have earned points in their last nine games coming off seven wins and two extra time setbacks.

    They improved to 44-18-4-2 to sit two points ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (45-21-1-1) for top spot in the Eastern Conference. Brandon also sits two points behind the Victoria Royals (45-16-3-3) for first overall in the league. The Wheat Kings also broke into the Canadian Hockey League’s top ten rankings this week in the 10^th spot.

    During a season where the consensus among scouts is that defence and goaltending across the WHL isn’t as strong as it normally is, the Wheat Kings might be able to finally capture their first league title since 1996.

    While they have piled up outstanding records in the regular season, the league title has eluded the Wheat Kings including last season, where they were swept away in the WHL final by the Rockets.

Jordan Papirny is loaded with playoff experience in goal.

    This season, the Wheat Kings forward group is as solid as ever. Centre Jayce Hawryluk leads the team in scoring with 42 goals and 56 assists, while 17-year-old sophomore centre Nolan Patrick has impressed with 40 goals and 57 assists. Due to where his birthday falls, Patrick, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 195 pounds, isn’t eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until next year.

    Brandon’s back end is anchored by overage captain Macoy Erkamps, who has 13 goals, 55 assists and a plus-43 rating in the plus-minus department. Russian rearguard Ivan Provorov has also provided an offensive spark with 19 goals and 48 assists to go along with a plus-58 rating. Before the WHL trade deadline, the Wheat Kings also acquired overage defenceman Mitchell Wheaton, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 223 pounds, from the Blades to beef up their physical presence.

    The Wheat Kings back end has more parts than most other teams in the league to get the job done.

In goal, 19-year-old Jordan Papirny has carried the load as a starter and has been solid. He has posted a 28-17-6 record, a 2.69 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and five shutouts. Other netminders have better numbers, but Papirny has a tonne of post-season experience.

Ivan Provorov has 67 points on defence.

    Before 4,396 spectators at the SaskTel Centre on Friday, the Wheat Kings showed how opportunistic they can be going 3-for-7 on the power play, while adding a short-handed marker. The short-handed goal was a backbreaker for the Blades, as Hawryluk scored with 1.8 seconds to play in the second to give Brandon a 3-1 lead.

    The tally came just over two minutes after Blades captain Nick Zajac potted his 20^th of the season to pull the host side to within one.

    Hawryluk also picked up a power-play goal in his two-goal night. Patrick, John Quenneville and Erkamps all potted singles for Brandon. Papirny made 29 stops to earn the win in goal.

    Brock Hamm turned away 43 shots to take the loss in goal for the Blades. Saskatoon fell to 25-39-4 to officially be eliminated from playoff contention for the third year in a row.

    The Wheaties appear to be ready for a long playoff run. With the good habits they have developed off and on the ice, all they need are some breaks to go their way in the luck department and that elusive third WHL title in team history might finally fall into their grasp.

Gold Wings pull even with Stars

Chantal Burke (#39) made 42 saves to earn a shutout win against the Stars.

    The Saskatoon Stars saw their 13 game winning streak in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs come to an end on Friday night in Weyburn at the hands of the Esso Cup hosting Gold Wings.

    Gold Wings forward and University of Saskatchewan Huskies recruit Bailee Bourassa scored 48 seconds into a second overtime period to give her side a 1-0 victory over the Stars, who are the defending SFMAAAHL champions. Chantal Burke made 42 saves to earn the win in goal for Weyburn, while Emma Johnson turned away 41 shots to take the loss in goal for the Stars.

    With Weyburn’s win, the best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the two clubs is tied 1-1. Game 3 of the series is set for Sunday at 4:45 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena in Saskatoon.

    The other best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats and the Prince Albert A & W Bears is also tied 1-1.

    If you have any comments about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.