With the veterans getting to skate together in the early morning, the young guns took centre stage for the Brandon Wheat Kings later on in the day. Given a chance to show their skills against their own age group, the prospects did not disappoint.
Team White rode a balanced attack with six different goal scorers to a 6-2 win over Team Black in the prospects game. Prabh Bhathal, Knox Bendera, Shea Chornley, Kale Jones, Carson Park, and Ben Binder Nord all scored for White, while Axel Gleasman and Kanyan Unger replied for Team Black.
“It was a good game overall,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “It’s always nice to see the kids with their peers. It’s a big adjustment when they’re 09s playing against 20-year-olds and veterans in the league so it’s nice to get them back into that prospects game. They gain more confidence playing against kids their own age and it was nice to see who stood out.”
The 2009-born players are going to be the youngest players on the ice no matter who they’re up against, but for a select few that wasn’t a deterrent at any point over the weekend. Several of the youngest players scored consistently all camp long, and this morning’s game was no different.
“Chase Surkan, we’re excited about his play, he sees the ice really well and he’s got something we coveted with his skill,” Murray said. “Prabh Bhathal was, I thought, a man amongst boys today, he was all over the ice. Another player, Carson Park, I had leading the camp in scoring with our veteran players. So as a 15-year-old he had a great camp. All three of those guys deserve the opportunity to play in the Black and Gold game tomorrow, and they’ll be in it.”
That game is always the final act of Wheat Kings camp, because the work of evaluating players isn’t done and the work of building the roster isn’t either. The team still has to make decisions ahead of their exhibition schedule, and still has to reckon with the fact that several players will be departing soon for NHL camps. So, tomorrow’s Black and Gold game has some stakes to it beyond dressing room bragging rights.
That game, which will take place at J&G Homes arena and is open to the public, will begin at 1:00 PM. The roster will be released prior to puck drop.
