It’s been ten days since my last blog, and if you’re a Brandon Wheat Kings fan, they’ve been ten pretty good days.
The team played four games in that time and won all four, en route to a 5-1-0 finish to their B.C. road trip, the best record they’ve had on an out-of-conference road trip in the modern era (shoutout to Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun for compiling all the data for that stat ahead of time). The big guns started firing, the goaltenders started rolling, the young defensemen didn’t look young by the end of the trip, and all seemed well.
It seemed even better after this morning as the Wheat Kings announced they had moved a series of picks to acquire veteran power forward Aiden Foster from the Prince George Cougars. And I’ll give my full thoughts on that in a moment but suffice it to say, that’s definitely part of it being such a good ten days or so.
There is often, in junior hockey, something of a post-road trip letdown. Almost every coach I’ve spoken to has witnessed an example of it (or several) as teams return home and seem to fall into the trap of thinking that if they can play well on the road, then playing well at home must be a cinch.
Trust the Wheat Kings to be well aware of the risks of that. They’ve not only come home from the road but they’ve come home on a high, and their next two home games are against the reigning division champs in the Eastern Conference, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Prince Albert Raiders, two teams that many around the league (myself included) expect to be among the league’s best once again by the time this year is over.
In other words, the Wheat Kings have earned some laurels, but this is no time to rest on them. As ever, the work continues.
- It makes the most sense to dive right into the big news of the day in the Western Hockey League, that being the Wheat Kings acquisition of Aiden Foster. My initial reaction to this trade was a wide smile and a bit of an anticipatory chuckle. For while we won’t see Foster in Wheat Kings’ colours until next week as he serves a two-game suspension, and while it’s probably not fair to assess this trade until we do, my first thought is I absolutely love this deal. Foster ticks so many boxes for Brandon, bringing size, speed, grit, skill, defensive responsibility (witness his pair of shorthanded goals already this season) and a willingness to take on all comers when it’s time to stick up for a teammate. Foster, who stands 6-foot-4 and has fought 27 times in his WHL career, has also steadily built on his offensive totals every season he’s been in the league. Prince George’s off-ice staff and fans seem to absolutely love the guy. And of course, as a Tampa Bay Lightning pick, he’s been to two NHL camps already. There’s genuinely nowhere in the Wheat Kings’ lineup he doesn’t fit, and I’ll be curious to see who he forms chemistry with, but whatever line he’s on, he’s going to make space for his fellow forwards and probably cash in on quite a few of their passes as well. Oh, and if all that weren’t enough, he’s got 32 games of playoff experience. This is a move a team makes when they’re serious about a season. As Marty said to me after this swap, you don’t get a guy like this to sit in the middle.
- Another thing Marty said to me about this trade, echoing conversations I’ve had with other coaches who have seen marquee players brought in via trade, is it represents a show of confidence in the team. And boy did the team earn that show of confidence. Going 5-1-0 on a grueling 6-game-in-9-day road trip that opened with a loss (in which, ironically, Foster scored twice including the game-winner) is setting a very high bar for both the Wheat Kings and the rest of the East Division who head to B.C. this season. One statistical note: this is the second year in a row the Wheat Kings have gone 5-1-0 against B.C. with their only loss coming at the hands of the Cougars. So if the Wheat Kings want to improve on last season’s 40-win total, they’ll have to do so closer to home.
- I don’t set a limit on the length of these blogs (something you’ve likely gathered if you’re a longtime reader) but I’d quickly hit whatever self-imposed limit I do have if I go through every Wheat King that had an impressive trip. Jaxon Jacobson, Kris Muissu, Chase Surkan, Colin Grubb, and Joby Baumuller all finished the road trip at or above a point-per-game. Muissu had points in all but the final game of the trip (in which he hit a goal post in the third period). In fact, none of the players listed above had any points in the final game of the road trip. The only player with a multi-point game in that contest for either team was Brady Turko, who started the scoring for Brandon and set up the overtime winner by Cole Slobodian. Add all that up and you’ve got a pretty good snapshot of the offensive depth the Wheat Kings are so high on.
- During the trip, Filip Ruzicka’s agent Allan Walsh dropped a new nickname for the big netminder: The Monster. This came on the heels of his 35-save performance in Langley, followed by him stopping (for the fourth time in a row) every shooter he faced in the shootout. And apparently the name has gotten traction. I was at the Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild game on Tuesday night so I did not hear this for myself but I gather the Jets broadcast had picked up the name. So too had some friends of mine, one of whom texted me to ask why “The Monster” was attending the game. It seems a strong nickname for a 6-foot-7 goaltender who, as of this writing, is sitting on a 4-1-0 record and a .933 save percentage. And while I think of it, I must give some flowers to Wheat Kings’ goalie coach Tyler Plante who has worked with both Burke Hood of the Vancouver Giants and Ruzicka, and watched his two proteges trade highlight reel saves all night when Brandon faced the Giants on October 6.
- Speaking of nicknames, I might have to get creative and come up with one for the Hunter-Landmark-Ellingsen unit the Wheat Kings ran with through the final three games of the trip. It was a pleasure to see both Levi Ellingsen and Cole Hunter pick up their first WHL goals in Penticton, but their contributions stretch well beyond that. The trio has proven to be a thorn in the side of any team they’re up against, spending a lot of time in the offensive zone and frequently playing below the circles and along the walls, grinding their opponents down. With the exception of special teams play, the Wheat Kings never had to limit their minutes either, and on a trip where you’re cramming so much hockey into a short time, the ability to roll four lines consistently is huge. This trio has provided the Wheat Kings with everything they could ask of them in that regard.
- A lot of dams burst for the Wheat Kings on the road trip, and Ryan Boyce seemed determined that his should be one of them. He had his first goal seemingly on his stick several times, hitting the post in Kelowna on a breakaway entirely of his own making as he outraced a back-checker and never gave Kelowna’s goaltender time to even think about coming out to play the puck. In Penticton, he was hooked as he drove the net for a tap-in, preventing him from getting his first in the WHL. Yet he still caused a goal there, drawing a power play on which the Wheat Kings’ scored. The team got rewarded for Boyce’s hard work on the play, and it will be a just moment when he gets rewarded for it himself. You can feel it coming.
- Congratulations are in order for Wheat Kings defenseman Cruz Jim, who was named to the roster for Team Canada White at the World Under-17 Challenge in Oakville, Ontario next month. There was never really any doubt that Jim would go, however. He’s been steady, solid, and physical in his own zone while finding the offensive touch for which he’s probably best known, picking up an assist in Kelowna and being denied a second on the overturned goal. As Marty said to me after the Kelowna game on the post-game interview, thanks to his hockey IQ he’s a really good defenseman already at 16 years old, and he shows all the signs of growing into an elite one. Part of that growth may well come from representing his country at the U17s where, incidentally, he has big shoes to fill; not only have the Wheat Kings sent four players in the last three seasons to the event for Canada, three of them have come home with a gold medal.
It was almost strange to sleep in my own bed and return to my home broadcast booth to set up the gear after nearly three weeks away from ACU place. Strange, but good. That must have been how it felt when the Wheat Kings began practicing there again this week. It’s also strange (but perhaps good) that the Wheat Kings get to rest tonight and watch as their opponent tomorrow night, the Medicine Hat Tigers, plays in Regina.
The road trip was a test for the Wheat Kings, no doubt about it. And as any university student will tell you, post-Thanksgiving is mid-term exam season. So it’s fitting that the Wheat Kings have another test on deck tomorrow night. They sure looked prepared for the last one.
