Jimmy Egan had high expectations for himself coming into his second season as a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings, but as it turned meeting those expectations had to wait longer than he’d planned on.
The 2008-born forward suffered an injury late in the offseason that kept him out of training camp, the exhibition schedule, and the first ten games of the season for Brandon. On game 11, however, in what turned out to be a win over the Prince Albert Raiders, Egan made his return to the lineup.
“It felt great, and it was a long time coming,” Egan said. “I feel good and it was fun to be back out there.”
That being his first game since the 2026 playoffs, the Wheat Kings eased Egan into things a bit (he took only ten faceoffs though he projects as a natural centre for the team). Don’t expect that to continue, however, as last season the Wheat Kings relied on Egan, despite his youth, in just about every situation.
“He can be an impactful player for us in a variety of ways,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “He’s a sound 200-foot player, he can play on the penalty kill. I’d love to see him round out things like his faceoffs and he has some offensive ability too, he had just over 20 points last year. He’s a guy that plays the game the right way, and I think there’s an offensive touch there as well.”
Egan seems to agree with his coach’s assessment. After a strong rookie season in which he played all 68 games and posted 22 points, he wants to turn up his production offensively while not letting the side down with the defensive responsibilities he earned last season.
“I want to be a reliable centre, but I want to take a step offensively,” said Egan, “I want to try to produce more this year… (the offseason) was about getting quicker and working on my shot.”
Egan’s return to the lineup gives the Wheat Kings enviable depth not only at centre but in their forward corps in general. It also comes at the same time as the infusion of star trade acquisition Aiden Foster into the lineup, which will further boost an already impressive group up front.
“On paper, we have a really deep forward group,” Murray said. “Hopefully it’s one of those things where we can just go one line after another and put pressure on teams. To me, that’s what it looks like. We have the ability to roll four lines and get everybody involved. There will be some tough decisions along the way with who’s in and who’s out, but it’s nice to have that forward depth that we do.”
The Wheat Kings stay on home ice for this weekend with a double header against a pair of American opponents. First up are the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night, followed by the Everett Silvertips on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop against the Thunderbirds is set for 7:00.
