All through the offseason, training camp, and preseason, the Brandon Wheat Kings have maintained the forward group is a huge strength of this team. This week, they finally got a proper look at it.
With the return of Brady Turko and Carter Klippenstein from the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild respectively, the Wheat Kings have had practices with the full forward group this week. It’s been the first chance for the team to see what they have without having either a long list of either prospects filling in or players away in the NHL.
“Today was the first day we’ve had everyone back and it was good to have (Turko and Klippenstein) in the mix,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “It was good talking to them and hearing their experiences after an extended stay with their respective teams. Those are valuable things moving forward for both of those guys. For us to get them back and have a full week of practice, hopefully it translates to good things on Saturday night.”
That Saturday night game will need to be a bounce back after a difficult opening weekend for the Wheat Kings, who dropped both games against the Moose Jaw Warriors. And with a tough Prince Albert Raiders opponent on deck, this was a good time for the Wheat Kings to get some reinforcements.
“It obviously wasn’t the weekend everyone wanted but we’ve had a really good, hard practice with fast pace, working on our d-zone,” said Wheat Kings forward Carter Klippenstein. “There’s a lot more work to do this week, but with everyone back we’ve really ramped up practice and I think we’ll be ready to go this weekend.”
Besides their presence up front and the expected offense they’ll both bring, the Wheat King coaches hope both Turko and Klippenstein can come back with some experiences to pass on to the younger Wheat Kings.
“One of the things we talk about is being a pro,” said Murray. “When you’re in the NHL, everyone there is a pro. It’s the way they prepare for practices, the way they take care of their bodies post-practice and post-games, it’s a whole different level. We hope some of those things rub off on them and they can bring them back to our guys as well.”
During the weekend losses to Moose Jaw, the Wheat Kings had no trouble scoring goals, piling up 11 in two games and going 3-for-6 on the man advantage. It’s at the other end where the team will need the veteran help to turn things around, though Murray was quick to point out that any improvements defensively need to be team-wide.
“We’ve had a long video session addressing a lot of things,” Murray said. “We expect our veteran players to lead the way. Those guys are two more veterans coming into this scenario. It’s a team thing, and I thought we had a good step forward today with a good practice, worked hard and worked on touching up our details. It was a good practice and the challenge is to be even better tomorrow.”
The Wheat Kings play only the one game this weekend, hosting the Raiders at 6:00 Central Time on Saturday night.
