Ten games to go. Crunch time. And for the second season in a row, the Wheat Kings’ placement in the standings looks to be coming down right to the wire.
Last season, the Wheat Kings ultimate spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture was literally decided by a single point on the very last day of their regular season, and who could claim to be surprised if it happens that way again? They’re chasing the Calgary Hitmen, being chased themselves by the Saskatoon Blades, and still have one critical game remaining against each team.
And in this critical stretch, the Wheat Kings have been as injured as they’ve been at any point this season. If they don’t get some reinforcements for the game against Regina tomorrow night, the Wheat Kings will have gone all of February, an entire calendar month, without being able to ice more than 11 forwards in any given game.
On the one hand, the resilience of the Wheat Kings in that span has been remarkable. They’re 6-3-0 in nine games this month, with wins over Prince Albert, Edmonton, Penticton, and (crucially) Saskatoon in that span. On the other hand, despite their laudable play while shorthanded and one of the best records in the conference in that time, they’re actually further back of the Calgary Hitmen now than they were when this stretch of hockey began. I’m reminded of the end of last season, when the Wheat Kings were one point out of the division lead going into the final five games, went 4-1-0 in those five, and missed the division title by a single point. The margin for error is so thin you’d need a microscope to find it.
Still, if the Wheat Kings can take anything from the six-game winning streak that just ended (during which two of their 11 forwards had single-digit WHL games played) it’s that this group really can do anything and beat anyone when they buckle down and throw their full weight and competitive edge into games. It’s a lesson worth learning before the playoffs, which the Wheat Kings now officially know they will be part of.
- If you’re going to be missing some of your top scorers (more on that in a moment) then those who remain need to step up. Jaxon Jacobson and Luke Mistelbacher have more than held up their end of the bargain. In nine games so far in February, Jacobson has 18 points and Mistelbacher has 16, including goals in four straight. At the same time, Jacobson has had a remarkable run in the faceoff dot (he’s been over 70 percent three times already this month and sits well over 50 percent on the season). Considering he’s only just turned 17 in December, Jacobson has had a fantastic season. I don’t like to dwell on this, but when the planning for this season began in the summer, the idea was to have Jacobson reasonably well insulated at the centre position with veterans Roger McQueen and Carter Klippenstein handling their share of the faceoffs. McQueen went the NCAA route and Klippenstein has suffered a season-ending injury, leaving Jacobson to take up the mantle of number-one centre far earlier than the team had planned. And to all of the added responsibility, coming very early in his career, Jacobson has responded with exceptional work in the faceoff circle and a 90-point pace. He’s found another gear.
- Speaking of finding another gear, with so many injuries throughout the lineup, the Wheat Kings have tried out different personnel on their power play units, the second in particular, and this had led to a thoroughly enjoyable emergence for Cam Allard. Cam is an easy kid to root for if you ever meet him, but at the start of the year I might not have guessed he’d have a power play unit that in no small measures flows through him. Maybe I should’ve guessed, he was offensively solid in his Saskatchewan AAA days, but he’s now up to six goals on the season (arguably seven; there was no reason whatsoever his goal against Prince Albert shouldn’t have counted and I’ll drop that one of these days but not today), and all six of them have been well-placed shots. Considering he’s a 6-foot-3 right-handed defenseman with mobility, and considering he’s been on both of NHL Central Scouting’s lists so far, could Cam being play his way into a selection at this year’s NHL draft? It certainly seems possible.
- I don’t think Gio Pantelas is “playing his way into the draft” as he was there right from the beginning but I do think the next batch of lists you see coming out are going to have him a good deal higher up. Fresh off a six-game point streak and now up to 35 points on the year, Gio has added offensive output to go along with the size, skating, snarl, and defensive game that made scouts interested him in the first place. He also had a very strong showing at the WHL Top Prospects Game, scoring a goal and, despite the fact Team West scored four times, not being on the ice for any goals against. Steven Ellis, whose prospect-related work is always worth your time, had Pantelas among his positive standouts for the game and said he’s been “teetering on Pantelas as a first-rounder.” If Gio breaks the 40-point barrier to go along with all his other attributes, a team could very easily justify scooping him up in the first round.
- I always like to end on something upbeat, and not for the first time in this blog I come to a pair of 2009-born defensemen who are having outstanding, even record-setting seasons in the U18 AAA ranks. Ethan Young has been threatening to write his name in the Sask U18 AAA ranks record book all season long, and with a multi-point final weekend, he hit 74 points in 41 games, the most by a defenseman in that league in the last 30 years (at least; records get a little spotty when you get into the 1990s or, as some kids are chillingly referring to it now, the 1900s). Meanwhile, closer to home, Easten Turko has the most points by a U18 AAA Wheat Kings defenseman for as far back as records go (40 years, in this case) with 63. Both players have made their WHL debuts and looked strong this season, and between them, Cruz Jim, and a number of other prospects, you can already see a training camp battle for the ages shaping up on the blueline next year.
Ten games to go. We’re officially into the home stretch, and as the other shoe drops from the lengthy homestand with which the Wheat Kings opened the season, they’ll spend the majority of it on the road. The team has dug deep and found reserves of grit, resolve, and resilience that they will surely need in the playoffs. Now they just need to find a little more.
