Wheat Kings finally set to return
Courtesy of Perry Bergson, the Brandon Sun
A Western Hockey League campaign unlike any other begins today for the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Players and team personnel report to the hub in Regina that will see the seven Western Hockey League teams based in Manitoba and Saskatchewan play a 24-game schedule, opening March 12 at the Brandt Centre.
Wheat Kings general manager Darren Ritchie played in the league in the 1990s and enjoyed a nine-year professional career before rejoining the organization in hockey operations. He said it’s an utterly unique situation.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Ritchie said. “You really feel for the players because with junior hockey, you don’t get those years back and unfortunately some guys are going to miss a lot of hockey. It’s fortunate that we now have the ability to play, and after having a Zoom call with our players, they’re excited and the staff are excited as well.”
Brandon will be joined in the Regina hub by the Winnipeg Ice, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos in a modified East Division.
No spectators will be permitted to enter any WHL facilities.
Brandon’s 24-man roster will include eight rookies: goalie Connor Ungar, defencemen Logen Hammett and Jacob Hoffrogge, and forwards Brett Hyland, Jaxon Dube, Tyson Zimmer, Nate Danielson and Rylen Roersma. There will be two goalies, eight defenceman and 14 forwards.
Overage veterans Cole Reinhardt and Luka Burzan aren’t expected to return from their American Hockey League clubs, and Duncan Pierce was put on waivers, so Marcus Sekundiak, Lynden McCallum and Reid Perepeluk will serve as the team’s overagers. In addition, the team’s two imports, forward Marcus Kallionkieli of Finland and Yaroslav Busygin of Russia, won’t come to Canada.
There will be no cuts from the group that enters the hub. With a final decision on holding a post-season not yet made, an uneventful trade deadline passed on Thursday afternoon. “That is our team,” Ritchie said.
The Wheat Kings normally hold a prospects camp
in the spring and a rookie camp just before main camp begins in August. None of that happened in 2020, depriving players and the team of two additional chances to get to know one another.
That will have the greatest impact on the 2004-born players entering their 16-year-old seasons, and the 2003-born rookies.
“Most of those guys have played some games so we’ve had the ability to watch some video earlier in the year on our ‘03s and ‘04s,” Ritchie said. “Not having a training camp is the hard part because guys are here to compete and battle for our team.”
Some teams have decided to bring their 15-year-old prospects into the fold — after all, few are playing anywhere — but Ritchie ultimately decided against adding 2020 firstrounder Quinn Mantei to his roster.
“It was a real tough decision but we wanted to be loyal to the guys who have been here,” Ritchie said. “I think it would be no different if Quinn was on our team, we’d be loyal to Quinn. It’s hard, we would have nine defencemen. We would love to bring him in and maybe we will bring him in later as an (affiliate player).”
The schedule hasn’t been released yet. Like every team, Brandon’s new head coach Don MacGillivray and the entire hockey operations department will be weighing the competing interests of developing young players versus winning today. Ritchie expects the latter will ultimately prevail.
“Everybody who is in our league or sports are competitive people and when the games start, they’re going to be competitive and everybody wants to win. You coach to win and you play to win,” Ritchie said. “I think it’s going to be competitive hockey and some good hockey because the kids have been waiting for so long. I’m looking forward to watching all the teams play.”
Players and staff began selfquarantining by Feb. 20.
They will undergo COVID-19 testing — conducted by a private company rather than the Saskatchewan public health system — after arriving and then go into another quarantine period. After a second test, players will be able to participate in team activities.
Throughout the season, weekly testing will be conducted. If there is a positive test among players or staff, the team has to suspend all activities for at least two weeks.
In addition, there will be regular temperature screenings and symptom monitoring through a mobile application on the cell phones of players and staff.
Masks are mandatory for players when they’re off the ice, and coaches must wear them during practices and on the bench.
The players will stay together in University of Regina dormitories, which may actually ease the sting of homesickness for younger players.
“They’ll get to know everybody pretty quick,” Ritchie said. “I think that will help them become part of the team quicker than most years. It’s no different than going to the West Coast. We’ve been fortunate enough to go to the coast in October and I really think that has always helped our team to get closer quicker. Now with our team being in a hub, our players are going to be together for 60-plus days and I think that is really going to help guys become part of the team quick.”
Alberta’s Central Division began play on Friday, and the U.S. Division launches on March 19. Only the B.C. Division hasn’t yet been cleared for a return to action.
