https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/ Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:11:39 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/johnson-perseveres-to-find-success Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:11:39 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/johnson-perseveres-to-find-success BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   In 1993, National Basketball Association superstar Charles Barkley famously declared in a television commercial that he was not a role model. Thirty-three years later, graduating Brandon Wheat Kings forward Nick Johnson sees it differently. Not only is he happy to be a good example, the Calgary product learned a lot about himself as he came of age in the Western Hockey League. “I think the WHL has made me grow a lot as a person,” Johnson said. “With the little things too, I think we’re held to a higher standard, as we should be. We’re in a major junior hockey league and we should be leading by example to young kids. It’s a big deal, because how little kids see you is how they’re going to want to be when they grow up. “I think that’s very important and a very special thing that happens nowadays and I’m very grateful to have a part of the whole league.” PORTLAND Johnson’s WHL dream actually began back in 2020, but he certainly had to wait on draft day. Portland absolutely stole Johnson in the WHL draft that year when they grabbed him in the 10th round with the 220th overall pick. At the time, he was a five-foot-eight, 144-pound forward who had nine goals and 19 assists in 30 games with the Edge School’s under-15 prep team. “That was a long time but it’s a pretty special moment,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter where you went to, you obviously grew up watching the WHL being in Western Canada. For me and my family, I didn’t know too much about Portland but I knew it was obviously a good organization that produced a lot of good players so I was pretty excited to go there. “You only get drafted once, and for it to happen at a young age, it’s cool to see your name pop up.” He played one game as a callup when he was 16, and as he grew into his current six-foot-three, 207-pound frame, he earned a spot with the Winterhawks in 2022-23 in his 17-year-old year, with three goals, five assists and 35 penalty minutes in 63 games. He said the older Winterhawks, including Gabe Klassen and Robbie Fromm-Delorme, were instrumental in making him feel comfortable. He is especially thankful for the latter, who he said was nice to him from day one. He also credited teammate Diego Buttazzoni, who he lived with in Portland, and defenceman Rhett Ravndahl, who also ended up in Brandon. “We went through a lot of ups and downs together,” Johnson said. “… Having those guys with me each day to get through it was a game changer for me.” In the 2023-24 season, he had five goals and 13 assists in 29 games before sustaining a lower-body injury on Dec. 10, 2023 when he was hit from behind into the boards during a game against the Everett Silvertips. NEW HOME On Jan. 10, 2024, the Wheat Kings acquired Johnson and Ravndahl, plus first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2026 from the Portland Winterhawks in exchange for captain Nate Danielson. “Looking back at it now, I think it was one of the best things for me,” Johnson said of the trade. “Just for me personally, whether it was role or environment, I think it was a great deal for me. I was really happy to end up here.” Johnson was still injured when he was traded, and made his Brandon debut against Lethbridge on Jan. 20, 2024, which just happened to be his 19th birthday. He played eight games, and then suffered a different lower-body injury on Feb. 4, missing a month. But he showed some real promise, with eight points in 16 games with the Wheat Kings despite the setbacks. In 52 games last season, he had career highs across the board, with 16 goals, 27 assists and 43 points despite breaking his leg on an ugly play in Regina after he posted a hat trick in the team’s second game of the season. After missing 43 games in 2023-24 and 16 games in 2024-25, he joined Gio Pantelas, Jimmy Egan and Jordan Gavin in an exclusive club in the 2025-26 regular season as the four Wheat Kings who suited up for all 68 games, plus four in the playoffs as they were swept by the Calgary Hitmen in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. “It was nice,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “It’s a grind but … I was fortunate to play all 68 and be healthy. It was something I’m able to do, so going down the road, I can think back to this year and how I handled my body and how I handled going into each game and it will help me carry on throughout my career.” That certainly didn’t mean he avoided the hard work. A defining part of Johnson’s game involves that big frame, which allows him to physically overmatch opponents at times. He also happy to do the heavy lifting along the boards. In addition, he proved to be a terrific shot blocker as he became an integral part of the penalty kill. It was a job he took a lot of pride in. “It was sweet,” Johnson said. “I like getting down and blocking a shot and firing the team up. On that side of things, I was very proud and very fortunate that (head coach and general manager) Marty (Murray) put me in that position. I thought I did a pretty good job overall.” Johnson, who turned 21 in January, admitted it’s not always easy to stand in front of a shot that sends six ounces of angry vulcanized rubber hurtling towards him, but added he wasn’t alone in that job. “You look at our season and the record we had as a team, I don’t think it was just one person doing it, I thought it was a team buy-in,” Johnson said. “Forty wins is a big accomplishment to have as a team. I can go back and say my last WHL team I had we had 40 wins and a good season. That’s what it takes to have a good team.” It doesn’t hurt that he set career marks in games (68), goals (22), assists (31), points (52), plus-minus (a team-high 34) and penalty minutes (40) while shifting back into the centre from the wing. It was all part of his evolution over four seasons in the WHL. “I see my growth in almost every aspect of my game,” Johnson said. “Obviously being a young kid, I was more nervous to be around the older guys and maybe played that way a little bit too, honestly. Going through each year and seeing what guys go through, everyone is kind of the same. We all go through the same stuff.” NEXT STEP Johnson was one of the happy recipients of the new opportunity to play college hockey after the NCAA changed its rules restricting major junior players in November 2024, something he couldn’t have imagined when he entered the league. “I’m pretty fortunate that way, with how everything opened up,” Johnson said. “It gives me more time to develop my game and develop more areas I need to and at the same time, get a great education out of it too. It’s obviously kind of mind blowing. Any kid entering the league should be very excited knowing there are more options out there for you.” As it turned out, his options lay in northern Michigan. Ferris State University is located in Big Rapids, which is 340 kilometres northwest of Detroit, and it didn’t take long for Johnson to make up his mind about the school. The Bulldogs hired new head coach Brett Riley in March 2025 after their former coach retired, and he brought associate coach Zack Cisek and assistants Justin DeMartino and Gehrig Sarosy on board. They collectively made a strong impression on Johnson. “We got talking with one another and I thought there was kind of a connection, a spark right away, from day one,” Johnson said. “It’s a brand new coaching staff there and they’ve put in a lot of time and effort with me, especially this year. They’ve given me some video or are checking in on me a lot. I think it will be a great spot for me next year. I’m very excited.” He knows two players who have also committed to the program, Tri-City Americans forward Gavin Garland, who is also from Calgary, and his former Winterhawks teammate Hudson Darby, who spent last season with his hometown Swift Current Broncos. Ferris State plays in the NCAA Division I’s Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Last year the Bulldogs finished eighth in the nine-team conference with a record of 6-18-2 in conference and 8-27-2 overall. The program has appeared in the NCAA tournament four times, and the Frozen Four once, back in 2012. They have won three conference championships, in 2003, 2012 and 2014. THANK YOUS Even with his new plan in place, Johnson admitted he was a little surprised how quickly his WHL adventure passed him by, despite the fact veterans warned him it would happen when he was a rookie. “When I was told that, I was like ‘There’s no way, this is probably going to be the longest four or five years of my life and blah, blah, blah,’” Johnson said. “Now that it’s all come to an end, it’s certainly been the blink of an eye and I’m done. It’s been very short and very quick. You just take it for granted.” To be fair, he did time to enjoy the big moments as he visited rinks for the final time. He lived in two different houses during his season and a half in Portland, and was able to visit with both families during his last trip through the U.S. Division in January, something he describes as a cool moment. There were a lot of those moments during his farewell tour. “Walking into an away arena, it was ‘Woah, this is the last time I’m ever going to play a game in this building,’” Johnson said. “It’s little moments like that you think to yourself ‘I’ve been through a lot.’ It’s a sweet moment for sure but sad at the same time. It’s been fun.” He lived with the Boguski family — Ryan, Pamela and their children Beckett, Nixon and Marx — along Ravndahl until the defenceman was sent to the Kamloops Blazers in January. After his buddy was traded, Johnson stayed there alone. “I don’t know if I would be able to live away from home for so long if it wasn’t for them,” Johnson said. “They brought me in and treated me like their own kid. I’m so thankful to be a part of their lives and I’ll always be a text or phone call away from them and I’ll see them in the future. “They were so good to me. I couldn’t ask for anything better.” He has the same reaction when asked about Murray and assistant coaches Mark (Billy) Derlago and Del Pedrick, noting the general manager had faith in him, which just happened to be during his 18-year-old season when he was hurt. That trust proved to be well placed as Johnson’s role expanded. “We had a good season this year and he let me be one of the key guys on the penalty kill and in big-game moments,” Johnson said. “Honestly on top of that, all the coaches, Billy and Del, they taught me a lot, whether it was on video or on-ice stuff. “I think they made a really big impact on who I am as a player. (Athletic therapist) Zach (Hartwick) got me through all my injuries and sorted me out with that. “Each and everyone in the organization, up and down, teammates and coaches and staff, it’s just a great spot to be. “I don’t think there is a whole lot I would change about any other the time I’ve been here. I’m very thankful.” He noted one of the big differences between Portland and Brandon was the size of the respective cities, and how easy it was for the players to get together here. It’s the difference between the players being billeted a few minutes apart and an hour away from each other. And it’s that time away from the rink that may prove to be what sticks with him. “I think the memories aren’t going to be a whole lot to do with on the ice,” Johnson said. “I think it’s going to be in the locker room after or at a guy’s house creating those type of memories. It’s a bigger thing as a whole. When I look back on my five years, I’ll remember all those little things a lot more. “I’m very grateful for them.”]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/boehm-grows-in-second-season Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:21:36 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/boehm-grows-in-second-season BY: PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   If you’ve ever wondered about the benefits of confidence for a Western Hockey league player, Nigel Boehm might be Exhibit A. The 17-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman from Corman Park, Sask., made incredible strides in his second Western Hockey League season, which may have been best reflected by his newfound willingness to carry the puck and get shots on net. “Confidence is a big thing,” Boehm said. “Especially being a defenceman, everyone relies on you and it starts with you. It’s a big thing moving forward into these playoffs, being able to rely on yourself and trust yourself to make plays. It’s good to be a dependable player from the back end on.” “I put up more points than last year — pretty much double — and it’s going to be a huge thing moving on,” he added. “Especially in the playoffs confidence-wise, having that switch from last year will be good.” The Wheat Kings were swept out of the playoffs by the Calgary Hitmen, falling 4-2 in Game 4 to end their season. The numbers tell the story for Boehm. As a rookie, the six-foot-one, 190-pound blue-liner had a goal, six assists and a plus-minus of -3 in 61 games. In 63 games this season, he had two goals, 14 assists and a plus-minus of +22, which was third best on the team. Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray has certainly noticed Boehm’s maturation. “He’s really come into his own,” Murray said. “Even on the offensive side, I don’t think we give him much credit. He’s more confident carrying the puck and creating a little offence. He knows that’s not the 1-A part of his game but you can see the growth and confidence in him. “He’s a defensive defenceman who is close to +20 over the course of the year. He’s one of those guys who is heavy and hard to play against and has really made some nice strides.” Boehm’s first goal of the season certainly illustrated how he was feeling. On Jan. 10, against the visiting Regina Pats, Boehm jumped up into the rush, accepted a pass from Joby Baumuller, went to the net, held onto the puck and then lifted it past goalie Taylor Tabashniuk. Boehm’s second goal of the season was also a beauty, and also came against the Pats. On March 20, he jumped out of the penalty box, took a stretch pass from Baumuller, went in on a two-on-one with Brady Turko and elected to shoot, sending the puck over the glove of Marek Schlenker. While those were the plays that worked, Boehm has also been more willing this season to walk the blue-line looking for a shooting land and then carry the puck. Last year he likely would have the quick, short pass down low. “Being able to not just handle the puck but shoot the puck is a big aspect of the game,” Boehm said. “Being able to get pucks on net from the point is big for the forwards especially to be able to get rebounds.” Brandon grabbed Boehm in the second round of the 2023 WHL draft with the 28th overall pick, after they had already taken forward Jaxon Jacobson fifth and blue-liner Gio Pantelas 19th. (They also picked current players Ryan Boyce 94th and Cameron Allard 160th.) Boehm said it didn’t take long in his rookie season last year to tell he was defending against a different level. “It’s for sure hard,” Boehm said. “You can tell when you’re facing a skilled player.” His physical, stay-at-home presence was immediately evident, but it still took time for him to adapt to the speed and size in major junior. When he returned this year, half of the 2024-25 team was back and that immediately made it easier for him to settle in. “With the new guys coming in, it’s easier to build chemistry when you have old chemistry,” Boehm said. “The confidence going into the playoffs this year is super high and that’s throughout the room. We’re ready to give it everything we’ve got here in the first round.” With that experience, plus the blue-line losses of graduates Luke Shipley and captain Quinn Mantei, the mid-season trades of Charlie Elick and Rhett Ravndahl, the summer release of Slovakia’s Adam Belusko and the season-long injury to Merrek Arpin, opportunity opened up on the Brandon blue-line. One way that’s been reflected for Boehm is his regular presence on Brandon’s penalty-killing units. “Being a dependable player on the PK is huge,” Boehm said. “On our back end, pretty much all of us can be reliable and it doesn’t matter, one through seven, we can all be dependable and go out and kill. It’s good and having the coaches behind me, my confidence is up because they’ve shown they trust me and will put me out there in the last couple of minutes when you need a kill.” The obvious goal of the penalty kill is trying to prevent goals. Boehm said the method is deceptively simple. “Personally, work ethic is a big thing and being out there four against five, you have to be able to carry your weight and work hard on the other team,” Boehm said. “Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to.” Not surprisingly, he was named the team’s hardest-working player in the year-end awards, and also channelled that into school, earning the nod as the Wheat Kings’ top academic player for the second year in a row. Like all players with a larger goal, Boehm is quick to deflect his personal success and instead focus on the club’s collective performance this season. “I think this year went really good,” Boehm said. “I had a fun year and we got 40 wins, that was big as a team and we’re very proud of that accomplishment. We’re one of seven teams to do it so that’s a big thing for us.”]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/allard-grows-develops-in-rookie-campaign Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:17:44 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/allard-grows-develops-in-rookie-campaign BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   Cameron Allard may have gotten a taste of the Western Hockey League last season, but the Brandon Wheat King has discovered there are a lot of ways for a young defenceman to lose his appetite in his rookie season. The six-foot-three, 196-pound blue-liner from Yorkton, Sask., said the level of players he has faced in major junior has been a revelation. “Everyone is super skilled,” Allard said. “You can be playing a fourth line and there are still unbelievable players. There isn’t really a bad player in this league. Then you have the top-end guys, and some are going to the NHL next year, and it’s a whole different beast. “It’s like you’re playing an NHL player pretty much so it’s definitely more difficult but once you adapt into learning how to defend against these kinds of players, it makes it seem likes the next level gets closer and closer every day.” The Wheat Kings were swept out of the playoffs by the Calgary Hitmen, falling 4-2 in Game 4 to end their season. Allard, who turned 18 in January, nearly made the club at 16 but was ultimately reassigned to the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League’s Estevan Bears. After a slow start, he put up 36 points in 44 games. He also suited up in 13 regular season WHL games — all after Christmas — and three playoff games with the Wheat Kings. While that helped, he said being a full-time major junior player is a revelation. “It’s definitely a lot different than last year when I was a call-up,” Allard said. “I’ve been billeting for a couple of years so I know what that’s like but it’s just the grind, the late-night bus rides, getting home at 4 in the morning and then playing … at 6 that night is a whole different animal. “Doing that 68 times a year makes that even more crazy but I love it and I think all the guys love it. Everyone has a love for the sport and that’s what makes the league so special.” Allard graduated last year but is taking university courses this season to stay sharp scholastically. Players usually talk about some combination of the size, strength, speed, skill and smarts of players at the major junior level, and Allard doesn’t hesitate when asked if there are elements on that list that stand out for him. “I’d say the speed, and the size comes along with the speed,” Allard said. “Guys are moving faster and they’re bigger so it seems like there is a lot less time on the ice and then the others are just extra add-ons that every player has. There are lots of smart players in this league, lots of skilled players in this league, but the biggest are the size and the speed.” Allard is a member of the team’s draft class of 2023, joining his current teammates Jaxon Jacobson (fifth), Gio Pantelas (19th), Nigel Boehm (28th) and Ryan Boyce (94th). The difference is that Allard was selected in the eighth round, 160th overall, making him an absolute steal for the club. Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the rookie blue-liner has built on his experience and blossomed on a pairing with Nigel Boehm. “He got a taste and got his feet wet last year,” Murray said. “I think his biggest asset is breaking pucks out and making plays. He’s turned into a pretty solid defenceman, and that pairing in particular has done a real nice job.” After posting a pair of assists in the 13 games last season, Allard contributed seven goals, 14 assists, 29 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of +12. “I’m happy about it,” Allard said of his season. “I had goals at the start of the year and some got reached and some didn’t, but overall I’m happy with how I developed throughout the year. One of the goals was to feel like I was getting better every day, every time I was on the ice, and I think I achieved that.” There was also some external validation for that belief. The right-shooting defenceman was listed as a player to watch on Central Scouting’s initial rankings and was listed as 190th among North American skater in the mid-terms. “I definitely gained a lot of confidence throughout the year, and around Christmas it really flipped into being ‘OK, I can try things, I don’t need to be simple, I can try new things,’ and I think it’s worked out well for me,” Allard said. “Obviously I’ve put some pucks in the net. Once I found my confidence, that’s when my game really boosted.” The challenge in the offensive end is simply getting the puck to the net. In a new era of the game where forwards usually embrace the defensive structure at the top of their zone, blasting the puck through a maze of shot blockers isn’t easy. “It’s really hard,” Allard said. “With the size of guys, it seems like shin pads get a lot bigger and they get a lot closer as you get the puck and hold it for a couple of seconds. I think that’s one of the strengths of my game is finding lanes to shoot pucks through. It is tough but I think that’s one of the things I can do well.” While Allard is a smooth puck carrier who doesn’t mind having it on his stick, which is not common for rookie defencemen in the WHL, he said it’s been a work in progress. Still, when Brandon drafted him, he was viewed as a two-way player who had that ability in his game. “I think I’ve developed the offensive side of my game a lot,” Allard said. “I know in U18 AAA I was considered more of a defensive defenceman than an offensive guy and I think now I’ve shifted that into kind of a two-way defenceman who can make an impact in both ends. “Overall, in the league you have to be able to do everything and I think I’ve adapted well into that.”]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/burzynski-makes-manitoba-memories Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:16:08 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/burzynski-makes-manitoba-memories BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN After his Western Hockey League drew to a close on April 2, Grayson Burzynski learned an important lesson about how time plays tricks on us all. The 20-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman, who is headed to college next season, said it certainly doesn’t feel like five years ago that he earned a spot at age 16 with the Swift Current Broncos. “Way too quick, to be honest,” Burzynski said of how fast those years passed by. “I was just thinking about that. I didn’t have a suit in Swift Current because I didn’t know you had to wear a suit to games. I remember the day before my first regular season game, I had to go buy a suit and it literally feels like yesterday that I went and did that. “I played so many games and some of them stick out but a lot of them have blended together. I can’t believe it’s been five years.”   WILD ROAD Burzynski’s path to Brandon has certainly had some detours. He was born in Iowa City, Iowa when his physician father Jeff was in his residency. After time in Newfoundland, his family, including mother Jen and sisters Sidney and Piper, later moved to Victoria and eventually Winnipeg, where Burzynski grew up. Burzynski didn’t know anything about the WHL draft until the 2019-20 season arrived, and found out because his coach scouted for the Edmonton Oil Kings. “I was literally just there to have fun and hang out with my friends,” Burzynski said. “I had no idea this is what it was going to lead to. I can’t believe how naive I was with everything.” The Broncos grabbed him with the 44th overall pick in 2020. He said the first massive influence on him was then-overage Broncos goalie Isaac Poulter of Winnipeg, who Burzynski said would have been captain if he played out. “He was the best with everybody,” Burzynski said. “He was professional but he was always there when I needed something or anything.” He said overage forward Cole Nagy showed him it was OK to have fun, and Sam McGinley and Raphael Pelletier were both great people. The Broncos traded for Tyson Galloway when he was 18, and the former Calgary Hitmen defenceman was quickly named captain after the current captain, Owen Pickering, said it simply made sense. Burzynski said the entire experience changed him. “In every single way, it forced me to be way more mature,” Burzynski said. “I was 15 when I got drafted and I was just there to have fun. I was the goofiest guy — I’m still pretty goofy — but I had no focus, nothing. That was the first thing that changed when I was 16, realizing that this is what people work their whole lives for and I was just lucky enough to get there with my skill.” Another lesson was that he had to get along with everybody on his team, whether he liked them or not, and said he is now able to put up with a lot more from people. He said there is still a stigma about junior hockey and their players, and while he has met the occasional “rotten” person, the overwhelming majority have been good people. He said the experience also forced him to deal with his mental health for the first time as he struggled with his confidence early on, with six, 12 and 13 points in his first three seasons. “Some of the things I had to deal with mentally made me more mindful in my every-day life,” Burzynski said. “It’s just being grateful for the moment. Some of the really hard things I’ve gone through, just being away from home and missing my family and some other things made me a better person just because I went through them.” BACK TO MANITOBA After exploding for 11 goals and 36 assists last year in his 19-year-old season, Burzynski expected to be dealt from the rebuilding Broncos. The deal came sooner than expected when Brandon and Swift Current engineered a blockbuster trade on May 7, 2025 after the Wheat Kings learned overage defenceman Quinn Mantei was heading to college and wouldn’t be returning. Burzynski and Mistelbacher were acquired from Swift Current for the Wheat Kings’ own pick in the first round, 15th overall, plus 15-year-old prospect Alex Letourneau, a second-round pick in 2025 originally belonging to the Saskatoon Blades, third-round picks in 2027 and 2028 and a sixth-round pick in 2028. Burzynski said when he lived in Swift Current, it felt like he was a long way from home. When he was moving home for good from Brandon to Winnipeg on the weekend, he was driving two hours on the Trans-Canada Highway and meeting his family for brunch. He especially noticed it early on when Brandon had a heavy home schedule, because at least one of his parents was in the arena virtually every night. In 59 games this season, he has 11 goals and 47 assists, with 58 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of 20. “I’m happy with my season,” Burzynski said. “I would have liked one more point to get to that point-per-game but that’s nitpicking. I wish I didn’t get suspended for five games so I could have played a little bit more. Offensively I had a good season. I really thank the coaching staff for letting me play. “It was a gruelling three years of having no confidence playing and it was really hard at 16, 17 and 18 in Swift Current. Last year I started getting that and this year the coaches gave me free rein, it felt like, and that was really nice to play free and make plays and do what I want on the ice but playing within our systems. I think I grew a lot as a player.” For the first time in his career, the six-foot-four, 211-pound left shot served as an alternate captain. He certainly had some good influences in Swift Current to learn from, but also has his own outgoing personality to lean on. “I don’t think I was ever going to be the serious pro type that Poulter was or have the grasp on the locker room like those guys did, but I think I had it in a different way,” Burzynski said. “If we really needed to be serious, my voice could kind of change. I think they listened when I talked, which I think was important. I took little things from what they did and how they held themselves to take control of the room and lead more by example.” With the knowledge his days in the league were winding down, Burzynski took time to enjoy his final visits to arenas. Of course there was one big exception. “Some of the buildings I was nostalgic,” Burzynski said. “I can tell you right now the Art Hauser (Centre in Prince Albert), I was very excited to never go back to. Obviously my last game in the iPlex in Swift Current was a big game for me. “I didn’t get to play my last game in Brandon (because the playoffs were in Virden), but even if I was on an away team, that would have been a game marked on my calendar because Brandon felt like my hometown team. It’s always been special to me. “It’s pretty cool playing in those NHL buildings and the Saddledome is getting torn down and a lot of those buildings I’m never going to be in again. Most buildings I was pretty nostalgic about but there were definitely some that stood out more than others.”   COLLEGE BOUND After the NCAA changed its eligibility rules for major junior players, Burzynski had a pretty good sense of where his future would be. Burzynski was talking to a number of schools when Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) reached out to him for the first time around Halloween. After he did a Zoom call with his parents and the RPI staff and spoke to head coach Eric Lang, he was sold. “He’s so down to earth,” Burzynski said. “I loved how hands on he was.” Some other head coaches he dealt with were essentially put on a pedestal, and he was made to feel like it was a privilege for him to even interact with him. As a player, he was expected to deal with the assistant coaches instead. “I just thought it was so weird,” Burzynski said. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is located in Troy, N.Y., just north of the state capital Albany, and about 250 kilometres north of New York City. RPI was founded in 1824, and is the oldest technological university in the United States. The Engineers hockey team is one of 12 Division I programs that play in ECAC Hockey, including the six Ivy league schools. RPI, which was ninth last season with a conference record of 8-13-1, hasn’t won a title since 1984-85. Burzynski wont be headed down alone, however. His current Wheat Kings teammates Caleb Hadland and Jordan Gavin are also going. The trio plan to make their first trip down to Troy together in the spring to look around. “It’s going to be pretty awesome,” Burzynski said. “September-October-November, we hung out a lot, the three of us and Joby (Baumuller, who is Hadland’s roommate). The three of us were kind of always on board with trying to go somewhere together and it really just happened to work out like that, and I can’t believe it. We’re just trying to find a fourth right now to live with, but there are two of the best guys.” When asked if he was going to reach out to Harrison Lodewyk, the Calgary Hitmen forward who is also heading to RPI, Burzynski said with a chuckle he can make that after the Hitmen swept them out of the playoffs. FOND FAREWELLS The first person with ties to the Wheat Kings that Burzynski spoke to was general manager and head coach Marty Murray. They built a quick rapport that day that lasted, and came to include assistant coaches Mark (Billy) Derlago and Del Pedrick. “Marty put together a really good roster and everybody could see that,” Burzynski said. “We had an excellent team. I think it was better people too, it wasn’t just players on the ice, it was the people off the ice that were important … “I had a really good relationship with Billy, he really let me play and the others guys felt like that with Billy. He was low stress, which was really nice for some guys, especially the young guys, because you can relax and just play. It can be stressful getting yelled after you make a mistake as a 16 or 17 year old, it’s hard. “I love Del, he’s a great human. He’s really easy to talk to. They were good in different ways.” He also became fond of Wheat Kings athletic therapist Zach Hartwick and equipment manager Jake McKercher. “Everybody loves those two,” Burzynski said. “Jake is the best Wheat King pickup in recent modern history. He’s awesome. There’s not a soul who doesn’t like Jake. “Zach, it’s the same thing. He’s really low key and nice to have. He was always there to help.” Off the ice, Burzynski lived with the Terri and Calvin Andres for all four years in Swift Current, and remains indebted to them. Since he wasn’t expected to stay at 16, he was “temporarily” billeted with them in a spare room. The other player they had quit the team, and since Burzynski had quickly made a good impression on the couple, he moved into the former player’s bedroom and never left. “They’re my second set of parents now, along with my Brandon billets,” Burzynski said. “They were always there for me. They knew how hard that first year or two years were for me. My billet mom is an awesome cook, she baked way too many cookies. They were awesome. My billet dad was always there to have a chat or have a whiskey with. They’re two awesome people.” In Brandon, he lived with Tony, Linda and Riley Strickland, who had previously billeted another top Wheat Kings defenceman, Mantei. “I was their third son for the season — Quinn Mantei was there before me so I’ll take third spot — but just how much love and care they shared with me for only being there for one season was pretty special,” Burzynski said. “It felt like I had always lived there, which was a really nice feeling. As soon as I moved in, they were ‘You don’t have to worry about anything, this is your house.’ “It was nice and casual and there was no stress involved at all.” When Burzynski thinks about Brandon, it’s the people he says he’ll miss. That’s also true of Swift Current for the kid who didn’t know much about the WHL when he was drafted and went on to play five years in the league. “Every year, it’s a different kind of vibe, and I recall different signs from each year,” Burzynski said. “This year, I’m just going to remember how much we hung out in the room and the lounge and shooting the s… or just hanging out in the room or the gym. We had a movie group and watched a ton of movies together and played a bunch of board games. We did stuff like that outside of the rink. “Obviously I’ll remember the on-ice stuff but a lot of it from even the years before, it was just spending time with people outside the rink, the people I’m really close with. It’s a lot of hanging out and doing nothing, and enjoying every second of it, which is what I’m going to remember.”  ]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/hitmen-end-wheat-kings-season-with-third-period-rally Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:56:25 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/hitmen-end-wheat-kings-season-with-third-period-rally https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-pushed-to-brink-after-game-three-loss-against-hitmen Wed, 01 Apr 2026 03:12:06 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-pushed-to-brink-after-game-three-loss-against-hitmen https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/second-straight-overtime-gut-punch-for-wheat-kings-in-calgary Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:25:22 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/second-straight-overtime-gut-punch-for-wheat-kings-in-calgary https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-fall-in-triple-ot-heartbreaker-in-game-one Sat, 28 Mar 2026 05:44:28 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-fall-in-triple-ot-heartbreaker-in-game-one https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-hit-40-win-mark-with-season-closing-victory-over-regina Sun, 22 Mar 2026 02:01:35 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/wheat-kings-hit-40-win-mark-with-season-closing-victory-over-regina https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/three-goal-third-secures-wheat-kings-win-in-regina Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:08:59 +0000 Cole Fraser https://chl.ca/whl-wheatkings/article/three-goal-third-secures-wheat-kings-win-in-regina