LOOKING BACK AT 2011-12 WHL SEASON
(Courtesy of Rob Henderson, Brandon Sun) –– Looking back at a Western Hockey League season filled with gut-wrenching ups and downs, the Brandon Wheat Kings will remember the highs.
A regular season that started and finished with great promise — with an agonizing slump in the middle — was followed by a compelling first-round playoff upset victory over the Calgary Hitmen, and finally a frustrating sweep from the second round at the hands of the powerful Edmonton Oil Kings.
“It was a bit of a roller-coaster for us,” said Wheat Kings captain Mark Stone, who had a remarkable season that included finishing second in the Western Hockey League scoring race and earning a bronze medal with Canada’s national junior team, come to a disappointing end as he missed the final game against the Oil Kings with whiplash. “I think going forward into the playoffs was when we were playing our best hockey, but I think it was quite a year. I mean, obviously, everybody’s going to look back at the what-ifs, but I think we played some pretty good hockey down the stretch and I think we should be a pretty proud group.”
Coming off a 2010-11 season when a rebuilding team caught fire down the stretch to finish with 73 points and earn a playoff spot, the Wheat Kings came into this season with a new head coach with National HockeyLeague experience in Cory Clouston and lofty expectations.
A fast start made those high hopes look realistic, but the club stumbled at mid-season — nearly sliding out of playoff position — before rallying again late to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 39-28-1-4 record and 83 points.
Stone (41 goals, 123 points) and Mike Ferland (47 goals, 96 points) emerged as one of the WHL’s top 1-2 scoring punches, while 17-year-olds Ryan Pulock (19 goals, 60 points) and Eric Roy (11 goals, 53 points) had breakout seasons on defence and CorbinBoes, 18, emerged as a go-to goaltender late in the season, finishing third overall in the WHL with a .916 save percentage.
Clouston said the growth the team showed over the season shouldn’t be overshadowed by the loss to the Oil Kings.
“Overall, I thought we had a pretty good season,” Clouston said. “It wasn’t too long ago that a lot of people didn’t think we were going to make the playoffs and our guys buckled down and had a real strong finish. We upset Calgary and a lot of people didn’t think we would beat Calgary. They’re a very good team.”
The Wheat Kings can potentially return as many as 18 players who were on this year’s playoff roster, and while they will lose significant talent up front, Clouston believes their younger players on defence and in goal have shown great growth.
“There’s going to definitely be some holes to fill for next season but our back end, as young as they are, came a long way, especially when you add (affiliate player) Colton Waltz to the mix, who had an outstanding finish to the season for us and a really strong first round of the playoffs against Calgary,” Clouston said. “That round we played with two 16-year-olds and two 17-year-olds in the back end. Not often do you have that for a team that’s in the playoffs, and not often do you have that for a team that wins in the first round.”
Stone, an Ottawa Senators prospect who is expected to play professionally as a 20-year-old next season, said the club is in good hands.
“There’s a lot of good core players coming back,” said Stone, who is now joining the Senators — likely only as a practice player — for the NHL playoffs. “Everybody seems to like everybody on this team. It’s just the way the culture’s built in Brandon. You just keep bringing in solid people and your team will succeed.”
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Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition April 14, 2012
