[{"id":47129,"date":"2026-05-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47129"},"modified":"2026-05-29T08:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:12:14","slug":"nuttall-thrilled-to-make-way-to-brandon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/nuttall-thrilled-to-make-way-to-brandon","title":{"rendered":"Nuttall thrilled to make way to Brandon"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\n<\/strong>BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Brandon Wheat Kings make a good impression with goaltender Kasen Nuttall last season, but they made an even better one on May 7.<\/p>\n

The 14-year-old goalie, who turns 15 in August, was grabbed by Brandon in the ninth round with the 193rd overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft.<\/p>\n

On draft day, he was in his living room with his mother, his grandmother and his sister while his father was at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just unbelievable,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cTo see your name is something every kid can probably dream of in their careers. It\u2019s the highest of highs. You know you got drafted by this team that saw you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first questionnaire that I got was from Brandon. They saw me and were the first people that knew I had something special in me to be part of their team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one thing I loved was it was an amazing experience seeing my name on the board and everyone happy. I had no words. I was speechless.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was born in Lethbridge and raised in Morinville, which is just north of Edmonton. The family, including parents Kelsey and Leah and younger sister Lailah, moved to Calgary when he was 14 after his father was transferred.<\/p>\n

He was about four when he learned how to skate and began to play a year later.<\/p>\n

After playing forward and defence at the time, he moved back into the net when he was six or seven.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put on the pads when I was six and it changed my life,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cI knew it was my thing. I just loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The position requires a certain fearlessness to face pucks, plus the ability to accept and live with the pressure of being the final line of defence, so it\u2019s not for everyone. Even so, the position simply made sense for Nuttall.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod knew I was supposed to be a goalie,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cHelping my team is the best thing I can ever do, so being in net makes my boys feel like they can trust me, all the things I can do, they know they can trust me and do their plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thrive under pressure being the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuttall tried a lot of sports, including golf, pickleball, badminton, basketball and tennis, but hockey, and the WHL, were always tops.<\/p>\n

He attended Edmonton Oil Kings games in the past, so he had a long-standing relationship with the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so crazy,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cIt\u2019s so much faster and harder. The game is so much better. In Lethbridge where I grew up, my parents were season ticket holders and went to a lot of WHL games, so my parents know a lot about the WHL and know how hard I need to work to get there and how much I need to work out and get faster, stronger to play in the next league.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father attended some WHL camps but never played in the league. Nuttall said his parents have always been great, even taking him to special goalie sessions across the province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took their time, getting out of work early or just taking me to early morning skates or late night skates,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cKnowing I have a talent, I\u2019m special to them and they took the time to take me to the rink early and be there all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was putting money into me and travelling and every day on the weekend being at the rink shows how much they support and care about me as I pursue my career and my future.\u201d<\/p>\n

If last season is any indication, it was money well invested.<\/p>\n

In 19 games with the Calgary Northstars under-15 AAA squad, Nuttall posted a 2.66 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage as his team went 22-12 and finished third in the South Division of the 20-team Alberta Elite Hockey League U15 AAA.<\/p>\n

He played once in the playoffs, allowing two goals on 43 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Lethbridge Golden Hawks. His partner Dylan Lavall\u00e9e played the other two games in their 2-1 quarterfinal series loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my size, I play pretty fast,\u201d the six-foot, 140-pound goalie said of his game. \u201cI know I can get across fast on my feet and I know I can trust myself in every position, being that guy who will always dive for that last save in the last 10 seconds of the third or the first 20 of the first period.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking it harder for people or making it easy for myself to make those saves, that\u2019s how I play. I want to be in positions where I can make my life easier, just in the perfect spot with good depth, tracking pucks and being the big guy who can always make the saves that don\u2019t even look possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said after the draft that the youngster is simply a good netminder.<\/p>\n

\u201cKasen is steady, just a steady consistent goaltender,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cHe makes the saves he has to make, rarely lets in the bad one and keeps his team in most games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, Nuttall knows he has a long way to go to play major junior. He wants to get stronger, quicker and smarter to compete at the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how the Dub is now, it\u2019s fast and you have to read plays faster, which is smartness, and you have to get stronger and faster to make this plays easier for yourself,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cIn the off-season, it\u2019s working out and getting ready because as you go up, the kids get stronger and can shoot harder and be so much quicker. You just have to be quicker than them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuttall has never been outside of Alberta other than for a trip to Regina for a game once. That will change when he arrives in Brandon in late August for camp, something he is looking forward to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be an amazing experience to see the guys who were drafted and seeing how everything is,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cI\u2019m excited at how you have the chance to be in Brandon and live the dream you wanted and see the facilities and all the guys, even the guys who texted me in the next couple of days after I got drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said \u2018Congrats!\u2019 and \u2018Can\u2019t wait to see you\u2019 and those little things are so cool. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuttall knows Austin Rideout and Nate Harrington from Brandon\u2019s draft class, both of whom he played with a while ago.<\/p>\n

Since he is too young to skate full time in Brandon next season, he is planning to play with the U17 Northstars but will try out for the U18s.<\/p>\n

Before then, he\u2019ll have his first WHL camp experience, and it seems the teenager will be ready to go when he arrives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Nuttall said. \u201cIt\u2019s like a new beginning for me and you\u2019re just getting started on your new career and the Dub. I love being prepared and I love having a plan of what I\u2019m doing and just knowing that you have to work harder now and how big of a guy you are in a big league now, so you have to be ready in every scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   The Brandon Wheat Kings make a good impression with goaltender Kasen Nuttall last season, but they made an even better one on May 7. The 14-year-old goalie, who turns 15 in August, was grabbed by Brandon in the ninth round with the 193rd overall pick in the annual Western…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/29081158\/Untitled-1.png",1078,996,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47127,"date":"2026-05-29T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47127"},"modified":"2026-05-28T08:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:31:39","slug":"seidel-learns-value-of-hard-work-on-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/seidel-learns-value-of-hard-work-on-farm","title":{"rendered":"Seidel learns value of hard work on farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\n<\/strong><\/em>BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If work ethic is what you\u2019re looking for, it doesn\u2019t hurt to find a farm kid.<\/p>\n

The Brandon Wheat Kings did just that when they drafted Lucas Seidel in the eighth round with the 176th overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft on May 7.<\/p>\n

The young defenceman lives on a farm near Sundre, Alta., and isn\u2019t allergic to doing what needs to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like my work ethic is pretty good,\u201d said Seidel, who turned 15 on May 9, two days after he was drafted. \u201cWe have all the sheep lambing here and I\u2019m always cleaning up pens. We have a gravel pit so I\u2019m working there quite a bit, working on machines and helping load the gravel and shovelling sand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen something needs to be done, you have to get up and do it. You have to gave a get-up-and-go mindset, and that helps with my work ethic quite a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The farm, which includes parents Kevin and Nadine and younger sister Alyssa, also has an assortment of horses, ducks, cattle, cats and dogs.<\/p>\n

Sundre is located straight north of Calgary and about 100 kilometres southwest of Red Deer, where he was born.<\/p>\n

Seidel began to skate at age five in Sundre, and actually started to play that same day.<\/p>\n

He was positioned up front for four years until his minor U11 season, and then flipped to the back end. He was playing on a team in Olds coached by former Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose forward Jason Jaffray, and the longtime pro player thought the blue-line might be a nice fit for Seidel\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n

It turned out Seidel enjoyed it as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like that especially now that a D-man can really jump up into the play and be offensive,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cI really enjoy protecting the front of the net and I really like the penalty kill. I always have that urgency to make sure other teams don\u2019t score. That\u2019s my favourite part of it, making sure the other team doesn\u2019t get chances or opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has tried most sports but lacrosse is the only other one he\u2019s still active in. Last year, he was captain of the Team Alberta that won bronze at lacrosse nationals in Halifax.<\/p>\n

When a kid lives on the farm, it\u2019s hard to do much without the support of his parents. In addition, he is home schooled by his mom, a retired nurse who he said helps him with his health and nutrition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just always make sure I get to places on time,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cWe live an hour away from all the good hockey and lacrosse so they\u2019re always putting in extra time to drive me places and always making sure I\u2019ve got the right-sized equipment and always looking out and feeding me right.\u201d<\/p>\n

After playing his minor U15 campaign with the Bow Valley Bigfoot in Junior Prospect Hockey League 14 Under, he made the jump to the Red Deer Rebels for his major U15 AAA season.<\/p>\n

In 31 games, he had eight goals, 24 assists and 24 penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty happy,\u201d Seidel said of his season. \u201cI thought I developed quite a bit this year. The coaches helped a lot in practice working on things that needed improvement and always looking out for the players and making sure everyone is healthy. Our trainer helped a lot. I just thought the season was great.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five-foot-five, 135-pound defenceman played with the top pick of the draft, forward Madden Daneault, along with the fifth pick, Jevin Morrison, so Seidel said he got better in practice just skating against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do really well with my playmaking and my skating ability,\u201d Seidel said of his game. \u201cThose are probably my stronger suits. I also have very high IQ and always make the smart play, especially breaking out of the defensive zone. I\u2019m a very offensive D-man and I really enjoy and thrive walking the blue-line and finding seams to pass through and get the puck on net.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton saw some of the same things when he was asked about Seidel on draft day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a puck-moving, smart, creative defenceman who can play on the power play and can be evasive and makes good decisions, and a very accurate passer,\u201d Moulton said. Still, Seidel wants to get bigger and stronger, and is also working on his shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the size and weight behind me so I have to work on having that powerful, heavy hard shot to get through traffic,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cI have to work on my physicality a lot and lower body strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

The game is a part of his family.<\/p>\n

His 31-year-old cousin Adam Beukeboom played goal with the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars and has enjoyed an eight-year career in Europe, and he is a second cousin to former National Hockey League great Joe Nieuwendyk.<\/p>\n

In addition, his father played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and later at the University of Lethbridge.<\/p>\n

On draft day, he was in the kitchen with his folks, but after a couple of hours, his mom decided that was enough computer time for now.<\/p>\n

As a result, he was actually outside helping his father to fix a fence when his name was called.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really cool,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cComing home I was a little bit disappointed and it was later in the draft and I didn\u2019t know if I would get picked anymore. My mom was like, \u2018Your name showed up,\u2019 and a load lifted off my shoulders. I got really happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of flashed back to all the training. It really came together and the stars aligned and I\u2019m really happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He played with fellow Brandon draftee Austin Rideout during the Alberta Cup but has only skated against the other players from his province.<\/p>\n

Seidel hasn\u2019t attended many WHL games in person, but always kept track of scores. Since his dad played in the AJHL in Olds, he\u2019s been to more of those games.<\/p>\n

In years past before the NCAA allowed in major junior players, Seidel may chosen the college route but now he knows what he wants for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the main goals,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cMy dad was captain of the Grizzlies and I always wanted to be a captain for a junior WHL team. That\u2019s a big goal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has never been to Brandon but has heard great things about the community and the atmosphere. His first trip east to begin his new adventure comes in late August at training camp, but until then, he\u2019s grateful he knows where his future potentially lies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge relief,\u201d Seidel said. \u201cKnowing that you\u2019re selected and you\u2019re in that top 200 players in (western) North America with the Americans in the draft, it\u2019s a huge honour. It made my day and helps me to know where I\u2019m headed and what I need to do for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   If work ethic is what you\u2019re looking for, it doesn\u2019t hurt to find a farm kid. The Brandon Wheat Kings did just that when they drafted Lucas Seidel in the eighth round with the 176th overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft on May 7. The young…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/28083055\/Screenshot-2026-05-28-083040.png",910,645,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47125,"date":"2026-05-28T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47125"},"modified":"2026-05-27T16:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:25:11","slug":"hockey-looms-large-for-kisio-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/hockey-looms-large-for-kisio-family","title":{"rendered":"Hockey looms large for Kisio family"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\n<\/strong>BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lachlan Kisio is hoping to enter the family business one day, a dream that may begin with a junior position as a Brandon Wheat King.<\/p>\n

The 14-year-old forward from Calgary, who turns 15 in October, bears a last name you may heard before if you watched the National Hockey League in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n

His grandfather Kelly Kisio skated in 761 NHL regular season games over 13 seasons after graduating from the WHL\u2019s Calgary Wranglers, and after his playing career ended, served as head coach and general manager of the Calgary Hitmen.<\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s sons are Brent, the former Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach, and Lachlan\u2019s father Kurtis, who played four seasons at Minnesota State University in Mankato.<\/p>\n

Lachlan also has cousins who play, so hockey is not a small deal in the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cBoth my dad and my uncle played college, my grandpa played in the NHL, so it\u2019s a big part of the Kisio family, which carries some pressure, but you have to keep playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon grabbed Kisio in the seventh round with the 153rd overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft on May 7.<\/p>\n

The youngster, who was born and raised in Calgary, began to skate at age two and playing a few years later. He was also involved in soccer when he was little, then gravitated to golf.<\/p>\n

On the ice, he always skated up front, although he has shifted from centre to right wing over the years.<\/p>\n

He was taken to Hitmen games at an early age, and while he doesn\u2019t remember them, his parents say he always enjoyed the experience. As he got older, it became a lot more important to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely a major goal to get drafted and play in the league,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cSeeing how much my family is part of the WHL, you want to keep their legacy going.\u201d<\/p>\n

That family has been a big part of his advancement in the sport. Along with his father Kurtis and mother Kelsey, he has younger sisters Leightyn and Westyn, who both play soccer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always gave me opportunities and made it my choice, not pushing me to overdo it and burning me out,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cThey were always there for me through hockey and through everything really.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those opportunities came at Edge School, which plays in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He spent his minor and major seasons at the prep school, The five-foot-10, 141-pound forward was generally OK with his season last year, although he suffered one bad break that set him back. He fractured his right wrist, which was especially annoying because he\u2019s right handed. It took him a couple of months to come back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a good year,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cI got injured halfway through, which kind of held me back. I came back and had a really good playoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 16 games, he had three goals, seven assists and two penalty minutes. In five playoff games, however, he had four goals, two assists and two penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

His minor U15 season in 2024-25 might actually provide a better indication of his offensive ability, as he piled up 35 points in 36 games.<\/p>\n

Even so, the injury absence left his status with WHL teams in question.<\/p>\n

On draft day, he was golfing with his grandpa and his father. He didn\u2019t get selected by Brandon until they were off the course, with dad noticing first and telling him the Wheat Kings had grabbed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandpa was still at the golf course so he drove down to our house and we celebrated,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cIt\u2019s super cool to see how far you\u2019ve come, making your grandpa and your parents proud seeing your name up there,\u201d he added. He doesn\u2019t know any other Brandon draftees personally but has played against a bunch of them.<\/p>\n

Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said Kisio\u2019s gifts are obvious for anyone who was watching closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hard-working, honest guy who is on the incline,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cHe\u2019s a late birthday (Oct. 10) who is just coming into his own and has a really good knack of finding the spots to make himself available for scoring opportunities. He has a great shot and a great release.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked for a scouting report on himself, Kisio sees some of the things Moulton does.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a smart two-way forward who likes to use his shot,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cI have a nose for the net and will probably see a lot of dirty goals near the net.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wants to make plays off the wall faster and with more urgency, and continue to build leg strength.<\/p>\n

While getting drafted is a relief for the teenager, he understands the work is just beginning. When he makes his first trip to Brandon in August, a new challenge awaits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super excited,\u201d Kisio said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard many great things about all the coaching and stuff, and I feel very welcome. I got a lot of texts from players from Brandon, which felt very welcoming. I\u2019m excited to meet them all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN   Lachlan Kisio is hoping to enter the family business one day, a dream that may begin with a junior position as a Brandon Wheat King. The 14-year-old forward from Calgary, who turns 15 in October, bears a last name you may heard before if you watched the National Hockey…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/27162444\/3f155ab5fbfac72413a056fa395e96de-scaled.jpg",2048,2560,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47121,"date":"2026-05-25T11:42:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47121"},"modified":"2026-05-25T11:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:42:54","slug":"download-the-bwk-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/chlapp\/","title":{"rendered":"Download the BWK App"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[275],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-link","category-275","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/25114246\/APP-big.png",768,428,false],"hide_from_app_feed":true,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47117,"date":"2026-05-25T08:10:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47117"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:11:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:11:50","slug":"former-wheat-king-hayden-wheddon-shines-at-centennial-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/former-wheat-king-hayden-wheddon-shines-at-centennial-cup","title":{"rendered":"Former Wheat King’ Hayden Wheddon Shines at Centennial Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Niverville Nighthawks beat the host Summerside Western Capitals 4-1 on Sunday night to capture the Centennial Cup.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just the fourth time a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team has won the national Junior A championship, following the Portage Terriers (2015, 1973) and Selkirk Steelers (1974).<\/p>\n

In the final, former Brandon Wheat Kings forward Hayden Wheddon of Stonewall scored twice, including the winner. Wheddon had 12 points in 6 games at the Centennial Cup.<\/p>\n

The Nighthawks won all six games in Summerside, beating the Toronto Patriots 4-3 in the semifinal despite falling behind 3-0. In the preliminary round in Group A, they got past Summerside 5-4 in overtime, the Thunder Bay North Stars 7-2, the Canmore Eagles 6-4 and the Rockland Nationals 7-6.<\/p>\n

Adam Vigfusson of Gimli was named the tournament\u2019s most valuable player.<\/p>\n

Overall this year, Niverville went 69-6-1, winning 29 of its last 30 games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BRANDON SUN The Niverville Nighthawks beat the host Summerside Western Capitals 4-1 on Sunday night to capture the Centennial Cup. It\u2019s just the fourth time a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team has won the national Junior A championship, following the Portage Terriers (2015, 1973) and Selkirk Steelers (1974). In the final, former Brandon Wheat Kings…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/25081052\/2026-centennial-cup-day11-22.jpg",1400,934,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47111,"date":"2026-05-21T12:32:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47111"},"modified":"2026-05-21T12:32:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:32:46","slug":"wheat-kings-add-size-experience-local-connection-in-defenseman-mcgregor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-add-size-experience-local-connection-in-defenseman-mcgregor","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings add size, experience, local connection in defenseman McGregor"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ROB MAHON
\n<\/strong><\/em>QCountry<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the second offseason in a row, the Brandon Wheat Kings have swung a deal with the Swift Current Broncos that will give their blue line a big boost in size and experience. And this time, they\u2019ve brought in someone who\u2019s already well familiar with the team and his new teammates.<\/p>\n

The team announced this morning they\u2019ve acquired 2007-born defenseman Josh McGregor from the Swift Current Broncos as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Broncos acquired 2007-born forward Hudson Kibblewhite from Lethbridge, while the Hurricanes picked up a fifth round pick and the rights to 2007-born forward Jake Stuart from the Wheat Kings. Brandon also added a 2028 seventh round pick from Lethbridge in the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a veteran presence, it will be his third year in the league coming in,\u201d said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. \u201cHe logged a lot of minutes in Swift Current. They were kind of in a rebuild last year and we feel Josh can come in and be a solid contributor on our back end and bring a veteran presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, despite playing on a Broncos team that finished with the fewest goals (179) in the WHL, McGregor finished with 20 points in 62 games. The 6-foot-3 left handed defenseman may have more offensive upside yet, but won\u2019t need to shoot the lights out to be valuable either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s potential,\u201d Murray said. \u201cWe view Josh as being a guy that can move pucks. We think he needs to be a defense first guy, but a lot of times good defense leads to offense so we think he has the ability, with our forward group, to put up some numbers. But that\u2019s not the main reason why we brought him in. He\u2019s a veteran presence that we\u2019re looking to carry some responsibility defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran presence will matter a great deal to the Wheat Kings on the back end this coming season. When 2025-26 began, only Grayson Burzynski had more than 100 games of WHL experience among their blueliners. This season, the team could have as many as four such players.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps to have veteran presence and it also helps to have some youthfulness injected into the lineup too,\u201d said Murray. \u201cI think we have a nice combination of both. We\u2019re excited about our young prospects as well as having the ability to throw out some veterans at important times of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGregor joins a team with which he will have plenty of familiarity. Most notably, he was part of the 2023-24 Brandon U18 AAA Wheat Kings team that won a provincial championship, led in scoring by current Wheat Kings Jaxon Jacobson and Brady Turko.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things you look at when you make a trade is what kind of person you\u2019re bringing into the locker room,\u201d said Murray. \u201cJosh is a guy that is a really good team guy and I think he\u2019ll fit right in. He knows all the guys he played with at the U18 level but at the same time, he skates in Brandon and there are a lot of other guys I\u2019m sure he\u2019s familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray added that between the addition of McGregor, the returning players available, and the influx of highly touted young prospects, the expectation is that training camp will once again see high levels of competition on the back end.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel we have seven, eight, or nine guys who are WHL defensemen,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be competitive not just in training camp but throughout the year to be an everyday player. I think that will be the best for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ROB MAHON QCountry   For the second offseason in a row, the Brandon Wheat Kings have swung a deal with the Swift Current Broncos that will give their blue line a big boost in size and experience. And this time, they\u2019ve brought in someone who\u2019s already well familiar with the team and his new…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/21123238\/qo3a5267.jpg",1024,683,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47106,"date":"2026-05-19T08:24:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47106"},"modified":"2026-05-19T08:24:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:24:29","slug":"harrington-takes-his-game-up-a-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/harrington-takes-his-game-up-a-level","title":{"rendered":"Harrington takes his game up a level"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\n<\/strong>BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A year ago, Nate Harrington wouldn\u2019t have imagined he would be selected in the Western Hockey League draft.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 12 months, and the 14-year-old defenceman from Edmonton is looking forward to attending his first training camp with the Brandon Wheat Kings in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely very cool because of where I was last year,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t very good last year so it\u2019s definitely cool to see my name up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon grabbed Harrington in the sixth round with the 130th overall pick last Thursday.<\/p>\n

Harrington spent his minor U15 season with the South Side Athletic Club\u2019s U15 AA squad, posting six goals, 17 assists and 40 penalty minutes in 32 games. He also was called up for a pair of games to the AAA SSAC Lions.<\/p>\n

Instead of returning to SSAC for his major season, he made the jump to prep hockey at OHA Edmonton.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely transferring to an academy team and all the good players there pushed me to be better,\u201d Harrington said.<\/p>\n

The five-foot-11, 140-pound, left-shot defenceman had eight goals and 16 assists in 30 games in his prep debut in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, with 12 penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

He also had a goal in four games as a call-up to the U17 prep squad.<\/p>\n

As he played, he did his best to put the WHL scouts off his mind, instead focusing on the game.<\/p>\n

Harrington has a good sense of the league after attending Oil Kings games as a youngster. In addition, his 23-year-old step-brother, goalie Blake Lyda, suited up for 21 games with the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds over two seasons.<\/p>\n

That planted a seed in the teenager, who also would like to play in the Dub one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big goal,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard goal to achieve but it\u2019s probably one of my main and biggest goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 14-year-old defenceman, who turns 15 in June, said he was happy with his season, noting he got better and better as the year went on. The biggest improvements came in his speed, competitiveness, work ethic and skill level, the youngster noted. He wasn\u2019t the only person with that opinion.<\/p>\n

Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said after the draft Harrington is a player on the rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a well-rounded, puck-transition guy who had a great second half to the season,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cHe moves the puck really well, gaps up really well, has a great stick defensively, transitions the puck. He plays within himself and doesn\u2019t turn over a lot of pucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrington sees himself the same way, while noting he has to get bigger, stronger and faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a two-way defenceman who can move pucks quick and has a good gap,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cI can play good in the defensive zone and the offensive zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

On draft day, he was with his father Trevor and then went golfing to put the draft out of his mind. He got the call just after he finished up that the Wheat Kings had picked him 25 spots after they grabbed his OHA Edmonton teammate Austin Rideout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty cool,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty close buddies and hang out lots. It was pretty cool we both went to Brandon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rideout texted Harrington after he was picked and the pair later met up at school. They also played against Rylan Edwards and Marko Malbasa in Brandon\u2019s draft class, so they have some familiarity with them as well.<\/p>\n

For Harrington, the road to the WHL draft has been on the blue-line.<\/p>\n

The born-and raised Edmonton product began to skate at age four and started to play a year or two later. He\u2019s always lined up on the back end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like being behind the play and getting to see everything in front of me,\u201d said Harrington, who also golfs a lot and does a little bit of mountain biking.<\/p>\n

Harrington said his parents Trevor and Kira did everything right as he was growing up in hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put me into hockey very early and gave me all the tools I needed to get better, and encouraged me,\u201d Harrington said. He is planning to play U17 prep at OHA next season.<\/p>\n

He has never been to Brandon before, but is looking forward to the experience, calling it a big step up that will allow him to meet some new people. And at the same time, he now has a good sense of what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very relieved that I got drafted and it\u2019s over with,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cI\u2019m very happy that I went to Brandon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN A year ago, Nate Harrington wouldn\u2019t have imagined he would be selected in the Western Hockey League draft. Fast forward 12 months, and the 14-year-old defenceman from Edmonton is looking forward to attending his first training camp with the Brandon Wheat Kings in August. \u201cIt was definitely very cool because…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/19082416\/HarringtonNate-scaled-e1775710740466.jpg",930,875,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47103,"date":"2026-05-16T08:07:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47103"},"modified":"2026-05-15T08:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:14:19","slug":"rideout-brings-grit-skill-to-wheat-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/rideout-brings-grit-skill-to-wheat-kings","title":{"rendered":"Rideout brings grit, skill to Wheat Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\n<\/strong>BRANDON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never been drafted by a Western Hockey League club, it\u2019s impossible to understand what it must feel like.<\/p>\n

But even Austin Rideout has a hard time explaining it, and the Brandon Wheat Kings grabbed him in the fifth round with the 105th overall pick in the annual draft last Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking, honestly,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cThere are a lot of draft rankings but I was trying to get my mind off that because they don\u2019t really matter that much. When I saw my name up there, I was beyond happy. I can\u2019t even explain with words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rideout, who turned 15 in February, was born and raised in Fort McMurray, Alta., but spent last season with OHA Edmonton\u2019s under-15 prep team. Happily, he was able to live with his grandparents in the Alberta capital.<\/p>\n

On draft day, he was in his bedroom in Edmonton sitting at his computer \u2014 his grandparents were in the living room \u2014 with his immediate family all home in Fort McMurray.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finally got drafted I went out and celebrated with my grandparents,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cI called my mom and my dad and all my friends that wanted to call me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rideout\u2019s journey began at age three when he first got on skates, and then began to play soon after. He took his turn in net early on but was always a forward otherwise.<\/p>\n

Rideout said his parents Troy and Alisha have been incredible as he\u2019s grown up in hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents have sacrificed a lot to put me through where I\u2019ve gone,\u201d said Rideout, who is also a good golfer. \u201cAll the money they spent and all the time, they always come and see me and adjust their schedule to be with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to thank everyone in my family for supporting me and being through the hard and good times with me,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd obviously my coaches and teammates supported me all the way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His progress was turbocharged this year as he made the decision to jump from the U15 AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers to OHA Edmonton. In 29 games, he had 12 goals, 16 assists and 32 penalty minutes on a team that included assistant coach Neithan Salame, the perpetually upbeat former Wheat Kings defenceman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fairly happy,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cComing into the year, I was not as good as the other guys obviously because they\u2019ve played at the academy before so they\u2019ve had much better development. I feel like I became a way better player and the points came through and made me very happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked hard for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the prestigious John Reid tournament in Calgary, Rideout had three goals and four assists in five games and he had three assists in five games at the Alberta Cup, a pair of events that are traditional measuring sticks for players against their age groups.<\/p>\n

The five-foot-11, 178-pound forward success stems from an ingredient that seems to be in much shorter supply now than it was decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a very physical player who also has a very skilled side,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cI\u2019m a two-way forward who likes to finish checks, make plays and will do anything for his team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton agreed. \u201cHe plays the game hard,\u201d he said after the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is as tough as nails, he likes to be an agitator, likes to get in the opposition\u2019s face, loves to bring physicality, but in the same breath, can skate and create offence. He\u2019s a well-rounded guy who can do a lot of things but the biggest thing I think he brings is keeping the opposition honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Moulton used many of the same words to describe Carter Klippenstein, who proved to be a valuable contributor over his three years with the Wheat Kings. Klippenstein, a Minnesota Wild prospect, recently committed to Providence College and won\u2019t be returning for an overage season.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, the league hasn\u2019t been on Rideout\u2019s radar for too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve only known about the WHL for about four years,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cMy first couple of years I was still in U13 so I wasn\u2019t really worried about it then because I had a lot of years left, but as my years came closer to the WHL draft, I started taking it really seriously. I really wanted to get drafted.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a player in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, Rideout was well aware he and his teammates were being watched by scouts like Moulton. While that could be a source of pressure, Rideout was determined to ignore the extra attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all starts before the game with your preparation,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re going out on the ice, you just have to think, not that no one is there, but no one that important is there that you have to show off. You have to keep your mind clear and keep resetting and just play your game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what made getting drafted so sweet. The youngster who felt like he was behind everyone else at the start of the year ended up being selected by Brandon with one of his teammates, defenceman Nate Harrington.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big relief, honestly,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t end up getting drafted, I would still push and work hard, but looking forward, I wouldn\u2019t know where I was going. It makes me easier for me and my parents to see where I\u2019m going in my future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rideout, who wants to improve his puck work along the boards in tight areas and be better at protecting the puck and escaping quickly, also knows Marko Malbasa and Rylan Edwards from the 2026 draft class. He thinks having familiar faces at training camp in late August will be a great bonus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be real helpful,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cWith people you know, you\u2019re going to get comfortable way faster and you\u2019re going to have a better start to everything and you\u2019re probably just going to enjoy it more with your buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just part of the appeal of making his first-ever trip to Brandon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited to see what the town is all about and what the team is all about,\u201d Rideout said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see the new guys. I feel like I\u2019m going to fit in because I\u2019m very easy to make friends with.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat makes everything exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRANDON SUN If you\u2019ve never been drafted by a Western Hockey League club, it\u2019s impossible to understand what it must feel like. But even Austin Rideout has a hard time explaining it, and the Brandon Wheat Kings grabbed him in the fifth round with the 105th overall pick in the annual draft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/15080958\/RideoutAustin-scaled-e1775710926208.jpg",934,878,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47098,"date":"2026-05-15T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47098"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:37:48","slug":"corkish-set-to-make-his-mark-in-brandon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/corkish-set-to-make-his-mark-in-brandon","title":{"rendered":"Corkish set to make his mark in Brandon"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON
\nBRADNON SUN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Mason Corkish visited Brandon for the first time in 2023, it was because his brother Owen was a Wheat Kings prospect.<\/p>\n

The next time he comes, it will be all about him after Brandon grabbed the younger Corkish in the third round with the 67th overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft last Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be awesome,\u201d said Corkish, who grew up in Cottage Grove, Minn., a city of about 40,000 located a 10-minute drive south of St. Paul. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be very different from the first time that I went up there because now I\u2019m with the team instead of my brother and I get the inside vision of it. It\u2019s going be cool knowing what\u2019s it like on the inside and the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happily for the younger Corkish, there is also a major impediment out of the way. The entire hockey landscape shifted in November 2024 when major junior players were welcomed by the NCAA, so now Mason is playing in a new world.<\/p>\n

Owen was on Brandon\u2019s 50-man list prior to the NCAA rule change, and when it looked like he was going to play college hockey instead of coming to the WHL, the Wheat Kings dropped his rights. Owen was subsequently picked up by the Prince Albert Raiders, and is now skating in the WHL final against the Everett Silvertips.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely changed a lot,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cThe boys down here want to go up there and play now instead of going to the USHL or different junior leagues. It\u2019s definitely going to have an impact on the WHL and make it a better league hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 15-year-old Corkish comes by his athletic ability honestly.<\/p>\n

His family also includes father Jeff, mother Laura and sister Addison.<\/p>\n

Jeff is a product of Wawota, Sask., who played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and spent four seasons of Division III college hockey in the early 1990s at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad has been my coach for almost my entire life,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cThis is the first year he wasn\u2019t my head coach. He gave it up so I could learn to play with different coaches. He is now the head coach with our high school team so he\u2019ll be there for me for the next three years or whenever I\u2019m done. He\u2019s always been a big support and helped me with film and getting better.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe built me an outdoor rink for the first 14 years of my life and I\u2019ve played on it every winter. That was big in my career as a player.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom has just always been there for me, driving me to the rink and watching all my games. She was also a great athlete, played basketball and track, so she\u2019s had a big impact on my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corkish added his sister might be the best athlete of all of them. She is a standout softball player who is also active in hockey and other sports.<\/p>\n

Mason first got on skates at a year old \u2014 \u201cRight after I learned how to walk, my dad put me on skates right away\u201d \u2014 and was playing by age three.<\/p>\n

He also active in baseball and soccer when he was younger, and still golfs.<\/p>\n

On the ice, he began as a forward, played defence for a couple of years, and then moved back up front for good.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the compete,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cYou get to go in corners. Defence is boring. I felt like I just watched the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five-foot-11, 158-pound prides himself on those tough elements of the game. On his best nights, he said he\u2019s physically engaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m having a good game, I feel like I\u2019m fast,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cI feel quick on the ice, I compete hard in the corners and everything is just clicking on the ice, I\u2019m tough and I feel like nobody can stop me. I\u2019m physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

His goals are to improve his size and strength, and is also working on his hands, his vision and his skating.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy skating could be way better,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cMainly everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their draft year, the western Canadian kids always have a sense the scouts are watching, but Corkish knew where one of them was every game. Wheat Kings scout Kori Pearson, formerly of Neepawa, was an assistant coach on his team, something Corkish deadpans may have helped him get noticed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear Pearson and the Wheat Kings found plenty to like. Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said after the draft that Corkish has a nice blend of finesse and sandpaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a skilled guy with compete,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cMason has the ability to find the back of the net and make plays and create offence, but on top of that, he is strong on the puck and isn\u2019t afraid to play the game the right way. He plays 200 feet and also has the ability to win battles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, he had six goals and 10 assists in 11 games with the Minnesota Moose 14U, the only stats tracked by eliteprospects.com. On draft day, Corkish was in school but at lunch. He was monitoring the proceedings online when he saw Brandon picked him. Pearson texted him shortly after.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said \u2018ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?\u2019 in all caps,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cIt was great. All my buddies were watching it and they all congratulated me. It was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

It proved to be a popular fit for everybody involved.<\/p>\n

Owen\u2019s time with the Wheat Kings built a relationship between the team and the family, and they didn\u2019t hesitate to draft him. Of course it didn\u2019t hurt that his grandmother still lives in Wawota, which is 84 kilometres straight west of Virden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the Wheat Kings,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cMy grandma lives an hour-and-a-half away from Brandon so it feels close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only has the college-major dilemma been solved, Corkish has a good sense of what\u2019s involved with the WHL after watching his brother with the Raiders. In fact, the family was in Everett on the weekend for Games 1 and 2, and it\u2019s given him a whole new appreciation for major junior hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great experience,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cIt just showed me how good of a league it is. The USHL is a great league but it doesn\u2019t come close to the WHL and how good the players are, and the coaching and the teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Mason\u2019s goal is to join Owen in the Dub. He is planning to spend his 15-year-old season at Park High School in Cottage Grove, and will have his first chance to crack the roster for the 2027-28 season.<\/p>\n

The Wheat Kings can rest assured he won\u2019t be sitting on his laurels until then.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really cool for the draft part but I\u2019m not on the team yet,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cI have to keep working and grind every day to make that team and keep on getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PERRY BERGSON BRADNON SUN   When Mason Corkish visited Brandon for the first time in 2023, it was because his brother Owen was a Wheat Kings prospect. The next time he comes, it will be all about him after Brandon grabbed the younger Corkish in the third round with the 67th overall pick in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":47099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-265","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/14093723\/Screenshot-2026-05-14-093713.png",881,821,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47100,"date":"2026-05-14T10:43:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47100"},"modified":"2026-05-14T10:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:45:52","slug":"rob-mahon-sits-down-with-18th-overall-pick-rylan-edwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/video\/rob-mahon-sits-down-with-18th-overall-pick-rylan-edwards","title":{"rendered":"Rob Mahon sits down with 18th overall pick Rylan Edwards"},"content":{"rendered":"