[{"id":47262,"date":"2026-08-12T16:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47262"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:45:21","slug":"concussions-force-odut-to-move-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/concussions-force-odut-to-move-on","title":{"rendered":"Concussions force Odut to move on"},"content":{"rendered":"

The beginning of the end of Easton Odut\u2019s Western Hockey League career may have started seven years before he first stepped on the ice with the Brandon Wheat Kings.<\/p>\n

He was playing flag football in his hometown, Dauphin, with his friends during intramurals when he was 11 and in Grade 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had soccer poles at my elementary school and they were out of bounds but we kind of forgot,\u201d Odut said. \u201cI ran out and cut back in right in front of the pole and then I just bumped it with my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Easton<\/a>
Easton Odut of Dauphin, shown during a Brandon Wheat Kings practice, retired from hockey last month after suffering his sixth concussion in eight years. Life is now taking him in another direction. (Perry Bergson\/The Brandon Sun)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was quickly apparent there was something wrong. He had unrelenting headaches and was taken to the doctor for a diagnosis. It happened during the summer, so it didn\u2019t impact his hockey, but Odut had his first concussion.<\/p>\n

Simply put, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury usually caused by a blow to the head that moves the brain inside the skull. The symptoms vary based partly on the severity of the damage but also from person to person.<\/p>\n

They include headaches, confusion, amnesia, dizziness, ringing in the ears, nausea or vomiting, slurred speech and fatigue. As the concussion sets in, sensitivity to noise or light, concentration and memory complaints, irritability, changes in sleep patterns, depression and issues with taste and smell can all result.<\/p>\n

Rest is the only treatment.<\/p>\n

Repeated concussions have recently been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease that can lead to dementia.<\/p>\n

While Odut never lost consciousness over the years, five more concussions and many doctor visits lay ahead.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odut, who is now 18, grew up playing minor hockey in Dauphin, and parents Mark and Whitney had him skating by two. When he started playing hockey, he quickly developed a tenacious and fearless style. His rugged approach inevitably got under the skin of his opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment I started playing, it was just how I liked the game,\u201d Odut said. \u201cMy dad wasn\u2019t as feisty as me \u2014 I\u2019m sure he had his moments back in the day that he\u2019s told me about \u2014 but I just started playing that way and never switched because I found it was the most fun and I was the most effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the lost COVID year of 2020-21 when he played just five games with the U15 AAA Parkland Rangers, he moved to Brandon to attend the Western Canada Hockey Academy and skated with the under-15 AAA Wheat Kings for his major bantam season.<\/p>\n

Brandon took him 34th overall in the 2022 draft.<\/p>\n

The record will show the five-foot-eight, 170-pound forward Odut played 45 games over four seasons with the Wheat Kings, contributing four goals, five assists, 18 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of -7. Three of those games came in call-ups when he was 15 and 16.<\/p>\n

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said Odut was impactful when he was in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe missed him, no question about it,\u201d Murray said. \u201cHe\u2019s an energizer bunny, he\u2019s responsible, he gets the puck out on the wall, he\u2019s tenacious, you never have to worry about his effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what you\u2019re going to get from him every night, and I felt like he never really got to get into a real good rhythm throughout his tenure as a Wheat King, which is unfortunate. I thought he could be a real nice piece of our lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCUSSION 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

During a U15 game with a team that went on to win a provincial championship, Odut was clotheslined by a defender.<\/p>\n

He initially wondered if it was actually whiplash because it was mostly in his neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very high hit with his arms to my head and I landed on my back,\u201d Odut said. \u201cLiterally it was running into a clothesline and falling on your back. I had a headache and tried skating the next day at morning skate but I had headache, dizziness and nausea. It was definitely a concussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also had light and noise sensitivity.<\/p>\n

One of his coaches at the time was Micheal Ferland, the former Wheat King and National Hockey League player whose career came to a premature end because of concussions. Ferland took the problem seriously and put him in touch with Bobbi Schram at Dynamic Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic, and he began working with her.<\/p>\n

Odut also took some time away from the game.<\/p>\n

CONCUSSION 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his second year of U18 AAA with the Wheat Kings, disaster struck in Thompson on Feb. 11, 2024 when he was hit by a member of the Norman Northstars.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir boards are just so hard,\u201d Odut said. \u201cI was leaning against the wall and a guy came in and just hit my head into the boards. It rattled me really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his worst of the three so far. It involved nausea, headaches, his eyes were buggy and foggy and he couldn\u2019t concentrate on certain things like fast movements. He even struggled to read.<\/p>\n

\"Brandon<\/a>
Brandon Wheat Kings forward Easton Odut celebrates with teammate Ethan Stewart after scoring his first of two goals during his team\u2019s 7-4 victory over the Markham Waxers at the Telus Cup in April 2024 in Membertou, N.S. He brought skill and work ethic to the ice. (Jeremy Fraser\/Cape Breton Post) (Jeremy Fraser\/Cape Breton Post)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To make matters worse, he then had to make the 835-kilometre trip home on the bus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was brutal,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIt was extra long too because the roads were bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took 10 days off, and had two goals and an assist in his return against the Parkland Rangers on Feb. 21 and played twice more before the playoffs began.<\/p>\n

Odut admitted there was internal pressure not to miss time that year as the Wheat Kings went 43-0-1-0 in the regular season and went all the way to the Telus Cup final, where Odut scored his team\u2019s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Cantonniers de Magog.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Odut said. \u201cYou never want to be hurt when you\u2019re winning every game and having so much fun. We formed a brotherhood on that team and missing a practice or games was just the worst feeling ever. Being close to playoffs, you want to be out there and help your team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a toll on your mental health and mental game but I was thankful to have awesome teammates and awesome coaches, trainers and people at Dynamic cheered me up and said the right things to me and my family. I was held high and stayed positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Brandon Wheat Kings athletic therapist Zach Hartwick got his first look at Odut then.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke with him when he was in U18 and had his concussion,\u201d Hartwick said. \u201cHis mom reached out to get him to see our doc, Dr. Shaun Gauthier. He had a pretty recent (concussion) coming in to join us (in 2024-25). They can stack up, which isn\u2019t obviously good for the kid, especially when they\u2019re this young too. You never want to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the medical help was nice, Odut was eager to get back into the lineup. It was Ferland, who retired from the Calgary Flames in 2021, that Odut relied on the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe helped tremendously,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIn U18, when I was coming back, he would run me through drills that he did to see how he was feeling when he was on the ice, just basic stick handling and passing drills. It made my life so much easier and I felt so much support from him helping me.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCUSSION 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

The good news in Odut\u2019s rookie WHL season at age 17 was he was never concussed. The bad news was he was knocked out of commission on Dec. 14, 2024 after 20 games and missed the back half of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.<\/p>\n

That made him eager to start the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been counting down the months, the days, the weeks,\u201d Odut said last September. \u201cIt was tough watching 40 or 50 games last year. I learned a lot of stuff and after missing that much hockey, you\u2019re just have so much adrenalin hitting you. You\u2019re going to come out hotter than you did before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be awesome. I\u2019m looking forward to it. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

He skated in 10 of the team\u2019s first 11 games, but in an 8-4 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors at Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Oct. 26, 2025, disaster struck again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shoulder checked and saw the D-man there,\u201d Odut said. \u201cI thought he was just going to stay at his blue-line. I should have looked up at the score and known that he was going to come to rock me, but I just tried to flip the puck out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next thing I knew he was right on me and smoosh. Me being the height I am, and most defenders in the WHL are over six feet, it wasn\u2019t anything crazy but it was just how the contact was made because of how much shorter I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was quickly apparent he was concussed again. This time, Odut had the benefit of not only medical professionals, but also the undivided attention of Hartwick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I would have done if I didn\u2019t have him,\u201d Odut said. \u201cObviously from my shoulder from last season, he\u2019s like my best friend. I spent the most time with him of anybody on the team, which obviously sucks, but he made my recovery journey from shoulder surgery so much better.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always knew what to say and what to do and just to be there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartwick would sit with him when he was upset after getting injured, calming him down and providing a steady presence.<\/p>\n

Even with the frequent setbacks, Murray marvelled at Odut\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never felt sorry for himself and didn\u2019t bring a negative aura to the locker room ever,\u201d Murray said. \u201cHe handled everything with a grain of salt and put his head down and tried to push through every piece of adversity that came his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with your head, it\u2019s something you can\u2019t push through. In today\u2019s world, we all know how delicate those situations are.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCUSSION 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Under-18<\/a>
Under-18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings winger Easton Odut (16) battles for the puck with Parkland Rangers defenceman Maddox Shindle (6) at J&G Homes Arena on Jan. 3, 2024. Odut loved to work hard along the boards. (Brandon Sun file)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Odut didn\u2019t play again for 20 days, until the Medicine Hat Tigers were in town on Nov. 15. In his return that night, the universe may have been delivering a message.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the most unlucky I\u2019ve probably ever been in my life,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIt was late in a shift and I got the puck deep and went for a line change. I skated with my head down because you go faster and when you\u2019re tired, that\u2019s what you do. A Med Hat player was also going for a line change and we collided.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my head was down skating, it hit right into his chest and rattled everything up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

It started with bad headaches, but after the adrenalin goes away, the nausea and all the other symptoms return.<\/p>\n

He said with the two significant head strikes, his second concussion of the season was far worse.<\/p>\n

Murray said it was getting hard to watch, in part because of Odut\u2019s relentless nature on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s face it, the way he plays night in, night out, you\u2019re not going to take that away from him,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of one of those things that I love about him as a player but the way he plays. You can\u2019t help but wonder every time he takes a hit or gives a hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re kind of cringing a little bit because you don\u2019t want things like that to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCUSSION 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odut took 25 days off, returning on Dec. 10 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He played five times in an eight-day span, culminating in a game in Medicine Hat on Dec. 17 as the Wheat Kings finished up the first half with an Alberta road trip.<\/p>\n

It proved to be the last game of his major junior career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was just a good body check,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIt was late in the shift and we were hemmed in our zone for a while. We finally got the puck out and I got to the red-line and dumped it in. I took a simple body check but I guess my body and head didn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after, it was straight down the tunnel. Zach knew. He opened the door right when I came to the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his third concussion in just 52 days. The symptoms weren\u2019t different but were worse and significantly longer lasting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would wake up, headache, go to sleep, headache, wake up nauseous, go to sleep nauseous for probably a week and a half or two weeks,\u201d Odut said. \u201cI felt daily nausea, daily eye fog and eye bugginess. Two-and-a-half weeks went by and I was still feeling my headaches. It was a month before I went out with sticks and pucks but right off the get-go when I was looking down at the puck and stick handling, I felt so nauseous. It came back and lasted for a couple of days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when we decided to go see a neurologist.\u201d<\/p>\n

RECOVERY<\/strong><\/p>\n

He went to his first appointment in Winnipeg in early January, and has subsequently seen that doctor several more times.<\/p>\n

The doctor told him to ride a bike because it is possible your brain will allow the resumption of physical activities. He was told to get his heart rate up to 100 beats per minute and fight through the nausea, as long as the symptom disappeared within 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

That was fine, but his headaches continued, so on his fourth visit he did a comprehensive test with another specialist. She had him remembering things and drawing patterns.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it\u2019s easy, but when you actually try to do it, it\u2019s tricky,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIt was frustrating but was also cool and neat to see what your brain does.\u201d<\/p>\n

His test results showed there was no cognitive damage \u2014 his brain was functioning like it\u2019s supposed to \u2014 but they were concerned with his headaches.<\/p>\n

His last appointment was in May, and he asked for the medication that essentially tricks a brain into feeling OK. For the last couple of weeks, he\u2019s taken one pill a day and the headaches disappeared, but it also signalled the end of his hockey career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith me taking this, it\u2019s very unsafe to go back and play hockey because I can\u2019t actually feel what I\u2019m feeling, if that makes sense,\u201d Odut said. \u201cMy brain is still injured but it just doesn\u2019t feel injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Odut let the team know, they backed his decision. Murray certainly sympathizes with all the teenager has been through.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have kids that are real close to his age,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI fully support the decision Odie and his family made. He\u2019s 19 years old and has his whole life ahead of him. His health in hopefully the next 80 years of his life needs to be the focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brandon<\/a>
Brandon Wheat Kings forwards Nick Johnson, left, and Easton Odut share a laugh after their final practice prior to their Western Hockey League opener against the Moose Jaw Warriors at Westoba Place on Sept. 18, 2024. Odut entered the season with high hopes. (Perry Bergson\/The Brandon Sun)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Murray added Odut will always be a Wheat King, suggesting he could potentially serve as an eye in the sky for the team one day from the press box. But that\u2019s in the future, and Odut is still on the mend.<\/p>\n

He is able to stay on the medication for six months, and then should feel much better, although the noise and light sensitivity haven\u2019t completely left him yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should ever feel like that,\u201d Odut said. \u201cIt\u2019s brutal. Lights and noise are everywhere in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctors have no long-term concerns about his recovery, although they have some worries about his return to school when he heads to Brandon University in the fall.<\/p>\n

The WHL scholarship outlines that players have to take a full course load to qualify, but since his doctors cautioned he should limit his workload early on, Wheat Kings academic advisor Glenda Zelmer helped him get a doctor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n

That will allow him to ease into post-secondary schooling with three courses per semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlenda is unreal,\u201d Odut said. \u201cShe is another person who I can\u2019t live without. She is the one who recommended me getting a doctor\u2019s note and setting me up at BU to make my life so much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

MOVING ON<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odut isn\u2019t the first local player to have his career end with concussions and he won\u2019t be the last. Former Wheat Kings forward Ben Thornton had his career end at 19, and local goalie Tyson Verhelst also called it quits at 19.<\/p>\n

Concussions are called the invisible injury for a good reason. A player isn\u2019t wearing a cast or sling, and the symptoms are clear only to the person who is experiencing them.<\/p>\n

Odut was concussed in U15, U18 and the WHL, and each of those groups of teammates supported him because there is far more awareness about brain health than there used to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey hated seeing me go down \u2014 they hate when anyone goes down \u2014 but they understood the consequences and severity of what a concussion can do,\u201d Odut said. \u201cEspecially after I got my second one, that\u2019s when they really started to worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like \u2018Take it easy man, don\u2019t push anything, don\u2019t rush anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

That attitude extended into last season when he suffered three concussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought my mood back up,\u201d Odut said of his Wheat Kings teammates, who he often watched from the bench during practice. \u201cEspecially this year, when I had my concussions, it was easy to stay happy even though it felt like the world was ending for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He still works out at the WCHA \u2014 he is able to life weights and do some cardio \u2014 so he sees his friends. It hasn\u2019t totally kicked in for him yet that he\u2019s done, and it likely won\u2019t until his buddies return to their teams and he prepares for university.<\/p>\n

The team did a nice video tribute to him, and he received many, many texts and messages from friends, teammates and coaches encouraging him to stay positive.<\/p>\n

He is taking a Bachelor of Arts, and would love to work as a sports psychologist one day in the future, an idea suggested by his mother. He said his experience would allow him to help others go through significant ups and downs during their careers.<\/p>\n

It also means he could be in school for the next seven years.<\/p>\n

Odut is walking a new path in his life, a journey that won\u2019t include hockey. For someone who has defined themselves as a hockey player since they were little, it\u2019s a daunting new reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing hockey since I was two,\u201d Odut said. \u201cI had a stick in my hand since I could probably hold stuff. It\u2019s a major part of my life and it always will be but last year with shoulder surgery and then this year, I\u2019ve started to realize there is more to life than hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people know, but there is more to life out there and I\u2019m starting to awaken to that and see that. It\u2019s always going to suck, I\u2019m always going to be sad thinking about this, but I am making the right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00bb pbergson@brandonsun.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The beginning of the end of Easton Odut\u2019s Western Hockey League career may have started seven years before he first stepped on the ice with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He was playing flag football in his hometown, Dauphin, with his friends during intramurals when he was 11 and in Grade 6. \u201cWe had soccer poles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47262","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\/08\/12164314\/DSC04832.jpg",2048,1365,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\/47262","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47264,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47262\/revisions\/47264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47258,"date":"2026-08-05T16:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47258"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:58:41","slug":"budd-sees-opportunities-on-and-off-ice-with-wheat-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/budd-sees-opportunities-on-and-off-ice-with-wheat-kings","title":{"rendered":"Budd sees opportunities on and off ice with Wheat Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
\n
By Rob Mahon<\/span>Aug 5, 2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n
\n
Between on-ice sessions, off-ice training, and a full schedule with his charitable work, Ryley Budd is one of the busiest young hockey players you\u2019ll ever meet. So it comes as no surprise that when he found out he had been traded, it came right in the middle of something.<\/p>\n

The 2008-born goaltender was traded from the Saskatoon Blades, the team that had originally selected him in the second round of the 2023 WHL prospects draft, to the Brandon Wheat Kings on July 29. The call came down and framed his entire offseason in a new light.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just about to start yoga,\u201d Budd said with a chuckle. \u201cI was at the gym, we did an hour of cardio, and then I checked my phone and saw all of the notifications, and that\u2019s how I got the news. So after that I had to try and calm down and do yoga for an hour, which didn\u2019t go very well for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yoga is meant to be a calming experience but Budd admitted he wasn\u2019t very calm that day; he was too excited. And while the initial shock to the system that is a trade has mostly worn off, the excitement remains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait,\u201d said Budd. \u201cCounting down the days. I\u2019ve asked a bunch of people when I should come out, and I think it\u2019ll be around the 19th when I get to come. I\u2019m really looking forward to it. I\u2019ve heard nothing but good about Brandon since the trade, and before that as well. So I\u2019m really excited for this new opportunity, to come meet the team and the coaches face to face, and get used to new scenery that I hope I can stay in for the rest of my time in the WHL.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are plenty of reasons for excitement on Budd\u2019s end. One is the group of players he\u2019s joining, some of whom he\u2019s already familiar with. He knows Ryan Boyce from their time growing up in Calgary together and knows Jaxon Jacobson from numerous tournaments, including the WHL Cup when the two young men met in the finals. Other members of the team have been reaching out since almost the moment the news broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been amazing with that,\u201d Budd said. \u201cEveryone has been really welcoming. They\u2019ve made me feel like I\u2019m part of the team already, which is always super nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another reason for excitement is the opportunity. There is a full-time goaltending position open on the Wheat Kings, and with Filip Ruzicka drafted and signed by the Minnesota Wild (and with a very real chance for him to represent Czechia at the World Juniors), there are some potentially big games up for grabs as a goaltender. After splitting last season between the Blades and the AJHL\u2019s Bonnyville Pontiacs (the Blades started the season with two 19-year-old netminders) the chance to be in Brandon from wire to wire is enticing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy with the opportunity that I think is there in Brandon,\u201d said Budd. \u201cI\u2019m not coming into this expecting anything or looking for anything specific, I really just want an honest chance to try and fight for starts and opportunity on the ice. So I\u2019m really excited about what I\u2019ve heard. Obviously, I want to push Filip but I also want to build a good relationship as goalie partners with him. I think it\u2019s going to be good and I\u2019m really excited for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will be off-ice opportunities for Budd as well, and a chance to continue building on the already excellent work of his Be a Budd initiative. Remarkably, the young goaltender started it when he was just 13 years old and has helped it develop into an official non-profit that\u2019s raised over $70,000 in four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have sponsors who will donate money for every save and shutout to a program called HEROS Hockey, which helps kids with physical and cognitive barriers play hockey and gets them involved in sports,\u201d Budd explained. \u201cThat was always really important to me because hockey has been such a huge part of my life and making me who I am today. It was important to me to try and make sure that those kids got those opportunities as well. It\u2019s grown a lot over the last four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Budd, the growth is only just beginning. They\u2019ve partnered with organizations in Calgary working on such issues as prostate cancer and domestic violence, as well as the Calgary Food Bank. And here is where another opportunity presents itself, because Budd foresees plenty of chances to do good in the community of Brandon as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started planning stuff right away for what I can do in Brandon,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m really excited about the possible opportunities for what I can do in the community there. I\u2019ve got things in the works already for getting Be a Budd involved in Brandon and I\u2019m excited to see how that can grow and how things might work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add all that up, and there are more than the usual number of reasons for Budd to be counting down the days to training camp. Many of those reasons all boil down to the same thing: a chance to make a first impression on a new group of coaches, teammates, fans, and community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the fresh start that I\u2019m really excited for,\u201d Budd said. \u201cComing in with a clean slate, coming to make some first impressions, I\u2019m really excited about that. I have nothing bad to say about Saskatoon, I loved my time there and I loved all the people there, but I think a fresh start is going to be really good for me at this level to try and really secure myself as a goalie in the league who is going to stay and stay all season.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob MahonAug 5, 2026 Between on-ice sessions, off-ice training, and a full schedule with his charitable work, Ryley Budd is one of the busiest young hockey players you\u2019ll ever meet. So it comes as no surprise that when he found out he had been traded, it came right in the middle of something. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47258","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\/08\/05165752\/rileybuddstoon.jpg",1600,1067,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\/47258","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47260,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47258\/revisions\/47260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47254,"date":"2026-07-29T16:50:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47254"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:50:06","slug":"wheat-kings-move-kraus-bring-in-budd-in-pair-of-goaltending-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-move-kraus-bring-in-budd-in-pair-of-goaltending-deals","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings move Kraus, bring in Budd in pair of goaltending deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Mahon
\n<\/span>Jul 29, 2026\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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With training camp now less than a month away, the Brandon Wheat Kings have made a pair of moves they feel will stabilize the short and long-term future of the team between the pipes.<\/p>\n

First, the team traded 20-year-old goaltender Jayden Kraus to the Everett Silvertips. Coming back the other way are a third-round pick in 2029 and a sixth-round pick that same season. They then swung a deal with the Saskatoon Blades, sending a third-rounder in 2029 (they will get to keep whichever of theirs or Everett\u2019s is the better of the two) and an eighth-round pick in 2027 to the Saskatoon Blades for goaltender Ryley Budd.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I speak for everyone in the organization when I say it\u2019s bittersweet to move Jayden,\u201d said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. \u201cHe\u2019s an unbelievable kid with a great work ethic and he\u2019s a great teammate. We\u2019re going to miss a lot of the things he brings to the table as a Wheat King. But in saying that, with him being in his 20-year-old year and with (Filip) Ruzicka getting his release and him coming back, Jayden deserves an opportunity to be a number one guy in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraus was acquired from the Victoria Royals last summer and fit in with both the team and the community immediately thanks to an upbeat, outgoing, friendly personality and a genuine enthusiasm for being back on the prairies. As the season wore on, however, Ruzicka began to seize the starter\u2019s reins and the Wheat Kings had an opportunity to do right by Kraus and allow him to finish his career in a starting role.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, Filip ended up getting the games in the playoffs and establishing himself as the number one guy,\u201d said Murray. \u201cI was so impressed with Jayden\u2019s attitude and his work ethic and his upbeat personality around the room. It would\u2019ve been easy to kind of shut down and go the other way but I can\u2019t say enough good things about Jayden in that regard. He handled it like a pro and those are things you take into consideration. For him to be a number one guy in Everett, I know they\u2019re excited to have him and it seemed like a good fit for Jayden.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Wheat Kings worry that they\u2019ll miss out on Kraus\u2019s off-ice personality, however, they\u2019re getting an excellent replacement in Budd. The 18-year-old Calgary native founded the Be A Budd charitable organization when he was just 13 years old, and by the time he was most of the way through his first season of U18 CSSHL Hockey with Edge Prep, he had raised nearly $40,000 to help kids with physical and cognitive challenges play hockey through the SuperHEROS foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very similar type personalities,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThey\u2019re both really good people, first and foremost. They both have done a lot of work as humanitarians in the Western Hockey League. Jayden did a lot and was involved in our community. We expect Ryley to kind of just pick up that slack and be a key cog in our community as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the ice, Budd was a second-round pick, 42nd overall, by the Blades in 2023 and has gotten into some game action with them since. Last season, he played 11 games with the Blades, finishing with a 4-4-1 record, a 3.08 GAA, and a .888 save percentage. Those 11 games included a game against the Wheat Kings on January 14, in which he stopped 29 of 31 shots he faced in a 3-1 loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyley was a guy that was really high on our list going into the (2023) draft,\u201d said Murray. \u201cHe\u2019s somebody our staff thinks really highly of, he\u2019s really athletic, he moves really well. He\u2019s a younger guy as an 08 so I think this really stabilized our goaltending for at least a couple of years. We feel he can be a really strong contributor to our team\u2019s success and we\u2019re looking forward to having him on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Budd and Ruzicka, the Wheat Kings feel they have a strong tandem going into the season. And Budd is likely to have some key starts at different times of the year because not only is Ruzicka going to camp with the Minnesota Wild, which may take him through the opening act of the WHL season, but there\u2019s also a chance he\u2019s away in December and January as he\u2019ll have a chance to represent Czechia at the World Juniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining camp with the Wild, you never know how long a guy like Ruzicka is going to stay,\u201d Murray said. \u201cAnd then he has the opportunity to play in the World Juniors for the Czechs so that could end up being a pretty big chunk of the season where you need somebody to take the reins and we feel comfortable that Ryley can do that. If that opportunity presents itself for Filip, we feel comfortable with Ryley carrying the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trades answer one set of questions with the Wheat Kings but also open up another. With the trade of Kraus, Brandon now has a vacancy for a 2006-born player on their roster, and still roughly a month worth of offseason in which to fill it before camp begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll always be looking,\u201d said Murray. \u201cObviously it\u2019s a changing landscape with 20-year-olds, the situation around the league is different than it\u2019s been in the past, no question about it. A lot of guys have moved on to take other opportunities and this is something we\u2019ll continue to look at. We do have an open spot for a 20, and if something appealing comes our way we\u2019ll certainly look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob Mahon Jul 29, 2026\u00a0 With training camp now less than a month away, the Brandon Wheat Kings have made a pair of moves they feel will stabilize the short and long-term future of the team between the pipes. First, the team traded 20-year-old goaltender Jayden Kraus to the Everett Silvertips. Coming back the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47254","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\/07\/29164934\/kraus-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,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\/47254","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47256,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47254\/revisions\/47256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47251,"date":"2026-07-28T17:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T22:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47251"},"modified":"2026-07-28T17:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T22:21:21","slug":"allard-becomes-voice-of-experience-for-yorkton-youth-wheat-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/allard-becomes-voice-of-experience-for-yorkton-youth-wheat-kings","title":{"rendered":"Allard becomes voice of experience for Yorkton youth, Wheat Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Mahon <\/span>Jul 28, 2026<\/p>\n

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Like most young hockey players, Cam Allard spent much of the offseason golfing, relaxing with friends and family, and working out. But just lately he\u2019s spent it paying forward a gift that was paid to him in the youngest years of his hockey career.<\/p>\n

Allard has been working with kids skills camps in his hometown of Yorkton now that the ice is back in at their local rink. Now the voice of experience, Allard is trying to be for the next generation of young hockey players what Yorkton\u2019s older WHLers once were for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember being in these kids shoes and going on the ice with the Western League guys that are from the area and being like, \u2018Wow, this is really cool\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cI enjoyed working with those guys and it made camps a lot more fun. Now being that guy that\u2019s playing in the Western League and being able to hopefully give those kids the same experience means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t be the only time Allard comes in as the voice of experience of course. With 75 regular season games under his belt, he promises to be one of the more seasoned players on a blueline that, as of this writing, tracks to have four rookies for the Wheat Kings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always excelled in my veteran seasons in many of the leagues, like the (Saskatchewan) AAA league,\u201d Allard said. \u201cI gain a lot more confidence and I can be a leader and an example for some of the younger guys. I\u2019m excited to get the rookie season out of the way and do well in that and set the bar high for my second season and hopefully meet those expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that in mind, the preparations of this offseason seem especially important. In order to stay on the ice this summer, Allard traveled back to Brandon at the end of every week. He spent much of the summer working with former Wheat Kings skills coach (now the head coach and GM of the Winnipeg Monarchs of the MJHL) Riley Dudar and fellow skills guru Tyler Dittmer, and skating with a large group of Brandon-area Wheat Kings. Off the ice, he\u2019s been hitting the gym hard all offseason long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked a lot on my quickness,\u201d said Allard. \u201cNot far behind that, it\u2019s my upper body strength. I\u2019ve kind of lacked for that as I\u2019ve grown into my body, I grew a lot pretty quickly and my weight was just trying to catch up. Now I\u2019ve put on a little bit of weight and I\u2019m working on getting that quickness up, which is the main thing. With the extra weight came some upper body strength too and that was a huge focus coming into the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Allard got a little bit of snub-related motivation in late June when, despite being ranked 130th among North American skaters (a 60-spot leap for him from midseason to the end) he was passed over in the NHL draft. Consider that more fuel for the fire for the 6-foot-3, right-handed defenseman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing that it didn\u2019t happen this year but you see many great players go on to play long NHL careers after being undrafted,\u201d Allard said. \u201cIt\u2019s really just a bump in the road for me, nothing much more than that, just a little adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allard appears to be handling that adversity in the right mindset, and all the better for the Wheat Kings. The former Estevan Bear is their lone returning blueliner on the right side, one of just three veterans overall, and there will be opportunities for both he and the incoming rookies to seize major minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be on my mind but I think just coming into camp you can\u2019t think about that,\u201d said Allard. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to think that every situation, every minute is earned. Nothing is going to be given here. It\u2019s going to come down to who\u2019s the best fit for the situation, so I hope to be one of those guys but it\u2019s not going to come easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, having seen how many of his teammates and friends are returning, Allard has already started counting down the days to training camp. The Wheat Kings do have a sizable contingent of returning forwards, and two returning netminders. One of them, Filip Ruzicka (who signed his entry level contract with the Minnesota Wild), formed a quick bond with Allard last season and the two were frequently roommates on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially with the rule changes now, hearing some of the guys who are coming back is super exciting,\u201d Allard said. \u201cA guy like Filip, I grew close with him. I hope I don\u2019t have to buy a single snack for the hotel room this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allard played 62 games with the Wheat Kings last season, finishing with seven goals and 12 assists.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob Mahon Jul 28, 2026 Like most young hockey players, Cam Allard spent much of the offseason golfing, relaxing with friends and family, and working out. But just lately he\u2019s spent it paying forward a gift that was paid to him in the youngest years of his hockey career. Allard has been working with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47251","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\/07\/28171946\/camallard.jpg",1170,757,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\/47251","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47253,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47251\/revisions\/47253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47241,"date":"2026-07-22T15:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47241"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:57:23","slug":"wheat-kings-forward-surkan-invited-to-hlinka-gretzky-cup-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-forward-surkan-invited-to-hlinka-gretzky-cup-camp","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings forward Surkan invited to Hlinka Gretzky Cup camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Mahon
\n<\/span>Jul 22, 2026 | 3:13 PM<\/span><\/div>\n
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For the fifth consecutive season, a Brandon Wheat King will have a chance to represent Canada on the international stage as part of one of the toughest Canadian teams to make.<\/p>\n

Forward Chase Surkan was named to the 27-man roster for Canada\u2019s camp ahead of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton. The 17-year-old forward led all Wheat Kings rookies, and was among the highest scorers named to Canada\u2019s camp, with 20 goals and 38 points in just 45 games.<\/p>\n

Despite being one of the Wheat Kings\u2019 youngest players last season, Surkan quickly established himself as one of the team\u2019s most important weapons. He led the team with 13 power play goals, and picked up a pair of hat tricks, one of which came in his hometown of Regina in a win over the Pats. Surkan was also twice named the WHL\u2019s rookie of the week.<\/p>\n

His rookie season featured international highlights as well. After ripping up the scoresheet at Canada\u2019s U17 summer camp, Surkan was named to Team Canada Red for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. With seven points in just five games, he helped lead the team to a gold medal in his first representation of Canada on the world stage.<\/p>\n

The Wheat Kings have sent players to the Hlinka Gretzky Cup camp every year since Canada resumed sending players to the event following the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, Jaxon Jacobson and Gio Pantelas were both named to the camp roster.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s camp will run from July 27 to August 2, with two exhibition games on the schedule against Sweden and Czechia. The tournament runs from August 3 to August 8.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob Mahon Jul 22, 2026 | 3:13 PM For the fifth consecutive season, a Brandon Wheat King will have a chance to represent Canada on the international stage as part of one of the toughest Canadian teams to make. Forward Chase Surkan was named to the 27-man roster for Canada\u2019s camp ahead of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47241","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\/07\/22155554\/DSC01472.jpg",2048,1365,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\/47241","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47244,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47241\/revisions\/47244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47229,"date":"2026-07-21T13:30:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47229"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:44:15","slug":"ruzicka-caps-incredible-month-with-first-nhl-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/ruzicka-caps-incredible-month-with-first-nhl-contract","title":{"rendered":"Ruzicka caps incredible month with first NHL contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Mahon<\/span>Jul 20, 2026 | 12:03 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

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Filip Ruzicka had to cram an awful lot into just one month, but it all added up to what he called the best month of his life. And looking at everything that happened, you can see why.It started with being selected by the Minnesota Wild in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on June 27, a huge milestone for any young player. But just a day later he\u2019d already moved on to the next milestone by attending his first NHL camp, and that was quickly followed by signing his Entry Level Contract, all in the span of less than three weeks. And somewhere amidst all those hockey milestones he found time to get his drivers\u2019 license too.\u201cThat was a pretty good month,\u201d Ruzicka said. \u201cThat was the best month of my life so far, so many things happened. I\u2019ve enjoyed this month, and this summer. It was good.\u201dThe 6-foot-8 Czech netminder heard his name called 137th overall by Minnesota, becoming the first Wheat King selected on the day. His selection came after a stellar first season in North America in which he posted a 26-14-1 record in the regular season with a .906 save percentage and 3.19 GAA. His playoffs were even more impressive as he posted an incredible .936 save percentage.\u201cThat was really cool, I didn\u2019t expect it,\u201d said Ruzicka of being drafted. \u201cI was nervous a lot, so when I heard my name it was a very good moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruzicka had little time to wrap his head around his selection. He was off to Minnesota for development camp the very next day and went right into a new environment full of NHL prospects. One of those prospects, Carter Klippenstein, was not only his former teammate with the Wheat Kings but also his former billet brother, which eased the transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed the first camp because I had Carter here,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was all pretty fast because the morning after the draft I was on a plane, so that was pretty fast. It\u2019s a good city and I enjoyed camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wild must\u2019ve enjoyed Ruzicka\u2019s camp too. He signed his entry level contract on July 14, barely two weeks after camp ended, becoming the first member of the Wild\u2019s last two draft classes to sign his ELC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met with my agent and after I was in bed he called me saying the Wild had given me a contract,\u201d said Ruzicka. \u201cI was so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruzicka\u2019s first season in North America started a little later than he\u2019d have liked as he wasn\u2019t able to join the Wheat Kings until October. But the towering goaltender loved his time in Brandon last year once he arrived, and every indication is he\u2019ll be returning to the team for 2026-27, something he\u2019s greatly looking forward to.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first year as a Wheat King was so good,\u201d he said. \u201cI enjoyed the group, the team, that was a pretty good season. I\u2019m excited to be a Wheat King again and I\u2019m excited to see all the boys and the staff again for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruzicka added the Wild have him doing some off-ice coordination work and a lot of skating drills to keep improving over the offseason.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob MahonJul 20, 2026 | 12:03 PM   Filip Ruzicka had to cram an awful lot into just one month, but it all added up to what he called the best month of his life. And looking at everything that happened, you can see why.It started with being selected by the Minnesota Wild in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":643,"featured_media":47237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47229","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\/07\/21134339\/ruz-1-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,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\/47229","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\/643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47229"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47238,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47229\/revisions\/47238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47199,"date":"2026-07-07T11:45:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47199"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:49:16","slug":"wheat-kings-add-aaron-rome-to-coaching-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-add-aaron-rome-to-coaching-staff","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings Add Aaron Rome to Coaching Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NHL defenceman named Assistant Coach<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

BRANDON, Man. \u2013 July 7, 2026 \u2013 <\/b>The Brandon Wheat Kings are proud to announce the hiring of Aaron Rome as Assistant Coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

A product of Nesbitt, Manitoba, just south of Brandon, Rome played more than 300 games on the blue line in the Western Hockey League with Saskatoon, Kootenay, Swift Current and Moose Jaw, earning WHL East Second All-Star Team honours in 2003\u201304 before the Los Angeles Kings selected him in the fourth round, 104th overall, of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over an 11-year professional career, Rome appeared in 226 NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars, and was part of Anaheim\u2019s 2007 Stanley Cup championship organization. A steady, hard-nosed defenceman, he built his career on strong positioning, physical play and a team-first approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAaron is a great addition to our coaching staff,\u201d said Head Coach and General Manager Marty Murray. \u201cAaron will work closely with our D on an everyday basis, both on and off the ice. Aaron played the position at the highest level, has coaching experience and will be a valuable asset to our group.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rome is a familiar face within the organization. He previously spent three seasons as a skills coach with the Wheat Kings and currently serves as Head Coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings U17 AAA program, where he has helped develop many of the region\u2019s top young players.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAaron has been part of the Wheat Kings family for years, and we\u2019ve seen firsthand the impact he has on up and coming defenseman,” said Wheat Kings owner Jared Jacobson. \u201cAdding someone who has played the game at the highest level and knows our program inside and out makes our staff stronger. We\u2019re excited to have him behind our bench.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rome and his wife Adrianne make their home in Brandon with their two children, Grayson and Logan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rome joins the Wheat Kings coaching staff ahead of the 2026\u201327 WHL season.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a great year. Grab your Season Tickets online now and secure the best seat in the house! <\/span>www.bwktickets.com\/seasontickets\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Former NHL defenceman named Assistant Coach BRANDON, Man. \u2013 July 7, 2026 \u2013 The Brandon Wheat Kings are proud to announce the hiring of Aaron Rome as Assistant Coach. A product of Nesbitt, Manitoba, just south of Brandon, Rome played more than 300 games on the blue line in the Western Hockey League with Saskatoon,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":47202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47199","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\/07\/07095815\/2026-BWK-AARON-ROME-Announcement1080x1350.jpg",1920,1080,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\/47199","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\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47199"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47206,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47199\/revisions\/47206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47191,"date":"2026-07-03T11:50:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47191"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:53:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:53:34","slug":"wheat-kings-name-ryan-white-assistant-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-name-ryan-white-assistant-coach","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings Name Ryan White Assistant Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brandon product and former NHLer joins the club\u2019s coaching staff<\/i><\/p>\n

BRANDON, Man. \u2013 July 3, 2026 \u2013 <\/b>The Brandon Wheat Kings are proud to announce the hiring of Ryan White as Assistant Coach.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Brandon, White came up through the local minor hockey system and led his Brandon AAA Wheat Kings to a gold medal at the 2004 Telus Cup national championship. He went on to play four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitmen before the Montreal Canadiens selected him in the third round, 66th overall, of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n

Over a 13-year professional career, White appeared in 313 NHL games with the Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, earning a reputation as a hard-working, high-energy forward and a respected teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Brandon Wheat Kings are excited to add Ryan White to our staff,\u201d said Head Coach and General Manager Marty Murray. \u201cRyan carved out a career in the NHL by working extremely hard, having great energy, and being a team player. We feel Ryan will bring those same qualities as a coach. Ryan will have the ability to relate very well with our players and get the best out of them each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

White joins the Wheat Kings from the Western Canada Hockey Academy in Brandon, where he has served as On-Ice Development Coach, known for his ability to inspire and mentor young athletes and for his dedication to player development. Before joining the Academy, White spent time as an assistant coach with the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, where he was part of the staff that captured the 2024 Turnbull Cup championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan grew up right here in Brandon and has been developing young players in our community at the Academy,\u201d said Wheat Kings owner Jared Jacobson. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to add someone with his experience to our team, as a player who competed at the highest level and as a coach who has won a championship. He knows this city and what it means to represent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Off the ice, White is a devoted husband and father of three, and his passion for the game and love of teaching allow him to connect with players and foster both their athletic and personal growth.<\/p>\n

White joins the Wheat Kings coaching staff ahead of the 2026\u201327 WHL season.<\/p>\n

It’s going to be a great year. Grab your Season Tickets online now and secure the best seat in the house! www.bwktickets.com\/seasontickets\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Brandon product and former NHLer joins the club\u2019s coaching staff BRANDON, Man. \u2013 July 3, 2026 \u2013 The Brandon Wheat Kings are proud to announce the hiring of Ryan White as Assistant Coach. Born and raised in Brandon, White came up through the local minor hockey system and led his Brandon AAA Wheat Kings to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":47192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-47191","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\/07\/03104709\/2026-BWK-RYAN-WHITE-Announcement1080x1350-1.png",1920,1080,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\/47191","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\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47191"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47195,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47191\/revisions\/47195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":47188,"date":"2026-06-30T16:14:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/?p=47188"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:14:20","slug":"wheat-kings-add-skill-pro-experience-with-pair-of-import-draft-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wheatkings\/article\/wheat-kings-add-skill-pro-experience-with-pair-of-import-draft-picks","title":{"rendered":"Wheat Kings add skill, pro experience with pair of Import Draft picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Mahon<\/span><\/div>\n
Jun 30, 2026 | 2:01 PM<\/span><\/div>\n
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One of the most complicated and unique drafts in the hockey world has been completed, and the Brandon Wheat Kings feel they\u2019ve come out of it with two pieces who can help them compete right away.<\/p>\n

The Wheat Kings selected forward Kristof Muissu and defenseman Ilari Kapanen with their two picks at the CHL Import Draft today. They had the option to use a third pick, on which they passed.<\/p>\n

Muissu, selected 45th overall, brings a potent mixture of size, skill, and experience. The 6-foot-3, right-handed forward can play wing or centre and lit up the MHL (Russia\u2019s junior circuit) last year with 39 goals and 64 points in 57 games. He holds dual nationality with Russia and Congo and had played 18 games over the last two seasons in the KHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to get a little bit older up front,\u201d said director of hockey operations Chris Moulton. \u201cWe have a younger group and we identified some 19-year-olds but then Kristof came across our table as an older, experienced guy that had played professionally in Russia. He\u2019s a big man with really good offensive instincts who can really shoot a puck. He\u2019s an offensive minded guy and we thought it would be nice to have some size and experience up front.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Moulton, both Muissu and his agent are excited about the fit with Brandon and have already started the process of getting his paperwork done to come to North America. And once he gets to Brandon, with his size and offensive prowess there\u2019s not much doubt about the role he\u2019ll fill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re expecting him to be a top-six player with us and to support our power play,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cWe\u2019re expecting him to have a presence. When you\u2019re coming at his age, we\u2019re expecting to have some maturity, which will allow him to adapt quicker. That\u2019s our biggest thing, we think he can contribute immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up, at 106th overall, the Wheat Kings looked to their blueline and selected defenseman Ilari Kapanen of Finland. He split games between the Swedish J20 ranks and the Finish Liiga, and due to injury played only 13 games between the two, but has represented Finland internationally before and could be a candidate to do so again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy is a national level player,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cHe\u2019s played with the national team and will push for national opportunities this year. He\u2019s a super mobile guy who moves the puck really well, he\u2019s a competitor, and he\u2019s really excited about coming over, he wants to come over and learn the North American game. We\u2019re really lucky to have him come in and compliment the defense we have in place already.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name Kapanen will likely be familiar to North American hockey fans. Ilari\u2019s uncle Sami was a longtime and highly successful NHLer who, in a small-world type moment, was a teammate of Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray in Philadelphia. His older brother, Oliver, just finished his first full season with the Montreal Canadiens, while his cousin Kasperi plays for the Edmonton Oilers and has over 500 NHL games played.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came on our plate today, we were looking for a mobile, mature defenseman, and we got sort of lucky,\u201d Moulton said. \u201cThe agent called us and said \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve got this guy.\u2019 and you\u2019ve got a big smile on your face when those kinds of texts come in. His family is well known in their country for hockey, brothers, uncles, his father, they\u2019ve all played at high levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing both players have in common is experience. Kapanen is a 2007-born player, Muissu a 2006, and both have stints in their nation\u2019s professional ranks to their credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t look for that,\u201d Moulton said, \u201cbut when you have a kid that has the ability to play at the professional level with older players, it\u2019s always a great experience for them and it helps in their development. I don\u2019t think either guy will come over and be intimidated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing they both have in common: an immediate interest in Brandon. Muissu is already charting his path over and Kapanen\u2019s agent reached out to the team directly to inquire about a spot for his client.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe anticipated coming into today that we\u2019d get Kristof, who\u2019s committed,\u201d said Moulton. \u201cWe thought we were probably going to have to pick a defenseman where we\u2019d have to put some work in and it wasn\u2019t a guarantee. So when you have a guy, Ilari\u2019s agent, who says he wants to come, he\u2019s 100 percent in, and he wants to be an impact guy, then it sure changes thing. He was still the best guy we had on our list when he came across. It was a really easy selection after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moulton added that the team expects to have three European players on their roster next season. Goaltender Filip Ruzicka is expected to return, while defenseman Daniil Skvortsov has been released.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n