Brandon Wheat Kings qualify for 2026 WHL Playoffs

A win, and they’re in.

The Brandon Wheat Kings have qualified for the 2026 WHL Playoffs with an 8-4 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday night.

Brandon (34-22-1-0) sits second in the East Division and fifth in the East Division standings.

The red-hot Wheaties have won six consecutive games, including a 4-0 rout of the B.C. Division-leading Penticton Vees on Friday.

Manitoba’s lone WHL squad stands as one of the top-scoring clubs in the league, led by Joby Baumuller and veteran Luke Mistelbacher, who has hit 35 goals to stay in the hunt for the league’s goal-scoring title.

Brandon boasts three 20-plus goal scorers.

Beyond Baumuller and Mistelbacher, 2027 NHL Draft-eligible Jaxon Jacobson owns 21 tallies and leads the club with 76 points (21G-55).

On the blueline, alternate captain Grayson Burzynski has eclipsed 50 points, while 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Giorgos Pantelas is heating up with a six-game point streak.

In net, Jayden Kraus and import Filip Ruzicka have split duties, with the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Ruzicka putting up a formidable 21-10-0-0 record, a 3.15 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

This marks the third straight season that Brandon has qualified for the postseason.

Brandon has won the Ed Chynoweth Cup three times in franchise history (1979, 1996, and 2016), most recently in 2016, with a squad that featured Playoff MVP Nolan Patrick, 2016 WHL Defenceman of the Year and current Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Ivan Provorov, and current Olympians Logan Thompson and Rihards Bukarts.

The Wheat Kings continue their homestand on Tuesday, February 24 as they host the Prince George Cougars and Manitoba’s own Carson Carels- a projected first-round 2026 NHL Draft pick.