WHL Playlists: Brandon Wheat Kings
As Western Hockey League athletes look to compete at the highest level, we take a glance at what tracks and tunes get them focused before and after taking the ice. In this edition of WHL Playlists, we’ll take a scroll through the favourite tracks of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
DJ Jake Chiasson clearly has a deep record collection, contributing 10 songs towards the Brandon Wheat Kings edition of WHL Playlists.
Chiasson opens the playlist with a driving beat that could serve as an epic, spine-tingling entrance track in pretty much any hockey rink in North America – “Unstoppable” by The Score.
“We can be heroes everywhere we go,” sings lead vocalist Eddie Anthony Ramirez. “We can have all that we ever want, swinging like Ali, knocking out bodies, standing on top like a champion. Keep your silver, give me that gold. You’ll remember when I say we can be heroes everywhere we go. Keeping us down is impossible, ‘cause we’re unstoppable.”
If there was ever a track destined for a Hockey Night in Canada series-closing montage, it might be “Unstoppable.”
With 19 tracks and over 60 minutes of goodness, the Wheat Kings feature an all-star cast of country music’s biggest contemporary stars, including the likes of Canadian duo The Reklaws, Morgan Wallen, Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley, and Florida Georgia Line.
Bentley brings two of his best offerings to the Wheat Kings playlist, including “Black” and “Burning Man.”
2020 NHL Draft prospect Braden Schneider provides Bentley’s “Black” for the rotation, while Chiasson chips in with “Burning Man,” a track that also features Brothers Osborne.
“Great beat for a country song,” Chiasson said of Bentley’s 2018 hit from the album The Mountain. “It can be used for a pre-game warmup – good mix of modern and country.”
Hometown product Lynden McCallum joins the party with a track that he feels has some particular timely significance, given the current challenges society is facing due to COVID-19.
“Automobile” hit the highway in 2013, released by Icelandic indie rockers KALEO. In 2017, KALEO was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, recognition for the song “No Good” off the band’s 2016 full-length release A/B.
“It’s got a groovy and relaxing vibe to it,” McCallum said. “It’s a song that I can play in the background over and over again all day. With everything going on right now, life is kind of crazy and this song is about a guy driving and headed wherever the road will take him. When I listen to it, it reminds me of good times cruising around in the summer with friends. It kind of takes my mind off everything going on right now.”
Edmonton-born defenceman Neithan Salame turns the clock back to 2002 and the debut single “Like I Love You” from generational pop sensation Justin Timberlake. While Timberlake was well known by pop music fans as a centerpiece in the heartthrob boyband *NSYNC, “Like I Love You” marked his emergence as a solo artist and the first step in what has since become a lengthy and successful career.
“I found it on a funny Instagram video,” Salame said. “I’ve loved it ever since.”
The 39-year-old Timberlake has sold 32 million records since going solo in 2002. He’s won 10 Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards, among many others.
DJ Chiasson wraps up the deep Wheat Kings jam session with an all-time great from Oasis – “Wonderwall” from 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
“Arguably the best song ever,” Chiasson said. “Nothing better than after a tough practice to sit down with the guys in the lockerroom and have ‘Wonderwall’ playing in the background.”
Country-music lovers will be happy to break out the Brandon Wheat Kings edition of WHL Playlists the next time they fire up the barbecue in the backyard this summer.
| Jake Chiasson – | “Unstoppable” by The Score
“If I Lose Myself” by OneRepublic “Roots” by The Reklaws “One Man Band” by Old Dominion “Burning Man” by Dierks Bentley ft. Brothers Osborne “Fishin’ In the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Knee Deep” by Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffett “Blessings” by Florida Georgia Line “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean “Wonderwall” by Oasis |
| Chad Nychuk – | “Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)” by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs |
| Jonny Lambos – | “La La Land” by Bryce Vice ft. YG
“Knockin’ Boots” by Luke Bryan |
| Ryland Thiessen – | “Heartless” by Diplo ft. Morgan Wallen |
| Ben McCartney & Luka Burzan – | “Little Rain” by Morgan Wallen |
| Ethan Kruger – | “Heartache Medication” by Jon Pardi |
| Braden Schneider – | “Black” by Dierks Bentley |
| Neithan Salame – | “Like I Love You” by Justin Timberlake |
| Lynden McCallum – | “Automobile” by KALEO |
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