Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
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New Wheat Kings starter Liam Liston is highlighted by pyrotechnics during the opening-night introductions.
The Brandon Wheat Kings opened the season with a flourish Friday, but without Brayden Schenn.
And there certainly are plenty of signs that the talented 19-year-old centre won't be back in the Wheat City anytime soon.
While they didn't come right out and say it, the Wheat Kings signalled they were prepared to move on without Schenn when they stitched the captain's 'C' onto Brandonite Shayne Wiebe's jersey on the eve of opening night.
But the best indication that Schenn may make the jump to the NHL came this week from Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray.
"Schenn is one of those world-class young players out there and I feel very comfortable with him coming into the training camp, putting him in exhibition games to play against top guys," Murray told the Los Angeles Times, noting he would have no problem keeping Schenn even as a fourth-liner. "Younger players I would put in a fourth-line role just to get acclimated to the league. ... I've done it in the past and I wouldn't hesitate to do it if it came down to that."
Schenn showed he could be ready for prime time duty in his NHL pre-season opener on Thursday night, scoring the Kings' lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in a four-on-four setup from Kings captain Dustin Brown.
Of course, there is nothing stopping the Wheat Kings from simply going with co-captains for the second straight year if Los Angeles does decide to send Schenn back, a decision that would still make a lot of sense for the Kings. But don't expect that situation to be sorted out soon.
In the meantime, this is Wiebe's team to lead, and he did just that last night with a thunderous open-ice check of Dominick Favreau to set the tone in the opening period of Friday's 5-4 win over the Regina Pats at Westman Place.
"It's definitely a special thing to wear the 'C' on this team," said Wiebe, who is the 54th captain in franchise history, with Brodie Melnychuk, Mark Stone and Scott Glennie -- currently in the NHL but clearly expected back for his 19-year-old campaign -- named alternate captains. "It shows (head coach Kelly McCrimmon) has the trust in me to be a leader and he depends on you to get the job done and lead by example, so yeah, it's quite special ...
"Overall, everyone played pretty well. There's always things you've got to work on, but it's good to come out and find a way to win your first game, especially the home opener."
Other opening night impressions:
* The Wheat Kings have a good one in 16-year-old budding power forward Tyrel Seaman, who scored in his WHL debut last night. At 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, Seaman skates well for a big man, plays real physical and is already a fixture on the penalty kill and looked right at home playing centre.
* What in the world are the Wheat Kings doing with five goaltenders still on the roster? At the very least by now they should have decided between one of the two 20-year-old netminders, Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes, who both sat out last night. Can anyone remember the last time the Wheat Kings had three goalies as healthy scratches in their season opener?
* Speaking of overagers, the Wheat Kings simply need more than they got from Darren Bestland last night. Going pointless with a team-worst -3 plus/minus rating and a bad penalty with 19.5 seconds left in a one-goal game is not going to cut it with fellow 20-year-old defenceman Mark Schneider (sitting out with a strained hip flexor) waiting in the wings for his chance.
* With a raw, rookie-laden blue-line and an unsettled goaltending situation, you can expect the over-under on total goals to be close to 10 most nights, at least early in the year. But with the wealth of forward talent the Wheat Kings possess -- even without Schenn and Glennie -- it could make for the kind of high-scoring action that thrills fans -- 5,287 of them last night -- and drives coaches nuts.
* While it wasn't quite a Memorial Cup atmosphere Friday, it's clear that Wheat King fans appreciate that the club has held the line on the lowest season-ticket prices in the WHL. They won't match last year's Memorial Cup-inflated total of 3,611 season tickets, but their current ticket tally of 2,969 and counting is the second-best in franchise history.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 25, 2010 B1
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The Brandon Wheat Kings opened the season with a flourish Friday, but without Brayden Schenn.
And there certainly are plenty of signs that the talented 19-year-old centre won't be back in the Wheat City anytime soon.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings opened the season with a flourish Friday, but without Brayden Schenn.
And there certainly are plenty of signs that the talented 19-year-old centre won't be back in the Wheat City anytime soon.
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Posted by:Freddy Norris
September 27, 2010 at 1:35 PM
I agree 100% with Fa Fa Fooey. Schenn is one of the top 19 year old players in the world. Ned do you scout for the Pats?
Posted by:Gary Dell'abate
September 27, 2010 at 12:03 PM
Nedley, 99 points all hype? I don't think so son. Schennsation rulz. Fa Fa Fooey OUT!
Posted by:Ned
September 25, 2010 at 10:57 AM
I for one do not miss Brayden Schenn. Everything about Schenn is hype and you know if he's back he won't want to be. He'll drag down a very eager team. Couldn't be happier that Wiebe is captain he has all of the qualities it takes - one of which is the ability to share the limelight.
Loved that there was a tonne of people at the game last night - good exciting game for an opener.