Brandon Wheat Kings netminder Filip Ruzicka signed an entry-level contact with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old product of Trinec, Czechia, was taken in the fifth round (137 overall) in the most recent draft.

Last season with Brandon, the six-foot-eight, 229-pound goaltender made 42 appearances, compiling a 3.19 goals-against average, .906 save percentage, 26-14-1 record and two shutouts.

The three-year contract is worth $987,500 per season against the cap, with $850,000 in an NHL salary, an $87,500 signing bonus and $87,500 per year if he’s playing gin the minors.

Former Brandon Wheat Kings captain Braden Schneider is heading back to New York next season.

The 24-year-old defenceman from Prince Albert, Sask., signed a one-year deal with the Rangers, the team announced Monday.

The six-foot-three, 206-pound Schneider had two goals, 16 assists and 26 penalty minutes in 82 games last season, and led the Rangers in blocked shots (140) and was third in hits (163). Only three players in the NHL last season had at least 160 hits and 140 blocks.

In 368 games over parts of five seasons with the Rangers, he has 20 goals, 67 assists, 85 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating while missing just five games.

Here is a look back at changes made in Brandon’s hockey operations in the last decade. The date refers to the day the news was made public.

• Aug. 2, 2016 — Kelly McCrimmon resigned as head coach and GM to take a job as assistant GM with the Vegas Golden Knights.

• Aug. 6, 2016 — Director of scouting Wade Klippenstein resigned to join the Colorado Avalanche.

• Aug. 18, 2016 — Assistant coach David Anning promoted to head coach, assistant coach Darren Ritchie promoted to director of scouting, Don MacGillivray and Aaron Rome named assistant coaches, Tyler Plante named goaltending coach, Grant Armstrong named GM.

Ryan White has joined the Brandon Wheat Kings as an assistant coach, the Western Hockey League club announced Friday morning.The 38-year-old Brandonite, who played more than 300 National Hockey League games, had been working at the Western Canada Hockey Academy and doing skills sessions with the Wheat Kings for the past two seasons.The Western Hockey League club announced in early May it wasn't renewing the contracts of Mark Derlago and Del Pedrick, creating a pair of vacancies.» For an-depth feature story on White, see Saturday's edition of The Brandon Sun.

The new schedule has been released for the Brandon Wheat Kings, and it has some interesting wrinkles this season.

The Western Hockey League club opens against the Regina Pats on Sept. 18 and closes out its home schedule on March 26 against the Pats.

The Wheat Kings have 13 Friday games — they all start at 7 p.m., eight Saturday games (6 p.m.) and five on Sundays (4 p.m.). There is one Monday game — on the Feb. 15 holiday — just one Tuesday game, six Wednesday games and no Thursday games.

By month, Brandon plays twice at home in September, five times in October, five in November, six in December, five in January, six in February and five in March in what’s an unusually balanced home schedule.

The Brandon Wheat Kings will open their Western Hockey League pre-season on Sept. 4 when the Regina Pats visit.

The game at Assiniboine Credit Union Place starts at 7 p.m., with the teams meeting again a night later at Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex in Ochapowace, Sask.

The Wheat Kings then host the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., and visit Temple Gardens Centre the next evening.

In total, the WHL is holding 56 pre-season games, including a pair between the Victoria Royals and Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights on Sept. 4 and 5.

Lyn Shannon, a fixture in the Brandon Wheat Kings office for many years, died last week.

Shannon, who served as executive assistant to former owner Kelly McCrimmon and the club, spent 31 years with the team handling everything from accounting to billet coordination to the Wheat Kings education fund and many other tasks.

She retired in May 2021.

She is survived by her husband Barry, daughter Tricia, son Tom, their spouses and five grandchildren.