Final pre-season set huge for Brandon players

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This article was published 13/09/2019 (2340 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With one final weekend of pre-season Western Hockey League action ahead, the window is narrowing for players to make a strong impression on the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Wheat Kings visit the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight at 8 o’clock at Mosaic Place, and the teams meet in Brandon on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Brandon head coach Dave Lowry, who put his flu-depleted lineup through a spirited practice on Thursday afternoon, is well aware of the significance the weekend potentially holds for his players.

“We’re in the final phase here right now,” Lowry said. “We want to make sure that we give these young guys every opportunity to play and make the team. We’ll put them in positions to be successful.”

The team still has three goalies, nine defencemen and 16 forwards on its roster. That includes goalie Jiri Patera and forwards Luka Burzan and Ben McCartney, who remain in National Hockey League camps, while Finnish forward Marcus Kallionkieli is having treatment on a lower-body injury by the Vegas Golden Knights. His timeable remains uncertain.

Wheat Kings general manager Darren Ritchie said before camp started that the team would likely settle on seven defencemen and 13 forwards eventually.

“It creates pressure for everyone actually,” 16-year-old forward Jaxon Dube said of the battle for spots. “These last days here, everyone is giving it their all. It’s a little nerve-racking but that’s hockey.”

A six-foot, 196-pound product of St. Albert, Alta., Dube scored five goals and added seven assists in 30 games with the under-18 AAA St. Albert Raiders last season.

He noted the pace picked up from rookie camp into main camp and then jumped again in the pre-season games against the Winnipeg Ice last weekend. Dube signed with the team in April and made his WHL debut on Saturday against the Ice in Portage la Prairie.

“It was a little nerve-racking at the start but then after that first period, first shift kind of a thing, you get the hang of it and get the speed,” Dube said. “It was good. I like the speed, the pace, the physicality.”

Jake Chiasson, also 16, made his debut with the club last season as a 15-year-old. He appreciated the pre-season tilt on Saturday as well because it gave him a taste of what’s to come against Winnipeg, which Brandon will play 10 times during the regular season.

“It was good,” Chiasson said. “It’s a rivalry that will build from here on out and I think we were tossing bodies back and forth a bit that game so it kind of gives us a taste of what it’s going to be like for the next few years.”

Chiasson, who was selected 15th overall in the 2018 WHL bantam draft, may have an inside track on one of the jobs up front.

Brandon’s last top pick who didn’t play with the club as a 16-year-old was goaltender Jordan Papirny in 2012, but Brandon hasn’t had a full-time goalie that age since 1990. A year earlier, Colton Waltz was returned to midget. Since the draft was instituted, Brandon Regier (2007), Sanfred King (2005) and Bobby Brown (1990) also waited to join the club full-time.

But the six-foot-one, 165-pound forward from Abbotsford, B.C., isn’t taking anything for granted. He feels the pressure in the battle for spots too, but added that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Being a hockey player comes with pressure,” Chiasson said. “You just have to perform under the pressure, and put yourself on top of it. It’s always in the back of your mind but you use it as fuel.”

Chiasson, who scored 20 goals and added 48 assists in 30 prep U18 games with Yale last season, spent the off-season trying to bulk up a bit to prepare for the WHL, and was happy to return to the ice. His camp started inauspiciously, however, as he suffered a slight upper-body injury and was kept off the ice for a couple of days.

Regardless, he said Brandon is becoming familiar really quickly.

“I’m starting to kind of connect with the guys and the coaching staff,” Chiasson said. “I’m putting myself around the city, going for dinner at some places, and I’m starting to feel comfortable, like I was meant to be here.”

Dube, who is eager to make a good impression on the weekend, is also making himself at home.

“It’s good,” Dube said. “The older guys, the vets, are really good to the young guys and I’m getting a feel for it now. Last year I was here as long as I was this time so I’m starting to get the feel for it and the room.”

Brandon opens its 68-game regular season on Sept. 20 when it hosts Winnipeg. As that day approaches, the speed and intensity at practice have ratcheted up as Lowry continues to introduce his systems to the team.

He was happy with the week of practices.

“Every day we’re trying to get better,” Lowry said. “We’re building on what we started with. The one thing that will be a staple is that these guys have worked hard. That’s what we want to continue, and with the detail part, we’re starting to get an understanding, and as coaches, we will challenge you. There will be days that you have to blow the whistle a few more times than you want.”

ICINGS: The Regina Pats acquired 18-year-old forward Bryce Bader from the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday in exchange for a conditional eighth-round pick in 2022. The Raiders also sent forward Davin Griffin to the Prince George Cougars for a conditional pick … Elsewhere, the Seattle Thunderbirds dispatched 18-year-old forward Brecon Wood and conditional eighth-round pick in 2021 to the Swift Current Broncos for 16-year-old forward Ashton McNelly. Ashton is the younger brother of Seattle rearguard Cade McNelly.

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