1978-79 BWK Series — Day 12 — Kempthorne joined Brandon’s 20-goal club

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2021 (1504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brad Kempthorne split the 1977-78 season between the Brandon Wheat Kings and their farm club, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Brandon Travellers.

He was called up for the 1978 WHL playoffs, contributing six points in eight games, and graduated to the big club in time for the 1978-79 season.

The lanky 18-year-old from Boissevain provided an injection of skill and scoring ability in the bottom six, contributing 22 goals and 31 assists in 56 games. He was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the fifth round, 96th overall, in the 1979 draft.

Kempthorne, who didn’t respond to repeated requests to be part of this series, returned for the 1979-80 season, and was traded with Brant Kiessig to the Medicine Hat Tigers. After graduating from the WHL, he embarked on a six-year professional career.

He now owns and operates Hammer’s Bar & Restaurant in Bartonville, Ill.

LAURIE BOSCHMAN: “Brad was a right-handed shot, tall, lanky, good sense of humour.”

RICK KNICKLE: “He was a talented player. Me and Kemper got along really well. He’s just a really good guy, fun-loving and free spirited.”

STEPHEN PATRICK: “Kemper had the mitts too. He was built differently than Donny (Gillen), a tall guy but not as thick, but he had really good hands … Kemper was a good hockey player. He had a lot of talent.”

GREGG DRINNAN (Brandon Sun): “Brad might have been the biggest guy on the team. He wasn’t that thin, he had some meat on his bones. He was third-line centre and could play up and down the roster, kill penalties, get you 20 goals. I remember how heartbroken he was when he got traded (during the 1979-80 season) … He really came on in ‘78-79. He started out like he was feeling his way but after the Christmas break, a lot of the guys, especially the younger guys, realized that the first part of the season wasn’t a mirage and they weren’t going anywhere. They were going to be there until the end and got comfortable and played like it, and he was one of them.”

TIM LOCKRIDGE: “Kemper was a guy with a ton of talent and he didn’t overexert himself unless he absolutely had to. He was a nice, easy-going guy.”

DAVE CHARTIER: “Kemper was lanky, a big kid too. He was older than me. There was sort of a divide between us country guys and the city guys … He was a good player.”

MIKE PEROVICH: “I played with Kemper in pro. He was a good guy. He was drafted by Atlanta so I played with him in my last year in Denver. He was a funny guy. He was quiet and worked hard.”

WES COULSON: “(Brad) was a big kid and good skater. I’m not sure who he played with but there were a lot of guys on other Western Hockey League teams who didn’t score that many goals. He had good talent and could skate well. He was a good teammate.”

DAVE STEWART: “Kemper kind of kept to himself. I think a lot of guys who didn’t play on the ‘77-78 team, when they came in, everybody seemed to have their own place. This is your place and this is what your job is. Kemper was a little younger than us too.”

DON GILLEN: “(Brad) was very talented. The guy probably could have been on the PGA or a Major League ball player. Wherever he grew up, he would have thrived in the sport of the community.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson