Danielson brothers set to meet for first time

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This article was published 25/11/2021 (1650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A small family reunion is set to take place at Westoba Place tonight, and the Danielsons are inviting 5,500 folks to enjoy the fun.

Seventeen-year-old Nate of the Brandon Wheat Kings will meet his 19-year-old brother Noah of the Medicine Hat Tigers in Western Hockey League action beginning at 7 p.m. It’s the first time the pair from Red Deer, Alta., have ever played against each other in a real game, and to make it even more special, their parents Mark and Janna will be in the stands.

Nate is looking forward to it after a lifetime spent preparing.

“Our whole childhood we grew competing against each other, whether it was pretty much any sport that we could,” Nate said. “We were competing trying to beat the other person.

“Everything was if you lose, you’re going to get mad and have a fight about it.”

Noah agreed.

“There was a lot of fighting and a lot of competing with each other,” Noah said. “As we got older, probably about that 10-12 age gap, we started to get along and got really close over time.”

Needless to say, Mark and Janna, who have been to Brandon a couple of times previously, aren’t missing this one. 

“They’re flying in (today),” Nate said. “They’re pretty excited that for the first time we’re going to play against each other.”

Nate, who turned 17 on Sept. 27, was selected fifth overall by the Wheat Kings in 2019. He has 27 points in 37 career games in the WHL, with 12 points in 13 games this season.

Noah, meanwhile, was a fourth-round pick by the Tigers in 2017. In 72 games over four seasons, he has 26 points. He’s fourth in Medicine Hat scoring with nine points in 18 games this season.

“It’s been a long time coming but I’m really excited to get out there against him,” Noah said.

“It will be nice to have my brother and my parents all in one room,” he added. “My mom will be stressed for sure if we go into the corner together.”

Brothers playing against each other in the WHL is more common than you might imagine. 

In the East Division hub in Regina last season, it happened for three Wheat Kings, with Braden Schneider meeting his brother Marek of the Saskatoon Blades, Jonny Lambos facing off against Carson of the Winnipeg Ice and Riley Ginnell skating against Brad of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Brandon head coach Don MacGillivray suggested nothing really has to be said to players in their situation.

“I don’t think it really matters once the game starts,” MacGillivray said. “Danny (Nate) will probably meet with his brother (Thursday) and then talk after the game (Friday), like it was with Carson and Jonny last year. They play the game hard, that’s what you expect from those guys. We don’t game plan for an individual player for the most part. It’s mostly team stuff.” 

Noah proved to be an important resource for Nate last spring as the younger sibling entered the league in the Regina hub. Naturally, Nate was eager to capitalize on the advice of his older brother, who debuted in the league on March 1, 2019 in a two-game callup in his 16-year-old season.

“Especially last year, he helped me transition into the league,” Nate said. “This year, we’ve sort of grown closer over the years and living apart so we have a pretty strong friendship and we talk on a daily basis now.”

From the older brother’s perspective, Noah can’t help but be proud of what Nate has managed to do. The younger Danielson represented Canada at the 2020 Youth Olympics, and made a quick impression in WHL at 16.

“When he’s your little brother, it’s all the stuff from the Youth Olympics to playing in the Western at 16,” Noah said. “It’s been incredible to watch him grow up under me and just take new heights as a hockey player. Everything he has accomplished is pretty crazy.”

It’s an important game for both clubs. Medicine Hat hasn’t won since beating the Prince Albert Raiders on Oct. 22, a span of 10 games. The Tigers were 4-3-0-1 at that point but have dropped into the Eastern Conference basement since.

The seventh-place Wheat Kings (8-10-0-0) are four points up on the 12th-place Tigers (4-10-3-1) in the incredible conference logjam, where just six points separate the bottom eight clubs.

Brandon finishes up a six-game home stand — they are 3-1-0-0 so far — with tonight’s meeting against Medicine Hat and a Saturday game against Prince Albert (6-12-0-1).

The Wheat Kings then head out on a four-game road trip that ends with a return engagement with the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Dec. 4.

“They’ve been struggling obviously record-wise but they have some dangerous guys, they’ve been good on the power play,” MacGillivray said of the Tigers. “They’re always going to be a hard, fast team. We have to make sure we look after our game. That’s the most important thing. We’re trying got get our game to the point where we know what we’re getting every night.

“We’re getting closer. I’ve seen some real big progress on video after games where we’re getting better in certain areas.”

Brandon will be without defenceman Owen Harris, who was deemed to be the aggressor in a fight against the Swift Current Broncos and earned a one-game suspension. The team was also fined $500 for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the game. 

As well, the Wheat Kings will also be missing rookie defenceman Quinn Mantei, who is attending the Capital City Challenge under-17 event in Ottawa. The 16-year-old rookie left Tuesday morning.

Nate Danielson was part of the parade of a dozen Wheat Kings who have been sidelined this year, sustaining an upper-body injury on Oct. 23 at home in Red Deer against the Rebels that cost him five games. Rebels forward Jace Weir was handed a cross-checking major, game misconduct and four-game suspension for the hit.

It was the first serious injury of Nate’s career. He admitted it took some time to find his way when he got back.

“I think the first game was the one where the lungs didn’t feel great and I felt a little bit off,” Nate said. “The timing was a little bit off but I think after that first game it started to come back and I felt better.”

He’s hoping that trend continues tonight. He certainly has plenty of motivation to make an impact.

So how does the Danielson family define success in the game? Nate guesses he knows the answer.

“I think my dad just wants it to go to overtime and for one of us to score the overtime winner,” Nate said. 

ICINGS: Harris missed practice on Thursday due to illness … Ben Thornton is no longer wearing a red no-contact jersey in practice, signalling that he is ready to return to the lineup. He was injured on Oct. 30, but has missed just six games due to Brandon’s light schedule so far in November … Riley Ginnell is no longer wearing the full face shield that he donned after taking a puck in the face in Saskatoon on Oct. 13 … There hasn’t been a trade in the WHL since Roblin’s Aidan Brook was transferred from Medicine Hat to the Prince George Cougars on Nov. 12. That’s the longest stretch without a deal this season, but with the WHL draft being held on Dec. 8, that will likely change in a big way soon.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson

 

Brandon Wheat Kings vs Medicine Hat Tigers 

7 p.m. at Westoba Place.

6:45 p.m. (Bounce 96.1): 7 p.m. (WHL Live)

WHEAT KINGS

Record: 8-10-0-0, 16 points.

Players to watch:

Ridly Greig (13gp, 9g, 10a, 19pts).

Nolan Ritchie (18gp, 8g, 10a, 18pts).

Rylen Roersma (18gp, 8g, 7a, 15pts).

Goalies:

Ethan Kruger (5-5-0-0, 3.53 gaa, .893 pct).

Carson Bjarnason (3-4-0-0, 5.12 gaa, .866 pct).

Key injuries: Jake Chiasson, Ben Thornton.

Power play: 17.3 per cent (16th in WHL).

Penalty killing: 77.8 per cent (16th in WHL).

Total goals for/against: 56-79.

Last 10 games: 4-6-0-0.

Head to head vs. Medicine Hat: 0-0-0-0.

 

TIGERS

Record: 4-10-3-1, 12 points.

Players to watch:

Lukas Svejkovsky (16gp, 9g, 14a, 23pts).

Bogdans Hodass (18gp, 2g, 12a, 14pts).

Noah Danielson (18gp, 5g, 4a, 9pts).

Goalies:

Beckett Langkow (2-2-1-1, 3.13 gaa, .897 pct).

Garin Bjorklund (2-8-2-0 3.56 gaa, .887 pct).

Key injuries: Oren Shtrom, Corson Hopwo.

Power play: 22.1 per cent (8th in WHL).

Penalty killing: 79.7 per cent (14th in WHL).

Total goals for/against: 47-66.

Last 10 games: 0-7-3-0.

Head to head vs. Brandon: 0-0-0-0.

The Tigers are without second leading scorer Corson Hopwo (17gp, 7g, 7a, 14pts), who is out week to week with an upper-body injury … Brandonite Cayden Glover has an assist in nine games, with two penalty minutes and five shots on net. This will be his first trip back to Brandon for a WHL game … Oasiz Wiesblatt, the younger brother of Prince Albert Raiders star Ozzy, has six points in 18 games in his 17-year-old season.