Wheat Kings enjoy life on the bus

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This article was published 18/01/2025 (243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While driving thousands of kilometres in a bus filled with two dozen teenagers might seem like the plot of a horror movie to some people, Brandon Wheat Kings captain Quinn Mantei said it’s one of the highlights of the Western Hockey League season.

His club, which was in action last night against the Everett Silvertips in a game that ended well after deadline, is making its longest road trip of the season with its annual journey to the Western Conference.

“It’s always a blast,” Mantei said. “It’s a lot of hours on the bus but it’s fun to be with the guys the whole time. It’s pretty much two weeks straight of being with the guys and that’s it. It can go a long way for us in bonding and spending some together.”

After beginning the trip with a 4-2 loss in Calgary on Sunday, the Wheat Kings rallied to beat the Victoria Royals 5-4 on Wednesday.

The trip continues when they face the Vancouver Giants on Sunday at 4 p.m., the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday at 9:05 p.m., the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday at 9 p.m., and the Prince George Cougars on Friday at 9 p.m.

The key to surviving the ordeal is staying occupied. If it’s late, Mantei will sleep, noting lots of guys bring their “bus beds,” along with iPads and movies. “We play lots of cards and have fun,” Mantei said. “It’s nice to be with the guys.”

They will certainly have lots of time to get their bus legs under them.

Here’s a look at their trip

• Brandon to Calgary — 1,119 kilometres.

• Calgary to Victoria, with an overnight stop in Kamloops — 1,074 km, plus ferry.

• Victoria to Everett — 252 km, plus ferry.

• Everett to Kelowna — 455 km.

• Kelowna to Kamloops — 166 km.

• Kamloops to Prince George — 529 km.

• Prince George to Brandon — 1,879 km.

• Total journey — 5,474 km, not counting trips back and forth between hotels, restaurants and rinks.

Different players handle the boredom in different ways.

Forward Dominik Petr, who is a floor guy on the bus, tends to sleep or watch movies. With the latter, they could be in English or Czech depending on what it is.

“It’s also a way to learn English so I’m watching most of them in English,” Petr said of his movie-watching preferences. “I can still learn some new words.”

Third-year forward Caleb Hadland has a few ways to pass the time.

“Lots of cards, and then there is listening to music and maybe turning on a TV show or something on my phone if we’re in quiet time,” Hadland said. “Usually I’m playing cards.”

There is a rigid hierarchy to where people sit. The coaches, broadcaster and team staff are at the very front of the bus near the driver, with the rookies directly behind them. Players move back every season as they older, with the rear of the bus reserved for the three overagers.

Hadland is in his 18-year-old season, so he’s slowly getting some distance from the coaches.

“As you get older, you get back a little farther every year, which tends to open up a little bit more space,” Hadland said. “It’s nice. You get a little more freedom back there and it’s a little more comfortable for sure.”

The arrangement seems to make sense to everyone involved. “Rooks know to sit closer to the front, as always,” 16-year-old defencemen Nigel Boehm added. “We all seem to enjoy it. Our vets are really good.”

While the most egregious rookie hazing is long gone from the game — and when it was more widespread elsewhere was apparently dealt with swiftly if anyone tried it in the Wheat Kings organization during the Kelly McCrimmon era — the newcomers do have some light duties as they learn the ropes in major junior.

One of their jobs is the deceptively tricky job of loading and unloading the bus, and this year’s group of eight rookies has apparently taken some pride in doing good work.

Gio Pantelas is joined on the squad of newcomers by his fellow defencemen Boehm, Dylan Ronald and Adam Belusko, and forwards Jaxon Jacobson, Brady Turko, Ben Binder Nord and the injured Easton Odut, who didn’t make the trip.

“The whole rookie crew we have, we’re probably the best rookie crew they’ve seen in a while,” Pantelas said. “I’ve heard Klip (Carter Klippenstein) was really good but we get everything in as quick as possible and get it out even quicker. It’s actually really good.”

After trips, the rookies may have to pick up after the veterans if the garbage fills up, grabbing things like discarded water bottles.

“I think the main thing is keeping the bus clean, especially when you’re on the road for two weeks,” overage forward Marcus Nguyen said. “You don’t want to get onto a bus where there’s water bottles everywhere, snack wrappers on the floor. That’s the biggest thing for the young guys. I had to go through it too, picking up after.”

Pantelas tries to get as much rest as he can during trips, and listens to music while hoping they arrive at their next destination soon.

He said the key to life on the bus is respecting the people around you.

“Really you just have to make sure that your spot is clean,” Pantelas said. “At the end of the bus, we go back and make sure everything is clean. For the most part it’s usually clean. It’s just cleaning up after yourself and not being annoying, but that’s more of a personal requirement and less than we expect it. As a person, don’t be a bad person.”

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