Allard capitalizes on Wheat Kings call-up

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This article was published 21/02/2025 (288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An old hockey axiom holds that one player’s misfortune is another player’s opportunity, and it’s working out nicely for Cameron Allard.

The six-foot-two, 190-pound defenceman from Yorkton, Sask., has spent the last couple of weeks with the Brandon Wheat Kings in a mid-season call-up after upper-body injuries knocked blue-liners Luke Shipley and Merrek Arpin out of the lineup.

“I think it’s huge,” Allard said. “Coming up and being with the guys is a big thing. I’m starting to create those bonds. I think another good experience is the U18 level for me. I’m getting lots of playing time, getting some leadership experience and that’s just going to help me later on in my Western League career hopefully.

“It’s nice to come up and experience games so I can get my feet wet and hit it running in full stride next year.”

Allard and the Wheat Kings meet the Calgary Hitmen in Western Hockey League action tonight at Westoba Place. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

Brandon drafted Allard in the eighth round with the 160th pick overall in 2023, and he became the sixth member of the 11-player draft class to sign when he put pen to paper in April 2024, joining forwards Jaxon Jacobson and Isaac Davies, defencemen Giorgos Pantelas and Nigel Boehm, and goalie Dylan McFadyen.

With four other rookie defencemen making the club — Pantelas, Boehm, Slovakian Adam Belusko and Dylan Ronald — the Wheat Kings ultimately decided he would be best served with one more season in under-18, so he was sent to the Estevan Bears in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League.

Allard admitted it was disappointing, although he noted he had been cut before, most recently for a U13 AA team.

“When I talked to (Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray), it was obviously for developmental purposes,” Allard said. “It’s tough when you want to keep three 16-year-old defencemen but it’s unrealistic. You have to get everyone into a certain amount of games and it just wasn’t going to work. He thought it would be better for me to head back to Estevan rather than Junior A in say, Yorkton, and go and develop my game there. He knows the coach pretty well, Ryan Pilon, who played in Brandon for a little bit.

“It was just going back, logging lots of minutes, being a veteran in that league and being a leader. It’s been a good experience all around.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s been without some road bumps.

In a mid-season look at Brandon’s prospects in December, Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said Allard took the news hard but rebounded quickly.

“When their expectation is to play (in Brandon) and we release them, sometimes it takes a little bit of time,” Moulton said. “He didn’t have a very good start when he went back and then Cam came back into the kid we loved last year and now he’s back to old Cam.

“His coaches do a great job with him. He’s big, he’s smart, he moves the puck, he does a lot of things and lately he’s been playing his best hockey. Cam is going to be a helluva Wheat King for us. He’s been great in Estevan.”

Allard said Moulton was right, admitting there was a transition as he adjusted to a disappointing turn of events.

“I had a little bit of a slow start,” Allard said. “I think it was adjusting to what happened because obviously it was a bit of a change from the Western League level to U18. It took me a little bit of time to find my groove again but once I found, I found it for sure.”

Allard, who turned 17 on Jan. 11, has five goals, 28 assists, 33 points and 18 penalty minutes in 39 games.

The right-shooting blue-liner was called up by the Wheat Kings just after the Christmas break, getting into three games in the first four days of 2025. He returned to Brandon after injuries on the back end and up front left the team with just 15 healthy skaters.

In seven games he has an assist, which came off one of Joby Baumuller’s goals in Saskatoon on Monday.

Murray said Allard has made a great impression this season.

“I think he’s making some nice strides,” Murray said. “He’s one of those diamonds in the rough in the draft — he was taken in the eighth round — and those ones really help. Everyone’s first and second-round picks usually turn out but if you can hit on a late-round pick like that, it’s a big deal. Cam seems to be one of those guys who is going to be a real good player in the league.

“We’re excited about the steps he’s taken, and even the first time around he’s contributed in a lot of areas.”

Allard, who played in four pre-season contests, said there is a massive difference between U18 and major junior. He noted as he’s gotten used to one thing, new things stand out.

“In my first couple of games it was the speed, but now that I’ve adjusted to that, I’ve found it’s more the hockey IQ of all the players,” Allard said. “Everyone knows where they have to be at certain times. It’s just so smooth. They snap the puck around tape to tape a lot nicer than it happens in U18.

“It’s a minimal-mistake game. Whoever makes more mistakes is probably losing that hockey game.”

Long term, the big defenceman is expected to blossom into something special. Murray is eager to watch it happen over the coming seasons.

“He can run the power play for sure,” Murray said. “He has the ability to move the puck and he’s smart and he can snap it through traffic. He’s a pretty good skater for his size. He’s still going to get stronger and mature physically, which will really help him as well.

“I’m excited. I think he could be a pro prospect at some point if he keeps on his trajectory.”

TONIGHT’S GAME

With an 8-0-1-1 record in its last 10 games, Brandon (30-16-4-3, 67 points) has worked its way into the top spot in the East Division, which has vaulted it into second in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Central Division leaders, the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Calgary (35-15-3-2, 75 points), which has eight more points than Brandon, sits third in the conference because the two division leaders earn the top seeds.

The Wheat Kings have met the Hitmen twice this season, winning 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 26 in Brandon, and falling 4-2 on Jan. 12 in Calgary as the Manitoba club worked its way west for its annual West Coast trip.

The Wheat Kings will certainly have to be mindful of Calgary high-scoring duo of Oliver Tulk (55gp, 35g, 54a, 89pts) and Ben Kindel (52gp, 30g, 55a, 85pts), who have lit them up for a combined eight points this season.

Kindel will return for Calgary after serving a two-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct versus the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday.

“We’re going to have to be aware when they’re on the ice for sure,” Murray said. “Their depth is really good and their high end is really good as well. Nothing is going to change. You have to recognize who you’re on the ice against and be ready. We have to make sure we’re managing the puck, we can’t be trading chances with them.”

Brandon has one other game this weekend, visiting the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. After tonight’s action, the Wheat Kings have 14 games remaining in the regular season, with their finale in Regina against the Pats on March 22.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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