Wheat Kings edging back way to healthy

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings are getting closer to healthy, but there are still bumps and bruises along the road for the Western Hockey League club.

The Wheat Kings, who host the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight at Westoba Place at 7 o’clock, will have overage defenceman Luke Shipley and rookie forward Jaxon Jacobson back in the lineup. Forward Jordan Gavin also missed practice on Tuesday but is also expected to suit up.

“It’s really exciting to reach our full potential,” Jacobson said as his team slowly recovers from a seemingly never-ending spate of injuries. “We haven’t had that since Roger (McQueen) has been out. I think once we get all our guys back, we’ll be a serious threat to every team in the league.”

Brandon still hasn’t had its entire lineup available for a game, and since forward Easton Odut is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, it’s unlikely to happen this season.

The Wheat Kings could be without a pair of their most rugged forwards tonight. Ben Binder Nord’s status is uncertain as he deals with an upper-body injury he suffered on Feb. 18, while Carter Klippenstein was hurt in Saturday’s game in Swift Current against the Broncos and is day to day.

His status for tonight’s outing will likely be a game-time decision.

Meanwhile, McQueen and defenceman Merrek Arpin could be back as early as next week. McQueen, who is projected to be a top-10 pick in the next National Hockey League draft, hasn’t played since he suffered an upper-body injury on Oct. 11, while the recently acquired Arpin was hurt at the end of a game against the Prince Albert Raiders on Jan. 31.

He’s still only played three games with Brandon since the deal with the Tri-City Americans on Jan. 7 that sent defenceman Charlie Elick the other way. Arpin also missed a significant stretch when he was called away to attend to a family emergency.

Brandon should have at least 11 forwards and six defencemen in the lineup tonight because they brought Raiden Zacharias back from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires.

The 18-year-old forward from Saskatoon, who turns 19 on Saturday, has played eight games with the Wheat Kings this season and has an assist.

“It’s always good to be back here,” Zacharias said. “I found out (Monday) night and couldn’t be happier that I have another opportunity here.”

Zacharias, a good friend of McQueen since they grew up and played together in Saskatoon, said he was quick to get back into the swing of things this time when he arrived at the Keystone Centre on Tuesday morning.

“Every time I come back and the longer I’m here, it’s just easier to come back,” Zacharias said. “I came into the room today and everybody seemed really excited. I’m happy to be here.”

He isn’t sure how long he’ll be around, instead taking it day by day.

Someone who is back to stay is Shipley.

The overage defenceman was injured on a vicious hit by Wenatchee Wild forward Shaun Rios on Feb. 5, which earned the forward a six-game suspension for checking to the head. While Shipley briefly returned that night, he subsequently missed eight games.

“It’s been really tough,” Shipley said. “I’ve never really been injured through my career. I’ve missed a couple of games but never a stretch this long so it’s been hard. I found ways to get better and I just tried to get through it. I spent a lot of time with teammates and tried to keep the mind busy. It’s lonely in your head but you find light at the end of the tunnel and see yourself getting better and see yourself coming back and playing.”

He was able to do virtually everything other than play — he was still restricted to no contact — so after a few days of being sore he began to get back at it.

“I feel good coming back,” Shipley said. “I don’t feel like I’ve been away for three weeks.”

He will have to wear a full shield to protect his face, which he admitted has been a bit of a transition. But he’s adjusting, which is a good thing because he’ll likely have it for the rest of the season.

“It could be worse than a bubble,” Shipley said. “A little bit of your vision is gone but I’m sure I’ll be OK.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse for Shipley, who has been playing the best hockey of his five-year WHL career. Prior to the game he got hurt in, he had eight goals and 16 assists in the 17 games after the Christmas break.

He has a career-high of 45 points in 47 games this season.

“It stings,” Shipley said. “Hopefully I can continue it. There’s no doubt I was playing my best hockey. I still feel confident and feel I have the ability to do what I’ve been doing but it’s going to take a few games to get back to it.”

Brandon will also be happy to have Jacobson back.

The team’s first-round pick in 2023 left practice on Feb. 6 after going down awkwardly near the boards in the south end of Westoba Place. He had to be helped from the ice and was clearly in some discomfort.

“It was a really tough situation,” Jacobson said. “I’m happy to be going in the right direction now and just happy to get back at it.”

The youngster, who turned 16 on Dec. 11, has 12 goals and 24 assists in 43 games this season.

Both he and Shipley said it was nice to see the team play well in their absence. While Brandon has dropped its last two games, it was 8-0-1-1 in its previous 10 despite playing with 15 skaters some nights.

“It was good,” Jacobson said. “It’s a pretty important time of the year obviously with playoffs coming up and trying to secure the first spot in the East Division. Getting some wins was huge for us. We’ll try to get back in the win column (tonight).”

Shipley agreed.

“The guys have been battling for sure,” Shipley said. “It’s always tough when you’re out watching because you feel like you want to be out there helping and contributing but they’ve been battling hard and playing unreal. There is a lot of grit in that locker room showing. They can do it whether they’re short bodies and it’s great to see, especially as an older guy.

“We want to keep winning, we want to keep moving up and have the best chance to go as far as we possibly can in the playoffs.”

Tonight’s matchup for fifth-place Brandon (30-18-4-3) is seventh-place Edmonton (31-21-2-2).

The teams have met twice this season, with the Wheat Kings winning 3-1 in Brandon on Oct. 4 and 5-1 in Edmonton on Dec. 1.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the Oil Kings are a good club.

“We’ve only seen them twice this year and both have been close games,” Murray said. “They’re really talented. I think a lot of teams around the league are banged up a little bit including us and them so it will probably have a playoff feel I’m guessing. They have some real high-end offensive guys we have to be aware of and they’re solid throughout.”

Barring a playoff matchup, it could be the last trip to Brandon for overage forward Rylen Roersma, who the Wheat Kings dealt to the Oil Kings on Sept. 24 for a pair of draft picks so that they could get down to the league limit of three overagers.

“We’ve had some success against them but it’s not a team to lightly at all,” Jacobson said of the Oil Kings. “They’re pretty offensively gifted and they work hard. It’s also a game where they’re pretty close to us in the standings so it’s a huge two points for us.”

Brandon’s next seven games are all against Alberta clubs. After tonight’s game, the Lethbridge Hurricanes visit on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers skate into town on Saturday. Brandon heads west on Monday morning for their last extended road trip of the year, meeting the Red Deer Rebels next Tuesday, Edmonton on Wednesday, Lethbridge on Friday and Calgary on Sunday.

Their final six games of the regular season are against East Division opponents, with four of them at home before the season wraps up on March 22.

ICINGS: Medicine Hat star Gavin McKenna is awaiting the length of his suspension after a vicious two-handed slash on the legs and arm of Edmonton defenceman Josh Mori that broke his stick. He earned a slashing major and game misconduct: It will be interesting to see how the league handles some pre-meditated violence by one of its most marketable young players …Saskatoon Blades forward Tyler Parr has announced his commitment to Union College for the 2026-27 season after his final year of WHL eligibility.

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