WHL NOTEBOOK: Roersma set to close book on WHL career

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This article was published 04/03/2025 (198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Rylen Roersma was a 16-year-old Western Hockey League rookie, the veterans told him his career would fly by.

It’s only now he understands how right they were. The 20-year-old Edmonton Oil Kings forward, who spent the first four seasons of his WHL career with the Brandon Wheat Kings, knows he’ll be losing something when this season ends.

“It’s always a tale that the older guys tell,” Roersma said. “Everybody thinks junior hockey is the best four or five years of your life that you play. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Roersma was selected as part of the bounty of picks Brandon received in the Tanner Kaspick and Kale Clague deals in 2018. The left-shooting forward was picked 16th overall in 2019 after Brandon had already taken Nate Danielson and Tyson Zimmer.

“That’s going to be a memory I cherish,” Roersma said of draft day. “I remember my phone overflowing with texts. It was a pretty special day that I spent with my family. Obviously they were proud of me. It was a great feeling.”

His Brandon adventure began that spring with prospects camp, and he got comfortable really quickly. That wasn’t a huge surprise for the personable Roersma, who is an elite skater.

“Ever since I was 15 and going to my first camp, I always felt like it was pretty much a second home for me there,” Roersma said. “I had an amazing experience with my billets, Rob and Ericka Fowler. They really did a lot for me and I’ll appreciate them forever. It was a great experience there in Brandon.”

Unfortunately for him, his playing experience didn’t actually begin in Brandon. He’s among the cohort of rookies who began their WHL careers during the infamous 2020-21 season in which the Wheat Kings joined the other Manitoba and Saskatchewan teams in the Regina hub due to the pandemic.

“It was definitely a crazy time in all of our lives,” Roersma said. “I think it was a pretty neat experience. I wouldn’t say I’d want to do anything else. It’s pretty cool to be able to tell people stories about the hub, people who didn’t get to experience what we were going through there.”

The Wheat Kings lived in one of the University of Regina’s residences, Paskwaw Tower. Each pod has four bedrooms and two bathrooms connected by a common area, and the players were restricted to socializing in that area.

“After the first week when we had to be completely isolated, the guys would get together and we would play poker,” Roersma said. “Poker consumed most of our days, especially off days, but even practice days.”

When they weren’t playing cards, the team went 18-4-2-0 and won the seven-team, 24-game event.

Roersma said the fact the team was winning made the experience that much easier.

“We had a pretty successful season that year,” Roersma said. “Too bad we didn’t extend it into a normal playoff series. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be on the bottom of the totem pole there.”

The fleet forward didn’t make his regular season debut in Brandon until the next season on Oct. 1, 2021. By that time he was settling into the league after suiting up for 17 games in the hub.

“When you’re a rookie in the league, it takes a little while to adjust,” Roersma said. “The league is a lot harder, a lot faster, and you’re pretty much playing against adults. It was definitely a big adjustment. You’re not going to be able to get away with high-risk plays like you would in midget.”

While he was working on his game on the ice, he was working on himself off the ice. While most people grow up pretty dramatically between 15 and 20, Roersma said being a part of the major junior pressure cooker helped him a lot.

“Every single year brought a lot more experience,” Roersma said. “I think the Western Hockey League teaches you a lot of important values, like time management and working as a team and putting team first. Every year you acquire more knowledge and it makes you better as a person.”

Roersma had 19 goals in both his 17-year-old and 18-year-old seasons, and broke through with his 20th goal as a 19-year-old.

Coming into Brandon’s training camp in the fall of 2024, he was one of four overagers competing for three spots, along with defenceman Luke Shipley and forwards Marcus Nguyen and Nolan Flamand

On Sept. 25, Roersma was dealt to Edmonton for a second-round pick in the 2026 draft and a fifth-round pick in 2027.

“It’s always nice to mix it up and have new things,” Roersma said of the deal. “When I got traded it kind of caught me a little bit off guard but I think I landed in a great spot. Edmonton has been nothing but great for me. We have a really great group of guys here, a really closely knit group. Hopefully we can make a good run here in the playoffs.”

Roersma played 215 games with the Wheat Kings over four seasons. The five-foot-11, 186-pound forward contributed 60 goals, 66 assists, 126 points and 126 penalty minutes in that time, and has 25 points in 49 games with Edmonton this season.

Roersma lives in the southwest area of Edmonton, a city that is now home to 1.2 million people. Since his hometown of Raymond — located 35 kilometres southeast of Lethbridge — has 4,100 people and his second home of Brandon has around 52,000, it’s been a new experience.

“It’s definitely different,” Roersma said. “The traffic to the rink and everything is a lot different than Brandon too. You don’t have those five-minute drives to the rink every day, it’s more like 30, 35 back and forth.”

In bad traffic, it might take an hour.

As one of the senior statesmen on the Oil Kings along with fellow overagers Josh Mori and his buddy, Lethbridge product Marshall Finnie, Roersma has taken on the responsibility of helping out the younger players.

“I try to be a role model as best as I can, especially for the guys coming into the league,” Roersma said. “When we’re on the road, we usually room with some of the younger guys too and take them under our wing. That’s really important to me.

In a way, he’s paying back a five-year-old debt. When the Wheat Kings were in the Regina hub, Roersma and Danielson roomed for the two months with the team’s top returning forwards, Ridly Greig and Ben McCartney.

Brandon took 10 players in the first 106 picks in the 2019 draft, including the two other first rounders, Danielson at five and Zimmer at six.

Danielson, Zimmer, Zach Turner, Jesiah Bennett, Owen Harris and Nick Jones suited up with the Wheat Kings, but Roersma is the last man standing in the WHL with Danielson now in pro and Zimmer playing in the BCHL.

Happily, Roersma had one last chance to celebrate his roots.

The Oil Kings made their first trip of the season to Brandon on Oct. 4, just after the deal was made, and then didn’t return until last Wednesday. It was a nice opportunity for Roersma to say goodbye.

“It was a pretty special game for me being back there,” Roersma said. “The other game I played back there this year was a week after I got traded so that was kind of a tight turn-around. It wasn’t really a full comeback experience like this last game in Brandon was.

“It was definitely an emotional game for me. I appreciated every moment I had in Brandon so it was always going to be special to me.”

Roersma is talking to NCAA schools, and will likely carry on with his hockey career in the college ranks. But regardless of what comes next, when he looks back at his junior experience, it won’t be wins and losses he thinks about.

“I think the biggest thing was just making new friendships and spending time with the guys,” Roersma said. “That’s the highlight of my junior career.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — How many times in Brandon’s WHL history has one player led the Wheat Kings in goals, assists and points in a season? Can you name any of them?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 19-year-old Victoria Royals forward Teydon Trembecky of Sherwood Park, Alta., who had four goals and one assist in two games. The former Wheat King, who was involved in the trade that brought defenceman Luke Shipley and eventually Matteo Michels to Brandon, has 42 goals this season.

The goaltender of the week is overage Calgary Hitmen netminder Daniel Hauser of Chestermere, Alta., who won the award for a second week in a row as he posted shutouts in his two starts. He now has four consecutive shutouts, including a 5-0 blanking of the Wheat Kings. Hauser is committed to the University of Wisconsin.

The rookie of the week is Red Deer Rebels defenceman Luke Vlooswyk, who turned 18 in January. The big blue-liner from Calgary had a goal and four assists in two games.

• SIN BIN — It’s been another busy week in the league office.

— Wenatchee forward Shaun Rios apparently didn’t learn his lesson after earning a six-game suspension for an ugly hit on Wheat Kings defenceman Luke Shipley in Brandon on Feb. 5. The California product is now awaiting the length of his next suspension under supplemental discipline against Tri-City on March 1. It was his fourth game back in the lineup.

— Spokane forward Preston Mathis received two games under supplemental discipline against Wenatchee on Feb. 28

— Prince Albert forward Rilen Kovacevic received one game for a kneeing major and game misconduct against Lethbridge on Feb. 26

— Edmonton forward Marshall Finnie received one game for receiving his fourth checking to the head/elbowing minor against Moose Jaw on Feb. 25

— Medicine Hat star forward Gavin McKenna received three games for a slashing major and game misconduct against Edmonton on Feb. 23.

— Portland was fined $250 for a warmup violation at Everett on Feb. 21.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Detroit Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson, 20, has spent the 2024-25 season with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, where he has seven goals, 21 assists and 31 penalty minutes in 53 games. Danielson spent four seasons in the WHL — the first was in the Regina hub — and had 217 points in 199 games. All but 28 of those games were with Brandon. Danielson, who was picked fifth overall in 2019, served as co-captain with Nolan Ritchie for the 2022-23 season, and was captain when he was dealt to the Portland Winterhawks on Jan. 9, 2024 for a package of picks and players.

• BIRTHDAY BOYS — Ray Allison (March 4, 1959), Ty Lewis (March 5, 1998), Caleb Hadland (March 6, 2006), Chad Nychuk (March 6, 2001), Brett Dickie (March 8, 1983), Brett Thurston (March 8, 1982), Peter Quenneville (March 9, 1994), Scott Olson (March 9, 1959), Rob Puchniak (March 10, 1971), Darren Ritchie (March 10, 1974).

• THE WEEK AHEAD — The Wheat Kings head west for an Alberta swing that includes games against the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday, Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday, Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and Calgary Hitmen on Sunday. Their next home game is on March 12 when they also are holding a Legends game featuring Team Bryan Trottier vs. Team Brian Propp.

• CELEBRATION — The Wheat Kings are hosting their annual Black & Gold Gala at the Keystone Centre on Thursday, March 13. Bryan Propp will be on hand — he’s playing in the NHL legends game the night before — and will be inducted into the Brandon Wheat Kings Hall of Fame. Tickets are available by contacting the Wheat Kings office at 204-726-3535.

• ANSWER — It’s happened 15 times since Brandon joined the WHL in the 1967-68 season.

— 1970-71 — Ron Chipperfield, 40g, 43a, 83p.

— 1975-76 — Dale McMullin, 56g, 74a, 130p.

— 1978-79 — Brian Propp, 94g, 100a, 194p.

— 1982-83 — Kelly Glowa, 71g, 92a, 163p.

— 1985-86 — Byron Lomow, 52g, 67a, 119p.

— 1986-87 — Terry Yake, 44g, 58a, 102p.

— 1991-92 — Bobby House, 35g, 42a, 77p.

— 1996-97 — Peter Schaefer, 49g, 74a, 123p.

— 1997-98 — Cory Cyrenne, 47g, 71a, 118p.

— 1998-99 — Ryan Robson, 33g, 61a, 94p.

— 2001-02 — Jordin Tootoo, 32g, 39a, 71p.

— 2014-15 — Tim McGauley, 42g, 63a, 105p.

— 2017-18 — Ty Lewis, 44g, 56a, 100p.

— 2018-19 — Stelio Mattheos, 44g, 52a, 96p.

— 2022-23 — Nate Danielson, 33g, 45a, 78p.