Boyce finds way to Wheat Kings

Ryan Boyce’s path to the Brandon Wheat Kings had a twist in it, but he’s ended up where he always hoped he would be one day.

Brandon picked the 17-year-old Calgarian in the fifth round, 94th overall, in the 2023 Western Hockey League draft, but he decided he wanted to play college hockey instead. After attending Brandon’s camp at 15 but skipping last year’s training camp at 16, the hockey world changed for him in November when the NCAA opened itself up to major junior players.

“I was pretty excited about it,” Boyce said. “Obviously I wanted to play in Brandon. They’re the team that drafted me.I thought it kind of sucked that I couldn’t come here and still play college, which was my plan. Once I head the news, I immediately thought ‘I want to go back to Brandon the following year.’

“I’m glad it worked out like that. It was everything I imagined.”

Boyce He hasn’t committed to an American school yet.

After attending Brandon’s camp in the fall of 2023, Boyce joined Edge School’s under-17 prep team, where he had 10 goals, 18 assists and 30 penalty minutes in 29 games while serving as an alternate captain. In three playoff games, he added two goals and two assists.

JUNIOR JUMP

When it came time to selecting where to play for the 2024-25 season, he ultimately chose the Okotoks Oilers. They were one of five Alberta Junior Hockey League franchises to make the jump to the unsanctioned BCHL in January 2024, along with the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints.

The five-foot-10, 177-pound Boyce said it seemed like it would be a good fit.

“I had talked with the coaches out in Okotoks for a while, a couple of years, and built a relationship with them,” Boyce said. “They told me they saw me fitting in on their team and in their program so I thought I was good enough and mature enough to make the jump. You get some experience playing junior.”

Amazingly, since the rink in Okotoks was just a 15-minute drive from his family’s home in south Calgary, he was actually closer to the Viking Rentals Centre in Okotoks than the Ken Bracko Arena the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Calgary Canucks play in.

Boyce finished with seven goals and eight assists in 41 BCHL games, with 10 of those 15 points coming in the final 16 games.

“It was tough in the first half of the season adjusting from U17,” Boyce said. “I skipped U18 and went straight to the BCHL so obviously it was a big jump but as I kept going I gained more confidence and got bigger and stronger, which helped me a lot throughout the season. “Especially in February, I turned it on a lot better than I had been. I felt pretty confident in the second half especially.”

Even so, Boyce has always been a player judged by more than just his offensive output alone.

After the 2023 draft, Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said Boyce brought a lot of positives.

“Ryan is complete,” Moulton said in May 2023. “He’s super smart, a competitor, really creative with the puck yet an incredibly responsible, 200-foot game. He’s the type of player who can be on the ice whether you’re winning or losing with a minute left.”

Brandon grabbed him after his draft year in which played with the Edge School’s under-15 prep team, scoring 17 goals and adding 20 assists in 30 games. He was held without a point in three games with the U17 club.

Boyce thinks since he was drafted, his game has taken a big step forward.

“I’ve changed a lot,” Boyce said. “I’m more physical than I was. I think my biggest asset now is my speed and forechecking and getting on D men and creating turnovers. I also have pretty solid offensive ability, a good shot, good hands. If I can utilize those as much as I can, I can be a pretty good player in the offensive zone, and I think I’m a 200-foot player as well. “I’m responsible in the D zone, I can hit guys, I’ll fight if need be. I think I’m pretty versatile and can have different roles.”

The 2023 draft proved to be a good one for the Wheat Kings, with the team signing Boyce, Jaxon Jacobson, Gio Pantelas, Nigel Boehm, Isaac Davies (who the Penticton Vees claimed in the expansion draft), Dylan McFadyen and Cameron Allard.

Injured defenceman Jack Swaenepoel of Souris also remains in the team’s plans.

On top of that, in the U.S. Priority draft, Brandon snagged rookie forward Jimmy Egan in the second round, and in the summer of 2024 traded first rounder Reed Brown to the Portland Winterhawks for overage forward Marcus Nguyen.

NEXT STEP

Even with his pedigree, Boyce came into training camp with his eyes wide open, understanding how hard it would be to snag a spot. Ultimately, he was one of the rookies who played his way onto the roster — the others are Chase Surkan, Prabh Bhathal, Gunnar Gleasman and Egan — while Carson Ralph, Asher Lucas and veteran Ben Binder Nord were all reassigned.

That made the day he found out he was staying that much more special.

“I was shocked a little bit,” Boyce said. “Coming into camp, there were maybe two or three spots that were up for grabs and I knew it was going to be tough so I had to work hard every shift. Hearing the news they were taking me was so exciting. I immediately called my parents (Richard and Christine) and my advisor and let them know and they had nothing but joy for me and were proud. It was a fun night.”

While that’s the first step, now he has to prove he belongs. He’s dressed in two of the team’s three games so far as the team has a couple of healthy scratches every night.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said like all young players, Boyce has a steep learning curve ahead of him.

“He has some junior experience, played in the BCHL last year,” Murray said. “He plays the game at a pretty good pace and he competes pretty hard. I think it’s getting his feet wet and understanding what it takes to be an every-day player.

“Consistency from shift to shift is going to be critical for him finding a regular spot or being in the lineup. It’s early on and he’s made some strides and some impressions and I think there’s another level to get to as well.”

Part of that will be getting accustomed to the players themselves. While the BCHL is considered a good Junior A league, it’s not major junior, and Boyce quickly discovered there is a big difference.

“I think the biggest thing from the BCHL is the skill,” Boyce said. “You’ll see a lot more plays being made in the WHL and a lot more goals in the WHL. The BCHL is, I wouldn’t say dump and chase, but it’s a little grind-ier than the Dub. Guys are definitely bigger in the Dub but the biggest thing is the skill.”

The other transition is off the ice.

Boyce came to Brandon as a junior hockey veteran who had never lived away from home, which is a fairly rare commodity. That meant the move was a big one, but he said it’s gone smoothly, including with academic advisor Glenda Zelmer.

“It’s been great,” Boyce said. “It hasn’t been too big of a transition. The billets are amazing, they treat me so well. They do everything I need, so that’s been great. The schooling with the counsellor, Glenda, she’s great with helping us with everything we need and making sure we have all the courses that are required of us. All the school guys are together in the classroom so that’s really good. We all know each other and are not going into a classroom blind and alone two provinces away.”

That’s especially important with the fact that players can now play college hockey. While Boyce always wanted to headed south, he’s finding everyone shares his concerns about how he hits the books.

“I always took school seriously because there’s no guarantee hockey is going to work out for anybody,” Boyce said. “You definitely have to dial in because schools and coaches look at grades almost equally to your athletic ability. You always have to be good in both departments, school and athletics, and character.”

On the ice, Boyce is intent on finding a way to help his new club prosper. And as a newcomer, he’s willing to make that contribution in whatever way is needed.

“I think my biggest goal is to be a guy the coaches can count on up and down the lineup and in different situations,” Boyce said. “Coming in as a rookie, you’re not going to be a point guy like you were in U17. It’s finding a role and doing that to perfection to help the team win, whatever they need you to do.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com