U15 AA Wheaties overpowering competition

The Brandon Wheat Kings are on a scary run, and they’ve shown no signs of slowing down.

The Wheaties U15 AA squad has managed to chalk up at least one point in every game they’ve played this season, guiding the team to much success, even to the surprise of their coach.

“I’m not sure I expected us to be this good, but it’s great to see,” said first-year bench boss Tim Lang. “I really didn’t know what to expect, but you always hope that you’re going to go in and have a good year and have a solid club.

“When the team was picked, I knew that we were going to have a lot of skilled players, but it’s tough to predict how they compare to the rest of the teams.”

Let’s just say they’ve proved they match up just fine.

With its latest victory over the Winnipeg Wild Red at J&G Homes on Saturday night, Brandon’s overall record is now up to 27 wins, three ties and two losses, which both happened to be in overtime, meaning they have yet to lose in regulation.

In the Winnipeg Hockey League, the Wheat Kings are 16-0-2-2, sitting tied for first place with 36 points alongside the Thrashers Blue (18-1), who have one game in hand. Over that 20-game span, they’ve hit the back of the net 101 times — which is 20 more than any other club — and average more than five goals per game, while still managing just 32 goals against.

The most impressive stat line with this team, however, just might be how young they are.

More than half of the players on Lang’s team are actually still in their rookie season, with nine players born in 2012 and eight in 2011, which ranks as one of the youngest teams across the 12-team league. The league also dropped three Winnipeg clubs this year in hopes of increasing the quality of competition, so Brandon’s high-flying run certainly says more about it than who’s on the other side of centre.

Lang said one of the main reasons his club continues to pile up victories simply comes down to depth — and they have a lot of it. In fact, there won’t be a game when you won’t see all three forward lines and all three defensive pairs rolled out during any point in a game, even if it’s coming down to the wire. He trusts his players, and they’ve been shining through.

“When it comes to a certain key situation in the game, we’re comfortable putting out all nine forwards and all six defenceman,” he said. “We know that they can all handle it, and the fact that they’ve all already proven that they can gives us coaching staff a lot of confidence that at any time in the game we can throw whoever we want out there. Everyone plays power play and the penalty kill, and we’re getting contributions from everyone.

“That’s one of our biggest strengths is that we don’t have to hide players and I think that kind of gives us an advantage over some of the teams.”

While freshman forward Brody McNish leads his club in scoring with 35 goals and 68 points, and second-year players Keane Forsythe (19 g, 46 p), Cash Coleman (20 g, 37 p) and Andre Pashe (15 g, 28 p in only 14 games) all lead the charge offensively, every player among the forward group has at least eight goals.

Their depth has been challenged all year, as last weekend was the first time Lang had a full lineup at his disposal since the beginning of October due to injuries and illnesses, yet they still find themselves at the top of the league and have a championship banner to rally around.

In December, the Wheat Kings travelled west for the Regina Western Cycle Tournament and captured a gold medal after defeating the Saskatoon Terriers 5-1 in the final to complete the 6-0 sweep in the 32-team tournament, which also included some teams from Winnipeg, but mostly from Saskatchewan.

“That was kind of a nice little feather in our cap too,” Lang said of his team’s tournament triumph. “We played all teams from Saskatchewan in that tournament, and it was certainly a grind for our kids too because we had six games in four days, which can be tough at times.”

Like regular league play, McNish led the way with eight goals and 15 points, while seven other players — Forsythe, Coleman, Brady Baranyk, Emmitt Bell, Ben Ramirez Kilburn, Oliver Marvin and Kayde Jackson — also had at least five points. Rookie netminder Caden Mashinter and second-year goaltender Lyndan Spurway also had three wins each.

Now, with just over a handful of games left in the regular season, Brandon will hope to repeat its success from the neighbouring province by keeping those winning ways into the post-season, where they will undoubtedly be the favourites to come out on top. But Lang knows better than to let that get to his players’ heads.

“Sometimes when you have success, you can get a little bit complacent at times, but the kids have done a good job of focusing, and again, we’re trying as coaches to remind them that you can’t just put your equipment on and expect to go out on the ice and win,” he said. “The kids have gone out there, they’ve worked hard, and they seem committed, and they know what they have to do to be successful, so when we move our feet and we shoot the puck and we play well in our own end, we’re very tough to beat, and with our speed and size, I think we should be able to hopefully make some noise in the playoffs.”

And as all champions are well aware, it not only takes a strong work ethic but also a tight-knit locker room. Guys have to be willing to make sacrifices and play for each other, and Lang believes his team is more than capable of doing so.

“That’s probably the thing that I’m most proud of as a coach,” said Lang. “The wins and losses are great, but the fact they’re such a tight team is amazing. The dressing room’s always buzzing, and the kids are all getting along well and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about in hockey. They’re making friends for life here, and it’s great to see. I’m just really proud of the guys and the way they’ve kind of all pulled together.”

The Wheat Kings will have a chance to build up some insurance on their first-place grasp in the standings with two games this weekend, when they face the Thrashers Grey (8-8-3-1) at J&G Homes Arena on Saturday at 8:15 p.m., before heading out on the road to face the Wild Green in Winnipeg.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com