WHL NOTEBOOK: Temple endures tumultuous season

Cole Temple has ridden a hockey roller coaster this season, with the high point coming in his hometown earlier this month.

The 18-year-old Brandonite, who was dealt to the Red Deer Rebels by the Everett Silvertips on Jan. 2, was playing his second game with his new team and earned an assist in a 4-0 Rebels victory at Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Jan. 7.

It was his first trip to Brandon since his old club, the Regina Pats, played back-to-back nights here on Nov. 15 and 16, 2024.

“That was my favourite game of hockey I’ve ever played in my whole life,” Temple said. “I had a smile on my face the whole time. I just tried to take it in and smile about it. I played in Brandon with Regina when I was 16 and 17, but not being back for a while and coming in here as a Red Deer Rebel and being able to play lots of minutes in my hometown was definitely very special.

“I’m definitely going to cherish that, and obviously getting the 4-0 win definitely puts the cherry on top. That feels very good.”

The five-foot-10, 168-pound, left-shooting forward has certainly learned that major junior is never boring.

The fifth-overall pick by Regina in 2022 was in his second season with the Pats when he was unexpectedly dealt to the Everett Silvertips one-for-one for forward Julien Maze on Nov. 27, 2024.

“It definitely was surprising,” Temple said. “The first time being traded is very hard. It was definitely very hard on me going to a new place, not knowing anyone and going to a full new organization and team. As I got there and got comfortable with the guys, it turned out to be amazing.”

It didn’t hurt that his Regina linemate Jaxsin Vaughan was also acquired by Everett 11 days earlier. The Silvertips also had fellow Brandonite Nolan Chastko, who was an age group ahead of him in minor hockey.

But moving to a new country at age 17 is a big step for anyone, and it had its challenges.

“It was a huge transition,” Temple said. “It’s almost like a whole new league going from the East Division down to the States. The first thing I really noticed is how passionate the fans are down there. The fanbase each team gets down there is truly amazing.

“It feels like a different league, especially in Everett. They have packed that big barn almost night, which makes it so much better for playing there. It was definitely a huge change, but change was good for me.”

Temple had 12 points in 22 games with Regina when he was dealt but 30 points in 42 games after he arrived in Everett, including 13 goals.

“I used that trade as motivation to try and push myself to be a better hockey player,” Temple said. “Obviously I was going to a better team in the standings. Going to a new team and the adrenalin and wanting to prove myself and wanting to make an impact for that team pushed me to push it every night on the ice.”

ON THE MOVE

He doesn’t really set major expectations for himself — “Or else that’s all I’ll think about” — but it would have been natural for him to have high hopes for his 18-year-old season after posting a combined 42 points in 64 games and meriting some attention from Central Scouting.

Instead, Temple was seeing minutes as a third-line winger with former Pats Vaughan and Zackary Shantz on a loaded Silvertips roster, and he simply wasn’t producing, with one goal and eight assists in 34 games.

It came to a head on Jan. 2 when he and American defenceman Cameron Dillard were sent to the Red Deer Rebels for big defenceman Luke Vlooswyk and a fifth-round pick in 2027.

“I was not anticipating it at all,” Temple said. “I never even really had a thought about it, although I was having a slow start to the year.”

He found out when he went to the rink for practice and was called into an office. While it’s easy for Monday morning quarterbacks around the league to call for their team to be rebuilt with trade after trade, it’s harder on the young players who are actually affected.

That includes everything from saying goodbye to teammates and billets to packing up and figuring out how to get a vehicle to the new city.

“It’s definitely very difficult,” Temple said. “Not only difficult as in packing all your stuff and moving across the country and figuring all that stuff out, but it’s also very difficult on the mental side of things as well. It’s pretty draining.

“Sometimes you may think a team doesn’t want you, but also on the other end of it, a team does want you. That’s how I put it, ‘Oh, Red Deer really wants me to come and play there, so I’m going to perform my best and put all my energy into coming here and playing here.

“It’s definitely difficult, but once I got settled in it was great.”

SETTLING IN

He definitely wasn’t alone in getting accustomed to his new address.

Red Deer made a series of deals in the month before the deadline, bringing in forwards Varga, Tyson Yaremko, Poul Andersen, Cameron Kuzma and Patrick Sopiarz, plus defencemen Dillard and Jiri Kamas, while sending out Ty Coupland, Samuel Drancak, Noah Milford, Matthew Gard, Keith McInnis and Jaxon Fuder.

While the Rebels lost some veteran presence, they brought in a lot of younger skill.

“From what I’ve heard from the players and coaching staff, they say all the new guys coming in are really fitting in and the vibe around the dressing room is really good right now,” Temple said. “That’s good to hear because obviously that would be pretty tough for new guys to come in but also for guys who have been a while to move out.

“It could easily put a team down, but this team took it as a positive. I’ve heard from the coaches it seems a lot younger but a lot more skilled and fast.”

He quickly settled into a line with two of the team’s 2008-born, National Hockey League draft-eligible speedsters, and began to play a lot more than he had in Everett. Both appealed to him.

“After I got here, I was playing a lot more than I was used to, which I was happy about,” Temple said. “I got to play some premium minutes with some premium players like Beckett Hamilton and Kalder Varga, two really good players. They’re both younger than me and both ranked in the upcoming NHL draft. It was nice to get that feeling of playing with some pretty great players coming into this team.”

ANOTHER SETBACK

But just as he was getting settled — he had a pair of assists in six games with Red Deer — disaster struck during a game against the Tri-City Americans on Jan. 16. While the result is all that ultimately matters, the injury came on one of a thousand nondescript little plays that happen in every hockey game.

The Rebels were on the power play and trying to get the puck into the Americans zone.

“I tried to beat the D-man wide and I had my leg dragged back a little bit,” Temple said. “It wasn’t a dirty hit at all, it was just a normal rub-out hit. I caught my knee and hit it on the boards and also on the ice and it twisted me up a little bit. It wasn’t a big hit or dirty hit at all, it just tweaked something. “I tried to get up and it buckled, and I just knew right then something was definitely not right.”

The good news is the injury doesn’t appear to require surgery. The bad news is that the time frame of his recovery is uncertain, although he is pinning his hopes on playing again this season.

A reassessment by a doctor in three weeks should give him more insight into how the leg is healing. He flew back to Brandon on Sunday and will be home for about 10 days while the team goes on its trip through the B.C. Division.

Regardless of whether he makes it back or not, a huge summer lies ahead, with his 19-year-old season coming up.

“My focus is still on this season and getting healthy to play some games, and hopefully we go on a playoff run,” Temple said. “But also in the back of my head is being an older guy next year and having a pretty big role on a young but also very talented team, I think we could be really good next year. I think it could be a big year for me, but also for the team.”

The Rebels (16-24-2-2) are currently tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Regina Pats and are three points back of the seventh-place Moose Jaw Warriors as three clubs battle for two spots with about two dozen games left.

While it’s been a tough year, Temple can’t help but think he ended up exactly where he needed to be.

“When I got here, it was a nervous feeling, definitely difficult moving a long distance and meeting new guys, but the guys are great here,” Temple said. “I seem to fit in well pretty quick and they made me feel comfortable.

“I can only say great things about the coaching staff and the staff in general. They’re really amazing and seem to like me and are taking really good care of me. I’m honestly really happy with where I’m at and honoured to be able to wear that Red Deer jersey.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — In the last 25 years, who have Brandon’s longest-serving general managers been?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The goaltender of the week is 19-year-old Penticton Vees netminder Ethan McCallum of Brandon, who posted a 26-save shutout in Kelowna against the Rockets in his only appearance.

The player of the week is 18-year-old Prince Albert Raiders forward Brandon Gorzynski of Scottsdale, Ariz., who had four goals and three assists in four Raiders wins.

The rookie of the week is 17-year-old Calgary Hitmen forward Andrei Molgachev of Magnitogorsk, Russia, who had three goals and two assists in three games. It’s his second time winning the award this season.

• SIN BIN — The Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants were both fined for warmup violations in a game on Friday. The Giants were dinged for $250 for their first infraction plus an additional $500, while the repeat offender Cougars will have to pay $500.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — The University of Manitoba Bisons have a number of former Wheat Kings in the lineup.

Second-year forward Dawson Pasternak, who played 27 games in Brandon during the 2022-23 season after a trade from the Portland Winterhawks, has five goals, 17 assists and a team-leading 22 points in 21 games.

Fourth-year forward Jonny Hooker of Brandon has eight goals and eight assists in 22 games. He was drafted by Brandon in 2016 and played 134 regular season games with the Wheat Kings before a trade to the Prince George Cougars.

First-year defenceman Zach Turner of Boissevain, who Brandon drafted in 2019 and played parts of three seasons with the Wheat Kings prior to a trade to the Swift Current Broncos, has one goal and one assist in 10 games.

In addition, former Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Royals forward Grady Lane of Virden has two goals and three assists in 22 games in his second season.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — After kicking off the U.S. Division trip against the Everett Silvertips (4-1 loss on Friday) and the Portland Winterhawks (3-2 overtime win on Saturday), the Wheat Kings visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight, Wenatchee Wild on Wednesday, Tri-City Americans on Friday, and Spokane Chiefs on Saturday.

• ANSWER — The obvious answer to Brandon’s GM question is that Kelly McCrimmon served in the position from 1989 to 2016. Marty Murray, who was appointed in 2022 is second with four seasons, followed by Grant Armstrong (three seasons), Darren Ritchie (two seasons), and Doug Gasper (one season).