Knee far from fazed with U18 Wheat Kings

If there was ever any doubt going into the season Kevin Knee would have trouble producing at the next level, there’s no denying he’s now shut that door for good — and you can argue he has from the very start.

The 15-year-old, five-foot-six, 135-pound rookie of the Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA team has proved age and size are just values, and ones that still don’t even compare to the ones he’s consistently been piling up on the scoresheet.

Even since Knee’s first game, when he scored Brandon’s first two goals of the season against the Yellowhead Chiefs to propel them to a 3-2 victory on the road and kickstart an early individual run of 16 points through his first 10 games.

While an impressive stretch on its own, Knee has only gotten better as the season’s progressed, as he’s now up to 15 goals and 41 points in 39 games. It’s the fourth-best total among his team — trailing defenceman Easten Turko (53) and forwards Reid Nicol (48) and Hudson Champagne (48), yet he’s just the third-youngest player on his team, with only rookies Nash Lenton and Cooper Dryden having later birthdays.

There’s still plenty of hockey left to be played, as the Wheaties are still a month out from playoffs, but by all accounts, Knee has clearly defied all expectations.

“Playing against stronger guys, it’s tough,” Knee said. “It’s obviously a lot faster pace than U15, and I knew it was going to be a little of a tougher jump, but obviously I can handle it.”

After scoring just shy of a point per game pace a few years ago during his first season playing under head coach Dave Lewis and Brandon’s U15 club, Knee took a marvellous step forward last year, chalking up 44 goals and 85 points in just 32 contests. His future under the tutelage of the Wheat Kings development system looked promising, but potentially moving up to the U18 level was a whole new level of uncharted waters for Knee.

In a big, fast and extremely physical league, it was hard to pinpoint exactly how he would fare with the big boys, however, bench boss Travis Mealy knew his offensive upside was too strong to pass up on.

“I remember we had interviews, and the coach (Mealy) just kind of told me right to my face I had made it,” said Knee. “It was obviously a big relief and a great feeling, and then I told my dad and my mom and then my siblings after that.”

It was a nostalgic moment for Knee’s older brother, Jaymes, who played with the U18s for two seasons beginning in 2015 before moving onto the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, where he played with the Dauphin Kings and Waywayseecappo Wolverines from 2017 to 2021.

The 23-year-old now plays with the Langenburg Warriors of the Sask East Hockey League.

Knee remembers watching his brother play with the Wheat Kings in the stands with a mini stick always at his fingertips. Fast forward 10 years, and now he’s the one on the ice — and thriving, but not without hard work.

Following a disappointing end to last season when Brandon’s U15 squad broke its three-year run of winning a provincial championship after failing to qualify for the final four in its post-season run, Knee’s only goal in the summer was to put in as much blood, sweat, and tears as he could to help him make the U18 cut in the fall. He was on the ice often, and when he wasn’t, he was likely paying his dues off the ice in the gym.

“I was just doing whatever I can to get better,” he said. “Just watching hockey too. Everything I could work on to get that overall game better.”

Knee enjoys watching New Jersey Devils superstar Jack Hughes and his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers, mostly to watch Connor McDavid do “McJesus”-type things every night. What they have in common, though — speed, hockey IQ, and game-breaking talent, but also incredible vision. Knee believes that’s where his offensive talents shine.

“It’s my playmaking ability,” Knee said of his success this year. “My vision to see players and maybe make types of passes where maybe other guys don’t think is there. Just high-skilled plays that I can make, and just trying to make something happen out there every single shift.”

Knee puts that playmaking ability on display almost every game when he dishes out to his linemates Hutson Champagne and Ethan Stanley, who’ve all combined for 125 points. Knee credits a large chunk of his success to his chemistry with those two.

“They’re great guys to play with,” he said. “They come with speed, they make plays, and it’s awesome to see, and it helps me out a lot.”

The trio’s offensive output is a significant reason the Wheat Kings can look at the standings and see their name near the very top, as they currently sit in second among a 13-team league thanks to a 30-6-3 record. In its last 21 games, Brandon has gone undefeated in regulation time, carrying a 19-0-0-2 record following shootout losses to the Winnipeg Thrashers (29-8-2) and Parkland Rangers (21-12-5) this month. They trail the league-leading Winnipeg Bruins (32-3-2) by just three points, albeit with two more games played.

Knee believes his team’s recent tear is no coincidence.

“I think we’re just keeping it a lot simpler than we used to be,” said Knee. “Guys aren’t getting selfish for the points, and we’re all just trying to come together, and we’re peaking at the right time here. Playoffs are a month away, and we’ve got to prepare for that, so everyone’s been helping out. We need all 20 guys, and all 20 guys have been helping out.

“We’re all just fighting towards that goal at the end, the big championship, and then hopefully move on to regionals. That’s the goal, and everyone’s trying to buy in to get towards that.”

The Wheaties will wrap up this month with a road match in Morden tonight to face the Pembina Valley Hawks (21-14-2).

“They got a couple good players there with 60 points, so we got to try and shut those guys down and we’ve had success against them, so obviously we’re just trying to do the same thing again.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com