Corkish set to make his mark in Brandon

When Mason Corkish visited Brandon for the first time in 2023, it was because his brother Owen was a Wheat Kings prospect.

The next time he comes, it will be all about him after Brandon grabbed the younger Corkish in the third round with the 67th overall pick in the annual Western Hockey League draft last Thursday.

“It’s going to be awesome,” said Corkish, who grew up in Cottage Grove, Minn., a city of about 40,000 located a 10-minute drive south of St. Paul. “It’s going to be very different from the first time that I went up there because now I’m with the team instead of my brother and I get the inside vision of it. It’s going be cool knowing what’s it like on the inside and the outside.”

Happily for the younger Corkish, there is also a major impediment out of the way. The entire hockey landscape shifted in November 2024 when major junior players were welcomed by the NCAA, so now Mason is playing in a new world.

Owen was on Brandon’s 50-man list prior to the NCAA rule change, and when it looked like he was going to play college hockey instead of coming to the WHL, the Wheat Kings dropped his rights. Owen was subsequently picked up by the Prince Albert Raiders, and is now skating in the WHL final against the Everett Silvertips.

“It’s definitely changed a lot,” Corkish said. “The boys down here want to go up there and play now instead of going to the USHL or different junior leagues. It’s definitely going to have an impact on the WHL and make it a better league hopefully.”

The 15-year-old Corkish comes by his athletic ability honestly.

His family also includes father Jeff, mother Laura and sister Addison.

Jeff is a product of Wawota, Sask., who played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and spent four seasons of Division III college hockey in the early 1990s at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.

“My dad has been my coach for almost my entire life,” Corkish said. “This is the first year he wasn’t my head coach. He gave it up so I could learn to play with different coaches. He is now the head coach with our high school team so he’ll be there for me for the next three years or whenever I’m done. He’s always been a big support and helped me with film and getting better.

“He built me an outdoor rink for the first 14 years of my life and I’ve played on it every winter. That was big in my career as a player.

“My mom has just always been there for me, driving me to the rink and watching all my games. She was also a great athlete, played basketball and track, so she’s had a big impact on my life.”

Corkish added his sister might be the best athlete of all of them. She is a standout softball player who is also active in hockey and other sports.

Mason first got on skates at a year old — “Right after I learned how to walk, my dad put me on skates right away” — and was playing by age three.

He also active in baseball and soccer when he was younger, and still golfs.

On the ice, he began as a forward, played defence for a couple of years, and then moved back up front for good.

“It’s the compete,” Corkish said. “You get to go in corners. Defence is boring. I felt like I just watched the game.”

The five-foot-11, 158-pound prides himself on those tough elements of the game. On his best nights, he said he’s physically engaged.

“When I’m having a good game, I feel like I’m fast,” Corkish said. “I feel quick on the ice, I compete hard in the corners and everything is just clicking on the ice, I’m tough and I feel like nobody can stop me. I’m physical.”

His goals are to improve his size and strength, and is also working on his hands, his vision and his skating.

“My skating could be way better,” Corkish said. “Mainly everything.”

In their draft year, the western Canadian kids always have a sense the scouts are watching, but Corkish knew where one of them was every game. Wheat Kings scout Kori Pearson, formerly of Neepawa, was an assistant coach on his team, something Corkish deadpans may have helped him get noticed.

It’s clear Pearson and the Wheat Kings found plenty to like. Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said after the draft that Corkish has a nice blend of finesse and sandpaper.

“He’s a skilled guy with compete,” Moulton said. “Mason has the ability to find the back of the net and make plays and create offence, but on top of that, he is strong on the puck and isn’t afraid to play the game the right way. He plays 200 feet and also has the ability to win battles.”

Last season, he had six goals and 10 assists in 11 games with the Minnesota Moose 14U, the only stats tracked by eliteprospects.com. On draft day, Corkish was in school but at lunch. He was monitoring the proceedings online when he saw Brandon picked him. Pearson texted him shortly after.

“He said ‘ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?’ in all caps,” Corkish said. “It was great. All my buddies were watching it and they all congratulated me. It was really cool.”

It proved to be a popular fit for everybody involved.

Owen’s time with the Wheat Kings built a relationship between the team and the family, and they didn’t hesitate to draft him. Of course it didn’t hurt that his grandmother still lives in Wawota, which is 84 kilometres straight west of Virden.

“We love the Wheat Kings,” Corkish said. “My grandma lives an hour-and-a-half away from Brandon so it feels close to home.”

Not only has the college-major dilemma been solved, Corkish has a good sense of what’s involved with the WHL after watching his brother with the Raiders. In fact, the family was in Everett on the weekend for Games 1 and 2, and it’s given him a whole new appreciation for major junior hockey.

“It was a great experience,” Corkish said. “It just showed me how good of a league it is. The USHL is a great league but it doesn’t come close to the WHL and how good the players are, and the coaching and the teams.”

Now Mason’s goal is to join Owen in the Dub. He is planning to spend his 15-year-old season at Park High School in Cottage Grove, and will have his first chance to crack the roster for the 2027-28 season.

The Wheat Kings can rest assured he won’t be sitting on his laurels until then.

“It was really cool for the draft part but I’m not on the team yet,” Corkish said. “I have to keep working and grind every day to make that team and keep on getting better.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com