Turner and Stanley settling into leadership roles
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In the rather traditional sport of hockey, the norm is one captain and a pair of alternates on a team. In recent years, it’s becoming more common for teams to use alternate leadership structures, though it’s still a minority of teams doing so the U18 Brandon Wheat Kings are doing their part to shake up the norm.
This year’s team features a pair of co-captains in Theran Turner and Owen Stanley as well as Crew Elder and Hunter Ethelston as alternates, all of whom are settling into their new roles on the team.
“It’s obviously an honour … love representing our boys, and I just want to be a leader,” said Turner.
Owen Stanley tips a puck into the net at the end of U18 Brandon Wheat Kings practice on Wednesday at J&G Homes Arena. He’s one of the Wheaties co-captains this year. (Rowan McCarthy/The Brandon Sun)
He’s been an alternate before, but had never worn a C on his chest. The position is also a novelty for Stanley, who has never had any letter on his chest.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” said Stanley. “For a team you’ve been watching and playing for your whole life, to look down and see (the C) is pretty cool.”
A team cannot roll out a pair of captains for an individual game, so Turner and Stanley will share more than just the duties and responsibilities that come with leading the players on the ice. They will pass the physical letter back and forth, with Turner wearing the C on home ice, while Stanley takes it for road games.
The pair say they work well together and make sure they communicate often. The role of a captain is rather nebulous, and different players handle it in different ways. For Turner, it’s about being there for his teammates when he can.
“I’m just going to try and be a good leader, be there for the boys whenever they need me and try to be the best I can,” said Turner, adding that just showing up and role modelling the behaviour the team expects is another thing he prioritizes.
As a defensive defenceman, Turner puts that leadership style into practice by blocking shots on the penalty kill and doing the little things in his own end that many don’t recognize.
That said, he did earn his first point of the year on a point shot that was tipped home by Carson Fowler in a 5-2 win against the Interlake Lightning on Sunday.
The U18 Wheat Kings are one of the top teams in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League with a 10-2-0-0 record. They sit second in the league behind the Eastman Selects (11-1-0-0).
They started the season with an eight-game winning streak that the Winnipeg Wild stopped in its tracks on Oct. 25. Less than a week later, the team suffered its second loss of the year to the Selects on Saturday.
“We had that streak going for a while there, but unfortunately we lost it,” said Turner. “That’s not the end of the world. We’re going to just keep going up and up throughout the season.
For Stanley, what stings more about the loss to Eastman is that the team didn’t play its best game.
“We lost our habits,” said Stanley. “They’re a good hockey team, I’ll give them credit, but we play them, and everyone is going, we will be good.”
Theran Turner (left) covers Luke Krieser (right) during a drill at U18 Wheat Kings practice. The defensive defenceman recorded his first point of the 2026-27 season on Sunday against the Interlake Lightning. (Rowan McCarthy/The Brandon Sun)
In general, this is a big year for the U18 squad since they will host the Telus Cup at the end of the year. They are motivated to show well at the tournament, which features the top U18 teams from across Canada.
In 2024, the Wheaties earned a spot in the Telus Cup and fell 4-1 in the final at the hands of the Cantonniers de Magog.
“We want to pave our own way,” said Turner. “We don’t want to give up because we are guaranteed (a spot at) Telus. We should try to win this league, go to regionals and pave our own way and not be handed it.
After a stretch of road games, the U18 Wheat Kings will return home for a trio of games over the course of the next week.
On Friday, they host the Pembina Valley Hawks for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at J & G Homes Arena, followed by a Sunday contest against the Winnipeg Thrashers that will get underway at 1:30 p.m.
On Nov. 11, they face the Winnipeg Bruins in a rematch of last year’s Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League finals.
A trio of wins would go a long way towards cementing the Wheaties as the top team in the league; however, it will come down to whether the new leadership group will have the team ready for puck drop.
“Honestly, just everyone working hard, a fun and three wins,” said Stanley when asked what he expected from his team over the next three games.
» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com