Prime playoff matchups for Klimchuk

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This article was published 23/04/2015 (4189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Morgan Klimchuk couldn’t have planned his team’s Western Hockey League playoff opponents this well.

The Brandon Wheat Kings left-winger went from facing his former team, the Regina Pats, to playing his hometown Calgary Hitmen in front of the Flames organization that drafted him.

“It’s something that you can’t really ask for much more,” said Klimchuk, whose Wheat Kings will open the Eastern Conference final against the Hitmen on Friday at Westman Place.

“To play my old team, the boys did well and I only got into one of those games but obviously I’m happy with the result in the series. Now to go to my hometown, a place that I’ve watched and played a lot of hockey, it’s something that’s quite exciting.”

Klimchuk was injured in Game 3 of the Edmonton series, not returning until the fifth and final game of the Regina series. In four playoff contests, he has a pair of assists.

Klimchuk was traded to the Wheat Kings on Jan. 2 for 17-year-old forward Jesse Gabrielle. He said that since the moment he heard he was coming to Brandon, the coaching staff and players have been very good to him.

The winger, who turned 20 in March, rewarded their confidence by scoring 20 goals and adding 30 assists in 33 regular season games.

It’s Klimchuk’s first trip beyond the first round, but he said it’s what the Wheat Kings demanded from themselves after finishing first overall in the regular season.

“Obviously we’re really excited at what we’ve done but I think we’re doing so well because this is what we expected to do,” Klimchuk said. “We expected to have some success in the post-season and we’re not letting ourselves get too high because honestly we’re not satisfied yet. We set our sights on a league championship and this is just another step along the way.”

Klimchuk, who was picked 28th overall in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft, signed a three-year contract with the Flames, who own the Hitmen, in December 2013 and is expected to play pro next season. But he said his focus is to play well for the Wheat Kings, not the Flames, when the series heads to Calgary next week.

“Obviously it’s in the back of your mind that that’s where the Flames play out of but I’ve played many hockey games there, and even this year and since I’ve been drafted, so my focus is going to be on our series and contributing to get a win for our team and not so much playing for them,” Klimchuk said.

“This is the longest push I’ve made in the playoffs and I want to keep it rolling.”

Game 1 begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Westman Place, with Game 2 a night later.

ICINGS: Klimchuk is one of three Calgarians on Brandon’s roster, joining LW Braylon Shmyr and injured C/RW Reid Duke … RW Jayce Hawryluk, who has missed the Wheat Kings’ last three games, skated in practice on Wednesday … The WHL has announced when the last three games of the series will be played, if needed. Game 5 would be played in Brandon on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. If a seventh game is needed, it will be played at Westman Place on Tuesday, May 5.

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