Promising group looking to earn roster spots up front

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This article was published 30/08/2016 (3535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If 49 years in the Western Hockey League has proven anything for the Brandon Wheat Kings, it’s that the team keeps producing elite forwards.

A strong crop of newcomers is once again knocking at the door, led by 2015 first round bantam draft selection Caiden Daley, who played five regular season games with the Wheat Kings last season, earning three assists.

Daley, a terrific skater, has a leg up on the competition after joining the team for its playoff run.

“Caiden Daley, who played at Christmas and earned himself an opportunity to come play in the playoffs, and obviously he didn’t play but being with our team, seeing how we work day-to-day is going to really help him when he comes to camp,” Wheat Kings director of scouting Darren Ritchie said. “He has great speed, is real smart, can play the wing or centre. I think he can complement the offensive players and can also play a defensive, stay-at-home 200-foot game. I think he understands what it takes to play.”

The Wheat Kings are returning 11 forwards, but three are overagers, potentially freeing up another spot.

A midget teammate of Daley’s with the Winnipeg Wild will also get a long look.

“Rylan Bettens is a good skater, good shot, competitive, likes to score,” Ritchie said. “He’s just a really good hockey player. He understands the game. We expect that he’ll have a real good camp.”

Bettens suffered a wrist injury that cost him six weeks, but when it healed, his good shot began to find its way into the net late in the season and in the playoffs.

Daley had 38 points in 36 games with the Wild last season, while Bettens had 23 points in 34 games.

The Wild beat the regular season-champion Eastman Selects in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League final last season, and two Selects forwards will be contenders for jobs as well.

Bradly Goethals, 18, considered taking the collegiate route but has decided to report to Brandon instead. The midget scoring leader, who had a goal and an assist in two games with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, is a threat every time he’s on the ice.

“He can shoot the puck,” Ritchie said. “He’s a goal scorer. He’s got a great one-timer and is real good offensively. He’s getting at the 200-foot game and obviously at our level we expect all of our guys to play 200. He is a dangerous, dangerous offensive player and we’re excited that he’s going to be coming to play for us.”

His linemate, 16-year-old Rylan Hoffman, will also be under consideration.

“He’s a big forward who bangs bodies,” Ritchie said. “The thing that might hurt him right now is his foot speed but he’s getting better. He’s smart and he’s competitive.”

But it was another 16-year-old who turned heads in camp a year ago.

Cole Reinhardt posted 60 points in 37 games of minor midget in Alberta, adding three more in three games of AAA midget.

“He had a really good year,” Ritchie said. “He’s really competitive, plays a 200-foot game, can play wing or centre. We like him a lot. He was really impressive at camp last year for us and I think he’ll have a real good chance.”

Tak Anholt didn’t have much of a season at all last year but is still a strong contender for a job.

He only played one game in the B.C. Junior Hockey League with the Chilliwack Chiefs. After finally starting to get on the mend from mononucleosis in September, he joined the Wheat Kings for a brief time in November, never seeing game action, before choosing to return home.

As a result, the team is looking at his earlier body of work to get a fix on what Anholt offers. Ritchie calls him an elite skater who can shoot the puck.

“We just want him to come in, enjoy the experience, work hard and just play,” Ritchie said. “Don’t worry about anything else and I think he’ll be fine. We think he can really add to our forwards and complement our speed game and our skill.”

Anholt was selected in the second round of the 2013 WHL bantam draft by the Lethbridge Hurricanes and was acquired by Brandon in September 2014 along with Macoy Erkamps and Reid Duke. He had 64 points in only 24 games in 2014-15 with the Yale Hockey Academy prep team in Abbotsford, B.C.

James McIsaac won’t have to look far to see a familiar face in Brandon. After a good camp in Brandon a year ago, the then-16-year-old chose to join the Winnipeg Blues instead of playing midget. His coach in Winnipeg, Don McGillivray, is now a Wheat Kings assistant.

“He’s got good skill, he’s competitive, he doesn’t back down, can skate really well and is a smart player,” Ritchie said. “We’re excited to see him in camp. Playing a year of junior A is really going to help him to make the transition to our league.”

Boissevain’s Braden Billaney, who also played in the MJHL but with the Winkler Flyers, will also get a long look for his strong intangibles.

“He’s a hard-working guy, a real good team guy,” Ritchie said. “He plays with an edge. I think he would complement our third line guys and can play up in the lineup as an older guy.

Riese Gaber, who played eight games with the Dauphin Kings, put up big numbers in Parkland playing midget. The second leading scorer in AAA midget in Manitoba is among the wildcards at camp.

“He’s small, has great skill, works hard,” Ritchie said. “Again, another competitive guy. He’s not afraid for the size he is but makes things happen, makes his teammates better.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson

All statistics are regular season with the club the player spent the most time with in 2015-16. gp - games played; g – goals; a – assists; p – points; pm – penalty minutes.)

1996 (overage season)

Tyler Coulter, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

69gp, 22g, 37a, 59p, 55pm

Reid Duke, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

68gp, 33g, 29a, 62p, 53pm

Duncan Campbell, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

72gp, 10g, 12a, 22p, 40pm

1997 (19-year-old season)

Garrett Armour, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

56gp, 1g, 6a, 7p, 59pm

1998 (18-year-old season)

Tanner Kaspick, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

53gp, 12g, 18a, 30p, 37pm

Nolan Patrick, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

72gp, 41g, 61a, 102p, 41pm

Ty Lewis, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

48gp, 10g, 13a, 23p, 6pm

Linden McCorrister, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

38gp, 3g, 4a, 7p, 9pm

Jaeger White, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

13gp, 0g, 1a, 1p, 0pm

Tak Anholt, BCHL

Chilliwack (BCHL)

1gp, 0g, 0a, 0p, 0pm

Bradly Goethals, veteran

Eastman (MAAAMHL)

43gp, 41g, 33a, 74p, 64pm

Ty Enns, free agent

Waywayseecappo (MJHL)

55gm, 18g, 18a, 36p, 57p

1999 (17-year-old season)

Stelio Mattheos, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

50gp, 13g, 17a, 30p, 10pm

Connor Gutenberg, veteran

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

44gp, 6g, 4a, 10p, 4pm

James McIsaac, 6th Round (120)

Winnipeg Blues (MJHL)

49gp, 8g, 9a, 17p, 40pm

Riese Gaber, Listed 2015

Parkland (AAA Midget)

44gp, 22g, 39a, 61p, 32pm

Dustin Mozdzen, free agent

Parkland (AAA Midget)

43gp, 29g, 17a, 46p, 30pm

McCullough Park, free agent

Southwest (AAA Midget)

43gp, 14g, 10a, 24p, 57pm

Carson Boyechko, free agent

Southwest (AAA Midget)

44gp, 12g, 6a, 18p, 30pm

Jaden Townsend, free agent

Parkland (AAA Midget)

43gp, 17g, 22a, 39p, 36pm

Kolten Kanaski,free agent

Eastman (AAA Midget)

44gp, 30g, 19a, 49p, 78pm

Bradyn Smelski, free agent

Parkland (AAA Midget)

41gp, 17g, 25a, 42p, 50pm

Tyrae Fountain, free agent

Pilot Mound (Academy)

47gp, 19g, 10a, 29p, 36pm

2000 (16-year-old season)

Caiden Daley, 1st Round (22)

Winnipeg Wild (AAA Midget)

36gp, 17g, 21a, 38p, 18pm

Rylan Bettens, 3rd Round (51st)

Winnipeg Wild (AAA Midget)

24gp, 7g, 13a, 20p, 6pm

Marcus Sekundiak, 7th Round (154)

Oak Park HS

22gp, 22g, 19a, 41p, 20pm

Cole Reinhardt, 9th Round (198)

AC Avalanche (Minor Midget)

37gp, 28g, 32a, 60p, 50pm

Rylan Hoffman, 11th Round (242)

Eastman (AAA Midget)

44gp, 16g, 14a, 30p, 10pm

Sam Anderson, Listed 2016

Calgary (Minor Midget)

37gp, 18g, 24a, 42p, 88pm

Codey Behun, free agent

Sharks (City Midget)

35gp, 18g, 13a, 31p, 30pm

Brett Paddock, free agent

Brandon (AAA Midget)

38gp, 5g, 12a, 17p, 8pm

Lynden McCallum, free agent

Brandon (AAA Midget)

43gp, 11g, 18a, 29p, 32pm

Jack Einarson, free agent

Eastman (AAA Midget)

35gp, 7g, 7a, 14p, 8pm

Ryan Kokorudz, free agent

Brandon (AAA Midget)

31gp, 7g, 9a, 16p, 44pm

Trent Halfdanson, free agent

Hawks (City Midget)

32gp, 17g, 12a, 29p, 48pm

2001 (15 years old, ineligible)

Ben McCartney, 2nd Round (43)

OHA (Bantam Prep)

23gp, 18g, 15a, 33p, 20pm

Kyle Bettens, 4th Round (87)

Warriors (AAA Bantam)

34gp, 17g, 38a, 55p, 16pm

Jonny Hooker, 8th Round (175)

Monarchs (AAA Bantam)

26gp, 12g, 23a, 35p, 8pm

Carter Cockburn, 9th Round (197)

Parkland (AAA Bantam)

36gp, 39g, 24a, 63p, 14pm

Dylan Halliday, 12th Round (263)

Brandon (AAA Bantam)

34gp, 43g, 46a, 89p, 58pm

Kolton Shindle, 13th Round (285)

Pembina Valley (AAA Bantam)

31gp, 46g, 29a, 75p, 44pm

Brody Lubkey, free agent

Hawks (AAA Bantam)

34gp, 12g, 20a, 32p, 20pm

Kevin Ledoux, free agent

Prince Albert (AAA Bantam)

26gp, 8g, 20a, 28p, 90pm

Carter Belitski, free agent

Regina (AAA Bantam)

28gp, 16g, 17a, 33p, 40pm

Tanner Morrison, free agent

Brandon (AAA Bantam)

36gp, 18g, 21a, 39p, 48pm

Anson Smith, free agent

Lloydminster (AAA Bantam)

29gp, 4g, 9a, 13p, 30pm

Mason Kaspick, free agent

Brandon (AAA Bantam)

29gp, 10g, 5a, 15p, 20pm

Logan Wotton, free agent

Yellowhead (AAA Bantam)

34gp, 12g, 19a, 31p, 36pm

Ethan Campbell, free agent

Parkland (AAA Bantam)

36gp, 6g, 8a, 14p, 14pm

Zak Smith, free agent

Central Plains (AAA Bantam)

49gp, 33g, 50a, 83p, 6pm

Drayson Collyer, free agent

Brandon (AAA Bantam)

34gp, 18g, 21a, 39p, 49pm

Jayson Szun, free agent

Warriors (AAA Bantam)

33gp, 37g, 20a, 57p, 18pm

Nathan Driver, free agent

OHA (Bantam Prep)

24gp, 9g, 5a, 14p, 8pm

Colby Vranai, free agent

Yorkton (AAA Bantam)

30gp, 21g, 26a, 47p, 22pm

Justin Ross, free agent

Calgary Bisons (AAA Bantam)

3gp, 1g, 0a, 1p, 0pm