Telus Cup coming to Keystone Centre

Travis Mealy knows the ultra-tough grind of earning a spot at the Telus Cup.

He guided the under-18 Brandon Wheat Kings there in 2024, when they earned a silver medal in Membertou, N.S.

Brandon is officially set to compete in the 2027 edition of the national U18 male hockey championship, as the event is coming to the Keystone Centre on April 19-25.

“We were, as a staff and as an organization, extremely excited when we heard the news,” Mealy said at Thursday’s announcement.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have gone two years ago and got to see the ins and outs of the tournament, how prestigious and how impactful the tournament is towards the boys and their careers. To be able to sit here and know we’re playing at the end of April in the national tournament, we couldn’t be any happier.”

LANDING THE EVENT

The 2027 edition marks 33 years since Brandon last hosted in 1994. It returned to Manitoba in 2009, with Selkirk staging the six-team championship.

As the rotation returned to Manitoba, Keystone Centre CEO and general manager Connie Lawrence informed the U18 Wheat Kings of her plans to bid.

Lawrence said the Keystone’s knowledge of sports and running world-class events were keys to securing the event.

“Our knowledge in sports, our knowledge in running world-class events, that helps with everything.

“We know what they’re looking for and we have everything under one roof. How unique is that?” Lawrence said. “There’s no loading kids on buses and practising in another rink across town. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t offer.

“We just don’t do this for ourselves. We do this for the city of Brandon, the broader Westman region and everyone involved.

“Keystone represents the community. What we bring here has to be good for absolutely everybody.”

The event is now in the hands of the organizing host committee, chaired by Dan Trotter.

“Being asked to chair this committee, I’m honoured to do it,” he said. “I love hockey, I’m from Brandon, haven’t been involved here for a while but getting back and being asked to do this, we’ve got a great committee assembled.”

Trotter was quick to credit the work of the Keystone Centre staff, especially Carson McConnell, for their preparedness and attention to detail in the bidding process.

Knowing the Telus Cup is coming, Trotter plans to take advantage of the amenities the Keystone Centre has to make the event special beyond just the 19 hockey games.

Details are still in the works, but Trotter hinted at a video game room, a big social one evening of the tournament and more special events.

Of course, the Western Hockey League schedule could throw a wrinkle in their plans.

With the WHL extending its regular season by a week, concluding on March 28, the 2027 Telus Cup will coincide with the second round of the WHL playoffs.

If the Wheat Kings reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2018, Trotter said they have priority at ACU Place.

Following last year’s schedule, the Telus Cup would have games at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m., local time. The first two could run as scheduled, while the evening contest would move to Enns Brothers or Flynn Arena.

“The Wheat Kings obviously need and deserve their home rink to have their fans. They’ve been really good to work with,” Trotter said.

“I hope we do have a problem to juggle, because that’s a good problem for both of us.”

ON-ICE PREPARATION

Of course, the U18 Wheat Kings have no intention of being mere gracious hosts.

The 2004 national champions and 2024 runners-up would love to become the fourth host to win and first since the Calgary Northstars in 1991.

For Mealy, that preparation starts long before championship week. He’s thinking about how to set his team up for success from the start of the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League campaign.

“There’s going to be things like fatigue management that we’ll have to worry about, having such a longer season than usual,” Mealy said.

“That tournament is seven games in seven days, and even the regional tournament leading up to it is extremely taxing on the players. I think we can focus on more rest days throughout the year. In terms of building the team, you can’t be focusing on wins and losses in the early part of the season.

“We’ve got to continue to build so we’re at our best on April 19.”

The 2023-24 Wheat Kings were one of the best squads Manitoba has ever seen, going 59-4-1-0 overall.

Brandon posted a 43-0-1-0 record in the regular season and rumbled through the playoffs with nine straight victories.

It dropped one game at the western regionals after securing a spot in the final, then reached the national title game but fell 4-1 to the Cantonniers de Magog.

Mealy noted that Wheat Kings group had both the top-end talent and depth to make a deep run.

It featured 15-year-old star Jaxon Jacobson, while this year’s team will include 14-year-old sensation Kale Nicol, who has been approved to play U18 as an underage forward.

“Kale Nicol is an exceptional hockey player, much like Jaxon Jacobson was for us as an underage, and Reid Nicol, his older brother,” Mealy said of the kid who recorded a goal and three assists in three games as a 13-year-old callup last year.

“The thing is, you have to be careful that it’s not too much pressure. At the end of the day, he’s 14 years old and he can’t be driving the bus for a team of 19 guys that are older than him.

“He’s definitely going to help us. He brings fans to the rink. He’s the ideal poster child. At the same time, he’s still only 14 years old and you still want to protect him.”

Brandon might only have one player back from the 2023-24 team in Hudson Champagne, who will head to WHL camp in Tri-City and try to crack the Americans roster.

“Of course, we’d love to have him back to lead the team, but unselfishly we’re rooting for him in Tri-City,” Mealy said.

“We’re going to be good if guys are wanting to come home and play in a national championship in their hometown. Our borders are closed, so if guys aren’t wanting to come back and move on to Junior A hockey, we’re going to run at it with what we have, but definitely we need all the help we can when we’re going against other provinces that are all open borders.”

There’s still a strong veteran corps returning, even without Easten Turko as he’ll play for the WHL Wheat Kings.

While Mealy knows his group is competing in the Telus Cup, he doesn’t expect anything less than the effort he has seen from his group to reach the league final for seven straight seasons.

“Most hockey players are extremely competitive and proud. I wouldn’t say there will be a guy in that room who’s just happy to be (at nationals),” Mealy said. “They’re going to want to earn their spot there.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com