Dawson back with U18 Wheat Kings

Max Dawson made his presence felt in a dominant 6-2 victory against the Winnipeg Bruins on Wednesday night after returning to the U18 Brandon Wheat Kings from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

As a member of the 2025-26 U18 Wheat Kings, Dawson scored six goals and amassed 42 points, helping Brandon reach the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League final where they faced the Winnipeg Bruins.

They wound up losing that series, and Dawson signed a contract with the Waywayseecappo in June.

The Wolverines currently sit atop the MJHL with a 15-3-0-1 record and seem to be a championship contender. However, Dawson only got into six games for the Wolverines before returning to Brandon.

“Coming back here and being a top guy,” said Dawson about the reason behind the change of teams. “Letting the young guys learn from me and being able to contribute offensively, defensively, whatever the team may need.”

He added that he had a great experience in Waywayseecappo. The relationship with his former team is still ongoing, according to Wolverines head coach Landyn Cochrane.

“We like the opportunity for Max to be playing in all situations while continuing to develop with another strong program,” said Cochrane via text. “Max will have the opportunity to play in the Telus Cup while still being affiliated with the Wolverines and joining us when his season comes to an end.”

BATTLING BRUINS

Wednesday night’s game was a big one for the Wheat Kings. It’s a new season, but old injuries have a way of carrying over even when the teams are fundamentally different.

The U18 Wheat Kings came to play, putting together what might be their best performance so far against a Bruins squad that looked lost at times during the contest.

“Losing in the final sucks,” said Dawson. “To come here and beat them 6-2 on home ice and outshoot them by double is definitely an honour.”

Crew Elder set the tone early, going to the net on the rush and posting up for a tap-in on a great pass by Etienne Visser, who continued his strong start to the 2026-27 campaign.

Dawson’s first point since returning to Brandon came with three and a half minutes remaining in the opening frame. Jake Beaty was credited with the goal, and Kale Nicol picked up a secondary assist.

“I thought we came out strong,” said Dawson. “The Bruins had a good team last year and we came out and took it to them early.”

At the end of the first, the Wheaties outshot their opponent 19-11 and built a 2-0 lead. While the results were good, things really took off in the second.

“I didn’t think we started great,” said associate coach Dylan Halliday, adding that he felt the Bruins struggled more than Brandon was strong in the opening frame. “Second period is how we want to play; we were fast on the puck, got a lot of pucks to the net and I think overall that was probably one of our best games.”

Kane Tomsic’s long shot from the point on the power play got the Bruins on the board 2:23 into the second frame. Winnipeg’s three power plays were the only time the team managed to sustain pressure in the offensive zone.

A minute and 15 seconds later, Beaty used some incredible footwork to avoid a defender and slide down the wall before firing a low shot past Winnipeg goaltender Zachary Houtkooper to restore the two-goal lead.

“We’re still getting used to (Beaty),” said Halliday. “We knew he would be good, we knew he would be reliable defensively but we didn’t expect this much offence from him. Right now, he seems to be really confident with the puck.”

Halfway through the period, Elder scored his second of the night, with Nicol and Dawson once again contributing assists.

With a 4-2 lead going into the third, Brandon sat back and let the game come to them, deciding to trap it up and slow down the Winnipeg rush.

The period couldn’t have started any better. Visser scored 29 seconds into the frame, making the score 5-2.

The Wheaties kept the Bruins off the scoreboard for the rest of the game, and Eric Berger scored one more goal at the 11:56 mark to give his team a four-goal lead.

Berger’s finish was excellent, but a lot of credit has to go to Hunter Ethelston, who worked hard down low to win a puck battle and make the pass to Berger in the slot.

Dawson was credited with a secondary assist on the final score, giving him three in the game. Nicol — who is on a 13-game point streak — and Elder were the only other players to amass three points in the contest.

“(Dawson’s) just such a calming presence with the puck,” said Halliday about Dawson’s return. “I feel like early in the year we were struggling to exit our zone and that’s something he’s really good at.

“His biggest help is exiting the zone and getting pucks to our forwards.”

Expect to see Dawson playing a lot with captain Theran Turner. The pair are familiar with one another and complement each other well.

This weekend, the Wheat Kings hit the road for back-to-back games against the Norman Northstars, a team that Dawson knows well. Born in Thompson, Dawson played for the Northstars at different points during his career.

Dawson understands that because of the Telus Cup, the team will be taking a longer view of the season. He plans to contribute however he can.

“(There are) a lot of expectations for this group and I’m really happy to be back with this group,” said Dawson. “If they need me on the power play or on the penalty kill, I’m an all-around guy, a two-way defenceman, just anything to help this team win.”

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com