First-ever injury sidelines Boehm

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This article was published 27/05/2023 (1004 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nigel Boehm’s ankle hurts but the more painful reality for him this weekend is the fact he can’t make a good first impression on the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The 14-year-old blue-liner from Saskatoon isn’t on the ice due to some terrible luck as the Wheat Kings hold their annual prospects camp this weekend. At a skate on Wednesday, he suffered a high-ankle sprain — the first injury of his life — and is in a walking boot for a while.

“It’s really tough having to watch and not being able to play,” Boehm said. “You just want to get out there and show your talent.”

He’s expected to be sidelined three to six weeks.

The team’s annual prospects camp began Friday at J&G Homes Arena with a pair of practices. It continues today with skills sessions at 8:30 and 10 and a game at 4 p.m., and finishes up on Sunday morning with a game at 9 o’clock.

Even though he can’t skate, Boehm is still enjoying his first chance to visit Brandon and learning about his new team.

“It’s beautiful facilities,” Boehm said. “Everything is super nice, more than I thought it was going to be.

“(Westoba Place) is huge and it looks like a fun place to be.”

Boehm started skating at age three, and immediately gravitated to the blue-line, although he stepped into the net occasionally as a youngster when he was asked.

“I always played as an offensive defenceman when I was younger,” Boehm said. “I always played D.”

It would seem his mother Renee must have spent a lot of time at the rink, since Nigel’s brother Jared and sister Tiara have both played hockey as well and his father Leon was also active when he was younger.

Jared skated with the Saskatoon Screaming Eagles U18 AA team last winter, with Tiara taking the season off.

“Mainly it’s just the competition and the love for the game,” Boehm said of his devotion to hockey. “I love competing and meeting new people.”

He played baseball for a year but his only other current sport is golf.

Instead he focused on hockey, and soon began to realize there might be a future for him in the game. Three seasons ago, in his major peewee season, the compliments he was getting from other players, teammates, parents and coaches let him know his game was on the right trajectory.

“I would say my strengths are my speed and my shot,” Boehm said. “I have good vision on the ice.”

He is focusing on improving his deception in the offensive zone, along with his shot and speed.

Boehm’s U15 AA Saskatoon Generals — there is no AAA designation in Saskatchewan at the U15 level — finished fourth in the 21-team Saskatchewan AA Hockey League’s North Division with a record of 20-9-1. They lost in the divisional semifinals to the eventual champion Humboldt Broncos.

“I thought it went really well,” Boehm said. “I loved my team and my coaches. I think my coaches were a big part of the improvement in my game throughout the year.”

The five-foot-11, 170-pound defenceman had 17 goals, 23 assists and 72 penalty minutes in 30 games last season. He knew his turn had finally arrived for the WHL draft, but he chose not to dwell on it.

“Honestly it wasn’t on my mind too much,” Boehm said. “I was just trying to not let it get into my head and focusing on our games and the team. I just played the best I could.”

It apparently worked.

The Wheat Kings took a pair of players in the first round ahead of Boehm, forward Jaxon Jacobson of Brandon and defenceman Giorgos Pantelas of Victoria. Then, with the 27th overall pick, Brandon grabbed Boehm.

Brandon director of player personnel Chris Moulton said after the draft that Boehm had an impressive year.

“Nigel is a competitor and a leader,” Moulton said. “I watched him lead his group all season this year. He plays hard, he has a great set of skills, he can make plays, he has the ability to jump into the offence, he’s a complete guy, but for me he’s a glue guy who is a great teammate, a great leader and does everything pretty well.”

The youngster spoke to a lot of teams before the draft, among them the Wheat Kings, and wasn’t completely surprised when he heard his name called by Brandon.

“I thought there was a chance,” Boehm said.

He was actually on the golf course during the draft, and discovered some immediate action had to be taken with his phone after his name was called. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been much golf played.

“I had to put it on silent but it was buzzing quite a bit,” Boehm said with a chuckle.

It was the first time since 2017 and only the fourth time since the draft began in 1990 that the Wheat Kings used two of their top three picks on defenceman. In the 2017 draft, Brandon grabbed forward Ridly Greig first, and then took rearguards Vinny Iorio and Anthony Kehrer, with the former developing into a Wheat Kings star and the latter choosing the college route.

You have to go all the way back to 1998 to find a pair of early defensive draft picks who played with the team. That year, Brandon took Brett Dickie, Mark Ardelan and Travis Young with its top three selections, and all three had fine major junior careers.

“It’s really nice to find out where you’re going to go and where the next step will take you,” Boehm said. “You just have to know you need to put in the work to get there.”

As a Saskatoon resident, he attended a lot of Blades games growing up. As a result, he’s had his eye on the WHL for a long time.

But now his dreams lie in Westoba Place instead of SaskTel Centre.

“I think it’s one of my highest goals,” Boehm said. “I’m really looking forward to it and excited that I’ve made it to the next step. I just have to keep on moving forward.”

» The eight players Brandon selected between the third and ninth rounds will be profiled in order in upcoming editions of the Sun over the next three weeks.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson