Wheat Kings acquire young D-man from Raiders

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This article was published 11/10/2023 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings fortified their blue-line on Wednesday, acquiring 17-year-old defenceman Seth Tansem from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 Western Hockey League draft.

Tansem, a five-foot-nine, 179-pound product of Kelowna, B.C., has appeared in five games for the Raiders this season, with no points. He has a plus-minus of 2.

Last season, the right-handed shot had eight assists and seven penalty minutes in 44 games as a 16-year-old rookie.

Tansem found out about the deal after practice on Tuesday and flew to Calgary on Wednesday. He joined the team in Lethbridge prior to their game against the Hurricanes last night, which ended after deadline.

“I’m definitely going to miss the guys over there,” Tansem said of the Raiders. “They’re all super nice and I love them all but it’s a new beginning and I’m super excited to get started.”

The only player he knows in Brandon is former Raiders defenceman Tre Fouquette.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said there are a few reasons why Tansem is a good fit for the Wheat Kings.

The first is that Tansem offers some on-ice attributes that should be helpful.

“For us, he’s a guy who is really smart,” Murray said. “Anybody who has watched us would agree that we’re having trouble breaking pucks out of our end, and he makes a good first pass and can get the puck moving north, which is all we need out of our D right now.

“We feel like our forward group is pretty deep and pretty strong, and we’ve got to get the puck in their hands. We feel Seth can contribute to that.”

When asked about his game, Tansem said he likes to be a two-way defender.

“Puck moving, vision, I like to get up in the play and help out offensively but I like to be hard defensively and responsible too,” Tansem said.

Another positive for Brandon is Tansem’s age. Brandon has a 2003-born overager, Kayden Sadhra-Kang, and three 2004-born players in their 19-year-old seasons, Andrei Maliavan, Luke Shipley and Fouquette.

Tansem will join fellow 17-year-old Charlie Elick and 18-year-old Quinn Mantei as players with more long-term value due to their age.

“We looked at all the options across the league and our D-corps in general was a little older with the ‘04s and the ’03,” Murray said. “Seth was a player who became available and was a pretty highly touted player coming into the league. As we all know, it takes some time to find your groove, and I think for him, getting a fresh start is something he’s looking forward to.”

Prince Albert took Tansem in the second round with the 43rd overall pick in 2021 after he played with the Pursuit of Excellence U15 Prep, and after it was sold, with RHA Kelowna.

In 2020-21, he had two goals and 15 assists in five games, and as a rookie at the U18 level, contributed three goals and 25 assists in 24 games.

With Maliavan’s status for the American portion of the trip still up in the air due to visa issues — Murray said on Wednesday afternoon it’s changing on an almost hourly basis — Tansem could get a good opportunity to showcase his abilities during the six games against the U.S. Division teams.

It will also give him a chance to get to know his new teammates.

“It’s super nice,” Tansem said. “I’ll be able to gel with the boys right away. On the road, you’re always with everyone so it will be a really good time to connect with everyone and get to know everyone on a personal level. That’s a really good part of it.”

Brandon is also bringing 16-year-old defenceman Emerson Clark on the trip. Clark is a signed affiliate player who is suiting up for the Saskatoon Blazers in the Saskatchewan Male U18 Hockey League this season after getting a long look at camp.

ICINGS: The WHL announced Wednesday it has joined Respect Hockey Culture Center, which it described as “a centralized platform which provides access for players, coaches and employees to confidentially receive mental health support services and to report on incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination.” The program is operated by an independent third-party, and also involves the American Hockey League (AHL), ECHL, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and United States Hockey League (USHL) … Daniella Ponticelli did play-by-play on the Regina Pats game last night on Access Communications, becoming the first female broadcaster in AccessNow history … On Tuesday, the Edmonton Oil Kings acquired 18-year-old forward Roan Woodward of Nipawin, Sask., from the Everett Silvertips for a fifth-round pick in 2026 … The Saskatoon Blades picked up overage forward Easton Armstrong of Redondo Beach, Calif., from the Wenatchee Wild for a third-round pick in 2025 and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2027.

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