Ugly road trip set to test Wheat Kings

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This article was published 21/11/2023 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The bus warriors are back in action.

After practice on Tuesday morning at Westoba Place, the Brandon Wheat Kings made the 1,142-kilometre trip northwest to Edmonton. Following tonight’s game against the Oil Kings, they make a quick 155-kilometre trip to Red Deer to meet Rebels on Friday.

After that game, they’ll drive 408 kilometres southeast to Medicine Hat for Saturday’s tilt against the Tigers, and then finish up with a 587-kilometre trip to Prince Albert for a game early Sunday evening against the Raiders.

By the time they make the final 659-kilometre journey home, they’ll have played four games and covered nearly 3,000 kilometres in six days.

Gentlemen, welcome to the Western Hockey League.

“It’s a real hard trip obviously,” Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said with a chuckle. “The amount of games and the travel, but there are only so many dates you can fit games into. It’s unfortunate our trip looks like it does, but there are probably going to be one or two of those that every team has. It looks like quite an uphill battle, but it is what it is so we have to approach it one game at a time.”

Brandon has met Edmonton once, a 5-2 victory on Friday at Westoba Place. A night later, it fell 3-2 to Medicine Hat in their sole matchup.

The Wheat Kings haven’t played the Rebels yet, and won their only game against Prince Albert 4-3 on Sept. 27.

“The first one in Edmonton is maybe a big one to start us off on the right foot,” Murray said. “They’re a good team and they can play, but for us, starting the trip off on the right foot would at least give us some momentum going into it and then we take it day-by-day.”

While it’s a long trip, it’s a lot closer to home for the team’s seven Albertans.

Overage Brett Hyland is an Edmonton product who has played in his hometown just three times in his career due to the pandemic and injury.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it to my house or anything, seeing as our schedule is pretty tight, but just to play in Rogers Arena will be really cool again and just to drive around,” Hyland said. “I know where everything is so I always enjoy that. It will be cool.”

He has an assist in three losses at home so far.

Hyland said the game at Rogers Place a year ago on Nov. 18 stands out for him. While the result wasn’t ideal — Brandon lost 5-3 — everything else was perfect.

“We have never played our best hockey there, at least since I’ve been here, but last year I had a whole lot of people come and support me,” Hyland said. “It was pretty cool to see them in the stands. It was just a fun game last year, and to see them after was pretty good.

“I’m looking forward to changing the streak.”

Two nights later, Nate Danielson has the opportunity to skate in his hometown, Red Deer.

The team captain will have one more trip home on Jan. 27, and since he will almost certainly turn pro next season in the Detroit Red Wings organization, that will be his final chance to play at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

“It’s nice to get to go home and play in front of some friends and family,” Danielson said. “I’ll probably be able to get to see my family a little bit, too, which will be nice.”

While Danielson has enjoyed some success in his four games in Red Deer — he had four assists in a 4-1 victory on Jan. 14, 2022 and two goals in a 4-2 win on Nov. 19, 2022 — the game that stands out to him was on April 23, 2022 when Riley Ginnell scored in overtime to give Brandon a 2-1 victory in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

“I would say Game 2 of the playoffs in my 17-year-old year,” Danielson said without hesitation. “I remember I scored the first goal off a rebound off a shot from Vinny (Iorio) and then we ended up winning 2-1 in overtime to tie the series back up. That was my favourite one.”

Danielson has five goals and eight assists in 16 games this season since returning from a long look at Red Wings camp. While his two-way presence can be measured well beyond the scoresheet — Connor Bedard said he was the hardest player in the WHL to skate against last season — he expects more from himself.

“I’m not happy honestly,” Danielson said. “I’ve been gripping my stick a little bit. I’m still trying to find my game and sort of get on a roll.”

“I think it’s one of those stretches where it’s just not going my way,” Danielson added. “I think there are things I can improve and get better at to help fix that, but everyone goes through it. Look at (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl. They’re going through a little slump, too.

“It happens to everyone, but when you’re in it, you feel like you’re never going to get out of it. Hopefully, it kind of turns around.”

Hyland’s 11 goals, meanwhile, trail only Brandon’s breakout star Roger McQueen. The team’s third-youngest player has 13.

The overage Hyland, who was born on Feb. 18, 2003, is the greybeard on the team since he’s three months older than fellow 20-year-old Kayden Sadhra-Kang and five months older than Jayden Wiens. He said it is odd thinking that the number of these WHL trips he has left is starting to wind down.

“It’s a mix of emotions,” Hyland said. “I just can’t believe I’m the old guy now. It’s weird to think about.”

Hyland and the Wheat Kings had an extended chance to get their road legs under them in October when they headed to the West Coast to meet the U.S. Division clubs during a 13-day odyssey.

With the benefit of experience, Hyland said there are ways to perform at a high level on the entire trip, but it isn’t easy.

“It’s definitely possible but sometimes it’s uncontrollable,” Hyland said. “I think it’s just about maximizing your chances and opportunities to do the right things, whether that’s going to bed at the right time and making sure you’re using the cold tubs and recovering after games. “It’s just like playing cards, you want to maximize your odds.”

Danielson said they have to do as well as they can on the road, and when they’re back home, capitalize on teams when they visit under similar circumstances.

“It’s definitely tough,” Danielson said. “A trip like this with four in five and three in three with some tough travel to P.A., to finish it off, it’s definitely tough, but every team goes through it. We just have to dig in, and when it’s our chance to play teams on tough travel like this, we have to take advantage of it.”

An interesting feature of the league this season is a new age of parity has been restored, with none of the super teams which have skated in the WHL in recent years. All 22 teams have at least five losses and the best team and worst are only separated by 19 points.

“Every game is a war,” Murray said. “Any weekend you can climb or dive in the standings. I’m not anticipating it changing through the season. Every game is almost like a mini-playoff game.

“For us, we just have to get out of the .500 win one, lose one. We have to put together a little streak. Our past 10 have been okay depending on where you start it. We’re at .650, .700 hockey.”

Brandon is 4-3-2-1 in its last 10 and 9-9-4-1 overall, good for seventh place in the 11-team Eastern Conference after 23 of their 68 games.

They’re just four points behind the fourth-place Moose Jaw Warriors, which would give them home-ice advantage in the post-season, and just four points ahead of the ninth-place Calgary Hitmen, who are currently outside the playoff picture.

“There are absolutely no easy games,” Hyland said. “We know that every time coming into the rink now, Every night is going to be a grind, a battle, and honestly it’s which team shows up and wants it more. That’s exactly what it feels like. The conference is so tight in points, you really just have to show up every night.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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