Jacobson set to debut with Wheat Kings

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This article was published 08/12/2023 (906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jaxon Jacobson will make his Western Hockey League regular season debut tonight when the short-staffed Brandon Wheat Kings meet the Moose Jaw Warriors at Westoba Place.

Jacobson, the fifth overall pick in the WHL draft last May, piled up five points in four preseason games with the Wheat Kings, but was injured in the final outing on Sept. 16. He said the leg is essentially at 100 per cent now, and he’s eager to hit the ice.

“I’m looking forward to it so much,” Jacobson said. “Playing in front of the hometown crowd is going to be a lot of fun. We’ll try and get a win obviously. I’m just super pumped for (tonight).”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray made his Brandon debut 32 years ago, and said advice to the youngster was simple.

“Just go out and be the player he is,” Murray said. “He’s a headsy, smart player. He’s grown up being a Wheat King fan ever since he could probably walk, so enjoy the moment. You’re not human if you don’t have any nerves. I’m sure they’ll be some nerves but it’s an exciting time for Jaxon and his family to get that first one.”

Jacobson is believed to be the youngest player to debut with the Wheat Kings since Ray Brownlee was called up on Dec. 27, 1964 when the team was still playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Brownlee was about seven months younger than Jacobson, who turns 15 next Monday.

Jacobson’s debut was made necessary because Brandon’s without leading scorer Rylen Roersma, who is serving a one-game suspension for a slew-footing major he earned late in a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday, and Matt Henry, who is serving the second game of his two-game ban for his actions in a 7-1 win over the Regina Pats last Friday.

Murray admitted the two suspensions hurt.

“It’s unfortunate,” Murray said. “We have to understand where we’re at in games. Those hurt. You have to be smart and conduct your business accordingly. We didn’t and we’re sitting in the stands (tonight).”

The Wheat Kings now have just 13 forwards on the roster after they reassigned 18-year-old Evan Groening to the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals on Wednesday. Groening becomes the fifth WHL player to be sent to Virden this season, following Braeden Lewis, Luke Robson, Ty Plaisier and Grady Lane.

In addition, the status of overage defenceman Jackson DeSouza is unknown as he continues to recover from blocking a shot in the second period of his debut against Red Deer. The puck hit him in the ear, and after he was down for a while, he left the ice and didn’t return.

He didn’t skate at practice on Thursday.

“I don’t think it’s anything real serious, it’s just precautionary,” Murray said. “He’s obviously pretty sore so he’s kind of day to day, as far as I know.”

Jacobson has certainly earned the callup since he returned to action to play in the WHL Cup on Oct. 18. He had five points in four games as Manitoba won the gold medal for the first time, and then started his season with the under-18 AAA Wheat Kings, where he has a gaudy 31 points in just 11 games.

Jacobson skates with two more Brandon prospects, Easton Odut and Brady Turko.

“Obviously playing with guys I’m familiar with like Odut and Turko has helped a lot,” Jacobson said. “They can obviously bury some goals here and there. I have a lot of chemistry with them, and our team is doing unreal this year, so that helps.”

The U18 Wheat Kings sit in first place with a record of 18-0-1-0.

Back in the WHL, sixth-place Brandon (13-11-4-1) has met third-place Moose Jaw (17-11-0-1) four times in the regular season and twice in the pre-season, so they have more than a passing familiarity with each other.

During the regular season, the Wheat Kings won 9-4 in Moose Jaw on Sept. 23, the Warriors emerged with a 5-2 victory in Moose Jaw on Sept. 29, the Wheat Kings eked out a 4-3 win in Brandon on Oct. 26 and the Warriors triumphed 4-3 in overtime in Moose Jaw on Nov. 9.

After tonight, the teams reconvene in Brandon on Dec. 16 for the final game before the Christmas break for both, then play in Moose Jaw on Feb. 15 and in Brandon on March 21 to finish the eight-game season series.

The Warriors are led by three of their National Hockey League picks, defenceman Denton Mateychuk and forwards Brayden Yager and Jagger Firkus, who is third in league scoring with 50 points in 27 games.

“They’re a really fast team with a really good goalie,” defenceman Tre Fouquette said. “They have good defence and that top line, Yager and Firkus. We just have to play solid D against them and have our top line play the best they can.”

Forward Hayden Wheddon agreed.

“They have a good top three there with Mateychuk, Firkus and Yager, so we have to shut those guys down, their top-end guys,” Wheddon said. “They’re a fast, hard-working team but we know what to do against them. We’ve played them before and beat them and lost to them. We just have to play our game that we’ve been playing lately.”

Murray said Moose Jaw’s explosiveness make them a dangerous foe, especially after they were defeated 5-1 at home by the Red Deer Rebels.

“We have Moose Jaw coming in and they lost (on Wednesday),” Murray said. “They have a real good team. They have a real high-octane offence with some key players and our attention to detail is going to have to be sharp from start to finish.”

It should be interesting weekend. The Wheat Kings go from a game on Friday against a team they’ve seen six times since training camp to the B.C. Division’s Kamloops Blazers (7-16-3-2), who last visited Brandon more than four years ago on Dec. 6, 2019.

“We just prepare the same way we always do,” the 18-year-old Wheddon said. “We watch video and get ready the same way. Last year, they were a great team and we haven’t seen them yet obviously so it’s going to be a challenge but we’ll do our best to try to beat them.”

Kamloops built a talented veteran club last season to host the Memorial Cup and are firmly in rebuilding mode this season, sitting 21st among the 22 WHL clubs with 19 points.

“Those games, I always feel like you kind of worry about yourself,” Murray said. “Obviously we’ll do pre-scouting but taking care of your own game and making details are sharp is crucial. It’s another team we haven’t seen this year. It’s just more about fine-tuning the details of our game.”

Brandon will be playing the third and fourth games of its eight-game home stand after kicking it off with the wins over Regina and Red Deer. Wheddon said it was a good start.

“We’ve had good energy in the last couple of games and we’ve been playing the right way,” Wheddon said.

After this weekend, Brandon plays just twice more before Christmas, hosting the Kelowna Rockets next Wednesday and Moose Jaw next Saturday in the teddy bear toss game. They don’t return to action until Dec. 27 when Regina visits.

Fouquette, a 19-year-old from Warman, Sask., said it’s key his club finishes strong over the next nine days.

“It’s super important,” Fouquette said. “Our first half is almost done and we have to finish off on a strong note before Christmas.”

ICINGS: The puck drops at 7 o’clock each night … The Blazers made a deal on Wednesday, sending 19-year-old prospect Tyson Jugnauth to the Portland Winterhawks for four picks, a conditional second-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2025 that originally belonged to Brandon, a third-round pick in 2024 and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2024. Jugnauth, who was Swift Current’s first-round pick in 2019, is leaving the University of Wisconsin to join Portland.

» For a quick look at every game played in Brandon between the Wheat Kings and Blazers since the 1996-97 season, see Saturday’s edition of The Brandon Sun.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson