WHL NOTEBOOK: Johnson adapts to new home in Kelowna

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trae Johnson makes his return to Brandon on Wednesday evening, but not much will be the same for the 18-year-old forward.

At last season’s Western Hockey League trade deadline on Jan. 10, the Wheat Kings sent Johnson, a third-round pick in 2023 (they drafted defenceman Jacob Henderson) and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Kelowna Rockets for forward Nolan Flamand. That makes Wednesday’s game his only chance to visit Westoba Place this season, barring an unexpected matchup in the league final.

“I’m pretty excited to play in front of my old billets (Scott and Brittney Hellyer) and play against my former team,” Johnson said. “I’m sure it will different from the other side, but it will be fun.”

A product of Martensville, Sask., Johnson was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2020 draft. The six-foot, 176-pound Johnson played 100 games with the Wheat Kings, contributing five goals, eight assists and 64 penalty minutes.

At the time of the trade, Johnson said it was a surprise, with the added element he and the Saskatoon product Flamand are good friends. They had a chance to compare notes after the season ended.

“We talked about it in the summer,” Johnson said. “We’re pretty good buddies. We talked about it a bit during skates in the summer. It’s kind of funny.”

Johnson has kept up with his former teammates a bit.

He texts the most with Quinn Mantei, who was Brandon’s top pick in the 2020 draft, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason, although he also sent a note of congratulations to Nate Danielson after he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings and then again when he made the world junior roster.

He said the transition to Kelowna has been seamless.

“It’s been good,” Johnson said. “It’s a good spot. It’s a little different than Brandon with weather and stuff so it’s been nice that way. There are great people there and great teammates so it’s all good.”

He lives about a 10-minute drive from the rink in the growing community of about 225,000 in the Okanagan Valley. As might be expected, the transition included a new way of doing things.

“The day-to-day schedule is a little bit different than Brandon,” Johnson said. “We practise in the mornings instead of the afternoon stuff. Last year, when I was in school, I went to school after so it was a little different that way, but it was relatively the same.”

He graduated last spring and is enjoying a break from his studies, but plans to start taking some university courses next season.

His parents Dion and Twila, who were a frequent sight in Brandon when Trae was with the Wheat Kings, have been out to Kelowna twice this season.

They also visited a couple of times last season and plan to make the long trip a couple more times this season. Johnson said they’re also attending each game during the current road trip.

Happily, they’ll get to see their son in action.

Johnson suffered an upper-body injury on Nov. 18 in a home game against the Swift Current Broncos and missed six games before returning to the lineup in Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Regina Pats to kick off their swing through the East Division.

They visit the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and will likely arrive in Brandon in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

The seventh-place Rockets are part of a five-way logjam for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference, with just seven points separating them from the 11th-place Kamloops Blazers. Kelowna trails the sixth-place Tri-City Americans by six points.

“Team-wise, we have a pretty good squad here,” Johnson said. “We had a little bit of a tough start, but I think we’re trending in the right direction now. Hopefully, we can keep that moving forward and have a good rest of our trip and carry that on after the Christmas break.”

In 22 games this season, Johnson has a goal, three assists and 28 penalty minutes. In 152 career games in the WHL, he has eight goals, 15 assists and 119 penalty minutes as he continues to search for the offence he flashed in his draft year with the under-15 Martensville Marauders when he had 36 goals and 31 assists in 31 games.

Still, he has a firm understanding of what’s expected from him night to night.

“I think it’s to be a good depth piece, be reliable and be a good (penalty killer),” Johnson said. “As I get older here, it’s to get a bigger role and keep improving as a player. I think that’s what they look for from me.”

He briefly played with his former Wheat Kings teammate Ben Thornton — Brandon dealt the veteran winger to Kelowna on Nov. 4 as he continued to recover from a devastating concussion suffered over a year ago — but after three games last month Thornton left the lineup with an upper-body injury and is now listed as indefinite.

Interestingly, Brandon and Kelowna made another deal on Nov. 30 when they swapped overage defencemen, with Jackson DeSouza coming to Brandon and Kayden Sadhra-Kang heading to Kelowna. DeSouza was injured in his debut when he dove to block a shot and took the puck in the ear, but he is expected to be back in action on Wednesday.

“He’s an awesome guy,” Johnson said. “I really enjoyed playing with him. He’s a great guy and a great teammate. I think he’ll be good for them. He’s a nice guy, a stay-at-home defenceman who eats shots. I loved playing with Souz.”

Johnson added Sadhra-Kang is fitting in nicely with the Rockets.

“He’s been good,” Johnson said. “He’s a really nice guy. I like him. He’s played a couple of games now and is settling in.”

From a life experience standpoint, it’s hard to beat getting traded from one conference to the other and having a chance to visit 22 cities and play in 22 rinks. Johnson is also enjoying that side of the equation.

“It’s been awesome seeing different parts of the country and being on this side of the country and getting to see the U.S. more,” Johnson said. “It’s pretty sweet. I’ve really enjoy it here.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — Which Wheat King has the longest point streak this season? Who holds the Brandon mark for the longest streak since the franchise hosted the Memorial Cup in the 2009-10 season? How many of the 12 players can you name who had streaks of 12 games or longer?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 19-year-old Everett Silvertips Dominik Rymon of Karlovy Vary, Czechia, who had three goals and five assists in two games.

The goaltender of the week is 17-year-old Red Deer Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke of Debden, Sask., who won both his starts and blanked the Wheat Kings in the third period in relief. He compiled a 0.88 goals-against average and .970 save percentage.

The rookie of the week is 17-year-old Tri-City Americans forward Max Curran from Prague, Czechia after he had a goal and four assists in two appearances.

• UPCOMING HOST — The Canadian Hockey League announced Monday that Rimouski, Que., will serve as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Memorial Cup host in 2025. The city last staged the event in 2009. The tournament will be held in Saginaw, Mich., next May as the Ontario Hockey League gets its turn. The WHL is expected to host again in 2026.

• SIN BIN — In the last week, Vancouver Giants forward Colton Langkow received five games as a repeat offender for a one-man fight in a game against the Everett Silvertips on Friday … Calgary Hitmen forward Tyson Galloway is awaiting the length of his term after a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct he took against the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday … Wheat Kings forward Rylen Roersma earned a one-game ban for a slew-footing major and game misconduct he took against the Red Deer Rebels last Tuesday. He served it on Friday.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Zakhar Polshakov is playing with the Corpus Christi IceRays in the NAHL this season, and has three goals and seven assists in 21 games. The Belarusian forward skated with the Wheat Kings for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, contributing 14 goals, 37 assists and 62 penalty minutes in 123 regular season and playoff games in a role primarily as a faceoff specialist, penalty killer and defensive forward.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — In the last week before the Wheat Kings take their Christmas break, Brandon entertains the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday and the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday in the teddy bear toss game. The Wheat Kings then head home for the holidays, with their next game set for Dec. 27 when the Regina Pats visit.

• ANSWER — The Wheat King with the longest point streak this season is defenceman Quinn Mantei, who had points in seven straight games between Oct. 21 and Nov. 11. He had two goals and eight assists in that time. Rylen Roersma has two five-game point streaks this season to sit in second place.

Led by Tim McGauley’s 24-game streak during the 2014-15 season, the Wheat Kings who have gone on heaters lasting more than 12 games are:

• Nate Danielson (13gp, 8g, 14a, 22p, Nov. 11, 2022 — Dec. 10, 2022).

• Brett Hyland (12gp, 14g, 4a, 18p, Dec. 2, 2022 — Jan. 6, 2023).

• Ridly Greig (12gp, 5g, 18a, 23p, Feb. 11, 2022 — end of season).

• Ty Lewis (13gp, 8g, 22a, 30p, Sept. 22, 2017 — Oct. 21, 2017).

• Ty Lewis (13gp, 8g, 15a, 23p, Nov. 14, 2017 — Dec. 12, 2017).

• Nolan Patrick (12gp, 18g, 8a, 26p, Feb. 2, 2016 — Feb. 26, 2016).

• Tim McGauley (24gp, 17g, 36a, 53p, Jan. 16, 2015 — March 13, 2015).

• Tim McGauley (12gp, 14g, 9a, 23p, Nov. 21, 2014 — Dec. 16, 2014).

• Mark Stone (18gp, 14g, 23a, 37p, Sept. 22, 2011 — Nov. 5, 2011).

• Mark Stone (14gp, 8g, 22a, 30p, Jan. 25, 2012 — Feb. 24, 2012).

• Mark Stone (18gp, 12g, 28a, 40p, Jan. 26, 2011 — March 9, 2011).

• Matt MacKay (18gp, 14g, 23a, 37p, Jan. 21, 2011 — March 2, 2011).

• Brayden Schenn (15gp, 6g, 23a, 29p, Nov. 7, 2009 — Dec. 11, 2009).

• Aaron Lewadniuk (15gp, 10g, 10a, 20p, Jan. 22, 2010 — Feb. 26, 2010).

• Matt Calvert (13gp, 10g, 11a, 21p, Nov. 18, 2009 — Dec. 19, 2009).

• Jay Fehr (13gp, 8g, 10a, 18p, Oct 7, 2009 — Oct 31, 2009).