Dylan McFadyen achieves dream by signing

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This article was published 24/01/2024 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings have just helped netminder Dylan McFadyen score a goal.

Brandon officially announced Monday the Winnipeg goalie — who they took in the sixth round with the 121st overall pick last May — has signed a scholarship and development agreement with the club.

The lanky, 142-pound McFadyen became the fifth member of the 2008-born draft class to sign, following forwards Jaxon Jacobson and Isaac Davies, plus defencemen Giorgos Pantelas and Nigel Boehm.

“It’s awesome,” McFadyen said. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for a while.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said McFadyen earned the contract.

“We feel like he’s grown a lot here as a goalie in the last number of months and made some huge strides in his game,” Murray said. “Our guys like him and there’s a ton of upside for a goaltender at six-(foot)-three.”

Brandon goaltending coach Tyler Plante doesn’t hesitate when asked what he likes about the young netminder.

“Size and attitude,” Plante said. “He’s a big body, and big bodies can take up a good portion of the net, and he moves pretty well for a big guy. I was a big guy obviously and I remember some of the struggles I had to go through to get to the Western League level, and those are apparent in his game.

“He’s going to have to get over that hump, but he’s a fantastic kid, great work ethic, comes to work every day and is willing to take the feedback and apply it to his game.”

McFadyen spent last season with Winnipeg Wild Red in the Winnipeg U15 AAA Hockey League, going 15-3-0-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average (GAA) and .923 save percentage. McFadyen’s club finished second in the regular season behind the Brandon Wheat Kings, and then fell to them in Game 7 of the best-of-seven final.

McFadyen’s numbers were even better in the playoffs, as he posted a 2.13 goals-against average and .931 save percentage with a 9-4-0 record.

He was the 11th goaltender taken in the WHL draft.

After graduating to the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League ranks this season, McFadyen tried out for the Wild, but they ultimately settled on 17-year-old Jacob Armstrong and 16-year-old Dawson Groen. That left McFadyen in need of a place to play.

“They said it would be beneficial for me to go to U17, but with everything with the Wheat Kings, I thought it would be beneficial for me to go play U18,” McFadyen said. “We explored our options and the Interlake coach (Aaron Kaatz) talked to me. I went to a couple of practices and exhibition games and thought that was the best for me.”

The Lightning proved to be a tremendous fit.

He and his 17-year-old goaltending partner Alex Myers have essentially split the starts, with Myers appearing in 18 games with a 2.82 GAA and a .920 save percentage. McFadyen’s numbers through 14 games are almost a mirror image, with a GAA of 2.90 and a .919 save percentage.

The Lightning have a record of 19-10-3-0 and sit in fourth place, which is outstanding for the program.

“We stick in the rotation,” McFadyen said. “Obviously, I missed a couple of games for Team Manitoba so I’m kind of trying to make games up at this point, but we’re just rolling with a rotation.”

The provincial team he played on was the Manitoba squad in Red Deer, Alta., in October that became the first to win the WHL Cup.

McFadyen made two appearances in five games, posting a 3.05 GAA and a .912 save percentage as the team lost its first two games to Alberta and British Columbia, then beat Saskatchewan during the round-robin, topped B.C. in the semifinals and upset Alberta in a shootout in the final.

“It was great,” McFadyen said. “Obviously Manitoba is always an underdog so going into the tournament, we were just trying to win a couple of games. Obviously you want to win the tournament but you start off 0-2 and you’re kind of thinking ‘This is going maybe as expected.’

“But then you roll into the Saskatchewan game, which is always a good Prairie matchup, and you kind of regain your confidence. Semifinals are just one game and you do whatever you can to win that game, and then the final is the big game. I didn’t get the start but it was always a good experience and we ended up winning.”

He’s also enjoying a chance to spend some time in Brandon, although the source of his visit is unfortunate.

With Wheat Kings starting goalie Carson Bjarnason out of the lineup week-to-week with a lower-body injury, backup Ethan Eskit has taken the reins. As a result, McFadyen has been serving as the emergency backup.

Brandon still has 19-year-old netminder Nick Jones on its roster, too, but the Calgary product is having a terrific season with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm and isn’t interested in leaving.

McFadyen came to Brandon on Jan. 14 — two days after Bjarnason was injured — and has been in the city ever since. It actually worked for his U18 schedule, since Interlake was set to visit Brandon on the weekend anyway.

On Saturday afternoon, McFadyen made 42 saves, but the Lightning fell 5-4 in overtime to the Wheat Kings on a goal by his fellow Brandon prospect Jacobson, who also had three assists, and another Wheat Kings prospect, Easton Odut, had a pair of helpers.

That might seem like a pretty good day, but McFadyen climbed back into his gear in the evening to back up Eskit as he made 38 saves to shut out the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-0.

“It was awesome,” McFadyen said. “Carson is kind of their main guy to go to, but it’s good experience for me to get the call up, practise with the team, (play) backup a couple games. It’s been good for me.”

But he has found the experience eye-opening. He’s quick to point out the fact he has to be laser focused every time he’s on the ice or major junior shooters will eat him alive.

“Even if the shot velocity is what I’m used to, the accuracy is on different level,” McFadyen said. “If you’re moving out of the way or in the wrong position, they’ll bury it right past you and you have no chance.”

Plante said it’s hard to overestimate the size of the learning curve for any young goalie coming into the league. He faced it as a youngster 20 years ago when he was trying to earn a spot with the Wheat Kings.

“It’s very steep,” Plante said. “Obviously, I’m a local kid so I would come and practise with the Wheat Kings. I remember being 16 years old and just dreading playing small area games because I was afraid of getting exposed.

“The pace that everything happens in front of you, let alone the shot speed and velocity, are off the charts different. Obviously there are some top guys where you are playing who can shoot the pill but we’re talking about a consistent, every single guy can shoot the puck very hard.

“It’s just a completely different level, and it’s the speed they do things. It’s a massive adjustment, especially for a 15 year old. You can look at Dylan and forget he’s 15 because of his stature but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done that is pretty typical for a guy his size. I think he’s going to overcome all of them with his attitude and work ethic.”

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