WHL NOTEBOOK: Michta enjoys Wild new experience

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2025 (296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With former Brandon Wheat Kings goalie Alex Garrett out of the lineup due to injury, the Wenatchee Wild found themselves relying on the kindness of strangers as they made their trip through the Western Hockey League’s East Division last week.

When they got to Brandon last Wednesday, the second-year American club was counting on 18-year-old Matthew Michta to serve as their emergency backup goalie (EBUG) behind Brendan Gee.

For someone who grew up going to Wheat Kings games, it was a special treat.

“It’s the nostalgia that you feel when you’re going out on that ice,” Michta said. “I’ve seen (Jordan) Papirny and Logan Thompson out there and then being at ice level on a bench like that, you really have to take it all in. That’s a memory I won’t forget.”

The Grade 12 student at Vincent Massey is in his second full season with the under-18 AAA Wheat Kings. He was on the bus with the U18s en route to a game in Morden against the Pembina Valley Hawks when head coach Travis Mealy came back to tell him Wenatchee had asked if Michta could help them out.

“I wanted to pinch myself,” Michta said. “I didn’t really understand it when I first read it. I was a little confused with what was going on.”

It all got very real last Wednesday.

He pulled into the rink at 4:30 p.m., which was the time the team had let him know they would be there.

“Honestly I really wasn’t thinking about it,” Michta said. “I was more worried about what the atmosphere in the dressing room was going to be and how the boys were going to take to it. I know (Wild defenceman Josh) Fluker from being on the ice with him in the summer a little bit but the rest of the boys I didn’t know from a hole in the wall. I was more worried about that than the game.”

Another familiar face was Seth Tansem, the former Wheat Kings blue-liner who was dealt to the Wild in September. Michta has attended Wheat Kings camp in the past and stepped in as a practice goalie if needed so he knew the defenceman a little bit.

“They were perfect. Their equipment guy (Garett Hoglund) was super chill with me really nice,” Michta said. “Tansem, he’s obviously not new to the Brandon scene. I’ve seen him at camp with Brandon the last couple of years so I stuck with him. He was really nice to me. Luckily enough, he sat right beside me. There are lots of cool guys on that team. It was nice. I didn’t have any trouble fitting in.”

One person he didn’t speak to much prior to the game was starting goalie Brendan Gee.

“I didn’t really talk to him too much before the game,” Michta said. “He was pretty dialled in. It’s obviously pretty stressful not having your normal goaltending partner out there so I understand. I let him get dialled in.”

The funny thing is that Garrett’s injury gave Michta the chance to serve as an EBUG, but Garrett’s last arrival cost him a similar opportunity. Brandon acquired Garrett from the Everett Silvertips on Dec. 27 when Carson Bjarnason was away with the Canadian junior team and Ethan Eskit was hurt, so Dylan McFadyen started that night in a loss to the Regina Pats.

Michta had been asked to potentially serve as Brandon’s EBUG, but Garrett flew in and arrived just before game time so the Brandonite’s services weren’t needed.

Michta has faced lots of WHL shooters, so the quality didn’t surprise him in warmup. As a goalie, it was something else that caught his eye since with Brandon, he was facing former teammates such as Easton Odut, Brady Turko and Jaxon Jacobson.

“Those Wenatchee boys, I’ve never taken their shots before,” Michta said. “There were lots of different releases. You don’t really pick up anything from tells so it’s a gong show out there as you try to figure people out in a matter of a second. It’s a little complicated.”

Aside from that, he was to able to share a moment with Jacobson. When Michta skated out for the first lap in warmup, they were able to say hello.

“I looked over at him and I think he was just as confused as I was out there seeing me on the bench,” Michta said with a chuckle. There were also lots of familiar faces in the crowd. Even though he didn’t play, Michta had his own cheering section of family at the game.

He said the biggest difference between being on the bench in a U18 game and a WHL game was being able to watch without his helmet on and the fact that he had a chair to sit on.

It also gave him a whole new perspective on the size and speed of the game that he didn’t get from the stands. “I didn’t really get a sense of what six-foot-six looks like on the ice in a 20-year-old,” Michta said. “It’s a lot different from ice level. It’s pretty confusing out there. It’s fast hockey. Even opening the door, I was focused in on where the D were and the forwards and trying to keep track of all of them. It’s really cool.”

Wenatchee head coach Don Nachbaur has seen a few things during a long professional playing career and 20 years behind the bench in the WHL that began in 1994-95 and has included tenures with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs, plus with the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings.

He is the third winningest coach in WHL history with 710 victories, behind just Don Hay and Ken Hodge, and is the only bench boss to be named coach of the year with three different teams.

Nachbaur said the team has met a lot of young goalies on the trip as Garrett tries to make his way back onto the ice.

“We’ve had kids who got to practise with us but tonight we just rolled into town so we just met him right before the game,” Nachbaur said last Wednesday after his team’s 5-2 loss. “It’s a great experience for these young guys, EBUGs as they call them, to get in the locker room and see what goes on in the Western Hockey League and experience it.

“It’s a great experience for these guys to get to this level.”

NEW SEASON

Michta was part of the Brandon U18 team that went 59-4-1-0 overall last season, losing in the Telus Cup to the Cantonniers de Magog on April 28.

In one of the greatest seasons in Manitoba U18 AAA Manitoba Hockey League history, the Wheat Kings finished a record-breaking 43-0-1-0 in the regular season for 87 points, then went 9-0 in the playoffs to win the championship.

During the regular season, Michta posted a 22-0-0 record, two shutouts, a .930 save percentage and a 1.73 goals-against average, and in the playoffs, he was 4-0, with a 1.75 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

While his U18 Wheat Kings squad is having another terrific season in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League, they’ve graduated Jacobson, Turko, Odut, Burke Hood, Colten Worthington, Kaeson Fisher and Josh McGregor to the WHL, so the club has fundamentally changed.

“I think it’s a bigger role from last year,” Michta said. “Last year obviously our team had stars you’re seeing produce in the WHL. This year we have a great D corps and have great forwards but it’s a different league, a lot more competitive for our team. We’re not blowing teams out 8-0. I’ve really enjoyed being a guy who has to show up every night and can be relied on.

“That’s something I find a lot more fun. I like being a guy who has to stay engaged all the time and gets 35 shots instead of 18 to 25 I faced last year.”

The Wheat Kings (33-5-3), currently sit in second place, three points behind the Winnipeg Wild but with two games in hand.

Last season he partnered with Hood, while this year he’s with rookie Brady Low. In 24 games, he has a .910 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average.

“There’s definitely more pressure but I’m no stranger to the U18 ice surface,” Michta said. “I got those AP games (affiliate player callups) my first year and had a whole 50-50 season last year. If I hadn’t done that, I think I would be a lot more stressed out. It feels second nature, just a lot more fun to get a lot more shots.”

While they graduated an incredible amount of top talent, other players have stepped up into front-line roles and been more impactful this season. Michta said it’s evident right through the lineup.

“I really love our D corps this year,” Michta said. “Having a few returning guys like (Nolan) Saunderson, (Aiden) Laing, (Dustin) Bell, I think they move the puck really well and are good skaters. Our forwards, you see (Cole) Dupuis and (Jaxson) Brick and obviously (Cole) Lobreau, those boys are putting pucks in the net. We have Reid (Nicol) out there, he’s just a natural-born scorer. You look for talent and we still have it.”

At the same time, expectations haven’t changed, even if the personnel has.

“I don’t think (Mealy) has taken off any of the high standards he had on us last year,” Michta said. “We’re still able to do the same things we did last year, we’re just working harder. We’ve had to work a little harder because we’re not as naturally skilled.”

Brandon has produced a hothouse of talent and success in the AAA ranks in recent years, with incredible results at both the U15 and U18 levels. Michta said playing in that kind of environment makes people better.

“That’s something that helps,” Michta said. “If we had accepted that we could lose, that losing was something normal, I think our team would be a lot different than it is this year. We’re all coming from seasons where losses were devastating and we were setting all-time records. It’s raised a winning mentality in all of us, and created a drive where we’re all going to work that much harder to keep those win streaks going.

“It’s just that much more important to us.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — How many times this season has a player been suspended for a hit on a Wheat King? How many Wheat Kings have been suspended this season?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 17-year-old Victoria Royals forward Cole Reschny of Macklin, Sask., who had four goals and seven assists in four games to lead all WHL skaters with 11 points.

The goaltender of the week is 19-year-old Victoria Royals netminder Johnny Hicks of Kamloops, B.C., who won his two starts with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.Hicks, who has a commitment to Tennessee State University, left the BCHL to join the team on Jan. 3

The rookie of the week is 17-year-old Tri-City Americans forward Savin Virk of Chilliwack, B.C. The Michigan State recruit, who left the BCHL to join the Americans on Nov. 14, had three goals and four assists in three games.

• SIN BIN — One suspension will be dealt with below in the answers. Here are the others:

— Medicine Hat forward Oasiz Wiesblatt is awaiting the length of his suspension for a charging major and game misconduct against Swift Current on Friday.

— Seattle forward Simon Lovsin received one game for a charging major and game misconduct against Spokane on Friday.

— Swift Current forward Kurt Rookes of Manson received one game for a cross-checking major and game misconduct at Medicine Hat on Friday.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Jonny Hooker, 23, is now in his third season with the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Brandon-born Winnipeg product was drafted by the Wheat Kings in the eighth round in 2016 and joined the club in the 2017-18 season. He played 134 regular season games and 27 points with Brandon prior to a one-for-one trade with the Prince George Cougars for big Reid Perepeluk on Jan. 9, 2020. He finished his WHL career with 74 points in 239 games, graduating as Cougars captain. This season he leads the Bisons with 29 points in 26 games.

• BIRTHDAY BOYS — Jordan Hale (Feb. 12, 1990), Bobby Leavins (Feb. 14, 1979), Dave Chartier (Feb. 15, 1961), Brian Propp (Feb. 15, 1959), Gord Paddock (Feb. 15, 1964), Andrei Lupandin (Feb. 15, 1978), Scott McCallum (Feb. 15, 1979), Marty Murray (Feb. 16, 1975), Rylan Bettens (Feb. 16, 2000).

• THE WEEK AHEAD — Brandon visits the Swift Current Broncos tonight, and then has a home-and-home series with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday and Saturday that starts at the Moose Jaw Events Centre and then comes back to Westoba Place. After taking Sunday off, they have an afternoon matinee at SaskTel Centre against the Saskatoon Blades at 4 p.m.

• ANSWER — The WHL threw the book at Wenatchee Wild forward Shaun Rios for an ugly hit on Wednesday that knocked overage defenceman Luke Shipley out of the Brandon lineup, handing him a six-game suspension for the checking to the head major and game misconduct he received. It’s the second time this season a player has been penalized for something that happened against Brandon, and oddly enough, it involves teams from the U.S. Division both times.

The last one was on Oct. 16 when Spokane Chiefs forward Matthew Edwards was handed a five-game suspension for a high hit that knocked Brandon forward Dominik Petr out of the lineup.

While they’re certainly no angels, no Wheat King has earned one of the 41 player suspensions handed out so far this season. That led me to the same question you might be asking. Has Brandon ever gone a season without a player being suspended?

Yes it did, back in the 2014-15 season. Brandon was assessed a $250 fine for a warm-up violation but no player was suspended.