Hadland’s path leads to C

When Caleb Hadland was named the new captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings last Thursday, he was fulfilling his draft destiny.

While that may be the case, the 19-year-old forward from Sylvan Lake, Alta., said it was welcome news, but it won’t affect how he handles his business.

“I think it’s go out and be myself,” Hadland said. “I don’t think it changes much. Obviously, it’s an honour. It’s cool with the legacy we have here to wear the C on a Wheat Kings jersey. I don’t think anything has changed in my game or how I do things around the rink.”

Brandon grabbed Hadland with the 22nd pick of the 2021 draft after they took defenceman Charlie Elick third overall and forward Roger McQueen with the fourth pick.

When Brandon took Hadland — that was the year the draft was moved from May to December due to the pandemic — director of hockey operations Chris Moulton said leadership was a big part of who the young player was.

“Caleb plays the game hard all the time,” Moulton said on Dec. 9, 2021. “He is an on-ice and off-ice leader in every group that he is involved with. He has really good hockey instincts, he has a nice touch around the net, he plays a very strong 200-foot game that creates offence.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray, who joined the team in August 2022, said Moulton’s forecast certainly came true.

“Caleb has been here for four years and is a guy who, when he was first drafted, the hope down the road was for him to be captain someday,” Murray said. “He showed high character and work ethic as a young man going through the process of the WHL draft. I got my first eyes on him as a 16-year-old at fall camp. You could see the buzz around that. It was kind of a natural choice.

“For Hads, we just need him to be who he is, not a guy who maybe talks a ton in the dressing room. He leads by example. We don’t need him to change a thing.”

In a bit of a surprising development, it’s easy to argue Hadland proved to be the most valuable of Brandon’s three first-round selections that year.

Elick was dealt last January to the Tri-City Americans after weathering a tough first half, and McQueen missed most of last year and a chunk of the 2023-24 season with a back injury. He briefly returned in March, was hurt for much of the post-season and then decamped to Providence College instead of returning for his 19-year-old season.

Hadland made the club at 16 and played 12 games with the Wheat Kings before heading off to Hockey Canada’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Langley and Delta, B.C., from Nov. 3 to 12. Hadland suited up for Canada Red, and in the team’s opening game against Canada Black in Langley on Nov. 3, disaster struck.

He was tripped and broke his fibula near the ankle on his second shift, derailing his rookie season.

Hadland laced up the blades for the first time in early January 2023, and returned to the lineup for good on Jan. 20. He ended up skating in 38 games with three goals and four assists, while quickly earning the trust of the coaching staff.

In 2023-24, Hadland was the sole Wheat King to suit up in all 68 regular season games and four playoff matchups. He posted 12 goals, 27 assists, and 61 penalty minutes, and he added another goal against the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2024 playoffs.

Last season, the alternate captain suited up in 65 games, setting career highs with 25 goals and 42 points. Hadland was informed he would be captain on Thursday, the day before the team’s home opener.

“I was not overly surprised, but it was kind of emotional too,” Hadland said. “You’re the captain of a WHL team, especially this one that has a great history. It was cool for sure and surreal. I’m not going to waste this opportunity.”

Hadland’s leadership skills were first put into use in his 17-year-old season. He wore an A in some games that year, and was unofficially considered the captain of the team’s younger players.

“I heard it a couple of times,” Hadland said. “Some of the school guys and rookies in the past couple of years, I had heard I was kind of the leader of that group and was kind of Rog’s babysitter for a couple years. Now he’s gone, and I get to lead everybody and be that veteran presence.”

Murray certainly noticed the maturity Hadland displayed. He said that’s a big part of why he’s such an effective leader.

“Everybody matures at a different rate but Caleb was one of those guys who was mature beyond his years when he arrived in Brandon,” Murray said. “He has an even keel to him. He’s a great teammate who plays hard.”

That’s also how Hadland sees himself.

“I think I’m more of an on-ice guy,” Hadland said. “Something I focus on is my details throughout the day, and then when I’m on the ice, I’m giving it my all and working for the boys. I’m not the flashiest of players out there but you know if I’m out there I’ll work hard for you.”

Hadland has served as captain three times previously, with Alberta at the 2021 WHL Cup, and with his U13 AA and U15 AAA teams.

The five-foot-10, 190-pound forward said his leadership skills come from his parents, Tim and Theresa, and brother, Luke. He’s quick to acknowledge the impact they had on him.

“My parents, I think, did an amazing job raising me just to be a kind and wholesome human being,” Hadland said. “I think my brother (Luke) too. He pretty much made me the man I am to this day since we’ve been battling with mini-sticks in the basement. They all play a factor in my leadership.”

He also learned on the job.

In the last three years, Hadland played under captains Quinn Mantei (2024-25), Nate Danielson and Brett Hyland (2023-24) and Danielson and Nolan Ritchie (2022-23).

That’s a very different group of people, with Danielson and Ritchie far more reserved than the outgoing Hyland and Mantei.

“I’ve kind of seen it all,” Hadland said with a chuckle. “They’re all unbelievable leaders, and might I say, they’re all unbelievable human beings. They were all leaders in their own ways and I can take little pieces of each what they’ve taught me through the years and make a version of myself that I want to present to the world and the team we have here. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am.”

The team hasn’t officially named its alternate captains yet, but that may be coming soon. They’re now back to full strength after their pro campers, Carter Klippenstein (Minnesota Wild) and Brady Turko (Anaheim Ducks), both returned to Brandon.

“We have a ton of guys who have been around the league for a while, and a couple have been around this team and organization for a couple of years,” Hadland said. “Without a doubt, we’ll have a great leadership group and older group of guys who will help lead our younger guys.”

They’ll be calling on that leadership right away.

To say the weekend didn’t go as planned would be a bit of an understatement, with the Wheat Kings dropping a pair of ugly 6-4 and 9-7 decisions to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Hadland hopes the adversity is now out of their way, suggesting it’s better to face it early than late.

“I’m pumped,” Hadland said. “We have an unbelievable group of guys in that room. We’re all here to win and believe in ourselves this year. Even with the tough start that we had, there’s still life in that room and we still know that if we turn things around right away, we’re going to have a good season.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — When did Brandon last go 0-2 on opening weekend?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is Moose Jaw Warriors overage forward Ethan Semeniuk, a 20-year-old product of Fort St. John, B.C., who had two goals, three assists, and a plus-7 rating in two wins over Brandon.

The goaltender of the week is former Wheat Kings goalie Ethan Eskit of the Victoria Royals. The 19-year-old Calgarian made 26 saves for a shutout in his lone appearance during a 5-0 win over the Penticton Vees.

The rookie of the week is 17-year-old Kamloops Blazers forward J.P. Hurlbert of Allen, Texas, who had a hat trick in his WHL debut.

• SIN BIN — There hasn’t been a suspension in the regular season yet, but Jett Lajoie of the Prince George Cougars earned one game for a cross-checking major on Sept. 13, Kai Richards of the Seattle Thunderbirds earned two games for a charging major and Caden Cail of the Vancouver Giants earned a game for a charging major on Sept. 5 during the pre-season.

• LET’S MAKE A DEAL — The Everett Silvertips made a pair of trades, sending 17-year-old forward Booker Toninato of Allen, Texas, to Penticton on Monday for a sixth-round pick in 2028, and on Saturday dispatching 17-year-old forward Caine Wilke of Saskatoon to the Calgary Hitmen for a fifth-round pick in 2026 and a second-round pick in 2028 … Also on Monday, the Spokane Chiefs dealt 19-year-old forward Cameron Parr of La Salle to the Medicine Hat Tigers for an eighth-round pick in 2027.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Former Wheat Kings forward Brett Hyland made the jump to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he’ll join another former Wheat King, Marcus Nguyen. Hyland played four full seasons in Brandon, with 151 points in 205 regular season and playoff games between 2020 and 2024, graduating as captain.

Hyland spent last season at the University of Alberta, where the Washington Capitals draft pick had 13 goals and 20 assists in 21 games.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — Brandon plays just once, with the Prince Albert Raiders visiting Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Saturday at 6 p.m.

• ANSWER — If you guessed the forgettable start to the 2021-22 season, you would be correct. The Wheat Kings, who won the East Division crown in the Regina hub, returned to Brandon for the first time in more than a year to get thumped 10-2 by the Winnipeg Ice. Then, one night later, they headed to Winnipeg and took a 7-1 licking.

The last time it happened before that was in 1999-2000, when the Regina Pats beat them 5-4 in Brandon and 1-0 in Regina a night later.