U18 Wheat Kings ready to go to war

The Brandon Wheat Kings reached the final last season with a young, inexperienced roster. Now, with much of that corps returning a year older and battle-tested, they’re aiming to finish the job.

“We’re definitely excited to get things rolling. Over the last five years our programs have been very strong, and I think we’ll be strong again this year,” said Travis Mealy, who’s entering his third year as head coach. “I don’t know exactly where we’ll end up, but we’ve got a pretty good idea of how we’re going to have to get there.”

The Wheat Kings found themselves on the wrong side of the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League final last year after the Winnipeg Wild, who they’ve matched up against in five of the last six finals, swept them in a five-game series to win the league title.

Despite losing key pieces like Jaxon Jacobson, Colten Worthington, Ethan Stewart, Brady Turko, and Josh McGregor to junior hockey — players on the 2023-24 team who helped Brandon beat the Wild in the final and reach the Telus Cup national final two seasons ago — the Wheat Kings still managed to finish first in the regular season last year for the fourth year in a row.

“I think last season was a bit of a weird season because of all of the parts that we lost,” Mealy said. “Maybe expectations weren’t as high as where we wanted them to be, but once we started rolling, I think we realized that we could win without having all those superstars. We just found ways to win games.”

Brandon swept the Eastman Selects and the Southwest Cougars, but against Winnipeg, it wasn’t quite ready for the jump in pace.

“When it came to the post-season against them, they just had a whole different level,” he said. “They were ready for war, and we didn’t have the war they had to get to the final, so when they came in, it was no question that they were dogs ready to fight, and we were kind of taken back by it a little bit. It was too little, too late.”

The Wheat Kings return 10 players this season, giving them far less roster turnover than a year ago. Mealy expects another competitive group—one that can lean on both the highs and lows of last season.

Leading the way up front are Jaxson Brick, 16, and Reid Nicol, 15. Both attended junior camps — Brick with the Virden Oil Capitals and Nicol with the Everett Silvertips — but are back in Brandon for another year.

The pair combined for 110 points last season and will again be key drivers of the Wheat Kings’ offence.

On the back end, Brandon added some new faces, including Max Dawson from the Norman Northstars and Theran Turner from the Cougars.

Another name to watch is Nash Lenton. The 5-foot-11, 162-pound blue-liner moved up from the U15 team and is expected to help fill the offensive gap left by Nolan Saunderson, who’s now with the Spokane Chiefs.

“In terms of experience, I like what we have. We have an older group this year, which hopefully will pay dividends in the playoffs,” said Mealy. “It doesn’t matter where you end up in the regular season, it’s just a different beast in playoffs, and some more older, stronger, mature players will help us with that.

“A big part of our success over the last five years is the leadership from the older guys, kind of bringing it forward where it’s not so much on the staff’s shoulders to kind of dictate how we want to play and how we want to act, how we want to practice,” Mealy said. “The standards are set by the older players, and for the guys that don’t want to follow it, they soon get bit by the bug and buy in, or they ultimately don’t get as much ice time as everyone else.”

Mealy compared his winning formula to the Florida Panthers, who have won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles because every single person on the team has a defined role.

“Especially at this age, we have to put more of an emphasis on being proud of your role,” he said. “If you look at the Florida Panthers, every person knows their role and is proud of it. You’ll never win if you have four lines of goal scorers or six puck-moving, offensive D-men. They need to start finding what makes them successful and what’s going to make them get to the next level.”

With junior hockey looming, Mealy recognizes this is often the final opportunity for players to round out their game before ice time becomes harder to earn. That’s why he preaches about compete level to his squad every day they’re on the ice.

“We have a bunch of different levels of skill, but the common denominator I want to see is work ethic,” he said. “That’s a skill that is a non-negotiable for me, and the players know that. There’s no guarantees, everything is earned.”

That same standard applies in net, where Brandon will turn to a new goaltending duo this season in 16-year-old Urijah Moosetail and 15-year-old Cooper Dryden. Both come through the Wheat Kings’ system — Moosetail from last year’s U17 team and Dryden moving up from U15 — and will be counted on to adjust quickly to the pace of U18 play.

The Wheat Kings pieces are all in place, and this time, they aren’t just aiming to get back to the final — they’re planning to be ready for war.

Brandon will open its season on the road against the Yellowhead Chiefs at Shoal Lake Communiplex on Saturday.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com