Odut, Wheaties looking for rebound

Easton Odut and the Brandon Wheat Kings certainly understand they have to be better this weekend as they try to dig themselves out of a giant hole to start the Western Hockey League season.

“There is definitely big pressure,” the 18-year-old forward from Dauphin said. “We were one of the top teams before the season started and no one expected us to have this slow of a start. If you look at the standings, we’re not in the playoffs right now.

“There is a whole season left, but it will definitely come by quick. We have to put the pedal to the metal and go as hard as we can and try to turn things around.”

Brandon (2-6-1-0) faces the Lethbridge Hurricanes (3-9-0-1) this evening at 6 o’clock in Western Hockey League action tonight at Assiniboine Credit Union Place in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal. But much has changed for both clubs, which currently sit 11th and 12th in the conference.

Lethbridge had a tremendous exodus of talent after the season ended, although 19-year-old Luke Cozens and overagers Shane Smith and Logan Wormald are all clicking along at more than a point-per-game pace.

The Wheat Kings then host the Moose Jaw Warriors (6-5-1-0) on Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock: The Warriors swept the Wheat Kings in their season-opening series, and that was without their top player, Lynden Lakovic, who was still away at Washington Capitals camp and has 10 goals in 10 WHL games since his return.

Lethbridge plays in Moose Jaw on Friday evening and then heads east, with Moose Jaw taking Saturday off.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the key to victory isn’t that hard to grasp against those two clubs.

“In this league, if you’re not working, it’s hard to win,” Murray said. “We have Lethbridge who are on a little swing in the East, and they’re going to be hungry. Again, we have a team that’s playing Friday night, so we have to be ready to go Saturday, and then on Sunday we have Moose Jaw, who beat us twice at the start of the year.

“They work. They’re a meat-and-potatoes team that is getting some big efforts from a lot of guys, but it comes down to a foundation of a good work ethic. That will be the focus for us going into the weekend.”

The Wheat Kings certainly have some work to do.

The numbers are bound to be unsightly when you’ve won twice in your first nine starts, but they’re currently located two towns past ugly.

Brandon has been outscored 19-6 in the first period so far, and has fallen behind 2-0 in the last five games. They’ve never scored the opening goal or led after the first period, and in the road loss to the struggling Regina Pats on Saturday, the Wheat Kings were outshot 17-3 in the opening frame.

“We’ve definitely dug ourselves big holes at the start of games,” Odut said. “We’re going to switch up our routines before games. I think we go out expecting it to be easy at times, and in this league, nothing is easy and nothing is given.

“We have to play our third (period) in the first and every period will come like that if we keep playing hard and play for each other and play for the love of the game.”

The Wheat Kings have talked about their first-period issues over and over, and Murray is now almost employing a bit of reverse psychology to get his troops motivated.

“It’s hard to chase the game, no question about it,” Murray said. “We’re going to make some small tweaks. A lot of it is mental, I think. Whether it’s changing meeting time or changing warmup a little bit, I think we’re going to talk a little bit about making sure we’re ready to go, but if you just continually talk about it and talk about it, it can get some negative thoughts creeping into your mind too.

“Our guys know what the issue is, the first period, and we’ll talk about it and then I don’t want to hear about it again. We have to start on time in our rink against a team that played the night before and try to be professionals and ready to play.”

In the second period this season, Brandon has outscored its opponents 18-13, and in the final frame, they have been outscored 15-12, but six of those goals came in a single loss to Moose Jaw.

Brandon has outscored their opponents in the third period in four of their last five games but only have two points to show for it because their starts have been so bad.

They’ll need to fix that to win and to get some revenge against Lethbridge for last year’s playoff loss and Moose Jaw for the two defeats earlier this season.

“It’s two big games coming up,” Odut said. “Just because they both beat us, we’re going to come out with that much more energy and that much more physicality and send them a message.”

In eight games this season, Odut has a goal, an assist, and a plus-minus of -3 with no penalty minutes.

Last season, he was knocked out of commission on Dec. 14 and missed the back half of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

“The shoulder has been good, and that was the main issue from last year,” Odut said. “I haven’t been hurt (this season). Obviously it’s been a weird start. We haven’t been winning, and that’s different from previous years, but it’s a learning experience and I think especially in this week’s practice, we’ve had good energy.

“I think we’re going to turn things around here.”

The 18-year-old forward played in just 20 games last season, contributing three goals, two assists, eight penalty minutes, and dozens of annoyed opponents with an energetic style built around his willingness to do the dirty work along the boards.

While the team is feeling pressure to win, Odut is internalizing the pressure to play well as well.

“Missing last year, I didn’t know what to expect coming back,” Odut said. “Everybody had a summer to train and last year to develop, so it was definitely a different start, but I feel good out there. I’m moving well and practice helps, and the guys are all supportive. It’s a good group, so it makes coming to the rink even better.”

The injury news is mixed elsewhere.

Adam Hlinsky, who was dealing with a lower-body issue and has been out of the lineup since Sept. 27, is back skating and may return to the lineup soon.

Another defenceman, 19-year-old Merrek Arpin, remains home in Calgary with a long-term upper-body injury.

Leading scorer Jaxon Jacobson is also on the mend from a vexing lower-body issue but may be in the lineup on the weekend.

If it seems like Brandon has been home a lot to start the season, you’re right. All but three of their first 15 games are at Assiniboine Credit Union Place, which before the season seemed like an opportunity to make hay before they headed out on the road.

Instead, they are a dreadful 2-4-1-0 at home and 0-2-0-0 on the road, and only the Wenatchee Wild have fewer points overall with just four.

The Wheat Kings have somehow managed to compile that record despite a league-leading power play that is converting at an astonishing 40.6 per cent. That’s balanced by a shorthanded unit that has killed just 62.9 per cent of its opportunities, which puts them in 22nd place in a 23-team league.

However it happens on the weekend, the Wheat Kings find themselves with 13 per cent of their season over but just two points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

“We’re creeping up on 10 games, so percentage-wise it’s getting up there,” Murray said. “It seems like everybody is getting points around us around us and maybe we’re not playing or not getting points.”

ICINGS: There were a pair of deals in the league on Thursday involving the Red Deer Rebels. The Saskatoon Blades acquired 19-year-old defenceman Derek Thurston of Delta, B.C., from the Rebels in exchange for 17-year-old forward Kohen Lodge of Red Deer and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2028. The Rebels also acquired 20-year-old defenceman Aleksey Chichkin of Vancouver from the Prince George Cougars in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com