Boehm’s loyalties shift to Wheaties

Ten-year-old Nigel Boehm would be scandalized to learn how much has changed when it comes to his feelings about the Saskatoon Blades.

The 17-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman’s hometown is listed as Corman Park, which is the municipality surrounding Saskatoon. His family actually lives on acreage five minutes from the city, so it’s certainly home.

As he grew up, he had a real affection for the local Western Hockey League club.

“I went to a lot of Blades games growing up,” Boehm said. “That was normally my annual birthday present, taking a few of my buddies to the games and watching.

“They’ve been an inspiration to me, even getting here. Watching them play helped motivate me and take my game to the next level. Now I’m playing against and a big rival and I hate them but they were my favourite team, that’s for sure.”

Brandon (11-11-1-0) and Saskatoon (14-11-2-0) square off tonight at Assiniboine Credit Union Place. The puck drops at 7.

The visiting team has won both games this season, with the Blades taking a 6-3 decision at Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Oct. 5 and the Wheat Kings winning 3-2 at SaskTel Centre on Nov. 22.

The latter matchup allowed Boehm to play what’s truly a home game for him.

“It’s remarkable,” Boehm said. “Being able to see all my friends and family come there and see me after the game means everything to me. Being able to play at home is another thing in front of a home crowd is super nice.”

“I went up and saw pretty much my whole family, who stayed, and a few of my buddies after the game,” Boehm added. “I had a little chat with them. It was good.”

The Blades come into town on a three-game losing streak but Brandon has been kind to them in the past. In fact, Saskatoon is 12-2-1-1 at Assiniboine Credit Union Place in the last five years.

The teams meet again in Brandon on Jan. 1 and Feb. 16, and in Saskatoon on Jan. 3, Jan. 14 and March 18.

“They have lots of skill on their team,” Boehm said. “The biggest thing with them is their speed. We have lots of speed too, but it’s one of the things to watch out for when we play them. It should be a good matchup.”

Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the Blades are a good hockey team.

“They have lots of depth, solid goaltending, solid D and solid forwards,” Murray said. “They’re right in the thick of it like everybody else and team we’re battling with. We expect it to be another hard-fought game.”

Brandon has played with just 10 forwards in its last two games, but there is some good news on the horizon. Luke Mistelbacher is back after having all four wisdom teeth removed last week, while his linemate Jaxon Jacobson took a very light skate after practice as he recovers from a lower-body injury.

Meanwhile, Easton Odut (upper body) and Ryan Boyce (lower body) are now participating at practice in red no-hit jerseys, which signals they are a giant step closer to returning to the lineup.

However, defencemen Adam Hlinsky and Merrek Arpin remain out indefinitely.

That leaves the Wheat Kings with just seven defencemen, with all seven dressing recently due to the shortage up front.

It’s also helped create opportunity for Boehm, who was taken by Brandon in the second round with the 28th overall pick in the 2023 WHL draft, just after they grabbed Jaxon Jacobson and Gio Pantelas. They also nabbed Ryan Boyce, goaltending prospect Dylan McFadyen and defensive prospect Jack Swaenepoel that year.

In 21 games this season, Boehm has six assists, 24 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of +5. In his 82-game career, he has a goal, 12 assists, 58 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of +2.

While Boehm played well as a 16-year-old rookie in the WHL, which is no easy task, he’s thankful to have that year under his belt. This year he came back with a better sense of what to expect and what was expected of him.

“It’s a lot easier,” Boehm said. “The confidence is up, and not only having self confidence, but trusting my teammates and helping out the new guys, the rookies — same age or older, it doesn’t matter — we’re all treated the same on the ice.

“To be able to help them out and give them some confidence is always a great thing. It’s part of my game and I like to keep that.”

In the ideal situation, a player grows and accepts more responsibility every year in the league. For Boehm, that’s meant more minutes and a bigger spot on the penalty kill, a development he welcomes.

“It’s a lot more but I like having a bigger role on the team,” Boehm said. “Being able to go out on the PK and take those minutes, it’s good.”

“The biggest thing I take away from my second year is being able to play those bigger roles, the bigger PK role and being a reliable player,” he added. “Taking no shifts off is the biggest thing.”

His coach said after some early struggles, Boehm’s game is coming along nicely. A big part of that is understanding what’s required from him every game.

“He would probably agree that maybe at the beginning he was a little inconsistent and trying to find his game,” Murray said. “I feel like in the last dozen games or so he’s really played to his identity. He’s a defence-first defenceman. “He’s chipped in with some points, which is great, but that’s not what he is. We’ll take it for sure but he’s a guy who needs to be a defensive pillar on our back end.

“As a 17 year old, there are still going to be some growing pains, but he’s made some real big strides.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com