WHL NOTEBOOK: Gower seizes Oil Kings opportunity

Ryan Gower may not lead the Edmonton Oil Kings in points or ice time, but he might be the runaway champion when it comes to sheer positivity.

The 18-year-old defenceman and forward from McCreary hasn’t been in the lineup every game this season, but never loses sight of what’s truly important and what his teammates need from him.

“I like to have a lot of fun at the rink, whether we’re losing or winning,” Gower said. “I like to make sure the room is loose and we’re still having fun and remembering that these are the best years of our lives.

“Obviously we have a job to do and go there and perform and try to get two points on 68 days of the year during the hockey season, but a lot of times we can get lost in the game and forget to embrace the opportunity and challenges we have.

“I love going to the rink every day with the group of guys we have. They make it easy on me to be a good teammate.”

After playing minor hockey in McCreary alongside current Brandon Wheat Kings forward Brady Turko — the pair were childhood best friends — Gower made the jump to AAA with the under-15 Parkland Rangers in 2020-21, which was the year that was quickly shut down due to COVID.

“You’re a young guy going into body checking and everything,” Gower said. “Our coaches were great, they worked with us a lot with the time he had. And when we did get shut down, we had the same coach for my second year of U15 so we already knew him. They worked with us nonstop and I ended having a really good year. They gave me every opportunity in the world to succeed.”

So did his family, which includes parents Syd and Carol and older brother Scott. He can’t imagine the journey without their help and guidance.

“They haven’t just supported me financially through hockey, but the mental aspect and everything about that and the game,” Gower said. “Every decision that we’ve made up to this point in my career, whether it was tournaments or a few years ago where he had a big decision to make where I came out here to NAX to play for an academy and I left home for a year.

“Without them, nothing could ever be possible. I’m very grateful for everything they’ve done for me.”

In his draft year with the Rangers, he posted 13 goals and 21 assists in 32 games and was grabbed by the Prince Albert Raiders in the second round, 32nd overall in 2022.

He admits he was nervous about the entire process, in part because he didn’t really understand a lot about how it all worked.

“I was just a young kid trying to play hockey the best I could,” Gower said. “You always want to make it to the next level but I wasn’t entirely sure what that consisted of.”

He was given the option to stay home on draft day by his parents, but chose instead to go to school with his friends. After one class, he headed to the home of his buddy Luke Myhre — a member of the Dauphin Kings who was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks — when Luke’s younger brother Jake came running up with the news he had been selected.

“We had no idea,” Gower said. “He was the first one to see it. Me and Luke have been friends for a long time and it was pretty special to share that moment with him. After that, my brother hopped in his car and came and picked me up and drove me straight home, and I had my family there and we celebrated there.

“You don’t see many kids from McCreary get drafted to the WHL. That was definitely a special moment.”

Along with Gower and Myhre, Turko was selected in the fifth round by Brandon, and Gower noted Brady’s younger brother Easten played with them in minor hockey as an underage and also went to Brandon, but in 2024.

After putting up 25 points in 42 games as a U18 rookie with the Rangers, after he was reassigned by the Raiders at age 16, Gower made the difficult decision to jump to Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Xtreme under-18 prep team.

“We were trying to make the decision that would be best for me,” Gower said. “I went to camp and pre-season with a few guys in P.A., who just got drafted — Daxon Rudolph and Riley Boychuk, who were first and second overall and were going to NAX — so it was ‘This has to be a good spot if all these high-level kids are going there.’”

He got a call from NAX a few days later and had to make a quick decision, and ultimately figured it was a good spot. Beyond moving from a village of 750 people to a city of over a million, he also had to change schools and live with billets for the first time with two other future WHLers, Jordan Duguay of the Portland Winterhawks and Brek Liske of the Everett Silvertips.

“I’ve never made a better decision in my life,” Gower said. “The level of that hockey, it was an entire step up.”

WILD SEASON

He had a second opportunity to make the Raiders in the fall of 2024 at the start of his 17-year-old season, but was reassigned to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings in September and called up for a pair of games with Prince Albert in November.

In December, he was dealt in the MJHL to the Neepawa Titans, which proved to be a great move as he was given a larger role by Titans head coach Ken Pearson and assistant coach Zak Hicks. In 24 games, he flashed glimpses of his offensive ability with five goals and 13 assists in just 24 regular season games, and added four more points in five playoff games.

“It was obviously tough,” Gower admitted. “I wasn’t where I wanted to be at, with Prince Albert. I wasn’t getting the opportunities I wanted with Dauphin so I ultimately chose to go to Neepawa for the rest of that season.

“Neepawa was great. Ken Pearson and Zak Hicks, those guys helped me a lot. As a young guy playing junior, it was going to be tough but I just felt going Neepawa with the opportunities those guys gave me, they gave me every opportunity to succeed and I built so much confidence. We had an unbelievable group of guys. It was one of my favourite years of hockey ever.”

Gower was traded for the second time on Jan. 9, 2025 — although this time it was in a different league — when the Oil Kings acquired him for a sixth-round pick in 2028. Although he thought he might be dealt, it still came as a bit of a surprise when he got the call.

“I was kind of hoping it would have happened earlier to give me a chance to stick around in Edmonton last year but it didn’t happen,” Gower said. “That’s just the ups and downs of hockey. Sometimes you just have to work with what you have.”

Edmonton called him up for four games in the back half of the season, and since he knew some of the players from NAX on the team, it made the transition pretty easy. He had also been to Oil Kings games at Rogers Place when he was air Edmonton so he had a sense of what lay ahead.

“It was tough but it was good learning experience,” Gower said of the tumultuous season. “It was needed for my career to make those changes.”

LAST CHANCE?

While he had a clean slate with Edmonton, Gower knew he was entering his 18-year-old season when he went to camp in August, essentially meaning it was his make-or-break moment. After all, not many players enter the league at 19.

“My mentality was that if you don’t make it this year, you’re going to be done,” Gower said. “Just going in there with that mentality that you have nothing to lose, so showcase yourself. If you’re going to go into a corner and battle for a puck, do it 110 per cent. Don’t go there and leave anything on the table when you’d have to come back and go ‘Man, I wish I tried harder.’

“I went there and gave it all I’ve got and tried to be the best teammate possible and obviously it worked out for me.”

In 29 games this season, the five-foot-10, 162-pound left shot has two assists, 27 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of +2. Naturally, he never takes playing Rogers Place for granted.

“I think the rink is about as big as McCreary,” Gower said. “It’s so cool. You go from playing in McCreary and go all around Manitoba and then a few years down the road, you’re walking the halls with (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl and seeing the Oilers guys.

“You look up and there’s not 35 fans and your grandma is the loudest one in the stands. We have nights when there are 10,000-plus people.”

She may have been in the crowd on Saturday when the Oil Kings visited the Wheat Kings for what proved to be an 8-4 Brandon victory.

In fact, the last person leaving McCreary on Saturday may have been asked to turn off the lights because the twin draw of Gower and Turko pulled in a big crowd to Assiniboine Credit Union Place.

“That was the second time I got to play in Brandon and I played him here in Edmonton,” Gower said. “We’re two small-town boys playing in the WHL against each other in Brandon in front of all our family and friends. A lot of people from the town were there because they knew how special the game was.”

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

If anyone can spot character in a young player, it has to be Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith. The one-time Regina Pats defenceman played 1,008 regular season games in the National Hockey League, and served as captain for six years with the Edmonton Oilers and later the Philadelphia Flyers.

He smiles when asked about Gower, a player he clearly appreciates.

“He’s a great human,” Smith said. “He’s an exceptionally hard worker, he competes every day and he’s kind of been our Swiss Army knife. He’s played games on D, games at forward, he’s played bits and parts of some games in both positions.

“He’s a lot of fun to be around the rink with and a great teammate.”

Gower chuckles when asked about that transition between positions. He said the team has had an unfortunate year when it comes to injuries, with most of the problems up front. Since the team is carrying eight defencemen, Gower was asked to help out.

“For me, it’s just another opportunity,” Gower said. “I very much had that underdog story my whole life. It’s still an adjustment now — I’ve been a defenceman for most of my life — but you go there and try to do whatever you can to help the team win: You get in on the forecheck and throw a hit or something.

“There are a lot of days I’ll practise as a D-man but if someone isn’t feeling well and is out. I’ve played a few games defence, it’s like riding a bike. You don’t really forget what you’re doing back there.”

It’s a pretty easy guess that his goalies don’t mind having him up front when he’s not on the blue-line. After all, Gower brings an engrained defensive awareness to his play as a forward.

“That’s one of the advantages I have over a lot of the forwards in the league,” Gower said. “If a defenceman goes down to pinch or anything, I’m always there as almost a third defenceman and a forward at the same time. I know where I have to be if I have to defend.

“There’s still confidence aspect with the puck and playing forward: It’s still different and sometimes you’re not in the right spot, but I think I always have that defensive mind and being able to defend and back check and know where to go. If I’m the first forward back — and a lot of times I am — then it’s basically like I’m another defenceman.”

He has actually played both positions during games, most recently in Swift Current when there was a line brawl and his services were needed on the blue-line until his teammates got out of the box. Then he headed back up front again.

“It’s been great,” Gower said. “It’s actually been a lot of fun. It’s nothing that I can’t do, it’s just continuing to learn and be the best player I can, whether it’s on defence or forward. Just go out there and do all you can do. That’s all you can control.”

Long term, his goals lie entirely with the team. With some significant turnover coming after the season in Edmonton — like there seems to be with every WHL team now — Gower would love to do some winning for the veterans.

“I just want to continue to play and try to build some confidence and try to win games,” Gower said. “We started off the season really well and we’ve been sliding here. We’re hoping to get into a groove and into playoffs, where we can just play our game. We have a real good team and a shot to go a long ways in the playoffs.

“That’s my goal, whether I’m in the lineup or not.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — Brandon inducted Ron Chipperfield into its Hall of Fame last Thursday. He remains second all-time in career goals with 261. Are any other Wheat Kings in the top 10?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The goaltender of the week is 17-year-old Wheat Kings netminder Filip Ruzicka of Trinec, Czechia, who made 47 saves in a 4-0 shutout over the Penticton Vees on Friday.

The player of the week is 18-year-old Spokane Chiefs forward Owen Martin of Oakbank, who had three goals and four assists in two games.

The rookie of the week is 18-year-old Kelowna Rockets forward Vojtech Cihar of Chomutov, Czechia, who had three goals and two assists in three games.

• SIN BIN — The Penticton Vees and Prince George Cougars were each fined for a goalie fight between Brandonite Ethan McCallum and Prince George’s Joshua Ravensbergen … Speaking of netminders, Vancouver Giants goalie Kelton Pyne received one game for a slashing major and game misconduct taken against Seattle on Feb. 16 … Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Gavin Lesiuk received one game for earning his third game misconduct of the season vs. Medicine Hat on Feb. 20 … Red Deer Rebels forward Kohen Lodge received two games for a boarding major and game misconduct taken against Medicine Hat on Feb. 16.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Kale Clague, a product of Lloydminster, Alta., has spent the season with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose, where he has eight goals and 13 assists in 44 games. Clague signed a two-way deal with the Winnipeg Jets in July after previous National Hockey League stops with the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, the team that drafted him in 2016. He has played 94 NHL games over five seasons.

Clague was drafted sixth overall by Brandon in 2013, and played 249 regular season and playoff games in the WHL, winning a WHL championship in 2016 with the Wheat Kings. He played twice for Canada at the world juniors and was traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Jan. 10, 2018 for forward Luka Burzan, defenceman Chase Hartje, a first-round pick in 2019 (Rylen Roersma), a first-round pick in 2021 (Roger McQueen) and a second-round pick in 2018 (Brett Hyland).

• THE WEEK AHEAD — The Wheat Kings face the Prince George Cougars tonight and the Regina Pats on Friday, and then have a rare Saturday and Sunday off. That last happened on Jan. 17-18 as they were preparing to head on their West Coast swing. Aside from the Christmas break, the only other time it happened since the season started was on Nov. 29-30.

• ANSWER — There are two other Wheat Kings in the top 10. Here’s the list in order: It’s worth noting how many games it took to score those goals. Brandon’s Bill Derlago is the runaway leader in goals per game.

— 262: Glen Goodall, Seattle, 1984-90 (399 games).

— 261: Ron Chipperfield, Brandon, 1970-74 (252 games).

— 234: Bill Derlago, Brandon, 1974-78 (209 games).

— 230: Craig Endean, Regina, Seattle, 1983-88 (351 games).

— 222: Dale Derkatch, Regina, 1981-84 (204 games).

— 220: Jim McGeough, Regina, Billings, Nanaimo, 1979-83 (224 games).

— 219: Brian Propp, Brandon, 1976-79 (213 games).

— 216: Todd Holt, Swift Current, 1989-94 (321 games).

— 204: Troy Mick, Portland, Regina, 1985-90 (267 games).

— 204: Brad Moran, Calgary, 1995-00 (357 games).

» pbergson@brandonsun.com