Nicol wins big on biggest of stages

Kale Nicol knows no bounds.

Just when it seemed as though Brandon’s 14-year-old superstar couldn’t have possibly found a way to top off a record-breaking campaign, he’s reminded everyone there’s always a higher level to strive for.

Nicol recently added a second championship to an already incredible season, albeit this one comes with far more esteem after he captured a gold medal at the 15U World Selects Invitational — an elite annual best-on-best event that features the top players from North American and Europe within their respective age group — with his WestCan Prime squad thanks to a 7-6 overtime victory over Midwest Prime in Philadelphia on May 5.

“It was an amazing year, for sure,” said Nicol, who was named tournament MVP with 12 goals and 26 points in nine games. “It’s kind of what I was looking for, hopefully getting the championship with my Brandon team and then going to Philly and getting a championship there too.”

Heading into the season with sky-high expectations, the five-foot-seven, 165-pound forward not only managed to exceed them but also make history, breaking three-time Stanley Cup champion and future Hall-of-Famer Jonathan Toews’ record for the most points-per-game in a U15 AAA regular season with 86 goals and 141 points in just 32 contests for a ridiculous 4.41 points per game.

Toews, who suited up for the Winnipeg Warriors around 25 years ago, recorded a 4.02 points per game.

Nicol, who was clearly a man among boys with Dave Lewis’ Wheat Kings club, even earned himself a call-up to the U18 club where he did not look out of place, potting a goal that was assisted by his older brother, Reid, in his debut before adding three more assists in as many games.

Nicol followed up his regular season performance with an even bigger showing in the playoffs, as he racked up 22 goals and 37 points to lift Brandon to its fourth title in five years with a 3-1 series win against the Eastman Selects. Nicol tallied four goals in the clinching game and also notched five — four in the first period — in a do-or-die Game 5 bout with the Winnipeg Bruins in the semifinals.

And if there were any questions regarding how his talents would flourish on the world stage, rest assured, those have been answered in fine print.

Playing alongside Madden Daneault, the recent first overall pick of the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League, Nicol led the tournament in goals and proved he not only knows how to compete with the best, but he can also beat the best — and do it against players a year older than him.

Nicol, a 2012-born prospect, competed in the WSI’s 2011 Division yet was still named MVP of the tournament because of his all-around skill, which includes blazing speed, puck on a string-like puck control, a lethal release and a sensational ability to constantly scan his surroundings. He’s truly a player beyond his years and he’s also built like one considering he’s got more muscle on him than most guys two or three years older than him.

That paid off in this tournament, as he didn’t need to stray away from his game with stronger and faster competition.

“All the competition was great,” Nicol said. “I’d say this year was definitely a little faster and a little more physical with teams getting a little bigger and faster, but so did we.

“We had no easy games, so it was a great experience and glad we could come out on top.”

Nicol’s WestCan Prime team also won the WSI title in Helsinki, Finland, last year, and became the first North American team to win it since 2019. He grabbed 15 goals and 25 points en route to a 4-2 victory over Draftday in the final.

This time around, WestCan completed its round-robin with four regulation wins and one shootout victory, before downing the Boston Hockey Club 9-2 in the Round of 16, the Slovakia Selects 6-1 in the quarterfinals, Draftday Black 6-4 in the semis, and then finished with a 7-6 barnburner against Midwest in the final.

Daneault scored the game winner nine seconds into extra time in a game where they once trailed 5-3. Nicol, who had a goal and two assists in the final, said it was a great feeling to repeat.

“Obviously coming off of last year we had high hopes coming into this tournament and being a strong team again, so we picked up a couple more players and it was just another awesome tournament,” he said. “At one point we didn’t have much life but then we bounced back, got a couple, sent it to overtime and to get that goal to win it, it felt awesome.”

Everything Nicol has touched has turned to gold and you can’t help but think that will only help his draft stock for next year’s WHL draft, where he’ll be high on a lot of scout’s lists.

Nicol is now hoping to follow in the footsteps of brother Reid, who was drafted fifth overall last year by the Everett Silvertips, a club now on the verge of claiming a WHL championship with a 3-1 series stranglehold over the Prince Albert Raiders.

Reid is currently with Everett but hasn’t drawn into the lineup yet. Nicol said once his season is over, the two will spend plenty of time together training in the offseason with former Brandon Wheat Kings in Colby Robak and Tyler Dittmer, who now coach with the Western Canada Hockey Academy.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com