Wheddon overcomes hardships with Nighthawks

It shouldn’t be a shock if Hayden Wheddon ever frames a poster in his room that reads, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

The 20-year-old Niverville Nighthawks forward began his junior career and had been doubted, thrown to the curb, at times and even contemplated whether lacing up the skates was worth it anymore, but he stuck with it, prevailed and is now reaping the rewards with a gold medal around his neck. Actually, make that two.

“When the clock went down, I think it was one of the best moments of my life for sure, if not the best,” said Wheddon of his team being crowned a national Junior A champion. “I’m just really proud of those guys and how they all came together.

“It’s been lots of emotions, for sure. Lots of highs, it’s been pretty surreal as well, so I’m just trying to soak it all in. It’s been a busy last couple days, but we’ve all been in good spirits and really enjoying it, so now I’m ready to celebrate back home here.”

Wheddon and Niverville put themselves into the Manitoba record books, not only winning the Turnbull Cup last month, but also becoming just the fourth team from the prairies to win the Centennial Cup after defeating the host Summerside Western Capitals 4-1 on Sunday in P.E.I. The other teams to lift the trophy were the Portage Terriers in 1973 and 2014, and the Selkirk Steelers in 1974, but what they didn’t have is the Nighthawks’ youth.

The organization is just four years fresh, but under general manager Mike McAulay and head coach Dwight Hirst, two leaders who’ve been with the team since it’s inception but started in different roles, they’ve grown into a powerhouse that collected an overall record of 69-6-1 this season, and winning 29 of their last 30 games.

Wheddon, who joined the team in its inaugural season, has been a key piece of the puzzle and it rang true again in the final, as the Stonewall product fired home two goals, including the game winner off the lone tally of the second period. His six goals and 12 points in the tournament tied captain and Centennial Cup most valuable player Adam Vigfusson for second in scoring — Toronto Patriots forward Cole Cooksey had the most with 14 — after he chalked up three goals and 14 points en route to a 4-0 sweep of the Virden Oil Capitals in the MJHL post-season.

In addition, Wheddon also led the league in points during the regular season with 36 goals and 54 assists in 57 contests to make an incredible 61-point jump from last year.

Despite his spectacular totals, all the five-foot-10, 180-pound left-shooting sniper could do was praise his linemates in Lorette’s Merik Boles and Vigfusson.

“I think with goals or my individual play, it really comes from my linemates and my teammates, Adam and Merik,” Wheddon said. “I’ve been playing with them all year and it’s been a great experience. They’ve really made it easy for me to play my game and they’re unbelievable players. We have great defenceman that help too and it’s always safe having a great goalie like Austin Dubinsky as well, so I think a big shutout goes to those guys as well.

“It’s pretty cool how within four years they’re able to put it all together and win a national championship. To do that, I think is one of the coolest things that could happen in junior.”

SUNNY SKIES IN SUMMERSIDE

As good as Niverville had been in the round-robin games, winning all four matchups with wins against Summerside (5-4), Thunder Bay (7-2), Canmore (6-4), and Rockland (7-6), it almost had its hopes and dreams shattered on the national stage with a poor start to the semifinals against Toronto.

The Nighthawks allowed a goal in the opening minute of the game and then two more after to go down 3-0 early in the middle frame. Everything seemed to be going wrong in their first elimination game in the tournament but the belief on the bench never wavered, according to Wheddon.

“There’s frustration, for sure, but I think we tried to stay level headed at those kind of moments and we all know we believe in each other and what we can do as a group,” he said. “We just settled in between intermissions, just tried to regroup every time and stay positive as best we could and I mean, there’s times where you get heated or upset and frustrated, but I think we have such a close group that we all can get through those tough moments and power through them and come back like we did.”

Goals from Evan Panzer, Marlen Edwards, and Calyb Moore put Niverville back in even position and then with under three minutes left in the game, Boles deflected a puck in front of the net past goaltender Trey Caracciolo to complete the comeback and punch a ticket to the final.

It seemed like no deficit or mistake would be enough to beat them after the high and jubilation of that win, and the guys in the Nighthawks sweaters knew it too.

“After that semifinal game, I think it really pushed us to almost wake up in a sense and have that good start to the final,” Wheddon said. “We played Summerside earlier that tournament and we knew we could beat them and I think that that semifinal game gave us a boost and a push, so we just didn’t want to quit.

“We wanted to win that last game of the year and we did, so it was pretty cool.”

After Wheddon’s first two goals of the contest, Edwards added an insurance marker with less than six to go, before Tyler Bernier iced it for good with an empty netter to make it 4-1.

Wheddon said the bench was in a full on frenzy in the dying moments.

“It was just an amazing feeling,” he said. “When Marlon scored that third goal and then the empty netter and everything on the bench, we just were all freaking out saying ‘We’re national champions,’ and all that. It was awesome.”

The cherry on top was seeing all those familiar faces in the stands, as around 150 friends and family came out to support the team, including Wheddon’s parents, step-dad, girlfriend and her family as well.

He said sharing those moments with them is a memory he will cherish forever.

“I think that was a super special thing for all of us, and our families,” said Wheddon. “I loved seeing my family out there, just being able to be with them after winning that national championship is pretty special and obviously we all appreciate that support because the fan support in Niverville is next to none. It’s unbelievable, really.

“In Virden (during the Turnbull Cup final) there was the fans coming out on buses and there was so many of them, I couldn’t believe how many there was and then coming out to Summerside, there was more than I thought as well. I think they just surprised us every time and it’s great to have that support.

“Seeing the Smitty’s here in Niverville and on the TV when we score or win or whatever it is, I think it’s pretty special how the community is here and we try to give back to it as much as we can and I think the community has really grown into the Nighthawks in helping us out and supporting us.”

BUILDING CHARACTER

Wheddon holds a special place in his heart for Niverville and its community, but the journey that’s led him to this point has been far from a stroll in the park.

After being selected by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the ninth round, 196th overall, of the 2020 Western Hockey League draft, Wheddon made his jump to the club two years later and actually started off quite strong, even potting in a goal during his debut in a 7-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers late in the season. He played a few more games that year, but once the fall rolled around, he was cut from camp and assigned back to the Selkirk Steelers, who he was also drafted to in 2020.

After one game with the Steelers in 2022, he was dealt to the Niverville Nighthawks on Oct. 5 for future considerations, making it his third team in just over a two-week span.

In his first year with the expansion team, Wheddon totalled 10 goals and 18 points. After a successful rookie season, he made his way back to the WHL as a free agent with the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he registered three goals and seven points while playing in a very limited role.

Once he realized it wasn’t particularly the best fit, Wheddon returned to Niverville for his third season of junior and put up career highs in goals (16) and assists (13) through 44 regular season games, before adding two goals and five points in a first-round exit to the Winkler Flyers. It was a great step in the right direction but a large chunk of his season ended up being overshadowed by a devastating injury during the pre-season.

Wheddon had taken an awkward fall into the boards and landed hard on his back. He eventually got stretchered off the ice and was taken into the ambulance. Wheddon said there was a period of time where he wasn’t even able to walk, but eventually, through rest and rehab, was able to work himself back to healthy — sort of.

“It was just slowly finding my way back,” said Wheddon. “Even when I came back, I don’t think I was fully 100 per cent but I can’t keep blaming on that. It was very tough for me mentally as well going through something like that because I haven’t really had a big injury like that in my life before, so it was something that definitely changed my mindset for sure.

“Earlier in my junior career, it was really a roller coaster for me and there was lots of ups and downs and even whether I wanted to keep playing hockey, honestly, was something. It’s just there was lots of people doubting me or whatever and stuff like that, so when I came back here with Mike (McAulay) and Dwight (Hirst), they really brought me in and they believed in me.”

After missing almost two months at the start of the season last year, coming into the fold healthy this go-around did wonders for Wheddon and his confidence, and it showed on the ice with his ridiculous uptake in production.

“This year coming in healthy and having the team we did, I think I just had confidence with my coaching staff trusting in me and letting me play my game that I know I could play,” he added. “That’s what kind of gave me that boost to do what I did this year and have a good season and all that.

“That’s one thing I’ve been trying to do this year is just show people what I can really do and show off my talents and how I can play hockey. I think the two linemates I had, complimenting me very well, and the chemistry was really good with them, and the past other leagues didn’t work out, just kind of not getting my shot or my opportunity, so I think this was a really good chance to kind of do what I can do.”

Entering this season, Wheddon said he’d have conversations with teammates Dawson Zeller and Vigfusson about how the team looked poised for a run and that they potentially had the recipe for a Turnbull Cup winning team, but they never had Centennial Cup winners on their bingo cards too. For him, that’s what makes the victory even sweeter.

“You don’t think about a national championship as much thinking you’re going to win it at the start of the year, but we knew going in it was a super special group, and I think it’s just really cool how it all worked out,” said Wheddon. “When we went to Summerside after we won the Turnbull, I think we knew we had a group that could do it, so I think that belief was a big thing in the group this year and we always had belief in each other and what we could do.”

And although the headlines say “Niverville,” Wheddon also recognizes their success at the Centennial Cup as a win for Manitoba as a whole. The province hasn’t had too many thrilling results at the tournament, so to put Toba back on the map, so to speak, and show great talent comes from here too isn’t anything to scoff at.

“I think that was something that was really important,” Wheddon said. “We all talked about it this year, representing our province really well because we’ve been doubted and people don’t think we’re that good, and we even heard it at the tournament from other teams or whatever it was that we’re just a Manitoba Junior Hockey League, but I think we knew that the teams doubted us going into this, and I think that was something really important to us, we wanted to prove all those doubters.”

Wheddon has shushed the naysayers at the junior level, and is now hoping to make the next step up. He said he’s currently in the process of talking to teams and gaging his options, but will come to a decision soon.

“Sooner than later here I’m gonna come down to a decision about where I want to go and what I want to do for next year.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com