Record breaker Nicol to feature in U18 lineup

The word exceptional gets used more often than it should. In general, the word has become diluted to the point that it’s often used to describe good things rather than describing something well beyond the ordinary.

For junior hockey fans, the word exceptional maintains its original emphasis. Most will recognize the term exceptional status, which refers to players the CHL allows to join its leagues a year early due to their overwhelming abilities.

Only a handful of players have ever received the illustrious tag, including names like Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Tavares.

Under-18 Wheat Kings forward Kale Nicol is truly exceptional. The 2012-born forward was granted exceptional status to join the Wheat Kings in the Manitoba U18 Hockey League, and he could be one of the most interesting players to watch this season.

“Yeah, it actually feels amazing … being able to play up with these guys. A lot of them are my best friends,” said Nicol. “A lot of the guys are bigger, better and stronger, so it’s really good to compete against them.”

Last year, Nicol played 32 games as a member of the U15 Wheat Kings. As a 13-year-old, he scored 86 goals and 55 assists for 141 points. Not only did he lead the team by a wide margin, but he also beat the points-per-game record set by three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews.

During the 2002-03 season, Toews scored 193 points in 48 games as the captain of the U15 Winnipeg Warriors. His record of 4.02 points-per-game stood until Nicol averaged 4.40 points-per-game last year.

When you look at Nicol with the U18 team, he’s definitely undersized, but what else would you expect from a player who is up against competition that is up to four years his senior? When it comes to skills, speed and intensity, he fits right in with the rest of the group.

He’s the second member of the family to receive exceptional status in order to join the U18 Wheat Kings and the fourth in history, after it was also granted to Tanner Kaspick and Jaxon Jacobson. His older brother Reid spent the last two years with the AAA Wheat Kings before joining the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League this year.

The brothers grew up attending Brandon Wheat Kings games and playing hockey. Both fell in love with the game and have pursued it ever since.

“Ever since I was young, just going to watch Wheat Kings games and just out of being little, I guess I liked hockey, watching it and stuff, so I gave it a shot,” said Nicol.

At the elite level, there’s a debate about developmental methodology when it comes to hockey. Is it better to dominate against your peers or get the opportunity to battle against better competition even if it means moving up an age group?

Dominating against your peers helps with confidence and experimentation, while going up a level forces a player to push the limit in terms of their physical ability.

The truth is, it depends on the player, and for Nicol, playing against older players has certainly helped him to become the exceptional player he is.

“It helps me a lot,” said Nicol about playing against older competition. “It pushes me every day. In practice, these guys push me … every player is bigger so it’s been helping a lot.

“Watching (Reid) throughout the years and coming up in the league, I know it’s not going to be easy this year … Having him to watch off of was a help just to know what I’m getting into.”

Nicol is a 200-foot player who does a really great job creating turnovers in the defensive and neutral zones before pushing the pace on offence. His shot is on par with players four years older than he is, and his vision and hockey IQ are off the charts.

He, like the rest of the team, is motivated to have a strong season and make his hometown proud at the Telus Cup.

“When it comes to April … we’re definitely really excited for that and getting prepared for that already,” said Nicol. “It’s going to be a blast.

“We’d love to win it. Our goal is to just do the best we can, and we’ve got a great team to go for it.”

An exceptional player playing in an exceptional tournament in his hometown will certainly be must-watch television.

Nicol’s resume even comes with some international experience, something that is relatively rare for hockey players in his age group. He’s played at the World Selects Invitationals the last two years.

During the 2024-25 season, he led the West Canada Prime U14 team in goals (15) and points (25) in just eight games. He followed that up by scoring 12 goals and 26 points to lead West Canada Prime U15. He says the tournaments are some of his fondest hockey memories.

“The first one was in Helsinki, Finland, and the last one was in Philadelphia. Those were very fun,” said Nicol. “I played with the 2011s, and we won both of them and had a great time.”

The U18 Wheat Kings started their season on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Wild. He recorded a secondary assist on a power-play goal by Owen Stanley that made it 1-0 just over three minutes into the game.

It was the first of what could be many points this year.

On Saturday and Sunday, Nicol and the U18 Wheat Kings continue the season with their first two home games at J&G Homes Arena against the Kenora Thistles. Nicol and the rest of the team will look to continue the strong start to the year.

“(I’m) looking forward to making memories with the team, and hopefully we have a good run and playoffs, and just get ready for the Telus Cup,” said Nicol. “I think everyone is really excited for that.”

» rmccarthy@bradonsun.com