Halliday forges path with Virden Oil Caps

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This article was published 13/12/2019 (2352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dylan Halliday has been able to make the best out of tough situations during his hockey career.

The 18-year-old forward was a 12th-round draft pick of his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2016 Western Hockey League bantam draft and was unable to crack the squad.

He was also a fourth-round pick of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Virden Oil Capitals in 2016, however, and the same day he was let go by the Wheat Kings for the second time, he drove 45 minutes west to the town of more than 3,000.

“I went straight to Virden, they welcomed me with open arms,” Halliday said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It was awesome to get my mind off that, it was then that my brain clicked that I wanted to be an Oil Cap.”

There was a wealth of familiar faces waiting for him with the Oil Caps, including Brett Paddock. Halliday and Paddock played together on a talented Brandon U18 AAA Wheat Kings in 2017-18.

“He was a rookie with me last year too,” Halliday said. “To be with each other made it a lot easier for sure, he’s an awesome guy.”

Despite being cut by Brandon, he was still thrilled to be drafted by a team he grew up watching.

“That was awesome, getting drafted by Brandon was so cool,” he said. “I went to camp for two years, obviously it didn’t work out but I was so honoured to get drafted by my hometown team.”

He did gain the valuable experience of attending WHL camps. Halliday immediately noticed the difference in speed. Something he’s gained a handle on while playing Junior A.

“From (U18) to junior it’s just another step quicker and took me a while to adjust, but I’m starting to get the hang of it now,” he said.

The forward notched 25 points in 48 games in 2018-19 and is well on his way to eclipsing last year’s point totals.

After Thursday’s 6-5 loss to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines Halliday has 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 33 games in his second season in Virden.

Halliday seems to have never heard of the term “sophomore slump” as the second season at each level he has played at, he has improved.

In his first year of bantam in 2014-15, he notched 36 points. In his second year, he exploded for 89 points in 34 games.

“I was playing with some good players, it wasn’t all me,” Halliday said with a laugh. “A lot of things went right that year.”

In his first season with the U18 Wheat Kings, Halliday recorded 34 points in 44 games. The next year, he popped off for 78 points in 45 games. He had 10 points in nine playoff games in 2017-18.

Halliday enjoyed his time playing games at the Sportsplex.

“The Brandon (U18) program, in my opinion, is the best in the league,” he said. “It was great to play for Brandon, great fans, always got a good crowd. It was just a great group of guys, I loved it.

“(It) made a difference for the better, helped me grow as a person and a player.”

Listed at six-foot-two and 205 pounds, Halliday likes to emulate his game after former Wheat King and current NHLer Mark Stone.

“I like how he creates his own space out there, he’s not the best skater but he uses his speed,” he said. “I just love watching him play.”

Halliday and Oil Caps are currently in seventh place in the MJHL heading into Thursday and are aiming to get back into the top half of the league standings.

“I think we’re a very skilled team. We haven’t been clicking yet this year but we have the skill to make a run for it this year and I think we can turn it around,” Halliday said.

“We just got to be a bit more consistent, we’re leading the league in goals and we’re a seventh-place team right now. That doesn’t make sense. I think if we can figure it out that way, we’ll be just fine.”

Virden is back in action Saturday at Tundra Oil and Gas Place when the Oil Caps host the league-leading Steinbach Pistons at 7:30 p.m.

» rstelter@brandonsun.com

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