The Brandon Wheat Kings are no strangers to not seeing their name at the top of the league standings, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.
The Whities have led the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League standings as the top seed the past four seasons, but find themselves in a different position this year, finishing in fourth place over the Christmas break with a 19-6-1 record, 10 points behind the league-leading Winnipeg Wild.
Head coach Travis Mealy admitted that while this is unfamiliar territory for his club, he would rather hunt than be hunted.
Wheat Kings freshman Uriah Musteil (1) stacks the pads to make a desperation save against the Winnipeg Wild during a Manitoba Under-18 Hockey League game at the Inclusive Hockey Center on Oct. 12. (Massimo De Luca-Taronno/The Brandon Sun)
“We're definitely chasing results a little bit this year as opposed to other years, but I think that will serve us well in the long run,” Mealy said. “If you look at previous years where we haven't played well and come out with a win, we don't always learn from that, especially at this age. It's hard to see the bright side when our guys just see two points and think they played well. This year we didn't get those wins and we weren't successful and we would have been better off if that had happened in March.”
“I would rather not be first, but rather race a little.”
Mealy's preferences can largely be attributed to last year's Wild squad, which got off to a slow start in the first half of the season and then switched teams after the Christmas break, winning 22 straight games heading into the postseason. After defeating the Interlake Lightning in three games, Winnipeg suffered absolute series fatigue against their rival Bruins in the second round, but found a way out of it with an all-or-nothing victory in the best-of-five series.
They maintained that championship momentum against Brandon, who looked dazed for much of the series, which didn't last long as the Wild beat the Wheat Kings behind Ludovic Perreault's overtime winner to give his club its ninth banner since the 2012-13 season.
“They (the Wild) had an absolute war series against the Bruins, and then we had a little bit of a clearer path to the finals, and you could tell they were just ready to go and we weren't, and that was the difference. By the time things started to turn around and the guys really got into the war, the series was already over and we were hooked.”
Mealy is hoping for a different path in the postseason, with Brandon able to return to the top like they did in the 2023-24 season when they defeated the Wild in the finals and took home the championship en route to a runner-up finish at the Telus Cup after a 4-1 loss to the Magog Cantoniers in the finals in Membertou, N.C.
The good news for the Whities is that they still managed to put in an impressive performance despite the injuries they had throughout the year. Up until the Kenora showdown against the Thistles late last month, Brandon hadn't had a healthy lineup since training camp. The boys have been plagued by injuries or even the flu that manages to wreak havoc at this time of year, but they still manage to stay at the top of the 13-team league.
The Wheat Kings are currently riding an eight-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents 43-11 heading into tonight's matchup against the Southwest Cougars, who sit two points behind Brandon with one more game to play. Brandon hasn't played in more than a week since Wednesday, and yesterday's games against the Winnipeg Thrashers and Parkland Rangers were postponed due to grueling weather conditions around Westman, but the league has yet to end this evening's conflict.
If they do end up taking the ice, Mealy hopes his club will begin to reinforce the ideas he and the rest of his coaching staff have tried to instill in a team that is tougher to play against.
“It’s about being more consistent,” he said. “I feel like somewhere down the line we've evolved into a group of skilled perimeter players that are still tough to play against. Nobody's questioning the skill on the team, it's just a question of whether we want to get into the tough areas and that's what we've basically been preaching in the last couple of months – start playing with a little lead and compete a little bit. Maybe that's what we've been lacking in the past.”
Reed Nichol (7) of the Brandon Wheat Kings holds the scoring lead with 23 goals and 35 points in just 16 games. (Massimo De Luca-Taronno/The Brandon Sun)
Mealy believes a lot of this starts with eliminating a lot of flow and non-contact drills, as well as integrating more competitive individual training so that it becomes muscle memory when it comes time to take the field against another team. The other is the strong mindset of wanting to score and crash the net for the rebound, wanting to complete that extra check low and jump for that extra blocked shot when it counts.
That mindset, Mealy said, extends to penalty killings, where structure, contact and victims are non-negotiable. Their penalty kill rate is somewhere in the middle of the pack with a success rate of 83.7%, but where their dedicated teams really shine is on the power play, which ranks in the top three in the league at 31.4%.
It's no surprise that the Wheat Kings' player advantage has been in the top echelon for more than a few years now thanks to elite talent in every division, and this year was no exception. With star forwards like Reed Nichol, Hudson Champagne and Jackson Brick, and then Easten Turco in the backfield and the play-caller, there's always a chance the puck will end up in your net. Without a doubt, this has made a difference for this team and will continue to do so in the second half of the season.
A big part of that engine is Nicol, who has eight points on the man advantage, 15 at even strength and 35 points overall. The 15-year-old has been a revelation for the club in all areas of the ice, but especially when it comes to scoring as he leads his team in points.
Aside from the Wheat Kings, he also reached another milestone in his young career after he made his debut for the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips on Wednesday night, where he went five-for-seven on faceoffs in a 3-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild. Everett selected him fifth overall in the 2025 WHL Draft.
Not far behind Nicolas in terms of offensive output is Blues sophomore Turco, who ranks second on the team in scoring with seven goals and 34 points in 23 games. The 16-year-old has been a versatile weapon for the Wheat Kings, playing tough minutes and playing in almost any situation. The WHL Wheat Kings prospect is the leader of this defensive corps.
A player who has also been a big driving force behind Brandon's offense and exceeded expectations this season is rookie Kevin Nee. The five-foot-six, 135-pound forward was selected by Mili for his offensive upside, and he proved his coach right by scoring 12 goals and 31 points, third-best on his team behind Nicola and Turco.
“That’s 100 percent the reason we took him,” Mealy said. “He's an extremely offensive player with a high IQ and a high skill level. Obviously not the biggest player on the ice, but when he has the puck, you never worry about him getting hurt. Obviously there are parts of his game that he needs to work on, but he really works hard, he listens and he's very coachable.”
However, he's not the only freshman standing out at the moment.
Nets Uriah Mustail, coming from the U17s, and Cooper Dryden, coming from the U15s, have also played a key role in the Wheat Kings' success, ensuring they have consistent and consistent play between the pipes on any given night.
Brandon's Easten Turco (17) leads the team in defensive scoring with seven goals and 27 points in 34 games. (Massimo De Luca-Taronno/The Brandon Sun)
“Muz was everything we wanted him to be,” Mealy said. “He's been a good mentor for Coop and we needed a big year this year. He's so calm and collected and he gives our guys a lot of confidence.”
“Coop has been very good too. He has an extremely high ceiling and skill level, and it's been about six years since we brought in a 15-year-old goalie. At 15, it's an extremely difficult position, but he's playing well, and it's only a matter of time before he gets the hang of it and his numbers start to improve.”
Musteil has a 13-2 record to go along with a 1.86 goals-against and .931 save percentage, while Dryden posted a 6-4 record with a 2.79 goals-against and .891 save percentage.
“I think we’re extremely well-rounded,” Mealey said. “I don't feel like there's a hole or void that we need to fill. We've got top-notch forwards, we've got scoring, we've got depth, a well-rounded defense and two goalies who have been phenomenal for us this year.”
“I love our team so much, and I think if we show some grit and persistence, I think this year could be something special.”
