Brandon Wheat Kings
Prince Albert Raiders Roster and Statistics #
FORWARDS 22Braid, Chance 14Conroy, Dakota 20Danyluk, Shane 29Draisaitl, Leon 19Gardiner, Reid 21Gennaro, Matteo* 18Hart, Jayden 8Leverton, Craig 25Perreaux, Carson 28Quinney, Gage* 16Vanstone, Tim 15Winther, Mike 17Yaremchuk, Lance* 27Zaharichuk, Darcy* # DEFENCE
HOMETOWN Chauvin, AB Edmonton, AB Salmon Arm, BC Cologne, Germany Humboldt, SK St. Albert, AB Spruce Grove, AB Dedben, SK Brandon, MB Las Vegas, NV Swift Current, SK Trochu, AB Prince Albert, SK Sherwood Park, AB
DRAFT Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2015 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Dallas '12 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
POS HT WT HOMETOWN 5Andrlik, Tomas* D 5'11.5" 182 Plzen, Czech Rep. 23Busenius, Dylan D 6' 204 Sherwood Park, AB 2Dea, Tyler* D 6'4" 200 St. Albert, AB 4Guhle, Brendan* D 6'2" 178 Sherwood Park, AB 7Lange, Sawyer D 6' 193 Prince Albert, SK 6Morden, Evan D 6'2" 220 Swan River, MB 10Morrissey, Josh D 6' 180 Calgary, AB 3Stewart, Mackenze* D 6'5" 237 Calgary, AB # GOALTENDERS POS HT WT HOMETOWN
DRAFT Eligible 2014 Free Agent Eligible 2014 Eligible 2015 Eligible 2014 Free Agent Winnipeg '13 Eligible 2014
38Cheveldave, Cole 33McBride, Nick*
POS LW RW C C RW C C LW LW LW RW C LW/C LW/C
G G
HT 6'1" 6'1" 5'11" 6'1 5'11" 6'2" 6'2" 5'10" 6'3" 6' 6' 6' 5'7.5" 6'
5'10" 6'3.5"
WT 206 181 195 209 185 179 209 194 194 181 202 191 155 174
169 Calgary, AB 176 Maple Ridge, BC
DRAFT Free Agent Eligible 2015
Name 29 Leon Draisaitl 14 Dakota Conroy 18 Jayden Hart 21 Matteo Gennaro 15 Mike Winther 5 Tomas Andrlik 28 Gage Quinney 19 Reid Gardiner 20 Shane Danyluk 4 Brendan Guhle 16 Tim Vanstone 23 Dylan Busenius 7 Sawyer Lange 22 Chance Braid 6 Evan Morden 38 Cole Cheveldave 8 Craig Leverton 25 Carson Perreaux 3 Mackenze Stewart
Pos GP G C 2 1
A PTS +/- PIM 3
4
-1
0
RW 2 C 2
2
1
3
0
2
2
1
3
3
7
C 2 C 2
1
2
3
3
0
1
2
3
5
2
D 2 LW 2
0
3
3
3
2
2
0
2
3
0
C 2 C 2
1
1
2
3
0
0
2
2
1
2
D 2 C 2
0
2
2
4
0
0
2
2
2
0
D 2 D 2
1
0
1
1
5
1
0
1
-1
4
LW 2 D 2
0
1
1
-2
2
0
1
1
1
0
G 2 LW 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
LW 2 D 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Name GP GAA W L OTL SOL SAV% 38 Cole Cheveldave 2 120 2 0 0 0 0.908
Brandon Wheat Kings Roster and Statistics Goaltender (2)
Pos Ht
Wt
Hometown
NHL Draft
35. Honey, Curtis
G 6'
174 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014
33. Papirny, Jordan
G 6'
170 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014
Wt
NHL Draft
Forwards (15) 13. Bukarts, Rihards 19. Cooper, Taylor 21. Coulter, Tyler 12. Gabrielle, Jesse 8. Hawryluk, Jayce 27. Kitt, Brett 26. Lindgren, Ryley
Pos Ht
Hometown
LW 5'9" LW 6'
189 Jurmala, Latvia 186 Sherwood Park, AB LW 5'11" 206 Brandon, MB LW 5'11" 201 Moosomin, SK C 5'10" 190 Roblin, MB LW 6'1" 192 Brandon, MB C 5'11" 183 East St. Paul, MB
Name 19 Taylor Cooper 7 Eric Roy
Eligible 2014
24 Jens Meilleur
Eligible 2014
20 Chad Robinson
Eligible 2014
18 Richard Nejezchleb
Eligible 2015
26 Ryley Lindgren
Eligible 2014
17 John Quenneville
Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
22 Braylon Shmyr 13 Rihards Bukarts
28. Lisoway, Quintin
C 5'10' 190 Neepawa, MB
Eligible 2014
23. McGauley, Tim
C 6'
182 Wilcox, SK
Eligible 2014
8 Jayce Hawryluk
24. Meilleur, Jens
RW 6'1"
197 Elie, MB
Eligible 2014
28 Quintin Lisoway
18. Nejezchleb, Richard
RW 6'2"
210 Praha, Czech Republic Eligible 2014
10 Kord Pankewicz
15. Palmer, Jack
RW 6'1.5" 183 Victoria, BC
17. Quenneville, John
C 6'1
20. Robinson, Chad
C 5'11" 182 Minnedosa, MB
22. Shmyr, Braylon
186 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
12 Jesse Gabrielle 9 Rene Hunter
156 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2015
Pos Ht
Wt
NHL Draft
11. Green, Taylor
LD 6'7"
224 Port Coquitlam, BC
Eligible 2014
9. Hunter, Rene
RD 6'1"
208 Ebb & Flow, MB
Eligible 2014
35 Curtis Honey
10. Pankewicz, Kord
LD 5'11" 202 Drayton Valley, AB
Eligible 2014
2. Pulock, Ryan
RD 6'1"
218 Grandview, MB
NYI '13
23 Tim McGauley
7. Roy, Eric
LD 6'3"
195 Beauval, SK
CGY '13
34. Thom, Dominic
LD 6'2.5" 186 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2014
6. Van Horne, Riley
LD 6'1"
175 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2014
3. Walters, Nick
LD 6'2"
202 St. Albert, AB
STL '12
5. Waltz, Colton
LD 6' 1" 187 Vermillion, AB
Hometown
Eligible 2014
A PTS +/- PIM 0
4
5
2
D 2 RW 2
0
4
4
5
0
1
2
3
5
0
C 2 RW 1
1
1
2
0
0
1
0
1
-1
4
C 2 C 2
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
LW 1 LW 2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
2
0
C 2 C 2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
4
0
D 2 D 2
0
1
1
7
7
0
1
1
3
0
LW 1 D 1
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
LW 1 D 1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
G 2 C 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
LW 2 D 2
0
0
0
2
4
0
0
0
-1
2
34 Dominic Thom
LW 5'8"
Defenceman (9)
Pos GP G LW 2 4
27 Brett Kitt 6 Riley Van Horne
15 Jack Palmer 5 Colton Waltz Name 35 Curtis Honey
GP GAA W 2
2
2
L 0
OTL SOL SAV% 0
0
0.95
Prince Albert Raiders Game Notes RAIDER REVIEW: The Prince Albert Raiders pulled off a weekend sweep of the Saskatoon Blades to start the 2013-2014 season, with a 6-5 win last Saturday night. The Blades got off to a quick start, taking a 2-goal lead before 16-year-old forward Matteo Gennaro scored his first career WHL goal and 20-year-old defenceman Dylan Busenius added another to even the slate after 20 minutes. Saskatoon started the scoring in the second period, before the home side scored a pair of goals, and another duo of markers to start the third period and take a 6-3 lead. Late in the game, the Blades battled back, but the Raiders held them off in the dying seconds to take the victory. VS. WHEAT KINGS: The Raiders posted a 4-2-0-0 record against Brandon last season, including a 2-1-0-0 record at the Art Hauser Centre. Leon Draisaitl led the attack on the Wheat Kings in 2012-2013, with a goal and 6 assists against the Raiders’ East Division rival. This is the first of six meetings this season between the two teams. LETTERED LEADERS: The team announced yesterday that 18-year-old defenceman Josh Morrissey will be the Raiders’ new captain, with 20year-old blueliner Dylan Busenius, 19-year-old forward Shane Danyluk and 18-year-old pivot Leon Drasaitl serving as the alternates. IMMEDIATE IMPACT: 18-year-old forward Gage Quinney has made an immediate impact in just his second and third career games, scoring a goal in each of the two contests to start the season. 16-year-old Matteo Gennaro added his first career goal on Saturday, while also picking up 2 assists over his first weekend in the WHL. Other players to record their first career points included 18-year-old import defenceman Tomas Andrlik and 16-year-old defenceman Brendan Guhle. MAKING THE LIST: 18-year-old imports, forward Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Tomas Andrlik, both made the preliminary ‘Players to Watch” list released by NHL Central Scouting earlier this week, with Draisaitl being listed one of seven WHL players in the “A” category and Andrlik being placed in the “C” category. ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Raiders roster currently consists of 24 players, including 14 forwards, 8 defencemen and 2 goaltenders. The age breakdown is as follows: three 20-year-olds, eight 19-year-olds, six 18-year-olds, four 17-year-olds and three 16-year-olds. Alberta leads the way as the home of the most Raiders players, with 12 current players hailing from the province, while 2 are from British Columbia, 5 are home-grown Saskatchewan products, a pair of Manitobans, as well as a player from each the United States, Germany and the Czech Republic. NON-CANADIAN CONTENT: 18-year-old defenceman Tomas Andrlik was selected by the Raiders 37th overall in the 2013 CHL Import Draft last spring. He joins fellow 18-year-old, forward Leon Draisaitl as the two European players on the Raiders roster, while 18-year-old forward Gage Quinney, from Las Vegas, Nevada. EARLY PRAISE: The Raiders were ranked 3rd overall in the pre-season BMO Canadian Hockey League rankings this week, and were the top ranked team in the WHL, moving up from 6th spot last week. A HELPING HAND: 19-year-old forward Shane Danyluk and 16-year-old defenceman Brendan Guhle are the onle two players in the WHL to have recorded a shorthanded assist, which they picked up on 19-year-old forward Mike Winther’s goal last Friday, the first one of the WHL season. ON THE LEADER BOARD: 19-year-old forward Mike Winther is in an early tie for 2nd place in the plus/minus category in the WHL, with a plus -5 rating through two games. UPCOMING GAMES: The Raiders will play their next three games at the Art Hauser Centre, as they close out this double header with the Brandon Wheat Kings tomorrow night, as well as the Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings on October 2nd and 4th, respectively.
Brandon Wheat Kings Game Notes Brandon Game Notes: It’s an early season battle between two undefeated teams on Friday night as the Brandon Wheat Kings open a doubleheader weekend in Prince Albert. Brandon and the Raiders are both off to 2-and-0 starts, with the Wheat Kings coming off a seasonopening home-and-home sweep of the Moose Jaw Warriors, winning 6-3 in Moose Jaw last Friday and downing the Warriors 3-1 in their home-opener on Saturday.
What’s New in 2013-2014: Kelly McCrimmon is back behind the Brandon bench this season after a two-year break, replacing Dwayne Gylywoychuk as the team’s head coach. McCrimmon has a 333-260-42 record in his 11-plus seasons as a WHL head coach. Brandon had another key off-ice change during the off-season. Longtime Director of Player Personnel Al MacPherson retiring from the position. Wade Klippenstein has taken over as the team’s Director of Scouting.
2013 Pre-Season: The Wheat Kings went 3-1-0-0 in the WHL pre-season this year. Rihards Bukarts led the team with two goals and seven points in four pre-season contests while 15-year old defenceman Kale Clague had five points (2 G, 3 A).
Injury Report: D Nick Walters (upper body, day-to-day); D Taylor Green (upper body, day-to-day); D Rene Hunter (upper body, week-toweek).
Roster Moves: The Wheat Kings assigned D Kale Clague to Lloydminster (AMHL) and F Duncan Campbell to Brandon (MMHL) earlier this week, reducing their roster to 26 players (15 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders). That includes blueliner Ryan Pulock, who remains with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
Drafted Players: D Ryan Pulock (NY Islanders, 1st Round, 15th overall in 2013; D Eric Roy (Calgary Flames, 5th Round, 135th overall in 2013); D Nick Walters (St. Louis, 4th Round, 116th overall in 2012).
Raiders/Wheat Kings’ Revisited: The Raiders and Wheat Kings will meet six times during the 2013-2014 WHL regular season starting with Friday’s game in Prince Albert. Last year, Brandon went 2-4-0-0 against Prince Albert including a 1-2-0-0 mark at the Art Hauser Centre. Over the last five years, Brandon has a 19-11-0-2 mark against the Raiders, 7-7-0-2 in Prince Albert.
Off-Season Activity: It was a busy off-season for several Wheat Kings’ players. Ryan Pulock and Eric Roy were selected in the NHL Draft on June 30th, with Pulock becoming the first Brandon defenceman chosen in the first round since Wade Redden in 1995; Jayce Hawryluk helped Hockey Canada U18 team to a gold medal at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in August while Pulock took part in Hockey Canada’s Junior Team Summer Development Camp in August. In addition, Brandon’s top three picks in the 2013 Bantam Draft – Nolan Patrick, Kale Clague and Tanner Kaspick – attended the NHLPA’s AllState All-Canadians Mentorship Camp and Richard Nejezchleb attended the Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp and Rookie Camp.
Did You Know: Taylor Cooper has scored the opening goal of the season in both of his years with the Wheat Kings, and notched his first career hat-trick in Brandon’s season-opening victory in Moose Jaw last Friday…Ryley Lindgren notched his first career WHL goal in last Friday’s win in Moose Jaw…Eric Roy assisted on all three Brandon goals Saturday, the third time in his career he’s had three assists in a single game but first time since March 17, 2012.
FORWARDS 22Braid, Chance 14Conroy, Dakota 20Danyluk, Shane 29Draisaitl, Leon 19Gardiner, Reid 21Gennaro, Matteo* 18Hart, Jayden 8Leverton, Craig 25Perreaux, Carson 28Quinney, Gage* 16Vanstone, Tim 15Winther, Mike 17Yaremchuk, Lance* 27Zaharichuk, Darcy* # DEFENCE
HOMETOWN Chauvin, AB Edmonton, AB Salmon Arm, BC Cologne, Germany Humboldt, SK St. Albert, AB Spruce Grove, AB Dedben, SK Brandon, MB Las Vegas, NV Swift Current, SK Trochu, AB Prince Albert, SK Sherwood Park, AB
DRAFT Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2015 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Dallas '12 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
POS HT WT HOMETOWN 5Andrlik, Tomas* D 5'11.5" 182 Plzen, Czech Rep. 23Busenius, Dylan D 6' 204 Sherwood Park, AB 2Dea, Tyler* D 6'4" 200 St. Albert, AB 4Guhle, Brendan* D 6'2" 178 Sherwood Park, AB 7Lange, Sawyer D 6' 193 Prince Albert, SK 6Morden, Evan D 6'2" 220 Swan River, MB 10Morrissey, Josh D 6' 180 Calgary, AB 3Stewart, Mackenze* D 6'5" 237 Calgary, AB # GOALTENDERS POS HT WT HOMETOWN
DRAFT Eligible 2014 Free Agent Eligible 2014 Eligible 2015 Eligible 2014 Free Agent Winnipeg '13 Eligible 2014
38Cheveldave, Cole 33McBride, Nick*
POS LW RW C C RW C C LW LW LW RW C LW/C LW/C
G G
HT 6'1" 6'1" 5'11" 6'1 5'11" 6'2" 6'2" 5'10" 6'3" 6' 6' 6' 5'7.5" 6'
5'10" 6'3.5"
WT 206 181 195 209 185 179 209 194 194 181 202 191 155 174
169 Calgary, AB 176 Maple Ridge, BC
DRAFT Free Agent Eligible 2015
Name 29 Leon Draisaitl 14 Dakota Conroy 18 Jayden Hart 21 Matteo Gennaro 15 Mike Winther 5 Tomas Andrlik 28 Gage Quinney 19 Reid Gardiner 20 Shane Danyluk 4 Brendan Guhle 16 Tim Vanstone 23 Dylan Busenius 7 Sawyer Lange 22 Chance Braid 6 Evan Morden 38 Cole Cheveldave 8 Craig Leverton 25 Carson Perreaux 3 Mackenze Stewart
Pos GP G C 2 1
A PTS +/- PIM 3
4
-1
0
RW 2 C 2
2
1
3
0
2
2
1
3
3
7
C 2 C 2
1
2
3
3
0
1
2
3
5
2
D 2 LW 2
0
3
3
3
2
2
0
2
3
0
C 2 C 2
1
1
2
3
0
0
2
2
1
2
D 2 C 2
0
2
2
4
0
0
2
2
2
0
D 2 D 2
1
0
1
1
5
1
0
1
-1
4
LW 2 D 2
0
1
1
-2
2
0
1
1
1
0
G 2 LW 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
LW 2 D 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Name GP GAA W L OTL SOL SAV% 38 Cole Cheveldave 2 120 2 0 0 0 0.908
Brandon Wheat Kings Roster and Statistics Goaltender (2)
Pos Ht
Wt
Hometown
NHL Draft
35. Honey, Curtis
G 6'
174 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014
33. Papirny, Jordan
G 6'
170 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014
Wt
NHL Draft
Forwards (15) 13. Bukarts, Rihards 19. Cooper, Taylor 21. Coulter, Tyler 12. Gabrielle, Jesse 8. Hawryluk, Jayce 27. Kitt, Brett 26. Lindgren, Ryley
Pos Ht
Hometown
LW 5'9" LW 6'
189 Jurmala, Latvia 186 Sherwood Park, AB LW 5'11" 206 Brandon, MB LW 5'11" 201 Moosomin, SK C 5'10" 190 Roblin, MB LW 6'1" 192 Brandon, MB C 5'11" 183 East St. Paul, MB
Name 19 Taylor Cooper 7 Eric Roy
Eligible 2014
24 Jens Meilleur
Eligible 2014
20 Chad Robinson
Eligible 2014
18 Richard Nejezchleb
Eligible 2015
26 Ryley Lindgren
Eligible 2014
17 John Quenneville
Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
22 Braylon Shmyr 13 Rihards Bukarts
28. Lisoway, Quintin
C 5'10' 190 Neepawa, MB
Eligible 2014
23. McGauley, Tim
C 6'
182 Wilcox, SK
Eligible 2014
8 Jayce Hawryluk
24. Meilleur, Jens
RW 6'1"
197 Elie, MB
Eligible 2014
28 Quintin Lisoway
18. Nejezchleb, Richard
RW 6'2"
210 Praha, Czech Republic Eligible 2014
10 Kord Pankewicz
15. Palmer, Jack
RW 6'1.5" 183 Victoria, BC
17. Quenneville, John
C 6'1
20. Robinson, Chad
C 5'11" 182 Minnedosa, MB
22. Shmyr, Braylon
186 Edmonton, AB
Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014 Eligible 2014
12 Jesse Gabrielle 9 Rene Hunter
156 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2015
Pos Ht
Wt
NHL Draft
11. Green, Taylor
LD 6'7"
224 Port Coquitlam, BC
Eligible 2014
9. Hunter, Rene
RD 6'1"
208 Ebb & Flow, MB
Eligible 2014
35 Curtis Honey
10. Pankewicz, Kord
LD 5'11" 202 Drayton Valley, AB
Eligible 2014
2. Pulock, Ryan
RD 6'1"
218 Grandview, MB
NYI '13
23 Tim McGauley
7. Roy, Eric
LD 6'3"
195 Beauval, SK
CGY '13
34. Thom, Dominic
LD 6'2.5" 186 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2014
6. Van Horne, Riley
LD 6'1"
175 Calgary, AB
Eligible 2014
3. Walters, Nick
LD 6'2"
202 St. Albert, AB
STL '12
5. Waltz, Colton
LD 6' 1" 187 Vermillion, AB
Hometown
Eligible 2014
A PTS +/- PIM 0
4
5
2
D 2 RW 2
0
4
4
5
0
1
2
3
5
0
C 2 RW 1
1
1
2
0
0
1
0
1
-1
4
C 2 C 2
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
LW 1 LW 2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
2
0
C 2 C 2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
4
0
D 2 D 2
0
1
1
7
7
0
1
1
3
0
LW 1 D 1
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
LW 1 D 1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
G 2 C 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
LW 2 D 2
0
0
0
2
4
0
0
0
-1
2
34 Dominic Thom
LW 5'8"
Defenceman (9)
Pos GP G LW 2 4
27 Brett Kitt 6 Riley Van Horne
15 Jack Palmer 5 Colton Waltz Name 35 Curtis Honey
GP GAA W 2
2
2
L 0
OTL SOL SAV% 0
0
0.95
Prince Albert Raiders Game Notes RAIDER REVIEW: The Prince Albert Raiders pulled off a weekend sweep of the Saskatoon Blades to start the 2013-2014 season, with a 6-5 win last Saturday night. The Blades got off to a quick start, taking a 2-goal lead before 16-year-old forward Matteo Gennaro scored his first career WHL goal and 20-year-old defenceman Dylan Busenius added another to even the slate after 20 minutes. Saskatoon started the scoring in the second period, before the home side scored a pair of goals, and another duo of markers to start the third period and take a 6-3 lead. Late in the game, the Blades battled back, but the Raiders held them off in the dying seconds to take the victory. VS. WHEAT KINGS: The Raiders posted a 4-2-0-0 record against Brandon last season, including a 2-1-0-0 record at the Art Hauser Centre. Leon Draisaitl led the attack on the Wheat Kings in 2012-2013, with a goal and 6 assists against the Raiders’ East Division rival. This is the first of six meetings this season between the two teams. LETTERED LEADERS: The team announced yesterday that 18-year-old defenceman Josh Morrissey will be the Raiders’ new captain, with 20year-old blueliner Dylan Busenius, 19-year-old forward Shane Danyluk and 18-year-old pivot Leon Drasaitl serving as the alternates. IMMEDIATE IMPACT: 18-year-old forward Gage Quinney has made an immediate impact in just his second and third career games, scoring a goal in each of the two contests to start the season. 16-year-old Matteo Gennaro added his first career goal on Saturday, while also picking up 2 assists over his first weekend in the WHL. Other players to record their first career points included 18-year-old import defenceman Tomas Andrlik and 16-year-old defenceman Brendan Guhle. MAKING THE LIST: 18-year-old imports, forward Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Tomas Andrlik, both made the preliminary ‘Players to Watch” list released by NHL Central Scouting earlier this week, with Draisaitl being listed one of seven WHL players in the “A” category and Andrlik being placed in the “C” category. ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Raiders roster currently consists of 24 players, including 14 forwards, 8 defencemen and 2 goaltenders. The age breakdown is as follows: three 20-year-olds, eight 19-year-olds, six 18-year-olds, four 17-year-olds and three 16-year-olds. Alberta leads the way as the home of the most Raiders players, with 12 current players hailing from the province, while 2 are from British Columbia, 5 are home-grown Saskatchewan products, a pair of Manitobans, as well as a player from each the United States, Germany and the Czech Republic. NON-CANADIAN CONTENT: 18-year-old defenceman Tomas Andrlik was selected by the Raiders 37th overall in the 2013 CHL Import Draft last spring. He joins fellow 18-year-old, forward Leon Draisaitl as the two European players on the Raiders roster, while 18-year-old forward Gage Quinney, from Las Vegas, Nevada. EARLY PRAISE: The Raiders were ranked 3rd overall in the pre-season BMO Canadian Hockey League rankings this week, and were the top ranked team in the WHL, moving up from 6th spot last week. A HELPING HAND: 19-year-old forward Shane Danyluk and 16-year-old defenceman Brendan Guhle are the onle two players in the WHL to have recorded a shorthanded assist, which they picked up on 19-year-old forward Mike Winther’s goal last Friday, the first one of the WHL season. ON THE LEADER BOARD: 19-year-old forward Mike Winther is in an early tie for 2nd place in the plus/minus category in the WHL, with a plus -5 rating through two games. UPCOMING GAMES: The Raiders will play their next three games at the Art Hauser Centre, as they close out this double header with the Brandon Wheat Kings tomorrow night, as well as the Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings on October 2nd and 4th, respectively.
Brandon Wheat Kings Game Notes Brandon Game Notes: It’s an early season battle between two undefeated teams on Friday night as the Brandon Wheat Kings open a doubleheader weekend in Prince Albert. Brandon and the Raiders are both off to 2-and-0 starts, with the Wheat Kings coming off a seasonopening home-and-home sweep of the Moose Jaw Warriors, winning 6-3 in Moose Jaw last Friday and downing the Warriors 3-1 in their home-opener on Saturday.
What’s New in 2013-2014: Kelly McCrimmon is back behind the Brandon bench this season after a two-year break, replacing Dwayne Gylywoychuk as the team’s head coach. McCrimmon has a 333-260-42 record in his 11-plus seasons as a WHL head coach. Brandon had another key off-ice change during the off-season. Longtime Director of Player Personnel Al MacPherson retiring from the position. Wade Klippenstein has taken over as the team’s Director of Scouting.
2013 Pre-Season: The Wheat Kings went 3-1-0-0 in the WHL pre-season this year. Rihards Bukarts led the team with two goals and seven points in four pre-season contests while 15-year old defenceman Kale Clague had five points (2 G, 3 A).
Injury Report: D Nick Walters (upper body, day-to-day); D Taylor Green (upper body, day-to-day); D Rene Hunter (upper body, week-toweek).
Roster Moves: The Wheat Kings assigned D Kale Clague to Lloydminster (AMHL) and F Duncan Campbell to Brandon (MMHL) earlier this week, reducing their roster to 26 players (15 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders). That includes blueliner Ryan Pulock, who remains with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
Drafted Players: D Ryan Pulock (NY Islanders, 1st Round, 15th overall in 2013; D Eric Roy (Calgary Flames, 5th Round, 135th overall in 2013); D Nick Walters (St. Louis, 4th Round, 116th overall in 2012).
Raiders/Wheat Kings’ Revisited: The Raiders and Wheat Kings will meet six times during the 2013-2014 WHL regular season starting with Friday’s game in Prince Albert. Last year, Brandon went 2-4-0-0 against Prince Albert including a 1-2-0-0 mark at the Art Hauser Centre. Over the last five years, Brandon has a 19-11-0-2 mark against the Raiders, 7-7-0-2 in Prince Albert.
Off-Season Activity: It was a busy off-season for several Wheat Kings’ players. Ryan Pulock and Eric Roy were selected in the NHL Draft on June 30th, with Pulock becoming the first Brandon defenceman chosen in the first round since Wade Redden in 1995; Jayce Hawryluk helped Hockey Canada U18 team to a gold medal at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in August while Pulock took part in Hockey Canada’s Junior Team Summer Development Camp in August. In addition, Brandon’s top three picks in the 2013 Bantam Draft – Nolan Patrick, Kale Clague and Tanner Kaspick – attended the NHLPA’s AllState All-Canadians Mentorship Camp and Richard Nejezchleb attended the Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp and Rookie Camp.
Did You Know: Taylor Cooper has scored the opening goal of the season in both of his years with the Wheat Kings, and notched his first career hat-trick in Brandon’s season-opening victory in Moose Jaw last Friday…Ryley Lindgren notched his first career WHL goal in last Friday’s win in Moose Jaw…Eric Roy assisted on all three Brandon goals Saturday, the third time in his career he’s had three assists in a single game but first time since March 17, 2012.
