It wasn’t good news for the Brandon Wheat Kings, but it was clarifying news.
The team knows now that despite their best efforts they will not host the 2026 Memorial Cup. A competitive bid that showed off good community and corporate support, a strong on-ice product, and the always advantageous Keystone Centre as the host venue weren’t enough to push them past Kelowna this time around.
That was the biggest news of the week for the Wheat Kings, and that’s saying something in what promises to be a huge seven-day stretch for them. Of course, with the Eastern Conference coiled tighter than an anxious python, every stretch of hockey is important. There will be no easy games for a long time, and the scoreboard watching has gotten into full swing regardless of how the games go.
A three-in-three in Alberta (mercifully the only one of the season) awaits. And at least one of the opponents will be venting similar frustrations to the Wheat Kings in regards to the Memorial Cup news.
- So let’s talk about the Memorial Cup hosts, the Kelowna Rockets. First of all, congratulations to them on a successful bid. I’m not privy to all the details of their bid, but I have to imagine the fact that they were slated to host in 2020 and lost that opportunity through no fault of their own was a point that came up. It feels like justice that they should get a chance to host again after COVID scuttled the 2o2o tournament, and asking them to host in 2023 after they’d loaded up for a tournament four years prior might not have been enough turnaround time for them to build up again. And while I don’t know for a fact that this came up, I have to admit the idea of going to Kelowna in late May is pretty enticing for any committee. If I were the Rockets, I’d have leaned on that aspect more than once or twice. Their location is an unbeatable advantage, and why not use the advantages you’re given?
- On the ice, the Rockets are suddenly faced with a bevy of decisions and I’m glad I’m not the one suddenly having to make them. The Rockets sit ninth in the Western Conference right now (albeit with at least one game in hand on everyone ahead of them) and right now they’re being bolstered by the NHL-drafted duo of Caden Price and Andrew Cristall. Price leads all WHL defensemen in points as of this writing, and Cristall is firing at an otherworldly pace of 40 points in just 15 games. That’s bordering on unfair from the Washington 2nd rounder. The problem? Price and Cristall are both signed to entry level contracts. In fact, signing his just one week after he was drafted, Cristall was one of the first members of his draft class to sign an ELC, which tells you how highly the Capitals regard him. Both he and Price are eligible for the AHL next season, and honestly look like good bets to make the big leagues. Do the Rockets run the risk of not getting their two big guns back next season by keeping them through this campaign? Not to mention the fact their fourth leading scorer, Jakub Stancl, is in the same boat (he’s a 2005-born player who signed an ELC this summer) and Max Graham and Michael Cicek are both 20 years old, meaning five of their top-six scorers could be gone next season. So if you’re Kelowna, with so much talent helping you win right now, what do you do? If they decide to move any assets to help load up for next season they’ll be able to demand a king’s ransom for them (just look at what Regina picked up for Tanner Howe) but smarter heads than the one writing this blog will answer that question as time goes along.
- For the Wheat Kings, the end of their bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup puts a greater emphasis on the present. As mentioned, the Eastern Conference is absurdly tight right now (five points separate second place from eighth) so a lot of teams could talk themselves into being buyers, including the Wheat Kings. When I brought this up to Marty Murray, he mentioned that now that the team is out of the running for hosting next year they very well could bring in someone to help right now, but he also mentioned the team expects to contend next season as well. Don’t expect them to mortgage the short term future for this year when they still intend to be part of next year’s Memorial Cup even if they’re not hosting. If the Wheat Kings do want to add, they’re in better shape than most teams in terms of extra draft picks. An extra first (Portland’s) and second (Saskatoon’s) this year and an extra second in 2026 (Edmonton’s from the Roersma trade), plus another extra first in 2027 (again, Portland’s) give them more ammunition than most. Regina clearly placed an emphasis on getting players to help them right now when they traded Howe to Calgary. Will other teams do the same, preferring players to picks? Or will some teams commit to a total teardown? We’ll have to wait and see.
- In the present, the Wheat Kings are as close to healthy as they’ve been all season and are fresh off a 7-3 win over Swift Current in which everyone seemed to find the scoresheet (well, 11 guys at least). The confidence built in that game, and the badly needed bounce back after a disappointing outing on several fronts against Tri City, will be huge as they face their only three-in-three of the season. They begin in Medicine Hat, going up against a team that no doubt feels they owe them one after the Wheat Kings blanked them 3-0 on home ice on November 2, and a team that might have some similar frustration to vent after their Memorial Cup bid was denied as well. In other words, it’s a good time for the Wheat Kings to be (almost) healthy.
- Massive congratulations to Nigel Boehm on his first WHL goal, which did not look like his first. He showed such confidence on the play in question, driving into the offensive zone and beating a defenseman to the outside, and it clearly bolstered him after that as he picked up another assist for good measure. With his excellent skating, physical game, and growing confidence, he’s shaping up to be a future leader for the Wheat Kings. It’s hard to believe, based on that skating ability alone, that he didn’t score in AAA last season. That means he shares a curious stat with captain Quinn Mantei: both players scored their first WHL goal before their first U18 AAA goal (and Boehm seems unlikely to ever play U18 AAA again at this rate). He shares some other traits with Mantei too, and the Wheat Kings can only hope he pans out that well.
- It feels like we haven’t talked enough about the play of Matteo Michels for the Wheat Kings. 16 points in 21 games is solid for a top-six forward (that would put him on about a 50-point pace), but there are a few things that make his play all the more noteworthy. First of all, Michels can and has played any role at any spot in the lineup. He’s the one player that seems to fit in no matter what line he plays on. Second of all, Michels sees far more shorthanded time than power play time. In fact, not one of his 16 points have come on the man advantage. Remarkably, every point Michels has picked up this season has been at even strength. The team found some power play time for him last game against Swift Current, but with power plays in curiously short supply lately (the Wheat Kings only had two against the Broncos and they’ve been on a long run with very few chances) he didn’t get a clean look at his first power play point of the year. As long as he keeps producing at even strength, it hardly matters.
Today wasn’t an easy day for the Wheat Kings, who really felt they had the chops to be an excellent Memorial Cup host. Now, however, they not only get to focus more completely on the present, but perhaps play with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. After all, the Wheat Kings’ designs on playing in the Memorial Cup next year haven’t changed. The only thing that’s changed is the location.
