The Brandon Wheat Kings’ leadership group for the new season is set, and whether the young Wheat Kings’ require guidance on scoring goals or preventing them, they’ll be able to turn to someone wearing a letter this season.
The Wheat Kings named forward Jaxon Jacobson as captain, alongside assistant captains Brady Turko, Joby Baumuller, and Nigel Boehm. At a time where the WHL appears to be getting younger, the Wheat Kings found three third-year players in Jacobson, Turko, and Boehm, as well as a fourth-year player in Baumuller to round out their leadership group.
“First of all, of them are quality human beings,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “That’s a good start. They all understand what being a Wheat King means in the community, and all four either grew up here or they’ve been around the team long enough that they understand the responsibilities that go along with that. They are first and foremost Wheat Kings, and player-wise, they’re all important pieces of our team.”
The leader of the group in more ways than one, Jacobson comes in as the top-scoring returning forward, the team’s number one centre, and the focal point of what promises to be a highly dangerous attack. As someone who grew up in Brandon, he’s also keenly aware of the history of the captains who came before him.
“It’s a tremendous honour,” Jacobson said. “Just being around this group of guys and being able to be a leader for this group of guys is awesome. It’s a great group of guys, they’re easy to lead and they’re all going to follow in the right direction, so it’s up to me to set a good example.”
Putting the C on the sweater of a local player is not lightly done, as there is some pressure that comes with it. But as a former fifth overall pick, Jacobson is accustomed to having pressure on him and it hasn’t slowed him down so far.
“I talked to the coaching staff in the summer,” he said, “and I knew I was expected to be a leader coming into camp and into the season. To be given the C is a tremendous honour and it’s something I’ve always wanted to be for this team.”
“He’s always been under the microscope and he’s a guy that excels in those situations,” said Murray. “The naysayers might say ‘Well, his dad owns the hockey team’ but that’s not the reason at all. Jaxon is a guy that bleeds black and gold through and through. He’s grown up around the organization. There are a lot of factors that go into it, but him understanding what the Wheat Kings mean in the community and growing up around it is one of the things we’re going to rely on with him.”
Nigel Boehm (right) and Brady Turko (left) flank seventh skater Gordie White on opening night for the Wheat Kings. (Photo by Jeremy Champagne)
Different styles of play will be well served within this leadership group as well. Jacobson is a cerebral scoring centre, and Turko brings a similarly high-IQ approach to the game, while Baumuller brings a power-forward style to the group. As for Boehm, as the lone blueliner of the group, he brings the perspective of a dedicated shutdown defenseman.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that know their roles and play their roles very well,” said Boehm. “We’ll be leaning on each other and being able to improve in other areas. Seeing guys that are more defensive minded working with the guys that are more offensive minded, it’ll be huge to learn from them and see what they’re doing and what works for them and implementing that into our own game.”
All four of them have been full-time players under previous captains Quinn Mantei and Caleb Hadland, while Baumuller was with the Wheat Kings while Nate Danielson, and later Brett Hyland, wore the C. Jacobson and Turko were both recalled during the 2023-24 season as well.
“They all share some of the same attributes,” Jacobson said. “They all come to the rink, they all have their thing and they all want to get better and lead. They wanted others to get better too. They wanted what was best for the team. Learning from them, some great leaders like Hads, and Quinn, and Nate although I wasn’t around Nate as much, seeing their compete level and how they pushed others and wanted everyone to be better, that’s something I strive to be and something I want my teammates to remember me for.”
The Wheat Kings remain on home ice for the first game of this week, hosting the Regina Pats on Friday night before their first road game of the season on Saturday against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
