A local curler is gearing up to represent the city and the province at the U18 National Curling Championships from February 4-10 in Ottawa. Team Campbell, skipped by Brandon's Rylan Campbell, earned the right by winning the u18 provincials in Selkirk in January. Team Campbell consists of (Lead) Rylan Graham, (Second) Nick Senff, and (Third) Logan Zacharias. The team is coached by Sheldon Zacharias. The team is excited to travel to Ottawa for the opportunity to represent Manitoba, with Campbell saying they are looking forward to getting the chance to play other teams from across the country. In preparation for the event, the whole team has been practicing individually just working on a couple of things to make sure that they are prepared to do their best while in Ottawa. You will be able to follow along with them at https://www.curling.ca/2024u18/

“Look at that! Look at this! Look at that!” Former Brandon Bobcats goalie Doug Roach recently become an overnight sensation all over the world. Roach, the play by play announcer for the Virden Oil Capitals in the MJHL, found internet stardom once Spittin’ Chiclets and TSN’s Bar Down posted a clip of Roach's call of a goal in the MJHL on December 7, 2023. Oil Capitals forward Roux Bazin split the Steinbach Pistons’ defence and scored a top-shelf goal to give the Capitals a 2-1 overtime win, at this point Roach was totally lost in emotion and the video put not only Roach on the radar screen but as well the MJHL. Tyson Ramsey, Head Coach of the Virden Oil Capitals, told BDNMB.CA today “We don’t get involved or coach him on his style.  Doug is a volunteer who is happy to come and help us out and he has fun with it!  He really cares about his community and in particular the sports scene. He is genuinely excited for our players when they have success.” Announcers pants are absolutely RUINED???? ????: mjhlhockey/IG pic.twitter.com/nWn2MF2zMJ — Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 11, 2023 The NHL and Winnipeg Jets have also embraced the audio from Roach’s video and added it to their Instagram clips. Former Bobcats have stated that Roach was always the “class clown” and as well as a community leader.

One of the longest serving members of the Brandon Wheat Kings and their most decorated forward is on the move with a chance to pursue a championship awaiting him in Portland. The Wheat Kings announced today they had traded captain Nate Danielson to the Portland Winterhawks. In exchange, the Wheat Kings receive 2005-born forward Nicholas Johnson, 2005-born defenseman Rhett Ravndahl, a first-round pick in 2025, a first-round pick in 2027, and a fifth-round pick in 2026. “It’s honestly the hardest day of my career since being in this position,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “To have to move a player like Nate is very, very difficult. For us, we felt like it was an opportunity for us to continue to push, that’s going to be a really important message to our guys that we feel we have the troops to be a playoff team and keep growing and make strides. At the same time, it’s hard to move a player like Nate. Originally a first-round pick by the Wheat Kings, 5th overall, Danielson suited up with the team for 171 games and amassed 176 points. In his tenure as a Wheat King, not only was the talented, classy star named captain he was also selected ninth overall in the NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings and named to Canada’s roster at the World Junior Championships. “He deserves a spot on the wall of fame,” said Murray. “He’s one of the highest draft picks in Wheat Kings history, he’s an unbelievable hockey player as we all know, and more importantly he’s a great human being. He wore the jersey with pride.” Johnson, a Calgary-born forward, has five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 29 games with the Winterhawks this season. He also comes to Brandon with a plus-17 rating. “He’s a guy that’s just kind of scratching the surface,” Murray said. “He’s a guy that plays kind of a power forward type game and has the ability to put up some numbers. We’re looking forward to getting him into the lineup.” Ravndahl, a native of Birch Hills Saskatchewan, is in the middle of his second season with the Winterhawks. He had two assists in 27 games with Portland this season. “Rhett is a good puck mover, he skates well,” said Murray. “We feel he has the opportunity to really develop here as a defenseman.” In addition, the Wheat Kings announced today they have traded Evan Groening to the Prince George Cougars for a tenth round pick in 2027. They have also reassigned defenseman Tre Fouquette to the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL. The Wheat Kings wish both Evan and Tre the best of luck in their continuing hockey careers. Source: Wheat Kings Release

The Brandon Wheat Kings have made an exciting change to their off-ice staff and brought more responsibility to a Brandon native with deep ties to both the community and the team. The Wheat Kings are pleased to announce that Mike Filipchuk has been named the new VP of Business Operations. “I am excited to take on the position of VP of Business Operations with the Brandon Wheat Kings,” Filipchuk said. “The Wheat Kings are incredibly important to me and have been throughout my life, and to hold this position with them is an honour.” Growing up in Brandon, Filipchuk was a Wheat Kings fan from the time he was old enough to have a favorite team. He played his minor hockey in Brandon, including time with the U18 AAA Wheat Kings, and has worked in hockey as a volunteer coach or off-ice staff member for much of his time in Brandon. “We have a talented, hard working, and dedicated team on and off the ice and I am excited to continue to build on the strong relationship between the Brandon Wheat Kings and not only Brandon, but all of Manitoba.” Away from the rink, Filipchuk has given back to the sport that meant so much to him by helping coach the U15 AAA Wheat Kings to a provincial title in 2022-23. He lives in Brandon with his wife, Cheryl, and has three children, Matthew, Meghann, and Sarah. Source: Wheat Kings Release

I think a perception exists is that playing in the ECHL is a very good paying job and glamorous at the same time...well both of those assumptions are not correct. Salaries range from $575.00 to $1,100.00 USD per week.   Players do get free rent included in their contracts. Brandon’s Jordan Stallard, a former Winnipeg Jets draft pick, and Brad Schoonbaert are both suiting up this season in the ECHL for the Kansas City Mavericks. BDNMB.CA sat down with these two and fired some questions at them. What is a normal game day routine? Stallard - I don’t have any specific routine on game day.  I will always have a coffee at the rink, then hop on the ice for morning skate. After that I will eat a big pre game meal 5-6 hours before the game then make sure to get at least an hour nap in. I don’t like being at the rink too early for a game so I will show up 2 hours before, get another coffee as soon as I get to rink, have our meetings, do an off ice warm up and then we’re ready for the game. Do people recognize you guys at restaurants, stores, etc? Stallard - I haven’t been there long enough to really know what it’s like but my first time out to a restaurant after the game some fans did come and talk to us as we were leaving so that was cool to see Best part about playing in Kansas City? Stallard - The best part about playing is KC is being able to be a part of such a great organization and living in a city that is so passionate about their sports. And also being able to be there with two of my good friend is a bonus Do you think this ECHL is a big step up in talent from USPORTS? Schoonbaert - The pace is very similar to a good U Sports game but everybody is just a little better at everything and there are no easy nights. We have a record of 20-7-1 and we’ve only won by more than two goals twice. The style is a lot different as well because we play so many more games.   How hard is it to be patient to wait for more ice time? Schoonbaert - It’s not easy to be patient sometimes and there was a tough stretch in November for sure but I kept myself ready and have been playing lots lately and trying to help the team any way I can. What are the living conditions like and travel? Schoonbaert - Our living situation is one of the top in the league I would say. We are only 2 minutes from the rink and our apartment complex is brand new and there’s lots of things to do in and around the complex. Travel isn’t as bad as people think because we travel on a sleeper bus and drive through the night so when you wake up you are at your destination. And if it is a longer trip we fly. So the travel isn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. Follow Jordan and Brad this year. Kansas City Mavericks https://kcmavericks.com/