Borrowing a page out of the playbook of the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins from the 1970’s, the Rez Kings last year used a combination of toughness (Jon Mirasty, Derek Parker) and skill (Darren Reid, Ryan Pilon, Dustin Perillat) to capture the Men’s Senior Division at the Dakota Nation Winterfest’s annual hockey tournament.    This year they are returning in 2018 in hopes of repeating their championship run and capturing the $15,000 first place prize money.   In preparation for this years tournament Leighton Axelson tells bdnmb.ca "this year, we had alot more time to get this team together and everyone is looking forward to coming back."   Their final roster is still pending however they will be coming back with the same core, give or take a few guys. According to Axelson they will be looking at adding a few new guys as well prior to the tournament getting underway.  "With work, families and other commitments its always been a challenge to get all the guys together for this particular tournament" he added.  This same core of players also enters a team annually in the Oskana Cup tournament held each summer in Regina. Axelson believes that "this a great tournament and every team is capable of winning any given game so we expect an even tougher competition this year."  When asked what he felt it would take to repeat as champions in 2018 he replied "I would say we need to come into the first game with the same humble attitude and work ethic we had last year and go from there". The tournament get underway on Friday, January the 26th.  Others team competing include the Norway House Bruins, Fisher River Terriers, Peguis Mohawks, Ochapowce Thunder and a team from Animozeebeeng.

Brandon will soon have the area’s first ever indoor hitting facility as today Triple Crown Sports announced they would be opening a location in Brandon in the spring of 2018. Triple Crown Sports is dedicated to the development of young athletes across the province.  They offer a variety of camps and clinics including a pitching program.  Additional information will follow as it becomes available.

A former member of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Rob Klinkhammer, has been named to the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey roster.  Klinkhammer suited up for 28 games with the Wheat Kings back in the 2006-07 season.  He picked up 31 points in those 28 games.  Since completing of his junior career he has played in 91 NHL games including stops in Chicago, Ottawa, Phoenix and Edmonton.  He has spent the last two seasons skating the in the KHL. Also named to the team were two Manitobans, forward Quinton Howden and defenseman Chay Genoway.

Source:  Brandon Wheat Kings Twitter The Brandon Wheat Kings have dealt Tanner Kaspick and prospect Cameron MacDonald to the Victoria Royals for Ty Thorpe, Jonathon Lambos, a 1st round pick in 2019 and a 1st round pick in 2021. They have also dealt Kale Clague to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Luka Burzan, Chase Hartje a 1st round pick in 2019, a first round pick in 2021 and a 2nd round pick in 2018  

The Brandon Atom 9A Wheat Kings hockey team captured the 9A1 division of the Winnipeg Jets Challenge Cup hockey tournament. They defeated the St. James Canucks KW team in the tournament final 5-3 on Friday afternoon.    Brandon received goals from five different skaters in the contest including Ty Wilson, Max Clemmensen, Jaxon Brick, Cole Lobreau, and Joseph Balabanski.  Hunter Gregory picked up the win in net. The team impressively won all six of their games over the week-long tournament, outscoring their opponents 39-6 in the process. Team Roster 1 Brady Shields G 2 Ty Wilson D 4 Maden Simard D 5 Daylan Duncalfe F 7 Cole Adams F 8 Max Clemmensen F 9 Sydney Sass F 10 Jaxon Brick F 11 Jonah Lemoine F 12 Asher Gingras F 14 Kalen Spence D 15 Cole Lobreau F 16 Grady Taylor D 17 Shayla Scinocca D 19 Wesley Burton D 21 Joseph Balabanski F 30 Hunter Gregory G