The 2023 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft took place earlier today and Brandon's Jaxon Jacobson was the top Manitoban selected in the draft, going fifth overall to the Wheat Kings. Several members of the Brandon Wheat Kings U15 AAA roster were also drafted Thursday including Nolan Saunderson, Jonah Lemoine, and Gradey Taylor. Lemoine, pictured above, was selected in the 9th round, 178th overall by the Prince Albert Raiders. A forward, he put up strong offensive numbers in 2022-23 racking up 80 points in just 33 regular season games. He also led the team in scoring and finished 4th overall in league scoring. The Spokane Chiefs used the 90th overall (5th round) to select blueliner Nolan Saunderson. Saunderson, pictured below, picked up 28 points in 31 games this past season with the Brandon Wheat Kings U15 AAA squad. Nolan has been described as "a smart, smooth two-way defenseman. He defends well and makes an accurate first pass up the ice." Gradey Taylor, also a defensemen, appeared in 30 regular season games with the Brandon Wheat Kings U15 AAA team where he collected 14 points (8g-6a) with 39 penalty minutes. He was selected in the 12th round, 178 overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Brandon Wheat Kings used the 5th overall selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft to select homegrown product forward, Jaxon Jacobson. The 5'8", 150lb Jacobson spent last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings U-18 AAA team where he amassed 60 points in 44 regular season games. He followed that up by recording 8 points in 8 playoff games.  With the fifth overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, the @bdnwheatkings select Jaxon Jacobson from Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA.#WHLDraft pic.twitter.com/T9cSmFaO88 — The WHL (@TheWHL) May 11, 2023 With their second pick in the first round (19th overall), the Wheat Kings selected Giorgos Pantelas, a defensemen who spent last season skating with the RHA Kelowna U15 Prep team. Pantelas tallied 38 points for Kelowna in 2022-23. He has been described as big, strong, and a great skater. With the 19th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, the @bdnwheatkings select Giorgos Pantelas from the RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna U15 Prep.#WHLDraft pic.twitter.com/yi8W6MI1O3 — The WHL (@TheWHL) May 11, 2023 The complete order of selection for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft can be found at https://whl.ca/draft.

The MB Mavericks, which includes 4 players from Brandon (Reese Schutte, Shayla Scinocca, Devyn Moncur, and Sydney Sass), headed to Minneapolis this weekend for the annual Stars & Stripes hockey tournament and returned home with the 14U Tier 1 female championship trophy in their possession. In Sunday's tournament clinching 5-2 victory over Team Colorado, the Mavericks received goals from Sydney Sass (3), Erica Miko, and Presley Hodson. Over the duration of the weekend the Mavericks went a perfect 5-0, outscoring their opposition 34-6 in the process. In addition to the Brandon players, the roster (posted below) also includes many of the top 2008 & 2009 born female hockey players from several neighboring regions including: Yellowhead, Central Plains, Westman, and Parkland. To prepare for the Stars & Stripes tournament the team held a few practices, participated in a tournament in Melville, and played 2 exhibition games in Winnipeg.

Exciting news as Virden's Bryn Chyzyk was named USHL GM of the Year.   Bryn, whom is only 30 years old, was a former Southwest Cougar, Dauphin King, Fargo Force, UND Fighting Sioux forward and then signed a two way contract in the AHL with Rockford. Chyzyk scoring for UND Fighting Sioux ( now Fighting Hawks ) Grand Forks Herald ( photo credit () Chyzyk's Waterloo Black Hawks won 40 games this year a huge step up from only 28 the previous season. More details from The Rink Live in Fargo North Dakota. https://www.therinklive.com/junior-and-prospects/ushl/waterloos-bryn-chyzyk-named-ushl-general-manager-of-the-year The USHL is the top league in North America for providing opportunities for players interested in playing NCAA D1 or D3 hockey.

Week 2 of the 2023 AAA Hockey Challenge wrapped up in Brandon over the weekend. Twenty Eight teams took to the ice, competing in three different age groupings. Of note, all three championship games on Sunday were decided by one goal. 2008-09 Championship Following an overtime period, the 2008-09 final required a shootout to settle the game. The Jawbreakers (pictured above) ended coming out on top, scoring a 7-6 win over the Cougars. Luka Gosselin held the hot hand for the Jawbreakers racking up 3 goals and 1 assist in the championship tilt. Crosby Harrison, Ryan Cox, and Jaxon Green also scored for the Jawbreakers. Kai Kriekle, Carson Park, Blake Haygarth, Chase Lekivetz, Rhett Weichel, and Burke Regehr replied with goals for the Cougars. 2010 Championship The Dakota Warriors Blue squad eked out a narrow 7-6 victory over the Wheatlead Wild in overtime to claim the 2010 title. Beau Raschke scored at the 4:37 mark in the overtime frame to secure the win. The Warriors were led offensively by Eason Eggert (3g,2a), Landin Slind (2g), and Reese Frykman (4a).  Liam Vancaeseele (3g), Merrick Wilhelm (2g), and Mason Schmidt (1) tallied goals in the loss for the Wild. 2011 Championship Nixon Gaudet scored his 4th goal of the game in overtime to lead the Southeast Beast to a hard fought 6-5 win over the PV Heat in the 2011 title game. Gaudet racked up an impressive 17 goals and 5 assists in his 5-games played over the weekend. Also scoring for the the Beast were Liam Beaudeete and Reed Sherry, while Nikco Fontaine stopped 36 Heat shots. The Heat received 2 goals from Mattix Unrau and single markers from Gavin Gacutan and Shane Pethybridge.