Four players (Jayce Woloski, Knox Zdan, Ari Lang, Riley Mangin) who suited up for the Wheat City Wranglers this season will be part of Team Manitoban at the upcoming U13 Lacrosse National Championships being held in Regina. Zdan, Lang, & Mangin are all residents of Brandon while Woloski hails from Rapid City. Understandably they are excited to represent their province against the top teams in the country. The group attended Team Manitoba tryouts in June and were selected out of around 50 players who tried out. The rest of the team is made up of players from the city of Winnipeg. To date they have practiced 17 times in Winnipeg over the past month and a half in preparation for the tournament. Their favourite part of the experience so far has been getting to know their teammates and coaches. For all 4 players, this is their first time playing at this level. Lang and Zdan are 2012 born players who will have the opportunity to tryout again next year for the U13 provincial team. Woloski and Mangin are 2011 born players who will move up to u15 next season. Team Manitoba opens up the tournament in Regina on Monday August 14 vs Nova Scotia, followed by games vs Saskatchewan, BC and Ontario.

A Wheat Kings forward core with depth, size, and skill, has officially added a little bit more of all three. The team is proud to announce forward Dominik Petr has signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement, and will join them for the 2023-24 season. Petr, who stands 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, split last season between the U18 and U20 leagues in Finland. He posted nine points in eight games for Lukko’s U18 squad and suited up in 18 games at the U20 level, picking up a goal. He also potted four goals in seven playoff games for the U18 team. “We view Dominik as a very solid two-way forward that can help us on both sides of the puck,” said Wheat Kings General Manager Marty Murray. “He’s a 200-foot-player with a good frame that we felt has the tools to produce at the WHL level.” Petr also already has extensive international experience representing his home country of Czechia. He’s played in the past two World Under-18 championships, most recently serving as an assistant captain for the team and posting two goals and two assists in five games. He’s also represented Czechia twice at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, posting seven total points in nine games over his two appearances at the tournament. Previous Import Draft picks from Czechia for the Wheat Kings include Daniel Bukac (2016), Richard Nejezchleb (2012), Jakub Sindel (2004), Jiri Jakes (2000), Jan Fadrny (1998) and Ladislav Kohn (1993). Petr will join returning defenseman Andrei Malyavin as the team’s second import player for 2023-24.

The Brandon AAA U18 Wheat Kings made the announcement yesterday that Micheal Ferland would be joining the coaching staff for the 2023-24 season. Ferland spent two years as a player in the organization before joining the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. Upon the conclusion of his WHL career, Ferland played in 335 NHL regular season games with three different NHL teams (Calgary, Vancouver, Carolina). He retired from the NHL in 2021  and has spent some time behind the bench (assistant coach) before with the 2021-22 AAA U15 Brandon Wheat Kings and most recently as the Head Coach of the gold medal Team Manitoba at the North Aboriginal Hockey Championship. The organization also announced that Paul Mandziuk would be returning for his third season as an assistant coach with the club.

The 13u AAA Marlins punched their ticket to Kelowna to participate in the Western Canadian Championships (August 18-20) by capturing the u13 Tier II crown over the weekend in St. James. The club finished the 6-team round robin sporting a 5-1 record, with the only loss coming on Saturday morning against St. James. The two teams would meet up again in Sunday's final, this time with the Marlins outscoring St. James 18-11.

A pair of Brandon Wheat King teammates, Roger McQueen & Charlie Elick, won gold today at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Team Canada upended Czechia 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Erie Otters Malcolm Spence in the gold medal contest. Spence's goal came with 7 seconds left in the OT period. McQueen finished the tournament with an impressive 7-points in 5-games, while Elick recorded 2-assists in the same 5-games. The Wheat Kings used back to back picks in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to select Elick 3rd overall & McQueen 4th. MALCOLM SPENCE, OVERTIME HERO! ???????? MALCOLM SPENCE, LE HÉROS DE LA PROLONGATION! ????????#HlinkaGretzkyCup | #CoupeHlinkaGretzkypic.twitter.com/IHNNp5YdzR — Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 5, 2023