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The Brandon Wheat Kings ended the 2018-19 season on Saturday, March 18 on home ice against the Regina Pats. In front of nearly 5000 fans, Luka Burzan scored the shootout winner as Brandon nipped Regina, 5-4.

Brandon's last game during the 2019-20 season was a 4-2 defeat against the Prince Albert Raiders and more than a year after that loss, the Wheat Kings will hit the ice once again. In a normal year, the Western Hockey League's regular-season would finish in the middle of March. As we all know, times are certainly not normal as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back on February 12, 2020, the WHL was granted approval by public health officials from the Government of Saskatchewan to play in a Hub Center located in Regina. This means the East Division's seven teams will open a new season on Friday, March 12.

Brandon will be joined by Winnipeg, the host Pats, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Swift Current, and Prince Albert as the teams will come together for a 24 game development season with all games being played at the Brandt Centre.

Don MacGillivray, Head Coach for the Wheat Kings is thrilled that the team will get going in Regina very soon.

"I think everyone's excited to be playing. We all understand it's going to be different than normal, and everyone is ready to commit to things they may not have to in a normal season," offered MacGillivray. "We're extremely happy that owners made a commitment that will get our guys on the ice."

Being placed in a bubble will without a doubt give all teams a great opportunity to bond together as a team. MacGillivray says that will not only benefit the team off the ice but on the ice as well.

"It's a great opportunity to grow this group and become a real tight group," he stated. "In a normal season you would spend up to two weeks on the road, now we're spending upwards of two months."

All members of the Wheat Kings are now self-quarantining before reporting to Regina on February 27, where they will undergo COVID-19 testing upon arrival followed by an additional quarantine period. 

Schneider Effect:

After starting the season in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, it's been announced that Braden Schneider will return to the Wheat Kings as they enter the East Division Bubble. It's very likely that some young Wheat Kings prospects get an extended opportunity to hit the ice during this developmental season and the organization has put their full trust in Schneider to lead this group.

The Prince Albert native who played with Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships has been named Captian of the team. Darnell Duff will catch up with Braden later this week to get his thoughts on the season and his time in the AHL.

Braden has played the past three full seasons with Brandon and the New York Rangers draft pick without a doubt has a great future in store and if there was ever a time to learn how to be a great leader, living with your teammates for two months and spending countless hours with them -- as will happen this season -- could be the best way to achieve this.

Prospect time?

Nate Danielson, Tyson Zimmer, and Rylen Roersma went fifth, sixth, and 16th overall to the Wheat Kings in the 2019 draft. Roersma had three points in five games to start the season with the Lethbridge U18 Hurricanes while Danielson averaged two points per game during his five games. Zimmer; meanwhile, playing with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) scored four times and added four assists. 

During my conversation with MacGillivray, he had many great things to say about all three prospects, but he keyed in on Zimmer who grew up just two hours away from Brandon in Russell, Manitoba.

"He's going to have the benefit of playing some junior games and I think that's huge for him," said MacGillivray. "Just like every young player, he's going to have to find his way. There is going to be a lot of young players around the league."

Don expects to have eight guys in his lineup that have never played a Western Hockey League game before and many teams are expected to be in the same position as the season rolls on. 

"Our young guys will battle for spots on a nightly basis, they will have to earn it," ended MacGillivray. 

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The Dauphin Kings completed two trades today with the 2020-21 MJHL season now in the past.

The first deal saw the team send Colby Jaquet to the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. With the AJHL set to resume a developmental season early next month, Jaquet will get the chance to finish out his 19-year-old season. Jaquet will return to Dauphin next season as his trade to Lloydminster is done on a loan basis.

"We asked the 19-year-old players if they wanted to finish their season and Colby wanted to," said Doug Hedley. "We'll get him back here in time for next season."

The second deal brings the end to Vincent Nardone's time as a King. The 20-year-old was sent to the Carleton Place Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League. This move gives Nardone a place to finish his junior hockey career.

"He's closer to home now as well," said Hedley. "It will do us some favours next year and he gets the chance to finish out his junior career so we're happy about that."

Nardone became a fan favourite in Dauphin with his speed and great hands. In six games, Vincent recorded seven assists playing on the first line alongside Grady Hobbs. Although it was a short stint in Dauphin for Nardone, Hedley says he made an impact.

"He was a great kid as well, in the room, and on the ice," ended Hedley. "He was a great teammate and we wish him the best moving forward."

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With the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's off-season having arrived earlier than usual, teams across the league have now started putting all of their focus on next season. 

Over in the valley, the Stampeders were 5-4 when the pause went into effect back in November and that's where the team will ultimately end its season at. And as we now look forward to the 2021-22 season, the team has plenty to look forward to with their recent signing.

Keefe Gruener of Winnipeg has signed his letter of intent as he will join the team next season. In 49 games last season, Gruener scored 10 times and he added 18 assists with the Winnipeg Wild of the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League. The Wild played just two games this season.

Gruener says points aren't everything and although he does have a solid offensive upside, he is more than just a scorer.

"I was happy with the way I was playing, I'm not a guy that's going to go out and score 40 goals," said Gruener. "I can impact the game in many different ways, on the penalty kill, and physically. 

Barry Wolff said the team is very excited to add a quality player and person of Gruener's character, strong work ethic, and skill. 

With the mentality of being an everyday impact player with Swan Valley, Keefe knows signing his letter of intent is just step one of achieving his ultimate goal. The young man was drafted by the organization in the 2019 MJHL Draft, 10th overall. 

"I'm happy, with that said, I know I still have to make it," offered Gruener. "There is a lot to do coming up and I'm looking forward to that chance. Swan Valley is a great organization and I'm pleased I'll get the opportunity to make this team."

Gruener took part in Stampeders rookie camp this past September and he skated in main camp last season. Keefe says he's extremely excited to play for Barry Wolff who has done a tremendous job with Swan Valley and he will put everything he has into every practice and game.

"Stampeder fans can look forward to watching a guy that plays a really gritty game and does anything he can for the team," ended Gruener.

Keefe also says he can't wait to move to rural Manitoba for the first time after having been born and raised in Winnipeg. 

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One of the top forwards from last year is returning to the Saskatoon Blades as the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Eastern Division prepares to begin play on Friday, March 12.

Tristen Robins from Clear Lake has been re-assigned to the WHL after spending time with the American Hockey League's (AHL) San Jose Barracuda.

A second-round (56th overall) pick of the Sharks in the 2020 NHL Draft, Tristen played two games with the Barracuda this season, the Sharks AHL affiliate. Robins led the Blades in scoring last season with 33 goals and 40 assists. In 134 WHL games, Robins has tallied 42 goals and 57 assists.

All East Division teams begin to play in the Hub Centre in Regina.

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For most Manitobans, the hockey season has come to an end with almost all associations shutting down across the province.

While rinks across the province have the ability to be open right now to 25% capacity, games and team practices are not allowed with only 1-on-1 instruction taking place until at least March 5 when the current 'Code Red' restrictions are set to be lessened or extended.

During the entire pause which came into effect back in November, the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League has remained committed to returning to play, when allowed to do so. And although no one knows what a return may look like at this point, it appears the league is still hoping for a return.

At a virtual league meeting over Zoom, it was announced that a few teams have pulled the plug on the season because of their arenas removing the ice surface. With that said, Rick Freese says the league is still playing the waiting game.

"The consensus moving forward is we don't shut things down yet," said Freese. "We'll wait until the next announcement from the provincial government and we'll go from there."

Manitoba's top AAA league features 13 teams. No team had played more than eight games prior to the pause; the Kenora Thistles hadn't even hit the ice, while the Winnipeg Wild played just two games. Freese does believe teams could resume activities at some capacity, but that may not include competitive regular-season games.

"I can see some individual things happening in some capacity," ended Freese. "It's tough to get things going league-wide when you have five or six teams that aren't capable of getting ice."

When the season was paused in November, Parkland's 6-1 record was the best in the league. The Yellowhead Chiefs; meanwhile, were 4-3-1. 

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For the second year in a row, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks hockey team won the Penrose Cup as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's top regular season team.

In front of their home fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena, Riese Gaber had one assist in a 7-1 triumph over Omaha which gave North Dakota their 17th win of the season and a conference championship.

NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton was on hand to present the Penrose Cup to UND at the conclusion of the game. 

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CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league remains committed to resuming play in 2021 but is keeping all options open regarding exactly how that will look.

The CFL didn't play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league has unveiled a full 18-game 2021 schedule for all nine teams and while Ambrosie says the plan remains going ahead with that, the league is also examining potential contingencies like playing fewer contests in order to get back on the field.

After no Grey Cup game was played last year, the '21 CFL title contest is scheduled to be played in November in Hamilton.

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With the recent news of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League cancelling its season, the Dauphin Kings' board of directors have been working on strategies for their Business Partners and Season Ticket holders.

The organization hopes to reach out to everyone in the next week. Stay tuned for updates and the team appreciates the support and patience during this time. 

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Andrew Liwiski played 102 games with the Dauphin Kings, a team he grew up watching and his goal was always to be a part of the organization. Following a 52 game stint with the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the 2017-18 season, Liwiski's dream came true as he joined Dauphin for the following season.

He helped Dauphin advance to the playoffs in his two years and he was poised to make a run with his hometown team when the season was ultimately shut down last year because of the novel coronavirus.

So Liwiski set his mind on the future and that future had him heading to Northland College. The defender from Dauphin committed to the Jacks. He packed up his bags and made his way to Ashland, Wisconsin in mid-August, but the team didn't begin practicing until the start of October. 

After a significant delay to the start of the season, the Jacks were finally able to hit the ice in-game action as on Wednesday, February 3, Northland was on home ice against the University of Wisconsin-Superior at the Bay Area Civic Center. 

Liwiski says he's just happy to be on the ice in a competitive game. Prior to February 3, the last time he played in a meaningful game was back on March 10, 2020, when Dauphin beat Portage in double overtime, 1-0. The Dauphinite has now played in five games with his new team and as a freshman; he's still in the feeling out process.

"Guys are obviously bigger, stronger, and it's a change of pace playing against guys that are almost 25-years-old," said Liwiski. "It's been a bit of a challenge, but I'm just trying to stay positive, and work as hard as I can."

A 3-1 loss against the University of Wisconsin - River Falls on Wednesday night dropped the Jacks to 0-5 to begin the season. However, Wednesday's game will go down as one that Andrew won't forget as he recorded his first-ever college point, an assist early in the third period on a goal from Zack Fisher.

With just five more games left in their conference schedule before the playoffs, Liwiski knows the team has what it takes to make a solid second-half run. Only two of their five losses have been by three or more goals. 

"We're not getting the results we want, but I'm pretty happy with where my game is at right now," ended Liwiski. "It's been a weird year with restrictions and not being on the ice for quite a while, so I'm happy with how things are going. I think we're ready to change things around here and I'm happy to be a part of this group."

The team's next game is on Friday evening against the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, the same team that Andrew recorded his first college point against 48 hours prior.

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With the off-season having arrived early for all teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), preparations have begun for the 2021-22 season and Doug Hedley continues to be a busy man.

After committing a couple of Parkland Rangers not long ago, Dauphin has committed Lucas Hand of St. Louis Park, Minnesota as the young man has signed his letter of intent.

Lucas says getting this opportunity is one that really excites him.

"I've been in Minnesota my whole life, so I'm really excited to move to Dauphin and I'm happy I'll be playing the game I love in a great league," said Hand. "Dauphin seems like a great place and the fans really embrace the team."

Hand says he's a two-way playmaker who has great ice vision. He's currently playing with his hometown St. Louis Park Orioles and he's dominating the league. He's scored 10 goals and added 16 assists in just 10 games. 

"The season has been going good. We've only lost two games, they were very close and to our rivals but we've been doing really well," said Hand. I'm just glad to be back on the ice"

Lucas missed all of last season after undergoing hip surgery that sidelined him for more than six months. As we now look forward to next season, Lucas plans on doing anything he can to help Dauphin win a league title.

"My goal is to make an immediate impact. I'm a really hard worker," ended Hand. "I'm not going in expecting for anything to be handed to me, I plan on earning every single minute."

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The Manitoba Junior Hockey League announced that the annual MJHL Draft will move from a U16 Draft (formerly Bantam Draft) to a U17 Draft highlighting players who are going into their 16-year-old season.

As a result, there will be no 2021 MJHL Draft with the current 2006-born draft eligible age-group carrying forward into the inaugural U17 MJHL Draft to be held in the spring of 2022.

Players who will be eligible for the MJHL Draft are Manitoba players who are registered to play hockey in Manitoba according to Hockey Manitoba regulations and are in their 16th year.

“Moving the draft eligible age group to a year older will give MJHL organizations the ability to watch players develop for an additional season," said Kevin Saurette, MJHL Commissioner. "This will allow for a better understanding of that players continued development and potential to play elite junior hockey."

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Dauphin Kings 2021-2022 Broadcast Schedule

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