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Brayden Pawluk started his junior hockey career with the Virden Oil Capitals in the 2015-2016 season where he played three games. After a full season with the Elite Hockey Academy south of the border, Brayden returned to 'Oil Country'.
The now 21-year-old played 88 more games with Virden before he was acquired by the Dauphin Kings during the back half of the 2018-2019 season. He played 80 games with Dauphin, 57 of which including the playoffs came last season.
In 54 games prior to the playoffs last year, Pawluk scored six times and he added 31 assists. One of his goals was on "Teddy Bear Toss Night" when he scored Dauphin's first goal in what was ultimately a victory against the Winnipeg Blues.
Pawluk's junior journey came to an end after game three of Dauphin's series against Portage. It was a game in which the Kings won in double-overtime; however, it was their last game as the novel coronavirus shut down the sports world.
Although his junior days were over, a commitment back in April of 2020 would see him continue playing competitive hockey as he signed on to play with the Minot State Beavers, a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Brayden has been south of the border for a few months now and despite many conferences and divisions not being able to play due to restrictions, the Beavers have played in six games.
"I'm very fortunate that I'm able to play hockey right now," said Pawluk. "A lot of my friends back in Manitoba can't play right now because of 'Code Red' so it's a special feeling being back on the ice."
The Beavers played two preseason games -- both of which were wins -- as they outscored Williston State, 18-2. Opening their season back on October 23, they won their first two games against Jamestown and they split two games with them this past weekend.
The team is 3-1 in regular-season play with their next set of games coming on December 4 and 5.
"We have a great group of guys and we have all come together really well," said Pawluk. "I think everyone has some pretty high expectations so it's exciting to see what's next for us."
This past weekend was a big one for Brayden. Playing Jamestown on Saturday, Pawluk scored his first-ever Division 1 regular-season goal in a 6-5 loss. He followed that up by scoring another goal on Sunday and so far this season, the hard shooting defenceman has three points.
"It felt great. I was looking forward to this moment when I scored all summer since I committed," said Pawluk. "It was great to get the monkey off my back and now the flood gates are open so I'm looking forward to pushing forward from here."
(Pawluk hammers one home from the high slot).
He says his favourite thing at Minot State is getting to know his fellow teammates and making some great friends along the way. Brayden is another case of former Dauphin Kings advancing to do big things at the next level.
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Already one of the top teams in the league, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines have added some offence to their lineup.
As the league is on a break until 2021, they have acquired Troy Hamilton from the Estevan Bruins of the SJHL.
From Brandon, Hamilton had 11 goals and 18 assists last season with Estevan.
Two seasons ago in his final with the U-18 Wheat Kings, he had 76 points.
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The Manitoba Junior Hockey League has announced that it will pause for the rest of 2020. The news came out after Manitoba was put under 'Code Red' on the Pandemic Response System which suspends all team sports.
Now the 'Code Red' order could end on December 11 at 11:59:59 p.m. and if it does, the league would technically be allowed to resume play. They have, however, decided no hockey activities will take place for the rest of 2020.
When it comes to the Manitoba AAA U-18 Hockey League, there is a different approach being taken. Commissioner Levi Taylor has confirmed that the league will return to play when it is able to do so.
"When facilities are allowed to open back up, we will implement a strategy so practices can resume which would be followed by games," said Taylor. "We want to get teams back on the ice as soon as we can do so in a safe manner."
So despite the MJHL announcing a pause until 2021, the AAA league in our province is open to returning prior to the Christmas break.
"Our biggest focus right now is making sure that everyone involved in every organization is safe," ended Taylor.
When the league was put into pause mode, the Parkland Rangers were on top of the standings. A 6-1 record gives the team a .857 winning percentage.
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It was always Carter Cockburn's dream to play with the Swan Valley Stampeders when he was a young kid. From Swan River, Cockburn spent many weekend nights at the Centennial Arena cheering the hometown Stampeders on.
The now 19-year-old played four seasons with the Parkland Rangers program ahead of his days in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. In his final with the U-15 team in the 2015-2016 season, Carter scored 39 goals in just 36 games and he had 24 assists.
Moving forward two seasons -- which was his last with the U-18 Rangers -- Carter had 61 points, 35 of which were goals in 48 games. During that season, Cockburn also scored a goal and had three points as he played his first four games with Swan Valley.
In the 2018-2019 season, Swan Valley put together their most successful season in franchise history when they advanced to the Turnbull Cup final. They were just one goal away from advancing to the Anavet Cup; however, the Portage Terriers won game seven in overtime. Cockburn played 15 games in that playoff run and he played another 50 regular-season games with Swan Valley last year, where he put up 23 points.
Always believing that he could score at an elite level, Cockburn showed signs of what he could do offensively in last year's playoffs. In just three games before the season was shut down, he scored five times. Four of the goals came in a 10-0 drubbing of Waywayseecappo on March 11 in the team's final game.
"Coming out of U-18, I knew I could score goals. My first year was a learning curve and as the time has gone on, I've been given more opportunities," said Cockburn. "Having those playoff games under my belt and just the experience over the past couple of seasons has been huge in my development."
Carter is back with Swan Valley this season and as the league pauses until January 1, the Swan River native is off to a great start. In six games, the 19-year-old has scored four times and he's added another four assists. His eight points are in the top 20 league-wide and he's averaging 1.33 points-per-game and he also has one game-winning tally.
"I'm pretty happy with my production this year. I continue to get opportunities to succeed and I'm getting the job done," continued Cockburn.
Swan Valley enters the league's pause in second place in the Northwest Division with a 5-4 record. The team has scored 41 goals -- the most in the league -- while they have also racked up the most penalty minutes with 269.
Carter will continue training at home while the league is on pause as he prepares to continue living his dream of playing with his hometown Junior A team in 2021.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," ended Cockburn. "I love playing in front of my family and friends. I really couldn't ask for much more."
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The Russell Rams U-18 hockey team had a great start to their Parkissimo Hockey League season, one that is now on pause.
Playing against Tri-Valley, the Rams scored early and often in a 7-2 win.
Wyatt Tweet and Owen Bily led Russell with two goals each. Kale Bomback, Jose Mekish, and Koda Rocheleau scored singles in the big victory.
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Play in the Manitoba AAA U-18 Hockey League has been paused as Manitoba is currently under 'Code Red' on the Pandemic Response System. So although we won't be seeing live hockey for at least the next month, fans were treated to the Sloan Stanick show seven times before the pause.
The Yellowhead U-18 Chief who lives on a farm just outside of Rapid City was on a torrid pace as he already scored 10 goals and had four assists in just seven games. His 14 points are tied for the third-most in the league while his 10 markers are only behind Hunter Wallace who has found the back of the net 11 times. The 17-year-old also leads Yellowhead in scoring.
"I feel I've done quite a good job in trying to help the younger kids develop," said Stanick. "It's been a pretty good start to the season. Unfortunately, we won't be playing for a while, but there's nothing we can do about that."
This year's Yellowhead team also features a brotherly bond as Sloan is joined by Slade. Slade, a prospect of the Dauphin Kings has scored five goals this season while adding four assists.
"It's pretty great playing with my brother, we have a lot of chemistry together and he's a great player," offered Stanick.
In the team's last two games against Norman -- both of which were wins -- Sloan scored five goals and added one assist. As Yellowhead improved to 4-3 on the season, Stanick was recognized for his contributions as he was named the league's player of the week. He also now has a seven-game point streak as the league takes a break.
"It's a nice feeling to be recognized. I put in a ton of work this past summer which has helped me," said Stanick. "I also have some great teammates and I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing without them."
Queen City bound:
After playing with Yellowhead in the 2018-2019 season, Sloan played with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League last season. He played in 49 of the team's games and he scored two goals while adding two assists.
With the WHL season set to start on January 8, Sloan will report to training camp in Regina after Christmas. Sloan broke onto the WHL scene last season and now, he's looking forward to making a bigger impact on a team that will feature Connor Bedard.
The 15-year-old from North Vancouver was drafted first overall by Regina in the 2020 U-15 Draft after he was granted exceptional status.
"Playing with Regina was a great opportunity last year and I learned a ton," ended Stanick. "I developed a lot and became way more aware of what I need to do to succeed. I know what needs to happen going into this season and I'm excited about it."
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There will be no Dauphin Kings hockey for the rest of 2020.
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League has announced that all hockey activities have been paused until the beginning of 2021.
"It was a tough decision, but it really was an easy one to make," said Kevin Saurette, Commissioner of the MJHL. "Hockey is very minor right now with what we're dealing with. It was important for us that players could go home and be with their families during this time."
The league has planned a tentative date to resume hockey activities on Friday, January 1, 2021. This would be dependent upon public health guidance.
Kevin has confirmed that is when players will tentatively return to their respective teams for a mini training camp before the season would continue shortly after.
A schedule for 2021 will be released in the coming weeks.
"We're going to re-evaluate our schedule for sure," ended Saurette. "There may be some schedule changes when it comes to matchups, that's what we will work on for now."
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One massive prize and several other amazing prizes are once again going to be up for grabs this year.
The Dauphin Kings Tractor Lotto is back for another year. The Lotto is a huge fundraiser for the organisation and it gives one lucky person a grand prize of $100,000.
Stay tuned right here to 730CKDM for more details very soon.
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The hockey season began in Manitoba which was a great thing. However, the season has now been suspended as the entire province will move to the critical red level on the Pandemic Response System.
This means all team sports are suspended effective Thursday. Play in the Westman High School League had begun with Crocus Plains already having played three games. The Dauphin Clippers; meanwhile, beat the Plainsmen in their only game.
"This is disappointing news, I don't think we thought it would happen this quick," said Jason Alf. "We were looking forward to this weekend because we had two games but obviously those won't happen."
All of Manitoba will be under the new restrictions for a minimum of four weeks. Hockey fans will now have to play the waiting game and hope for better news in the next month.
"Returning back to play this winter is something we're hoping can happen," ended Alf. "At this point though, we're playing the waiting game just like everyone else."
All other levels of hockey have also been suspended.
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Another weekend of action in the Manitoba AAA U-18 Hockey League is well in the books and the Parkland U-18 Rangers still find themselves at the top of the standings.
Although they lost their first game of the season on Saturday, Parkland still owns a .857 winning percentage. The league is using winning percentage for playoff positioning as opposed to the points system which would be used in a normal year.
This year; however, as you know is unlike any other year. The Kenora Thistles aren't allowed to begin playing until December at the earliest while teams in the Winnipeg area are ineligible for play until at least the weekend of November 20.
Of teams that have played at least seven games, the Brandon Wheat Kings are the closest to Parkland with their .750 winning percentage. Keaton Ziprick is back as the Rangers number one goalie and he comments on the start to the season.
"We have a very solid team this year. If everyone comes together and plays with a team-first attitude, I think we can continue to win," offered Ziprick.
The last time the U-18 Rangers program got off to a start that is close to this year's was in the 2017-2018 campaign. They won four straight games from September 30 to October 7 and they started the season at 5-2. This year's team won six straight games to start the season.
As one of the team's assistant captains alongside Steven Arp and Brayden Kohlman, Ziprick of Russell is off to an all-star start. After he was named to the league's second all-star team last season, Ziprick is 5-0 this season. His 1.61 goals-against average is the best in the league while his .944 save percentage is the third-best in the league.
Do keep in mind, the two goalies ahead of Keaton when it comes to save percentage have played less than the Parkland Ranger. Dawson Cowan has played in just two games while Michael O'Sullivan has also played just two games.
"I feel like I'm playing with a ton of confidence right now. I also have a great team in front of me which always helps," said Ziprick. "I just have the mindset that if I let a puck past me, I just have to move on and focus on the next shot."
This is Keaton's final year as a Ranger and it's a season in which will bring an end to a five-year run with the program. He started his AAA days with the U-15 Rangers back in the 2016-2017 season. Fast forward and the Russell netminder is well on his way to another all-star season.
"I just want to take it all in. Everyone on this team has the same thought process, we all want to win a championship and we believe that we can," offered Ziprick. "It's a special opportunity getting the chance to play with this program. I get to play high-level hockey with a bunch of great guys and coaches, I couldn't ask for much more."
Ziprick and the Rangers will sit on the league-lead for a few days as they prepare for a three-game set this weekend against the Norman Northstars. Friday's game will be played at the Centennial Arena while the two teams will meet inside of Credit Union Place on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Norman has yet to win a game as they will open the weekend at 0-7.
"They're going to come out hard. They haven't won so they're going to be hungry and we have to play how we know we can," ended Ziprick.
Russell strong:
Keaton is just one of the few Russell natives that are representing the region on this year's team. Brenden Birch-Hayden and Josh Thompson are also from Russell while Luke Decorby is from Binscarth.
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The Manitoba Junior Hockey League significantly reduced the 2020-2021 schedule. This will include implementing self-imposed breaks which would give teams the flexibility to reschedule games that are postponed.
The Winnipeg Freeze, Winnipeg Blues, Selkirk Steelers, Steinbach Pistons, Winkler Flyers, and Portage Terriers are all not permitted at this time to travel outside the region to participate in sanctioned hockey activities.
All of the above teams are also ineligible to compete at this time as they are all under the "red" critical level under the Pandemic Response System.
When it comes to the Dauphin Kings and Swan Valley Stampeders, both teams are still eligible to compete but both have this weekend off.
The league's Board of Directors will meet later this week to determine the next steps and a new schedule will also be released.
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