Breakdown for Next Season

[dagley]

Alright, I noticed a Regina fan did the same thing and I thought a little time and effort in putting together a roster for next season would be fitting, as we are into Day 1 of the off-season. Remember, these are my personal picks for 20 year olds, imports, etc. They more than likely will be changes from the lineup I put upfront, on the back end and in goal. Just remember, its just for gun and games.

Departures: Tyler Dittmer (20, LW), Daryl Boyle (21, D), Theran Yeo (20, D)
Projected Overagers: Matt Lowry, Andrew Clark, Chad Erb

Brandon Wheat Kings
2008-2009 Regular Season Roster

Forwards

Lowry - Clark - Fehr
Glennie - Schenn - Calvert
Jefferies - Green - King
Regier - Stone - Cowan

Hale, Miller, DePape

Defense

Aulie - Robak
Erb - Melnychuk
Grill-Donovan - Ehrhardt

Goaltenders

Caliguri
Hayes

The lineup won't change much from last season, but I expect Kelly to try and add a roleplayer during the off-season or in the import draft to hit in better on the 3rd line and allow Jefferies to move back into his normal position of 4th line grinder where he is most effective. I think the crop of Rookies next season will be big, adding Regier upfront who has a lot of offensive skill and could put up Glennie type numbers in his rookie campaign. 5 rookies on next years team might be a little far-fetched, but with the seasons all of them had it wouldnt be out of the question. Regier is ready for the WHL, Stone had a tremendous season where his team went 40-0-0-0 and put up good numbers. I heard that DePape should develop into a better player than his brother. Ryley Miller also had a good season and Ehrhardt is ready for the WHL.

It's going to be hard to watch Bartek go, but he could be back. It's almost a lock for Lowry and Clark to be 20 year olds next season. If that were to happen, it's hard to give up such a veteran defense man in Erb who has progressed relatively great in the few seasons he has been here. It would be hard to give up one of our few, reliable defense man who can kill penalties and punish the oppositions forwards. I think this is where Bartek would come in good and handy in a trade, because he is a very valuable player since he can play the PP/PK and can produce offensively.

[GlutenGlutton]

Nice preview Dagley.
I think we have too many top 6 forwards (too many forwards period with Regier, Stone and Depape in the mix) and would not be surprised to see a trade for a veteran D. Green needs to be on a second line somewhere, here or somewhere else. Jeffries and Cowan are very good at what they do and need to have room on the roster for one or both of them. Still think either is capable of scoring 15-20.

Also needs to be a goalie trade, 3 WHL goalies and 2 spots to be had.

[dagley]

I Knew I Forgot Someone, Cowan!!!

[Brandonite]

I Knew I Forgot Someone, Cowan!!!

You also forgot Sanfred King who I think has the biggest to prove coming back next season. He was the first 1st round bantam pick I can ever remember getting cut from the Wheat Kings when he was 16 and when he made it this year as a 17 year old, he did absolutely nothing! He has alot to prove being an 18 year with alot of good, young talent already in the mix. He doesn't seem to fit into that core if you ask me but thats where King needs to prove people wrong. I also dont think Nathan Green is a 2nd line player in the WHL neither. He is a great player, but not a 2nd liner. He is too inconsistent and doesn't suit me personally as a guy I would rely on for a 2nd liner.

[Vik]

It'll be interesting to see who Kelly picks up in the import draft. I gotta expect he's going to take a dman with one of his picks and, to me, it'd be nice if he could get a center with the other.

Fehr - Clark - Lowry
Calvert - Schenn - Glennie
Cowan - (Import) - Green
Hale - Jeffries - Regier

Robak - Erb
Aulie - (Import)
Melnychuk - Grill-Donovan

Hayes/Caligiuri

Trade King and Caligiuri or Hayes and fill the rest of the spots with rooks.
If that team can do anything on the power play, they're gonna be really tough to beat.

[localguy]

Kind of off topic, but what's the status of McCue and Glennie? Hopefully they don;t have to finnish injured. This, by the way, is not a rub it in question, I am just wondering how they are.

[sbtatter]

Kind of off topic, but what's the status of McCue and Glennie? Hopefully they don;t have to finnish injured. This, by the way, is not a rub it in question, I am just wondering how they are. I hear Glennie is fine, but McCues knee injury is severe....

[Cowanfan8]

Lowry-Clark-Fehr
Glennie-Schenn-Calvert
Regier-Green-Cowan
Stone-Jeffries-Hale
Extra: King

Aulie-Robak
Erb-Melnychuk
Grill-Donovan- Rookie D

Calaguri
Hayes
Hildabrand

Trade Bartek and one of the goalies for a vetern d-man You could also throw king in there. He wasn't worth the first round pick.

I hear Hildabrand is suposed to be the future so i think kelly will make room for him and give him a chance.

PP Lowry-Clark-Cowan or Green
Robak-Fehr

Glennie-Schenn-Calvert
Aulie-Erb

PK Lowry-Cowan
Erb-Robak

Jeffries-Calvert
Aulie-Melnychuk

[MidgetAAA]

Brett Rock will be a guy looking to make the top 7 D....the team is very high on this guy

[Vik]

Trade Bartek and one of the goalies for a vetern d-man and a goalie. You could also throw king in there. He wasn't worth the first round pick.

I hear Hildabrand is suposed to be the future so i think kelly will make room for him and give him a chance.
So you want us to trade a goalie for a goalie and, after that, make room for Hildebrand?
And why does everyone break up the Robak-Erb pairing to put Robak and Aulie together?

[Cowanfan8]

Trade a goalie for a goalie if he dosen't think he's ready to play.

[dagley]

Hayes might be ready to be a starter in the league, and to have him around for 3 years guaranteed could be a bonus. He has the size, potential the only thing I notice he lacks is his rebound control and he's easily rattled. But, it's hard to think of the idea of trading Joe after such a magnificent season

[Joe Hallenback]

We easily have the Best offense in the league next season to go along with a solid group of defencemen

This is how I would like to see it

Regier Clark Lowry
Calvert Schenn Glennie
Fehr Green Depape/Stone/Rouse
Jefferies King Hale
Cowan

Aulie Melnychuck
Robak Erb
Grill Miller/Ehrhardt

Joe C
Hayes
Hildebrand

I really think Regier can play on that top line. Hes probably got to be coming in at 6'1/6'2 200 pounds next year and loves to hit. Our top 3 is really good and 1 of Depape,Stone or Rouse will add to that third line.

Our defence is solid and Big again. Miller is a great prospect. I watched him play twice this year and he is a guy who can do it all. He can skate,pass and hit. A steal in the 2nd round for sure. Ehrhardt seems like another rock solid pick. Should come here next year in the 6'3/6'4 range. Can hit and fight from what I hear.

The real question is in net. If you believe Joe C is a good goalie then it probably a big deal. But if your like me and think he is too inconsistent to be the guy that takes us to the championship and beyond then we either Hayes or Hildenbrand have to come in and be that guy or we find us another goalie out there.

Which leads us to imports. We would have had a pretty good russia in Lukyanchikov on defence for a few years he was ready to come on over but got offered a very lucrative contract in Russia and stayed. So now this year we will be looking for 2 imports and it is really hard to convince players to come to Brandon from overseas. I have a feeling though (more like someone told me haha ) that Mccrimmon will have something big instore for us in this area.

All in all I am really looking forward to next season!

fyi Ill be in Marathon Ontario this week to watch the Western Midget Regionals...

[Bully73]

fyi Ill be in Marathon Ontario this week to watch the Western Midget Regionals...I feel sorry for you. Other than watching hockey, you won't have much to do in Marathon, especially at this time of year. I know from experience as my wife grew up there and my in-laws still live there.

[Vik]

I really think Regier can play on that top line. Hes probably got to be coming in at 6'1/6'2 200 pounds next year and loves to hit.
Seriously? Even to start the year you think he'll be there? I'd suppose that maybe he could work his way up to that but for the most part I would expect Kelly to treat him like most rookies we've had on the team before this year.

[CJSenterprise4]

Just seeing....considering the Pats might trade Rowat maybe he could end up in Brandon. He had a rough playoff this year but thats the worst he has ever played in a stretch. Just throwing it out there and wondering if it is a possibility?

[GlutenGlutton]

Hayes might be ready to be a starter in the league, and to have him around for 3 years guaranteed could be a bonus. He has the size, potential the only thing I notice he lacks is his rebound control and he's easily rattled. But, it's hard to think of the idea of trading Joe after such a magnificent season

I agree on both points. Hayes has a lot of ability, Joe had a respectible playoff and now has the experience.

Problem is in this league it's all about development and value. If you believe the hype Hildebrand has more upside than either and is going to be a starter. He has to at minimum be the backup by November next year if we're going to get him there. Caligiuri and Hayes both have trade value and both deserve the chance to play 40+ games at their ages next year.

[dagley]

I'd really be hard pressed to give up on Caliguri.

[Cowanfan8]

Hayes does have some trade value. Kelly could throw in king or hale along with hayes in a trade for a vetern d-man.
What about Mccue would you rather have him or erb they both will be 20 next year?

[Vik]

Hayes does have some trade value. Kelly could throw in king or hale along with hayes in a trade for a vetern d-man.
What about Mccue would you rather have him or erb they both will be 20 next year?
I'd have to wait until training camp to make that decision. Erb would be my pick right now but I remember hating Later the one time I saw him before his 20 year old season (his overage season was the first year I lived in Brandon) but obviously he didn't exactly have a bad overage year. And McCue's got a kind of similar build and craziness to him and made a couple rushes this year the way Later used to.

[GlutenGlutton]

Just seeing....considering the Pats might trade Rowat maybe he could end up in Brandon. He had a rough playoff this year but thats the worst he has ever played in a stretch. Just throwing it out there and wondering if it is a possibility?

Can't see there being much interest. If he isn't good enough for Regina he can't be much of an upgrade (if any). If it's decided Caligiuri isn't the guy Hayes and Hildebrand would get a chance to show what they can do long before another is traded for.

[dagley]

Id take Rowat, but the chances of Regina trading him to a division rival is very low. Remember when we got Harding?

[sbtatter]

We easily have the Best offense in the league next season to go along with a solid group of defencemen

This is how I would like to see it

Regier Clark Lowry
Calvert Schenn Glennie
Fehr Green Depape/Stone/Rouse
Jefferies King Hale
Cowan

Aulie Melnychuck
Robak Erb
Grill Miller/Ehrhardt

Joe C
Hayes
Hildebrand

Overagers to keep are obviously Clark and Lowry, I fully expect Erb to be kept as he is the one guy who consistenly stands up for the rookies, albeit at a middleweight level.
I know nothing about Rouse, can you give us some information on him? I expect DePape and Stone to make this squad, i expect regier to be a regular. i like the idea of inserting him on the Clark line to add some toughness, also, I don't want to seperate Green and Fehr so I'm not adverse to slotting regier on their line..
As far as defence goes, i expect Rock and Miller to make the team, maybe Erdhardt also on the squad.
Who knows what Euro's we will get, that could change everyything....Goalies, well, I think it's pretty obvious that Caliguri and Hayes don't appear to be the guys to ride to the memorial Cup, with the excess of skilled forwards and 3 top young d-men on their way, i expect a trade giving up some talent to get a goalie...and maybe insert Hildebrand as our backup....
Based on what we have in our system at the moment, here's my lineup..

Regier Clark Lowry
Calvert Schenn Glennie
Fehr Green Depape
Jefferies Cowan Stone
Hale, King, Hall, Rouse??


Aulie Melnychuck
Robak Erb
Miller Rock
Grille/Ehrhardt

Joe C
Hayes
Hildebrand
Start the season with these 3 but trade for a top goalie and keep Hildebrand as the backup

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Overagers to keep are obviously Clark and Lowry, I fully expect Erb to be kept as he is the one guy who consistenly stands up for the rookies, albeit at a middleweight level.
I know nothing about Rouse, can you give us some information on him? I expect DePape and Stone to make this squad, i expect regier to be a regular. i like the idea of inserting him on the Clark line to add some toughness, also, I don't want to seperate Green and Fehr so I'm not adverse to slotting regier on their line..
As far as defence goes, i expect Rock and Miller to make the team, maybe Erdhardt also on the squad.
Who knows what Euro's we will get, that could change everyything....Goalies, well, I think it's pretty obvious that Caliguri and Hayes don't appear to be the guys to ride to the memorial Cup, with the excess of skilled forwards and 3 top young d-men on their way, i expect a trade giving up some talent to get a goalie...and maybe insert Hildebrand as our backup....
Based on what we have in our system at the moment, here's my lineup..

Regier Clark Lowry
Calvert Schenn Glennie
Fehr Green Depape
Jefferies Cowan Stone
Hale, King, Hall, Rouse??


Aulie Melnychuck
Robak Erb
Miller Rock
Grille/Ehrhardt

Joe C
Hayes
Hildebrand
Start the season with these 3 but trade for a top goalie and keep Hildebrand as the backup

Interesting.... Brandon does have an excess of offensive talent up front, and since they got a team that looks good next year, they are possibly looking for a goaltender that can meet up to better expectations....

While the Pats on the other hand, seem to be on the opposite side of things....and are in need of more skill and speed, with an excess of goaltenders in their system, all of which worthy of a roster spot, and one of them being East conf. all-star Linden Rowat (I dont necessarily agree with the title, but you gotta be good to be overrated), who has fallen out of favor apparently down in the Queen city.

Very interesting indeed.....

[Crush Kill Destroy]

Let's not forget that McCrimmon has a trio of top notch players who are currently committed to US Colleges.

While it may be likely that none of the three ever report to the Wheat Kings, if any one of them does, it will be a big boost to their roster.

Rylan Schwartz, David Toews, and Aaron Lewadniuk are three forwards who all had fairly decent seasons with their respective teams this past season. Each would provide further depth and offensive ability to the Brandon roster for next season.

Wheat King fans can keep their fingers crossed.

[Cowanfan8]

David Towes would be a nice addition to the team.

[sbtatter]

Rylan Scwartz was the best player in training camp but I don't think he's going to have a change of heart and come back to Brandon.....

[Joe Hallenback]

Dont hold your breath on Toews,Schwartz or Lewdeniuk coming here next season. I know Mccrimmon made a play at Schwartz for the start of this season but it seems the kid really wants to go College.

I think if Schwartz were in Brandon this year he would be probably garner some attention for the upcoming draft.

[dagley]

Perhaps having the chance to play on a team with a future MVP, top scorer and consensus Top 3 NHL draft pick next year will help sway the opinions of some.

[Cowanfan8]

Who is going to be capitan next year? My Guess would be lowry or clark.

[dagley]

I am going to stay Schenn will be the captain, why? Because he is such a leader , natural leader...and can accept the responsibilities. Plus, he could be the captain for another 3 years

[Cowanfan8]

I am going to stay Schenn will be the captain, why? Because he is such a leader , natural leader...and can accept the responsibilities. Plus, he could be the captain for another 3 years

Ya i have no problem with schenn for capitan he looks like he could be a good leader. The only problems are that he might not be around 3 years and i don't know if kelly want's to put that pressure on him.

[Vik]

Andrew Clark

[dagley]

It will be either Lowry or Clark, for sure. I just think Schenn should be considered because there is a possibility he could still be here another 2-3 seasons.

[sbtatter]

Another guy in the running will be Aulie. IMO, if he was more physical he'd be a good captain. But it'll be one of Clark, Aulie or Schenn I think....

[wheat_city96]

you have to kind of know the guys to determine who should be captain and it should be Andrew Clark for sure.

[sbtatter]

you have to kind of know the guys to determine who should be captain and it should be Andrew Clark for sure. Do you know the guys? If so, who would you give the "A"'s to?
Also, I'm expecting Clarkey, Lowry and Erb back as the overagers, do you agree with those 3?

[wheat_city96]

The C should go to either clark or lowry forsure, i would give it to clark because he knows the team more, and give lowry an A, lowry has won a dub championship and gone to the mem cup so lowry has the nod in experience but as for all around leadership give it to clark... as for the other assistant i would probably say erb. Dont bother giving schenn the C for another couple years if hes even with the team then, too much responsibility for a young guy like that.

[wheat_city96]

This would be my guess -

C - Clark

A - Lowry

A - Either Erb, Robak, Fehr or Schenn

[Vik]

This would be my guess -

C - Clark

A - Lowry

A - Either Erb, Robak, Fehr or Schenn

Seeing as Aulie had an A this year, I think he's a good bet for next year.

[wheat_city96]

aulie is such a shy person and is not the "leader" type.

[sbtatter]

This would be my guess -

C - Clark

A - Lowry

A - Either Erb, Robak, Fehr or Schenn I hadn't thought abour Fehr, good call. I think Aulie will get a letter as well...The only reason I thought Schenn might get an "A" is b/c he wore one this year for a few games when we had guys out with injuries...
On a different topic, can we maybe reward Aulie and Robak for every hit they make? Try to entice them to become more physical.....

[Joe Hallenback]

Schenn will have an A next year. You can count on it

Looking forward to the Bantam draft and Especially the Import draft. The import draft will tell you what the expectations are of next years team from Kelly. If they go after an older bigger named Euro or 2 then they expect to win it all.

I have a dream of Brandon Drafting Filatov and him coming over next year. Its a good dream just not realistic :spineyes:

There are some interesting Russians that might be coming over to the CHL next year because of problems in the RSL. Guys like Filatov,Grachev,Voinov and Kurgryshev. Disgruntled young guys who are forced to play in the Russian third division which is a semi pro league. Depending on who they get drafted by Kelly might work out something for 1 of those guys. Kinda like he did with Jakub Sindel.

If not there are some good young Czechs and Slovaks like Kurbalik, Stransky, Szturc,Lapsansky and Strapac. All are forwards. It would be nice to be able to grab a Swede or Finnish player because there are alot of top notch defencemen from those countries in the upcoming draft. But the difference there is the swedes and finns have decent junior leagues in there countries and its alot harder to convince guys to come over.

[Vik]

Isn't Filatov expected to come over next season? Or did you mean it wasn't realistic because he'll be drafted well before our pick?