Next year??

[booboo]

Any WK fans have an idea as to our line-up for next year? We will definately be a lot younger and unproven up front. It is a good year for some of our 16 and 17 year old prospects as there will be probably 6 spots open on the forward line. Any projections by tou fans??

[Joe Hallenback]

Well...

Forwards

Bertaggia Seaman Meilleur
Favreau Swryipa Mraz
Asham McGauley

That is the returning forward group. Not a lot of depth or Size there. I am doubting they waste a 20 year old spot on Favreau. I am not sure about Mraz. I know Clouston likes him because he is defensively responsible but I also hear that they will be looking for an impact 17 year old at the CHL import draft this year up front so I guess we see

17 year olds

Taylor Cooper - Started here looked ok but his skating was poor. But he put up some big numbers in AAA midget was top 5 in scoring. He has a spot to lose I think

Jack Palmer - I actually thought he would stay the rest of the year here when they called him up. Size and speed just needs some good coaching to round it out. I know he played Junior B on Vancouver Island this past year instead of playing AAA midget and he was the leading rookie scorer.

Kyler Hehn - Started out really strong in AAA midget then kind of faded at the end of the year. Was a stand out at the Macs AAA midget tourny was a 1st team allstar there. I hear nothing but good things about this kid and how much he has improved this past year.

16 year olds

Kord Pankewicz - He played forward at the Telus cup so lets just assume he is a forward ok. He was excellent there by all accounts. He has tremendous speed and skill. He would be similar to Glennie playing wise.

Jayce Hawryluk - Ok we don't yet if he is going to report but I think he will. He is the best forward his age in Manitoba. All kinds of great skill and he has a nasty disposition on the ice as well.

John Quennville - Big power forward. I think he is 6'3 190 already. If he comes to camp ready to play he will earn a spot I think.

Dallas Starodub - Got ripped off being cut from the Winnipeg Thrashers last year. Big kid who loves to get in hard on opponents. Talk to his parents he has taken some boxing lessons this past year won't be afraid to drop them. He could surprise at camp I think

Brett Kitt - Another bigger physical guy here. I like Kitt. I like that he likes to hit alot. He has the tools to be a very useful WHL player.

Ryley Lindgren - Spent too much time on the bench and not enough time getting good ice time. Really skilled forward. I think he goes back to midget for another year though



Upfront to start the year then I think it ends up like this

Bertaggia Seaman Meilleur - By default right now they are the number 1 line. It isn't a bad line lots of size and Bert will provide alot of skill and scoring

XXX Asham Mraz/XXX - I think Asham slots in as our number 2 center. I think we get a 20 year old winger with some size and either Mraz stays and plays there or we get a dynamic rookie Euro

Cooper McGauley Palmer - The 3 17 year olds get a chance together to gel and provide some offense.

Pankewicz Hawryluk Quennville - The 16 year old Future 1st round NHL draft pick line. They will have their ups and downs and will probably not play together as an unit but why not.

Hehn
Starodub
Kitt
Lindgren

Woah could we start the season with 6 16 year olds on the roster? The answer is yes we could easily. It is a big turn around up front and unless KM decides to trade some of these guys for older players we are going young young young up front.

Defense

Pulock Miller
Roy Hunter
Nikkel Waltz

The nice things is having a group of D that have played in the league already and are still really young. They will have their work cut out for them though. But I expect some big numbers from Pulock,Roy and Nikkel this year. I think Waltz will also surprise people with how good he will be.


Garret Bruce - Played for Eastman AAA midget on a poor team last year. Listed by the Wheaties. Good solid positional defenseman. Skates well.

Nolan Speiss - Solid stay at home type. Good size as well.

Riley Van Horne - Played midget for POE last year. Really good sized defender. Got a good report on him from a friend watching someone else there about how well he skates and moves the puck

Domnic Thom - Another long shot here but an interesting guy. Played for Edge in Northern Alberta this past year which plays a sorta AA schedule. From what I understand he might have been able to play AAA but chose not too. Big kid as well. Be interesting to see how looks in camp


Now out of those 4 and there are others who might have a shot but I think these are the best 4. 2 of them will stick around. I will say Bruce and Speiss have a better chance since they played at a higher level but Van Horne might be the real deal here.


Goal

Boes
Honey
Papirnry

Ok so we know Boes is the starter and he will be counted on early to keep the scores low till our youngsters up front take off. But were does that leave Honey? Papirny is the Heir apparent by all acounts. He was fantastic in midget last year.

I think we might see Honey traded to Seattle to join up with his brother and we get a overage forward back from them

[booboo]

Great post Joe. I agree with all that you say---no Favreau and no Mraz--they can do better than those two. I do think Honey will be traded to accomadate Papirny. What we do need is a tough guy to protect the plethora of young and skilled forwards. Clouston will earn his money next year bringing this team along without losing hope. We should have 2 and maybe 3 openings as far as the overage situation is concerned so could fill in some holes that way. Will certainly be an interesting year but I have a lot of faith in our GM and our scouts. The WK usually reload not rebuild.

[Trevor]

I won't project about the lineup for next season, because I don't know enough about the kids in the pipeline, but on draft day and friend and I had a fairly in depth discussion about where the team will stack up in the conference.

So I'll play Miss Cleo for a moment here....

I see them making the playoffs again, but again in the bottom half. Anywhere from 5th to 7th. It won't be the usual KM run and gun style hockey we've become used to, for next season's team to be successful they will have to play defense first hockey. And we know the goaltending and defense is there to do just that. I think the team started to buy in to what Clouston was saying, and that's going to have to carry into next season. Goals for and goals against will be somewhere around what Regina and Kootenay did this past season, just over 200 in each category. My heart wants Miller to be captain, but my head says Pulock.

An don't cha go marryin dat boi girl he's no good fer ya.

And with the way the roster looks right now I would say Joe is spot on for the top line.

[The Wheatiemaniac]

The big question, first off, is whether Clouston gets an offer to go back to the pros or not. Those offers won't come til the playoffs are done and cooled.

We have 2 1st round Import Draft picks this year. If you recall, we picked up S'toons in the Schenn deal last year. I could see KM bundling those up with perhaps a prospect to get a high rated sniper from across the pond. I just don't see Mraz coming back.

The overage situation is kind of dicy pertaining to the pending NHL Lockout. If the NHL doesn't play, the AHL will be filled up with the younger NHL fringe guys, much like 04/05. Could this mean Stone, Ferland, and maybe Sundher could find their way back?

Defence will be a strong point for the next little while. Rumours of Dylan Kuczyk cutting ties with the team are leaking out, but nothing confirmed. Miller might be a trade option. Some may disagree, but with Pulock, Roy, Hunter, Nikkel, and Waltz, you could bring in 2 young guys for the future. Of course, if the forwards mentioned do come back, Miller and Favreau will be gone. Favreau should be let go over the summer. No trade value, and never came close to reaching any level of his potential.

Boes will carry the mail for us in goal, and Papirny will no doubt make the jump. Honey should land us a mid round pick which is nice for an undrafted player.

The rookie forwards will be a bumper crop this coming season. It will be a whole lot of fun to watch.

[Crush Kill Destroy]

WHL Notebook: Kuczek working his way back
By: Rob Henderson

16/05/2012 1:00 AM

With his injured shoulder nearing 100 per cent, Dylan Kuczek is looking forward to getting back in camp with the Brandon Wheat Kings next season.

The 18-year-old Winnipegger had his rookie season come to an early end after injuring the AC joint in his shoulder in February. It was the second straight season Kuczek had suffered the same injury, so after remaining here for his initial recovery, he was sent home by the club late in the season to continue his rehab.

"Instead of worrying about travelling and what the guys were doing, I was rehabbing my shoulder so I can be back on the ice as soon as possible," Kuczek said.

It was a frustrating way to finish a frustrating season for Kuczek. The burly 6-foot-1, 212-pound defenceman, who was a second-round pick in the 2009 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, played just 33 games, many of them at left wing due to Brandon’s injuries up front.

Kuczek also missed out on the team’s playoff run, although he was at the MTS Centre to see the Wheat Kings’ three first-round games against the Calgary Hitmen in Winnipeg.

"It was tough to hear about it and not be able to see it, but I was doing what was right for my shoulder," Kuczek said. "… It was tough, but nothing I could do about it, really."

Now Kuczek is focused on re-establishing himself on Brandon’s crowded blue-line, where seven players are eligible to return, including late-season call-up Colton Waltz.

Kuczek said that’s going to take a new commitment to off-season training.

"I know what I have to do and last year I didn’t really do that," he said.

"I’m gonna work a lot harder than I did last year and hopefully get a chance at playing some hockey next year."

Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 16, 2012

[The Wheatiemaniac]

I've said over and over again. We need to give this guy some icetime on the blueline. He could be an impact player for us. Will he outscore Pulock or Roy? Not likely. But he will be physical, and able to not get left in the dust by rushing forwards like Melnychuk often did.

He is a diamond in the rough. Time to start polishing.

[sbtatter]

We need a little more grit, and DK can provide that physical presence in spades

[WHLFANMAN]

I've said over and over again. We need to give this guy some icetime on the blueline. He could be an impact player for us. Will he outscore Pulock or Roy? Not likely. But he will be physical, and able to not get left in the dust by rushing forwards like Melnychuk often did.

He is a diamond in the rough. Time to start polishing.

Sorry Don't see it. He came to camp as a 17 year old to fat to play one of the reasons he didn't see "any" ice at the start of the year. So maybe as an 18 yr old he will try harder to get it together but there are a lot of players with out that personal fight just as good or better. I agree he was robbed later by playing forward so much but so was Nikkel. He does get beat wide. He does show gritt but with I believe only 2 fights the good doesn't out weigh the bad here. oh and a trick shoulder to boot.

[The Wheatiemaniac]

Sorry Don't see it. He came to camp as a 17 year old to fat to play one of the reasons he didn't see "any" ice at the start of the year. So maybe as an 18 yr old he will try harder to get it together but there are a lot of players with out that personal fight just as good or better. I agree he was robbed later by playing forward so much but so was Nikkel. He does get beat wide. He does show gritt but with I believe only 2 fights the good doesn't out weigh the bad here. oh and a trick shoulder to boot.

I agree, that an AC joint is a tricky injury. But Kuczek has more potential than people might realize. And this will be his year to blossom or wilt. Personally, I feel he is worth the chance. Yes Nikkel provides the physical aspect, but we need more than one or two. We need people to be scared of us again. And we haven't had that since the days of Erb and McCue.

And I don't feel he gets beaten wide as a 17 yr old anywhere near the ratio that Melnychuk got left behind as a 19 and 20 year old. Melnychuk was not what we needed as an overage. Nor was Ciarelli for that matter. And this year we won't need the likes of Miller and Favreau. we will need higher end scoring. I just hope it will be addressed as such.