The Brandon Wheat Kings will represent the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League and the West Region at the Telus Cup National Championship in Membertou, Nova Scotia April 22 – 28.
The Wheat Kings last attended the national tournament in 2003-04, when they defeated Riverains du College Charles-Lemoyne to be crowned National Champions. Brandon enters this year’s tournament with a sparkling 55-1-1 record.
Steam: www.hockeycanada.ca/teluscup
Gold Medal Game: TSN
Schedule, Results, and Statistics: https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/national-championships/men/u18-club/2024/stats/schedule
Telus Cup Website: https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/national-championships/men/u18-club/2024
Participating Teams
Brandon Wheat Kings – West
Calgary Buffaloes – Pacific
Markham Waxers – Central
Cantonniers de Magog – Quebec
Kensington Wild – Atlantic
Sydney Rush – Host
How They Got Here
BRANDON WHEAT KINGS – WEST
The Brandon Wheat Kings are an incredible 55-1-1 this season. They finished the regular season leading the Manitoba league in goals for, fewest goals against, top power play (37.4%), and best penalty kill (87.6%). In the playoffs, Brandon led the league with 5.3 goals for per game, 1.55 goals against per game, the top power play (33.3%) and the top penalty kill (96.8%). The Wheat Kings would sweep the Eastman Selects, Pembina Valley Hawks, and Winnipeg Wild to earn their 6th championship in league history. In the West Regionals preliminary round, Brandon defeated the Saskatoon Blazers 4-1 and Winnipeg Wild 3-1 but lost to the Thunder Bay Kings 5-3(en). In a rematch with Saskatoon, Brady Turko, Tournament MVP, scored a heroic overtime goal in the championship game to send the Wheat Kings to the Telus Cup.
Jaxon Jacobson led the team and league in scoring with 106 points (37-69) in the regular season. Turko (41-49-90), Ethan Stewart (29-35-64) Easton Odut (23-40-63), and Colten Worthington (27-35-62) finished 2-5 in team and league scoring. Five other players had at least 30 points. Matthew Michta (1.73 GAA and .930 Sv%) and Burke Hood (1.99 GAA and .923 Sv%) each played 22 games for the Wheat Kings during the regular season, finishing 1-2 in GAA and 2-3 in Sv%.
In the playoffs, Jacobson and Turko led the league in scoring with 23 and 20 points respectively. Wothington, Stewart, and Oduct finished 4, 5, and 6 with 14, 12, and 12 points respectively. Michta and Burke again split time between the pipes for the Wheat Kings with Hood leading the league in both GAA (1.39) and Sv% (.944). Michta finished 2nd in GAA (1.75) and 3rd in Sv% (.927).
At West Regionals, Turko would finished tied for 1st in scoring (4g 2a) with Jacobson right behind him with 5 assists. Hood finished the tournament with a 0.50 GAA and .982 Sv% while Michta recorded a 2.52 GAA and .900 Sv%.
CALGARY BUFFALOES – PACIFIC
The Buffaloes went 27-9-0-0 in the regular season and were crowned the South Division champs in the Alberta Elite Hockey League. Calgary led the league with the top power play (29.1%), second best penalty kill (86.4%), and the greatest goals for/goals against difference at +93. The Buffaloes defeated Red Deer 2 games to 1 in the South Division Semi-Finals, beat the Northwest Flames 3 games to 1 in the South Division Final, and swept the Sherwood Park Kings 3-0 in the League Championship. In the Pacific Regionals, the Buffaloes defeated Vancouver North East Chiefs 2 games to zero to punch their ticket to the Telus Cup.
Caleb Matthews led the team and league in scoring during the regular season with 18 goals and 50 assists in 35 games. Cooper Williams led the team and league in goals, with 29, including 9 PPG (2nd). Six other players had at least 30 points for the Buffaloes. Kael Svenson and Colten Scott split time in the crease for Calgary during the regular season. Svenson held a 15-3 record with a 2.58 GAA (5th) and .924 Sv% (3rd), while Scott went 12-6-2 and had a 2.72 GAA (6th) and .911 Sv% (8th).
In the playoffs, Matthews notched 11 goals and 12 assists to lead the league in scoring. Williams, Rhys Jamieson, and Brayden Gourley all had at least a point per game for the Buffaloes. Jamieson had 5 power play goals in the post-season to lead the league. On defence, Liam O’Neill finished tied for 2nd in scoring with 8 points (7 on the power play). The Buffaloes would hand the net to Svenson in the playoffs, where he went 8-2 and led the league with a 1.95 GAA and .946 Sv%.
In the Pacific Regionals, Jackson Schneider was named series MVP, and Svenson stopped 55 of 57 shots in the 2 game set to help the Buffaloes punch their ticket to the Telus Cup.
MARKHAM WAXERS – CENTRAL
Markham finished the regular season with a 24-8-1-2 record, good for 2nd in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association East Division and 5th overall. The Waxers then went 7-1-2 in Pool A ‘East’, advancing to the OMHA Championship tournament. In the OMHA Championship, Markham defeated Central Ontario 9-2, Oakville 5-1, and lost 7-3 to Burlington. In the semi-finals, the Waxers beat Guelph 5-3 to advance to the championship, in what would be a rematch with Burlington. It was redemption for Markham, who defeated Burlington 4-2 to advance to the Central Regionals. The Waxers would go 4-0-1 in the preliminary round of Regionals, defeating Ottawa Jr 67’s (5-3), Vaughan Kings (6-2), Timmins Majors (10-1), and Soo Jr Greyhound (7-2), and losing in OT to Waterloo (4-3). In the semi-finals, Markham faced-off against Vaughan, beating the Kings for the second time in the tournament (4-3). The Championship game would pit Markham against Waterloo, with Markham again getting a chance at redemption. The Waxers wouldn’t be denied, defeating waterloo 6-5 to punch their ticket to the Telus Cup.
In the regular season, Matthew Johnson and Tate Collins led the team in scoring with 46 points apiece, good for 15th overall. Eight others had at least 20 points. Eamon Callaghan and Eadan McParland split time in the crease for the Waxers. McParland played 25 games and posted a 1.95 GAA while Callagan played in 16 contests and posted a 2.06 GAA.
In the playoffs, Collins again led the team in scoring (tied) with 10 points in the Pool A playoffs and 8 points in 3 games in the OMHA Championships. The goaltending duo would each play 5 games in playoff Pool A, with McParland posting a 2.70 GAA and Callagan leading the way with a 1.26 GAA, and Callagan posted a 1.35 GAA in 2 games played in the Championships.
In Central Regionals, Collins led the team tournament and team in scoring with 18 points (6-12), while Philip Govedaris finished second with 14 points (4-10). Johnson and Andreas Mikroginnakis each finished the tournament with 11 points (tied 3rd). McParland and Callaghan continued to split time. McParland played 3 games and posted a 1.49 GAA and .930 Sv% while Callaghan played in 5 games, including the Championship final and posted a 3.41 GAA and .898 Sv%.
CANTONNIERS DE MAGOG – QUEBEC
Magog finished 2nd in the Quebec U18 AAA Hockey League with a 24-2-1-9 record. The Cantonniers swept Chateauguay two games to zero in the division semi-final, beat Lac St-Louis three games to one in the division final, and defeated Seminaire St. Francois three games to zero in the league semi-finals. In the league championship Magog outlasted Trois-Rivieres in a tight series with 2 overtimes and 4 one-goal games to advance to the Telus Cup.
In the regular season, Gabriel Courchesne finished 2nd in league scoring with 24 goals and 35 assists. Antoine Bourdeau was 5th with 25 goals and 29 assists. Alexis Toussaint, Zackary Plamondon (D), Raphael Messier, and Marc-Olivier Proteau all had at least 30 points. Kyan Labbe and Alexandre Raymond split time for the Cantonniers in the regular season. Labbe posted a 1.98 GAA .934 Sv% in 25 games while Raymond had a 3.12 GAA and .934 Sv% in 19 appearances.
Bourdeau led the team in playoff scoring with 14 points, including 5 in the championship series. Toussaint had 12 points and Courchesne had 10 points in the playoffs. Labbe would have the net for the Cantonniers during the playoffs, posting a 2.47 GAA and .924 Sv% in the league championship series.
KENSINGTON WILD – ATLANTIC
The Wild finished the regular season with a 20-10-2-1 record, which was good for 2nd in the New Brunswick / Prince Edward Island Major U18 Hockey League. As the second seed, the Wild received a bye through the first round and played the Charlottetown Knights. The Wild defeated the Knights four games to zero (5-1, 5-4, 6-1, and 6-2) in the PEI Final Series. In the Atlantic Regionals, the Wild went 3-0-0-1 in the round robin and defeated Macs U18 10-0 in the championship game.
Ethan Dickson led the Wild in scoring through the regular season with 75 points (31-44) in 35 games. Dickson finished the season with 20 more points than the second leading scorer. Liam Arsenault was second in team scoring with 15 goals and 34 assists (49pts) and led the team in penalty minutes. Kensington had 10 player post at least 20 points in the 35 game regular season. Between the pipes, George Gallant and Evan Weeks split time for the Wild. Gallant went 10-7 with a 2.79 GAA (3rd) and .929 Sv% (1st) while Weeks was 11-7 with a 3.85 GAA (7th) and .887 Sv% (8th).
Dickson led the team in scoring through the playoffs with 8pts in 4 games, while 7 others had at least a point per game. The Wild gave the reigns to George Gallant in the playoffs. He went 4-0 and posted a 2.00 GAA (2nd) and .932 Sv% (1st). In the Atlantic Regionals, Dickson (10pts) and Liam Arsenault (7pts) finished 1-2 in tournament scoring while Gallant went 2-0-0-1 and posted a 1.64 GAA and .951 Sv%.
SYDNEY RUSH – HOST
The Sydney Rush enter the tournament as the host. The team finished the regular season with a 12-20-6 record, good for 6th in the Nova Scotia league. The Rush faced off against the Valley Wildcats in the first round of the playoffs, losing three games to zero. In the regular season, Tyler Seymour led the team in scoring wth 17 goals and 24 assists. Seven other players had at least 20 points. Many Strong played the bulk of the games for the Rush, posting a 11-12 record with a 3.775 GAA and .899 Sv%. In the playoffs, Rory Piling and Brody Ford each had 4 points in three game.
Schedule
| Date | MB Time | Local Time | Home | Visitor |
| Monday, April 22 | ||||
| 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | Kensington Wild | Markham Waxers | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | Brandon Wheat Kings | Cantonniers De Magog | |
| 5:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | Calgary Buffaloes | Sydney Rush | |
| Tuesday, April 23 | ||||
| 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | Markham Waxers | Cantonniers De Magog | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | Kensington Wild | Calgary Buffaloes | |
| 5:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | Sydney Rush | Brandon Wheat Kings | |
| Wednesday, April 24 | ||||
| 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | Markham Waxers | Calgary Buffaloes | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | Brandon Wheat Kings | Kensington Wild | |
| 5:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | Cantonniers De Magog | Sydney Rush | |
| Thursday, April 25 | ||||
| 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | Calgary Buffaloes | Brandon Wheat Kings | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | Cantonniers De Magog | Kensington Wild | |
| 5:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | Sydney Rush | Markham Waxers | |
| Friday, April 26 | ||||
| 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | Cantonniers De Magog* | Calgary Buffaloes* | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | Brandon Wheat Kings* | Markham Waxers* | |
| 5:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | Kensington Wild* | Sydney Rush* | |
| Saturday, April 27 | ||||
| 12:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | Semi-Final 1 | Semi-Final 1 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. | Semi-Final 2 | Semi-Final 2 | |
| Sunday, April 28 | ||||
| TBD | TBD | Bronze | Bronze | |
| TBD | TBD | Gold | Gold | |
*Note: Home Teams on April 26th to be determined by a coin flip at the Directorate Meeting on April 21st.
