Shilo Stag
The Brandon Wheat Kings, along with the Western Hockey League, are excited to announce the 34-game home game schedule for the upcoming 2023-2024 WHL season.
The Wheat Kings will open the regular season on home ice Sept. 22 with the home opener at Westoba Place against the Regina Pats.
Brandon’s regular season home schedule wraps up on awards night March 21 with a visit from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The vast majority of the Wheat Kings home schedule will once again be played on Friday and Saturday, with 21 of the 34 games falling on those days.
All Wheat King home games this season will begin at 7 p.m., with the exception of the annual Remembrance Day game Nov. 11, which will see the Regina Pats take on the Wheat Kings at 3 p.m.
The club was also able to secure a Louis Riel Day (Family Day) game once again Feb. 19 versus the Saskatoon Blades. This game will begin at 2 p.m.
There are two Sunday games on the schedule this year with the first against the Prince Albert Raiders Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. The second Sunday comes a week late Jan. 21 versus the Medicine Hat Tigers, with this starting at 4 p.m.
Here’s a look at the Wheat Kings full 2023-24 home schedule:
Friday, September 22nd vs Regina Pats
Wednesday, September 27th vs Prince Albert Raiders
Saturday, September 30th vs Swift Current Broncos
Wednesday, October 4th vs Swift Current Broncos
Saturday, October 7th vs Calgary Hitmen
Thursday, October 26th vs Moose Jaw Warriors
Saturday, October 28th vs Saskatoon Blades
Wednesday, November 1st vs Prince George Cougars
Saturday, November 11th vs Regina Pats
Friday, November 17th vs Edmonton Oil Kings
Saturday, November 18th vs Medicine Hat Tigers
Friday, December 1st vs Regina Pats
Tuesday, December 5th vs Red Deer Rebels
Friday, December 8th vs Moose Jaw Warriors
Saturday, December 9th vs Kamloops Blazers
Wednesday, December 13th vs Kelowna Rockets
Saturday, December 16th vs Moose Jaw Warriors
Wednesday, December 27th vs Regina Pats
Friday, December 29th vs Saskatoon Blades
Saturday, January 6th vs Vancouver Giants
Tuesday, January 9th vs Victoria Royals
Friday, January 12th vs Swift Current Broncos
Sunday, January 14th vs Prince Albert Raiders
Saturday, January 20th vs Lethbridge Hurricanes
Sunday, January 21st vs Medicine Hat Tigers
Friday, February 2nd vs Red Deer Rebels
Wednesday, February 7th vs Edmonton Oil Kings
Friday, February 9th vs Lethbridge Hurricanes
Friday, February 16th vs Calgary Hitmen
Monday, February 19th vs Saskatoon Blades
Friday, March 1st vs Prince Albert Raiders
Saturday, March 2nd vs Saskatoon Blades
Saturday, March 16th vs Prince Albert Raiders
Thursday, March 21st vs Moose Jaw Warriors
Meanwhile, Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, is set to welcome hundreds of hockey’s finest this week for the 2023 NHL Draft. Numerous top prospects and their family members will be in attendance June 28 and 29 anxiously waiting to hear their names called by one of the 32 NHL clubs.
In total, 225 players aged 17 to 20 will be selected in the draft. However, there are multiple ways to achieve the dream of playing in the NHL and the NHL Draft process is merely the beginning of a player’s journey to the professional ranks. National Hockey League teams will invite their prospects and some undrafted players to attend development camps this summer.
The Wheat Kings take pride in helping players prepare for the next step in their hockey careers.
Three Wheat Kings who played in Brandon during the 2022-23 season were recognized by NHL Central Scouting this season.
Nate Danielson finished the year as the highest-ranked Wheat King, owning the seventh spot on the North American Skaters list. The late 2004-born forward ranked among the CHL’s best with a career-high 33 goals and 78 points in 68 games, and was invited to participate in the NHL/CHL Top Prospects game in January.
Carson Bjarnason ranked first on Central Scouting’s Final North American goaltenders rankings. Bjarnason played in 47 games and posted a GAA of 3.08 with a save percentage of .900. Carson was also invited and participated in the NHL/CHL Top Prospects game in January.
Quinn Mantei earned an end-of-season ranking of 138th among North American skaters. He put up 25 points in 67 games while finishing with a +/- of +10. He also won the Doc Seaman memorial WHL award for most scholastic player.
The NHL Scouting Combine showcases the top draft-eligible prospects from North America and Europe ahead of the NHL Draft. The event consists of player interviews, medical assessments and a series of physical fitness tests. Each NHL team will also have the opportunity to conduct individual interviews with players in preparation for the draft.
HOW TO WATCH THE DRAFT
The first round is scheduled for June 28 at 6 p.m. CT and fans can watch live on Sportsnet.
There will be an NHL Draft watch party at East Side Mario’s in Brandon for Wheat Kings fans to come together.
Rounds two to seven will be held June 29 beginning at 10 a.m. CT on NHL Network and Sportsnet.
NHL DRAFT NOTABLES
• 38 Wheat Kings have been selected over the last 20 NHL Drafts, including eight first-round picks.
• At least one Wheat King has been selected in all but seven NHL Draft years.
• Philadelphia Flyers have drafted the most Wheat Kings all time with 10.
Other NHL teams ranked in order of Wheat Kings selected: Vancouver (9), Buffalo (7), Washington(7), Pittsburgh (5), Chicago (5), Boston (5), St Louis (5), Arizona/Winnipeg 1.0 (4), Dallas/Minnesota North Stars (4), New York Rangers (4), Ottawa (4), Toronto (4), Winnipeg Jets 2.0/Atlanta (4), Florida (3), New York Islanders (3), Detroit (2), Los Angeles (2), San Jose (2), Tampa Bay (2), Colorado (2), Columbus (2), Montreal (1), Nashvile (1), New Jersey (1), Anaheim (1), Carolina (1), Edmonton (1)
Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights are the only teams to have not yet selected a Brandon Wheat King at the NHL Draft.
