Brandon Wheat Kings

The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Wheat Kings joined the Western Hockey League ahead of the 1967–68 season, and today play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference, hosting games at Keystone Centre. The team owns the best regular season record in WHL history from the 1978–79 season, when the Wheat Kings posted 58 wins and 125 points. That season, they won their first of three league championships.

History

Early years The Wheat Kings were named in honor of the Brandon Wheat City senior team that participated in the 1904 Stanley Cup Challenge, losing to the Ottawa Senators. The Wheat Kings team was founded in 1936 as a member of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), although the team was known as the Elks for a short time in the late 1930s. Playing out of Wheat City Arena, the team won eight Turnbull Cup Championships as Manitoba Junior Champions and appeared in the Memorial Cup finals in 1949 after winning the Abbott Cup as the Western Canadian junior champion. The 1949 Brandon Wheat Kings were inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. During the 1950s, the Wheat Kings left the MJHL for a time to play in the Big Six Intermediate Hockey League. Later, in 1964, Brandon left the MJHL again and spent two seasons playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League instead. The team then returned to the MJHL for one season before joining the major junior Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1967.

Western Hockey League The Wheat Kings had a challenging start in the new league—over their first nine seasons, the team posted only two winning records and won only a single playoff series. In 1970, the team moved briefly to Manex Arena, before moving to the new Keystone Centre in 1973. The same year, the team began operating a farm team in the MJHL, called the Brandon Travellers, an arrangement that would last until 1980. The Wheat Kings began a short period of success in 1976. Led by the likes of Brian Propp, Brad McCrimmon, and Ray Allison, the team won three straight regular season titles from 1976–77 to 1978–79, advancing to two league finals and capturing their first championship in 1979, defeating the Portland Winter Hawks in 6 games in the final. The Wheat Kings advanced to the Memorial Cup for the first time since 1949, again to lose in the final, this time in a 2–1 overtime defeat against the Peterborough Petes in what has been cited as one of the best finals in the tournament's history. Infamously, with the team down three defencemen, McCrimmon played all but two minutes of the Memorial Cup final—he left the ice only to serve a minor penalty. The Wheat Kings 1978–79 campaign set a WHL record for points with 125. At the 1979 National Hockey League draft, ten members of the 1978–79 Wheat Kings were selected, including four in the first round. This proved to be a peak for the club, as over the following fourteen seasons the Wheat Kings would miss the playoffs altogether eight times, and win only two playoff series. One highlight came in the 1983–84 season, when Ray Ferraro set a league record with a 108-goal season.

In the late 1980s, Brad McCrimmon's brother, Kelly McCrimmon, took over as team manager. Under his guidance, the Wheat Kings again rose to prominence, making three finals appearances in a four-season span between 1994–95 and 1997–98. Despite losing the 1995 final, the team advanced to the Memorial Cup because they lost to the host Kamloops Blazers; at the tournament, Brandon lost the semi-final 2–1 to the Detroit Junior Red Wings. Their best result came in 1995–96, when the team, coached by Bob Lowes and led on the ice by the likes of Wade Redden and Peter Schaefer, posted its first 50-win season since 1979, winning the regular season title. The team then lost only three games in the playoffs en route to its second playoff championship. The Wheat Kings thus advanced to a second consecutive Memorial Cup tournament; they again bowed out in the semi-final, losing 4–3 to Peterborough. Throughout this period the Wheat Kings became a perennial playoff contender, missing the postseason only twice between 1993 and 2018.

The Wheat Kings were selected to host the 2010 Memorial Cup tournament, ensuring their fifth appearance. Led by Matt Calvert, Brayden Schenn, and Toni Rajala, Brandon put together a 50-win season, reached the Eastern Conference final and the Memorial Cup final. There, the Wheat Kings lost to the Windsor Spitfires, who claimed their second straight national title. Brandon would return to the Memorial Cup for a sixth time in 2016 after winning its third Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. However, the 2016 tournament would mark the first time the team failed to advance to at least the semi-final as they dropped three straight games. After the season, Kelly McCrimmon was hired by the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights—his departure from Brandon marked the end of an era.

In a shortened 2020–21 WHL campaign played exclusively in-division and without playoffs—the season was modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic—Brandon finished atop the East Division with an 18–4–2 record. In 2022, the team hired former player Marty Murray to be its new coach and manager.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish PlayoffsManitoba Junior Hockey League1936–37 15 10 3 2 — 74 32 22 4th MJHL1937–38 16 13 3 0 — 116 52 26 1st MJHL1938–39 18 14 4 0 — 102 60 28 1st MJHL Won League1939–40 24 10 10 4 — 99 95 24 4th MJHL1940–45Leave due to World War II1945–46 10 7 2 1 — 102 35 15 2nd MJHL1946–47 16 13 2 1 — 122 50 27 1st MJHL Won League1947–48 24 15 9 0 — 115 99 30 2nd MJHL1948–49 30 27 3 0 — 172 72 54 1st MJHL Won League, Won Abbott CupLost Memorial Cup final1949–50 36 27 9 0 — 181 113 54 1st MJHL Won League1950–51 36 26 8 2 — 231 123 54 1st MJHL1951–52 36 21 14 1 — 160 144 43 2nd MJHL1952–53 36 24 11 1 — 164 123 49 1st MJHL1953–54 36 13 22 1 — 132 151 27 2nd MJHL1954–58Granted Leave1958–59 30 15 14 1 — 152 122 31 3rd MJHL1959–60 32 23 6 3 — 185 79 49 1st MJHL Won League1960–61 32 24 8 0 — 219 136 48 1st MJHL1961–62 40 26 12 2 — 238 137 54 1st MJHL Won League1962–63 39 32 7 0 — 206 124 64 1st MJHL Won League1963–64 30 27 1 2 — 209 67 56 1st MJHL Won LeagueSaskatchewan Junior Hockey League1964–65 56 30 21 5 — 230 216 65 3rd SJHL1965–66 60 32 21 7 — 283 262 71 3rd SJHLManitoba Junior Hockey League1966–67 57 47 9 1 — 416 178 95 2nd MJHL Lost FinalWestern Hockey League 1967–68 60 21 33 6 — 238 279 48 8th Overall Lost quarterfinal 1968–69 60 18 40 2 — 224 350 38 4th East Lost quarterfinal 1969–70 60 23 34 3 — 234 272 49 4th East Lost quarterfinal 1970–71 66 20 46 0 — 247 387 40 5th East Did not qualify 1971–72 68 35 33 0 — 338 331 70 3rd East Lost semifinal 1972–73 68 29 30 9 — 307 304 67 4th East Lost quarterfinal 1973–74 68 27 37 4 — 305 348 58 5th East Did not qualify 1974–75 70 24 35 11 — 276 320 59 4th East Lost quarterfinal 1975–76 72 34 30 8 — 341 303 76 2nd East Lost quarterfinal 1976–77 72 54 10 8 — 447 242 116 1st East Lost final 1977–78 72 46 12 14 — 424 299 106 1st East Eliminated in divisional semifinal 1978–79 72 58 5 9 — 491 230 125 1st East Won championshipLost Memorial Cup final 1979–80 72 33 37 2 — 319 343 68 5th East Eliminated in East Division round robin 1980–81 72 29 40 3 — 342 352 61 6th East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1981–82 72 34 38 0 — 372 413 68 5th East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1982–83 72 21 51 0 — 327 460 42 7th East Did not qualify 1983–84 72 44 26 2 — 463 246 90 3rd East Lost East Division semifinal 1984–85 72 17 54 1 — 264 481 35 8th East Did not qualify 1985–86 72 24 46 2 — 324 438 50 7th East Did not qualify 1986–87 72 19 49 4 — 282 443 42 8th East Did not qualify 1987–88 72 26 43 3 — 348 371 55 6th East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1988–89 72 25 43 4 — 286 331 54 7th East Did not qualify 1989–90 72 28 38 6 — 276 325 62 7th East Did not qualify 1990–91 72 19 51 2 — 265 380 40 8th East Did not qualify 1991–92 72 11 55 6 — 246 356 28 8th East Did not qualify 1992–93 72 43 25 4 — 347 258 90 2nd East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1993–94 72 42 25 5 — 291 251 89 2nd East Lost East Division final 1994–95 72 45 22 5 — 315 235 95 1st East Lost final 1995–96 72 52 19 1 — 369 231 105 1st East Won championship 1996–97 72 47 24 1 — 339 208 95 1st East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 1997–98 72 45 21 6 — 322 235 96 3rd East Lost final 1998–99 72 39 29 4 — 293 267 82 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 1999–2000 72 25 38 4 5 212 260 59 6th East Did not qualify 2000–01 72 32 32 5 3 244 242 72 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2001–02 72 43 23 4 2 261 210 92 1st East Lost Eastern Conference final 2002–03 72 43 17 9 3 258 187 98 1st East Lost Eastern Conference final 2003–04 72 28 32 9 3 230 224 68 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2004–05 72 45 21 5 1 255 199 96 1st East Lost final Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 2005–06 72 30 32 6 4 218 259 70 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2006–07 72 41 20 3 8 258 214 94 1st East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2007–08 72 42 24 3 3 253 209 90 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2008–09 72 48 19 3 2 295 220 101 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference final 2009–10 72 50 18 1 3 321 204 104 1st East Lost Eastern Conference finalLost Memorial Cup final 2010–11 72 32 31 1 8 281 275 73 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2011–12 72 39 28 1 4 273 257 83 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2012–13 72 24 40 4 4 189 284 56 6th East Did not qualify 2013–14 72 34 29 6 3 271 269 77 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2014–15 72 53 11 4 4 340 219 114 1st East Lost final 2015–16 72 48 18 4 2 319 197 102 1st East Won championship 2016–17 72 31 31 7 3 225 247 72 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2017–18 72 40 27 3 2 272 255 85 4th East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2018–19 68 31 29 4 4 230 243 70 4th East Did not qualify 2019–20 63 35 22 4 2 227 173 76 3rd East Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 24 18 4 2 0 104 61 38 1st East No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 35 28 3 2 218 242 75 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2022–23 68 26 33 8 1 212 242 61 5th East Did not qualify 2023–24 68 33 28 6 1 225 244 73 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2024–25 68 38 23 4 3 255 213 83 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2025–26 68 40 23 2 0 269 241 82 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal

Championship history

Abbott Cup: 1949 Turnbull Cup (8): 1939, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964 Ed Chynoweth Cup (3): 1978–79, 1995–96, 2015–16 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (5): 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1995–96, 2014–15 Conference Championship (5): 1995–96, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2015–16 Regular season Division Championship (14): 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2020–21

WHL Championship 1976–77: Loss, 1–4 vs New Westminster Bruins 1978–79: Win, 4–2 vs Portland Winter Hawks 1994–95: Loss, 2–4 vs Kamloops Blazers 1995–96: Win, 4–1 vs Spokane Chiefs 1997–98: Loss, 0–4 vs Portland Winter Hawks 2004–05: Loss, 1–4 vs Kelowna Rockets 2014–15: Loss, 0–4 vs Kelowna Rockets 2015–16: Win, 4–1 vs Seattle Thunderbirds

Memorial Cup Championship

1949: Loss, 3–4–1 vs Montreal Royals 1979: Loss, 1–2 (OT) vs Peterborough Petes 2010: Loss, 1–9 vs Windsor Spitfires

Players NHL alumni

Retired numbers The Wheat Kings raised Brad McCrimmon's number to the rafters after he was killed in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in 2011. #Player4Brad McCrimmon

Team records