Brandon Wheat Kings

Yesterday, I said I was going to give more coverage to the Western Hockey League, since that is where the Portland Winterhawks play, and today, I start delivering on that promise.  I won't know who will be on the teams until sometime in early October, since a few of the players drafted in the last year or so will either be returned to their teams from the NHL or stick with the big leagues, if only for a few days.  So, to that end, I will be giving a review of each team's last season and what they need to do to succeed.  Today, it is about the Brandon Wheat Kings, who play in Brandon, MB and have turned out players such as Jordin Tootoo, Ron Hextall, and Eric Fehr.

Last season, the Wheat Kings made it to the Eastern Conference semi-final, where they would be swept by eventual WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings.  Their leading scorer was captain Mark Stone, who will likely begin this coming season as a member of the Ottawa Senators.  As for playoff aspirations this year, the Wheat Kings last missed the playoffs in the 1999-2000 season, and offense shouldn't be a problem, as they were tied for second in the conference as far as goals for, trailing Edmonton and tied with the Calgary Hitmen.  One thing that the Wheat Kings will have to be better at is stopping pucks from getting into the net, as they were last among the Eastern Conference teams that made the playoffs last year.