The Brandon Wheat Kings are a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

major

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

team based in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

. The Wheat Kings joined the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

ahead of the 1967–68 season, and today play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference, hosting games at

Keystone Centre The Keystone Centre is a multi-purpose facility located in Brandon, Manitoba. Its main 5,102-seat arena, which is known as Westoba Place, is the home of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League and the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair ...

. 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 The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

Challenge, losing to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. 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 The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

finals in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

after winning the

Abbott Cup The Abbott Memorial Cup, commonly referred to as the Abbott Cup, was awarded annually from 1919 through 1999 to the Junior "A" ice hockey Champion for Western Canada. The Cup was named after Captain E.L. (Hick) Abbott who was a noted hockey ...

as the Western Canadian junior champion. The 1949 Brandon Wheat Kings were inducted into the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

. 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 Brian Phillip Propp (born February 15, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League, from 1979 to 1994. He featured in five Stanley Cup Finals with three different NHL teams a ...

Brad McCrimmon Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959 – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, ...

, and

Ray Allison Raymond Peter Allison (born March 4, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hartford Whalers and Philadelphia Flyers. He featured in the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals wit ...

, 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 The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...

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 The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

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 Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current broadcaster for ESPN/ ABC and select Vancouver Canucks games on CBC Sports/Sportsnet. He played for 18 seasons in the National Hocke ...

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 The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

; at the tournament, Brandon lost the semi-final 2–1 to the

Detroit Junior Red Wings The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan. History The Compuware Ambassadors were renamed the Detroit Junior Red ...

. 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 Wade Redden (born June 12, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a development coach of the Ottawa Senators, with whom he spent the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), which lasted from 1996 to 201 ...

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 The 2010 Memorial Cup was a four-team round-robin format tournament played during May 14–23, 2010 in Brandon, Manitoba. It was the 92nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hock ...

tournament, ensuring their fifth appearance. Led by Matt Calvert, Brayden Schenn, and

Toni Rajala Toni Rajala (born March 29, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He was drafted 101st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Rajala began playing jun ...

, 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 The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

, 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 The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

—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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

—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''

Championship history

: 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 The Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the regular season champion of the Western Hockey League. It is named after one of the league's founders, Scotty Munro. Munro served as the general manager of the Estevan Bruins, one of the ...

(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 The New Westminster Bruins were a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * ...

* 1978–79: Win, 4–2 vs

* 1994–95: Loss, 2–4 vs

* 1995–96: Win, 4–1 vs

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Spokane, Washington. The Chiefs play in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing home games at Spokane Arena. The Chiefs are two-time M ...

* 1997–98: Loss, 0–4 vs Portland Winter Hawks * 2004–05: Loss, 1–4 vs

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

* 2014–15: Loss, 0–4 vs Kelowna Rockets * 2015–16: Win, 4–1 vs

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

Memorial Cup Championship

: Loss, 3–4–1 vs

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

: Loss, 1–2 (OT) vs

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: Loss, 1–9 vs

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.

Team records

Awards

Bob Clarke Trophy The Bob Clarke Trophy is awarded annually to the player who leads the Western Hockey League in points scoring during the regular season. In both years Bobby Clarke, Bob "Bobby" Clarke played in the WHL, he captured the League scoring title. In 19 ...

(WHL top scorer) * Ron Chipperfield: 1973–74 * Bill Derlago: 1976–77 *

: 1977–78 *

: 1978–79 *

: 1983–84 * Eric Fehr: 2004–05

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year. The trophy is named in honour of four members of the Swift Current Broncos who were killed on December 30, 1986 in the Swift Current Broncos ...

(WHL player of the year) * Ron Chipperfield: 1973–74 *

: 1983–84 * Marty Murray: 1994–95 * Peter Schaefer: 1996–97 * Eric Fehr: 2004–05

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy The Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the Western Hockey League player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition. The award is named after Saskatoon Blades founder Jim Piggott, one of the founding fathers ...

(WHL rookie of the year) * Rick Blight: 1972–73 *

: 1976–77 *

: 1993–94 * Tyler Plante: 2004–05 * Brayden Schenn: 2007–08 * Nolan Patrick: 2014–15

Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy The Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the defenceman of the year in the Western Hockey League (WHL). It is named after one of the league's founders, Bill Hunter, who was the driving force behind the creation of the WHL. Hunter ser ...

(WHL top defenceman) *

: 1977–78 * Ivan Provorov: 2015–16 * Braeden Schneider: 2020–21 Del Wilson Trophy (WHL top goaltender) *

Glen Hanlon Glen A. Hanlon (born February 20, 1957) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, executive and former goaltender. Hanlon played in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. He is al ...

: 1976–77 * Rick Knickle: 1978–79 *

Trevor Kidd Trevor Rodney Kidd (born March 29, 1972) is a Canadian former Ice hockey goaltender who last played for the Hannover Scorpions in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Throughout his 12-year National Hockey League career, Kidd played for the Calgary Flame ...

: 1989–90 * Trevor Robins: 1992–93 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL coach of the year) * Dunc McCallum (2): 1976–77, 1978–79 * Bob Lowes: 1995–96 Doc Seaman Trophy (WHL scholastic player of the year) * Kevin Cheveldayoff: 1987–88 * Byron Penstock: 1993–94 * Stefan Cherneski: 1996–97 * Brett Dickie: 2002–03 * Keith Aulie: 2006–07 * Tanner Kaspick: 2015–16 * Quinn Mantei: 2022–23 WHL Playoff MVP (Awarded since 1992) * Bobby Brown: 1995–96 * Nolan Patrick: 2015–16

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the Cornwall Royals. ...

(Memorial Cup MVP) * Bart Hunter: 1979 Memorial Cup Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup top goaltender) * Bart Hunter: 1979 Memorial Cup George Parsons Trophy (Memorial Cup sportsmanship) *

References

External links

Official website of the Brandon Wheat Kings
{{Manitoba Sports 1936 establishments in Manitoba Ice hockey clubs established in 1936 Ice hockey in Brandon, Manitoba Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams Western Hockey League teams