The First Squad

The woman to the left has been busy over the last week as she put 26 players through the paces, watched film of practices, had discussions with players, and weighed all of those factors with a few more intangibles to come up with a team. Karissa Kirkup, the head coach of the very first U18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings hockey team in the MFHL, has made her choices, and she's ready to lead her players into battle against some of the best players the province of Manitoba can boast. Kirkup will have her players ready by the time September rolls around, but there's a ton of work to do between now and then as she aims to find staff, come up with jerseys, and prepare for a long season. Today, though, the 17 girls chosen by Kirkup who will skate for the very first MFHL Wheat Kings team have been named!

I wrote about the expansion of the MFHL into the Brandon region last week, and everyone I've spoken with has said this will make hockey better in Manitoba by having another team in the western portion of the province playing. There has been no shortage of compliments about the effort shown by Kirkup to not only have the U15 team as good as it was, but for her experience and hockey knowledge continuing to be passed onto the next generation via the U18 AAA route. In short, everyone who has a stake in the game at the U18 AAA female level seems excited about Brandon joining the fun!

Kirkup's team has a good mix of veteran leadership and youthful enthusiasm, it seems, and that should bode well in setting the Wheaties up for future success. A number of players who made the team have MFHL experience while the remainder appear to be high-calbre players from quality U15 programs. Make no mistake that the Wheat Kings will compete in every game this season. Where they finish in the standings will be entirely up to them as they'll have talent at all positions.

Here is your first Brandon Wheat Kings MFHL team by position.

Goaltenders

Name	Last Team	Age	Record	GAA	SV%
Danica Averill	Westman Wildcats	15	13-4-1-2	1.98	.926
Shannon Hees	U15 Brandon	15	13-4-3-3	1.23	.948

It appears that Kirkup decided to go younger in the crease rather than bringing in a veteran, but I like this idea as both Averill and Hees will compete and push one another to be better while being the backbone of the Wheat Kings team for the next few years. Averill's experience with Westman is big when it comes to helping her teammates adapt to the MFHL, but Hees will push for playing time. If teams are built from the net out, Kirkup has an outstanding tandem this year and for the future.

Defenders

Name	Last Team	Age	GP	G	A	Pts
Bailey Anderson	Central Plains Capitals	17	25	0	1	1
Kasia Baranyk	U15 Brandon Wheat Kings	14	30	2	2	4
Devyn Moncur	Westman Wildcats	16	28	0	2	2
Haley Blaine	Westman Wildcats	17	28	1	3	4
Chloe McBeth	Central Plains Capitals	16	28	0	0	0
Chloe Kachur	U15 Brandon Wheat Kings	15	27	2	6	8

The mix of veteran players and younger defenders is evident on Kirkup's blue line. Anderson was an alternate captain with the Capitals last season, and she could be the first captain of the Wheat Kings. Blaine was a pillar of strength on the Westman blue line, and her and Anderson will lead the way. Devyn Moncur and Chloe McBeth may be reunited as they were defensive partners while skating for the U15 Wheat Kings while Chloe Kachur and Kasia Baranyk are going to get opportunities as they gain experience. This should be a fun defensive unit to watch, but they won't back down from anyone.

Forwards

Name	Last Team	Age	GP	G	A	Pts
Paige Crossley	Westman Wildcats	17	28	13	7	20
Madison Blaine	Westman Wildcats	17	27	0	4	4
Ffion Devonald	Hamiota/Rivers Jetskies	16	18	11	12	23
Kaia Stewart	U15 Brandon Wheat Kings	15	28	10	11	21
Sydney Sass	Westman Wildcats	16	11	1	1	2
Kaylee Dittmer	Central Plains Capitals	17	28	3	1	4
Jordan Bell	Central Plains Capitals	17	28	8	6	14
Quinn Twordik	U15 Brandon Wheat Kings	14	27	6	11	17
Kiera Vines	U15 Brandon Wheat Kings	15	28	3	7	10

Again, the mix between veterans and young players takes center-stage again in the forward ranks, but there are some definite bright spots that Kirkup can lean on for scoring. Paige Crossley comes over from Westman as the top scorer at the highest AAA level in Manitoba, and Jordan Bell will be relied on for scoring and leadership after she was an alternate captain for Central Plains last season. Madison Blaine and Kaylee Dittmer will be given larger roles than what they had on their previous teams, and it will be interesting to see how Ffion Devonald adapts in moving from the Rural Manitoba Female Hockey League to the MFHL.

Kaia Stewart was cut from both the Wildcats and Capitals last season, but she was a solid scorer for Kirkup at the U15 level in 2022-23 while Sydney Sass was Kirkup's leading scorer from that same team. Quinn Dittmer and Kiera Vines make the jump to the MFHL where they could surprise teams with their smarts and quickness. Kirkup has a very solid group of forwards that will play well at both ends of the ice.

The 2024-25 schedule for the MFHL will be released later this summer, but a number of teams are already set and ready to play. Five teams have already held tryout camps and announced their teams on the MFHL website and on social media, and it seems Brandon is nearly ready to be the sixth team. Of those remaining who haven't made any hockey plans yet, the Westman Wildcats, Interlake Lightning, and Yellowhead Chiefs are the teams who need to get into a rink and start working.

As stated above, there's still a lot of work to do for Karissa Kirkup, but she has her 17 players that she'll direct on the ice. For those 17 players, there will be a number of firsts that happen next season, but that first game will be the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication by a number of people. Karissa Kirkup is one of those people, and this blog will be keeping an eye on her team's progress all season long. I'm hopeful that Jules Xavier of The Brandon Sun will be on that beat as well because his coverage this week has been incredible!

Congratulatons to the 17 players named above who are the first U18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings girls' team in the MFHL!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!