After a late game last night in Moose Jaw, the Oil Kings have made the 4 hour trip down the TransCanada Highway into Brandon. MB. Having driven that stretch of highway quite a few times myself, I would hope that the team got a decent night of sleep despite the travel as there is absolutely nothing worth seeing on that stretch of highway. 

A dominant offensive 40 minutes for Edmonton, coupled with a stifling defensive wall being setup in the 3rd period was only briefly cracked by some penalty trouble that left a tired group of penalty killers vulnerable to lose the shutout bid for Ethan Simcoe.

Simcoe was spectacular throughout this game, though, and by all accounts probably deserved to have maintained his shutout streak in Moose Jaw. He made 2 massive sprawling saves late in the 2nd period to keep the game at 5-0, and then a bunch more during Edmonton’s parade to the penalty box in the 3rd period before Aiden Ziprick finally managed to find a hole and beat him. He was still announced as the first star of the game and deservedly so, this was the bounce back game that Simcoe needed after his last start in Calgary didn’t go quite as planned.

Going from the undefeated Moose Jaw Warriors last night to the winless Brandon Wheat Kings tonight may appear to be a favorable second half of a back to back, but that’s only on paper. This Brandon team took 2 of its 3 losses to that very same Moose Jaw team, and still managed to score 11 goals against them across 2 games, and then took the Prince Albert Raiders to Overtime. A record of 0-2-1 may not be great, but it’s not for a lack of offensive output and effort.

On The Throne

Those players that are considered to be trending upwards, on a hot streak, or otherwise impressing will be seen as being On The Throne. 

Jack Toogood - It’s been an inconsistent start to Jack Toogood’s time in Edmonton, being up and down, and in and out of the lineup quite consistently going back to last season. He was a healthy scratch on wednesday night in Regina, but drew back in last night in the place of Dylan Dean. Toogood made the most of the opportunity and delivered with 2 big goals to start the game off right and jump the Oil Kings out to a 2-0 lead that they would never look back from. Not bad for a 4th line player fighting for playing time.

Joe Iginla - Nobody on this roster has benefitted more from the return of the NHL Campers than Joe Iginla. While players like Luke Powell, Dylan Dean, and Andrew O’Neill were finding more success in the absence of the top guys, it’s Iginla who had started to find his rhythm with the playmakers around him being back. With another goal tonight he has now pushed up to 4 points through 5 games and seems to really be hitting his stride on this road trip. The upgrade of linemates from Dean and O’Neill to now having Sawchyn and Holinka on his line has definitely reaped rewards for the 17 year old.

Miroslav Holinka - Somebody who doesn’t have to worry about playing time, or depth chart positions, is Miro. 2 Big goals in Regina, and now keeps it going with the final dagger in the eventual 5-1 victory. Rocketing home the Oil Kings 5th goal only 6 minutes into the 2nd period was enough to chase the Warriors starting goalie. It was enough to signify that Edmonton’s lead was pretty secure, and they didn’t need to do much other than just defend solidly and wait out the clock. Holinka’s role on the PK should not be overlooked though. Despite finally allowing a powerplay goal against to Moose Jaw, Holinka was a big part of killing all the penalties up to that point, and even had numerous odd man breakout opportunities looking to possibly add another shorthanded goal.

Off The Throne

Players that are struggling through a rough patch, on a cold streak, or possibly battling the puck at times will be viewed as being Off The Throne. 

Adam Jecho - If there is one player on the Edmonton side of the ice that clearly looks like they are battling the puck a little bit right now, it has to be Jecho. Since returning from camp in St.Louis, Adam has only 1 assist across 3 games and is still sitting at a -1 after the game in Moose Jaw. Watching him during the game commentary mentioned numerous times how he had 11 points in 4 games against Moose Jaw last year, but in this game he was struggling to make passes, struggling to receive passes, and losing the puck quite frequently. The frustrating part for him I’m sure, as well as the fans, is that he was still all over the ice and consistently in positions to get opportunities or create opportunities if he could just get the puck to do what he wanted. It’s a good sign that these puck battles will likely be short lived, and those unlucky bounces will start going his way soon enough.

At the Gate

Who is the man standing between the pipes, the soldier standing between the opponent’s hopes and dreams? The man in the mask, and heavy padding, is the man At the Gate. This is our section where we will look at the starting goaltenders. 

Ethan Simcoe had himself a night against Moose Jaw. Something about playing in The Jaw just adds a little extra to his game. He played over 52 minutes against Moose Jaw before allowing the goal to break his shutout streak in Moose Jaw at 172:42. Having played last night, I think he earned himself the rest for tonight’s game in Brandon.

This would mean that Parker Snell gets the start and a chance to extend his personal undefeated streak to start his WHL Career. This would be Snell’s first career game against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Roil Ledger

How well do the Oil Kings match up with their opponents? How have they fared against them in recent seasons? Is there a lot of red in that ledger, or have the results been more positive? We’ll take a look at recent history and notable stats between the two teams.

Edmonton and Brandon have quite the history between them, and a fun rivalry as the Battle of the Kings. The Oil Kings and the Wheat Kings met four times last season, with Brandon winning all 4 games by a combined score of 15-5. The 2 games in Brandon were 3-1 and then 4-1 losses for the Oil Kings.

The season series is a nearly deadlocked tie between these teams, as the Oil Kings are currently 33-33-1-1 all-time in regular season games between the two. They have also met in the playoffs 4 different times (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) with Edmonton winning the first 2 series and Brandon winning the last 2. The rivalry has had it’s ups and downs, and was definitely at its peak during those playoff matchups, but it’s always seemed to be a back and forth rivalry with no team dominating for very long.

As a fun stat, last season both the Oil Kings and Wheat Kings clinched their playoff spots on the exact same night. Both are hoping to clinch much sooner this year, I’m sure.

The Threats Beyond the Wall

What awaits the Oil Kings on the other side of the ice? Who should they be keeping an eye on? How has the opponent stacked up around the league? We’ll be looking at the players to watch, those high on prospect draft boards, and the ones already drafted by NHL teams. The team’s place in the standings, win or loss streaks, and other important information to prime everyone to be ready for the opposition.

The Wheat Kings finished last season similarly to the Oil Kings, watching their first round playoff opponents advancing as they were left looking ahead to this season. A 5-game series loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes was all they had to show for it, and a unique experience of playing “home” playoff games in nearby Virden, MB. Was the Royal Winter Fair that forced them out of their home in Brandon for the first round to blame? I’m sure some local fans of the team may wonder.

This season is a new year, though, and Brandon are off to a rough start. They will be motivated and looking to get their first notch in the win column for this year. The losses are not at the expense of the offense, however, as they have a lot of threats to look out for.

Rookie Chase Surkan is leading the way for this team, with 7 points (4G, 3A) through 3 games. He has 2 multi-goal games, and was surprisingly one of the only Wheat Kings that didn’t score a goal in their 7 goal outburst against Moose Jaw on opening weekend. For his offensive outburst, Surkan was named the WHL's Rookie of the Week for the first week of the season. Surkan has been positioned on the 3rd line of the depth chart, but his skill and the increased production of his linemates Nicholas Johnson and Joby Baumuller suggests they are not your typical 3rd line.

Their first line of Caleb Hadland, Carter Klippenstein, and Brady Turko has not racked up the points in the same way yet, but in all fairness Klippenstein & Turko were both away at NHL Training Camps to start the season. The 4th-round and 7th-round draft picks will be looking to get up to speed after only getting in one game before a week off after their returns. 

2005-born, over-age defender Grayson Burzynski is the piece looked to for contributions on the back end. He also provided 6 points through the first 2 matchups against Moose Jaw, though he was held quiet last week against Prince Albert. The Brandon defense has struggled defensively overall and will need to put together a strong effort to hold off the potent attack of the Oil Kings skilled forwards.

Brandon has relied solely on their 2006-born goalie, Jaydon Krause to start the season with poor results. Krause currently has a 6.40 GAA with an .843 Sv% through 3 games. He was even left in net for the entirety of Moose Jaw’s 9 goals in the 9-7 comeback loss. Brandon signed former Oil Kings netminder Hudson Perry during training camp last month, who has spent all 3 games so far on the bench. Perhaps we’ll see Perry get the start tonight against his former team.

Perry played in 21 games over the last 2 seasons as a part of the Oil Kings, compiling a 4-11-3  record with a 4.83 GAA and .852 Sv% during his time here before his rights were traded to Brandon last January for a future 6th round pick. To his credit, Perry finished last season with an 8-7-1 record for the Drayton Valley Thunder in the AJHL, and he did go 2-0-0 in preseason action for Brandon last month. I always tend to root for the success of past Oil Kings, but in this case I’ll hope his success is postponed until after Edmonton gets out of town.

Edmonton heads into Brandon at 4-1-0-0 to start the season, and 2-0-0-0 on the current TransCanada road trip. They’ll look to remain undefeated on the trip and head back to Alberta with a comfortable 5-1-0-0 record. Brandon is hoping to secure that first one of the season at the Oil Kings expense, and could roll out a familiar face in Hudson Perry to try to upset his former team.  You can watch the game for free on Victory+, or listen along on iHeartRadio, or if you are reading this from Brandon then I hope you will enjoy the game from the Assiniboine Credit Union Place tonight. Puck Drop is at 5pm local Edmonton time. The next game will be Wednesday Night in Medicine Hat, AB as the Oil Kings wrap up this road trip against the new look Tigers. Tonight is another chance to secure a Power Saturday prize, so get your predictions in before puck drop to be entered in the contest! Make sure you’re following us here at The Roil Line for all future Roil Briefings!