WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE REPORT presented by IBAM
Rylan Bettens:
Mama Didn’ t Tell Me It Would Be a Season Like This...
Brandon Wheat Kings rookie Rylan Bettens could write one heck of a book about his freshman season in the Western Hockey League. Of course, the former Winnipeg Warriors bantam and Winnipeg Wild midget star has not only earned a spot on the defending WHL champions, but he’ s witnessed so much this season that he could probably fill a library with his stories.
By Les Lazaruk, Sports Director, Saskatoon Media Group / Saskatoon Blades’ play-by-play Photos by Jeff Miller and Bruce Fedyck
BRANDON, MB- If he wanted to, Brandon Wheat Kings forward Rylan Bettens would have no shortage of material with which to write a great book about his rookie season in the Western Hockey League. It’ s been quite a year for this former Winnipeg Wild star. First, he made the storied Wheaties-- a team coming off an Ed Chynoweth Cup championship season in 2015-16-- as a 16-year-old. Then he witnessed the intense media scrutiny surrounding his teammate Nolan Patrick, who navigated injury and the pressure of being the top-ranked prospect for the 2017 N. H. L. Draft. Then, to top it off, he found himself on a team that was caught in the middle of a mumps outbreak. No word of a lie. That has all happened and young Rylan Bettens has either been directly involved or had a front-row seat to witness the events.“ I came in( to Brandon) just thinking, obviously trying to stay in the line-up as much as I can,” explained the now 17-year-old Winnipegger.“ I know I was going to play any role I could and just learn from the guys. That was my main goal coming in here.” As for joining the defending WHL champions, the 6-foot-0,164-pound right-hand shot said he wasn’ t afraid of what he was getting into, adding,“ The main thing was these guys know how to win and I wanted to learn everything I could because these guys are role models and they know what it takes to be successful.” The 2016-17 edition of the Wheat Kings hasn’ t had the regular-season success that the championship team of 2015-16 did. With majority owner Kelly McCrimmon having vacated the dual role of General Manager / Head Coach for the position of Assistant General Manager with the NHL’ s expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights, Brandon has been tip-toeing its way through a season of change with Grant Armstrong as the new GM and young David Anning moving up to take the head coaching reins. The gradua-