Wilson enjoying fresh start in Brandon

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This article was published 08/12/2022 (650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tony Wilson knows he owes parents Dory and Chrissy more than he can ever repay.

The 17-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings forward said above and beyond what they’ve spent to keep him in hockey, he’s always felt supported.

“They sacrificed a lot, and if I could, I would give them the world,” Wilson said. “It blows me away how much they’ve done for me and how much time and effort they’ve put into it. I really, really appreciate them.”

Tony began skating around age three or four, and playing soon after, usually as a forward. While he also played some football, lacrosse and baseball when he was younger, he’s focused on hockey.

But that certainly doesn’t mean he’s a couch potato when he’s off the ice.

“I really enjoy being outside, whether that’s hunting or outside with my dad doing yard work,” Wilson said. “It’s just been outside regardless. I’ve grown up being outside quite a bit and always helping out.”

Wilson’s family also includes 19-year-old brother Wyatt, who is set to make his debut with the Winnipeg Ice soon.

Wyatt and Tony moved with their mother to Abbotsford, B.C., where the older brother joined the Yale Hockey Academy and Tony spent a year playing minor hockey. Their father drove out every couple of weeks to watch them, with Tony spending the 2018-19 season with the Yale under-15 prep squad, earning 10 points in 24 games.

He went to Northern Alberta Xtreme for his major bantam season to be closer to home, and after contributing nine goals and 18 assists in 29 games, was selected 59th overall in the 2020 draft, two picks after his NAX teammate Teydon Trembecky, who he was traded for two years later.

Since Saskatchewan is open territory at the U18 level, he decided to play for the Moose Jaw Warriors AAA program in his 15-year-old season — he had seven points in six games in the pandemic-shortened campaign — and then earned a spot in Victoria a season later as a 16-year-old.

“I was pretty fortunate to have the year I did in Victoria and pretty thankful for the experience but that jump is quite a jump,” Wilson said. “Everything picks up, the skill level, speed, thinking time. You need to be quicker and smarter and make plays a lot faster.”

He also had a chance to play with Wyatt after the former Lethbridge Hurricanes draft pick and Swift Current Broncos prospect earned a spot with the Royals as well.

In 63 games in his rookie season in Victoria, Tony Wilson contributed seven goals, eight assists, 32 penalty minutes with a plus-minus of -32 on the league’s worst team.

This season, everything changed. Wyatt broke his leg in three places on Oct. 11 and Tony had just two goals and an assist in 18 games with the Royals and was losing his confidence. As a result, Tony asked for a trade and headed home to Swift Current.

His last game with the Royals was on Nov. 12.

“I had a bit of a slow start,” Wilson said. “I just thought I needed a bit of a fresh start. I talked to the coach (and GM Dan Price) about it and said it would be nice to have a fresh start with a new team and new guys.

“Obviously with my brother out too, it was tough. We were really close — we lived together and did everything together — and him being out was tough. I think (the trade) was the best thing that could have happened for me and I’m super excited where I am.”

The deal came on Nov. 24 when Wilson and 18-year-old defenceman Luke Shipley were acquired by Brandon for Trembecky, a third-round pick in 2023, a fifth-round pick in 2024 and a fourth-round pick in 2026. The third-round pick, which originally belonged to the Red Deer Rebels, was acquired in the Tyson Zimmer trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 27.

So far in Brandon, Wilson has one assist in six games in Brandon, which came on a Brett Hyland goal against the Prince Albert Raiders last Friday.

Wheat Kings general manager Marty Murray said his team was looking to add some speed up front, which it did, but added they also brought on board a great personality.

“I think he’s really fit in since his arrival,” Murray said. “He’s an outgoing kid who I think is well-liked by his teammates. He certainly has an energetic personality to him for sure, which is great. I think we needed some of that.

“On the ice, he’s been a nice fit for us. He brings an element of speed and I think he’s going to continue to develop his skill set and I think he has the ability to produce offensively.”

Wilson had the benefit of walking into the Brandon dressing room with a close friend in Shipley, but he also knew Jake Chiasson because his brother played with him at Yale, and Tony previously skated with Eastyn Mannix with NAX and Ben Thornton at Yale. He said the team’s veterans did a great job of welcoming he and Shipley in.

“I lucked out coming to Brandon,” Wilson said. “I’m super, super stoked to be here.”

Still, Wilson played just two games with the Wheat Kings when head coach Don MacGillivray was dismissed. Wilson said it was a hectic week already, but decided he had to stay positive and focused on his own small goals.

It didn’t hurt that Murray received the head coaching job. Wilson is well aware of his talent as a player — the gym walls are covered in team history — and already appreciates him as a coach.

“He’s phenomenal,” Wilson said. “He’s one of the greatest Wheat Kings players of all time. You go into the gym and you see all of his goals and points and the great stuff he did. He’s a super calm guy and super smart. When you see him on the ice, he can still rip the puck.

“It’s really great having a guy like that, and it’s the same with the assistant coaches, Billy (Mark Derlago) and Del (Pedrick).”

He’s also a big fan of athletic therapist Zach Hartwick and equipment manager Scott Hlady.

“A big shoutout to Zach and Scooter, they’re great guys and they’re veterans at their job,” Wilson said. “It’s really nice having two guys like that who are the backbone of what you do. I love it. Everything is really phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for better.”

On the ice, Wilson has skated recently on a line with Roger McQueen and Zakhar Polshakov and hopes he can make his linemates better by getting in on the forecheck, turning pucks over and working down low.

But he said his game is multi-dimensional.

“I think one of the best elements of my game is my skating,” Wilson said. “I like to get in on the forecheck and be physical, and I also like to score goals and move the puck a lot too. I think I’m a pass-first kind of guy. I’ll take the shot if it’s there but I like playmaking, but if I need to, I can put the puck in the net.”

The 2005-born teenager is in his National Hockey League draft year, and that’s his big goal. He’s realistic about what it will take.

“I’m here for a fresh start and it’s nice to start with a fresh piece of paper, but my biggest goal is to get drafted and it’s not going to come easy,” Wilson said. “I have to work super hard and get that accomplished.”

It will come in a season in which both brothers started the season on Vancouver Island and now belong to Manitoba clubs.

The Winnipeg Ice acquired the six-foot-three, 208-pound defenceman Wyatt on Monday for a pair of fourth-round picks, and Tony said his big brother is ahead of schedule to make his return to the ice.

While Tony is excited to see Wyatt on the ice, that came with a giant caveat.

“It will be fun but it will be scary too,” Wilson said. “He’s a big boy. I’ll try to stay out of his trolley tracks.”

ICINGS: The Prince George Cougars acquired 18-year-old defenceman Ross Stanley from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Thursday for a sixth-round pick in 2024 … Also Thursday, Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt was fined $1,500 for his actions following a 7-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday. That ended a season-high 16-day lull of any league discipline being imposed.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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