Wade Klippenstein won't soon forget his time with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The organization's director of scouting recently moved on to the Colorado Avalanche after a three-year tenure in Brandon.
It was a dream job in junior hockey for the 46-year-old Boissevain product, who lives with his family near Lethbridge in Coaldale, Alta.
"It was something you always hope you get an opportunity to do," Klippenstein said. "To win a championship and be part of that, even in a small way, but still get to experience what it's like to win and to win with the Wheat Kings was something I'll always remember. There are a lot of good players there. I really learned a lot about the culture of a successful junior hockey program and what goes into that. And working with Kelly (McCrimmon) and his staff was a great learning experience for me."
Klippenstein and a staff of about 10 scouts guided the Wheat Kings through the last three drafts, picking a group of players that includes Stelio Mattheos, Connor Gutenberg, Caiden Daley, Rylan Bettens, Garrett Sambrook and 2016 first-rounder Braden Schneider.
Klippenstein - who formerly worked for the Prince George Cougars in scouting and coaching capacities - heard about Colorado's vacancy after the NHLdraft and they made contact a couple of weeks ago.
"I think anyone who's involved in major junior hockey always wants to get to the National Hockey League, whether you're a player, coach or scout," he said. "It gets your attention when you get that opportunity. For me, being able to move up without physically moving my family is always nice. With this job, we can maintain our residence in southern Alberta."
He doesn't expect to be on the road much more than he was with Brandon, although the kind of travel will change.
Klippenstein expects to start with Colorado mid-August as he wraps up a few final things with Brandon. He started with the Wheat Kings in August 2013.
"Any time a group has success, with success comes opportunity," Klippenstein said. "I know Kelly had some opportunities last summer that were talked about a lot but our team won and I think it gets the attention of some other people. We always tell the players that if the team wins, there should be more opportunities for players individually. That also rings true with staff."
It's been an interesting off-season for the organization, with McCrimmon, the head coach and general manager, leaving to join the NHL's Las Vegas franchise while retaining his ownership of the team. They've also hired a new trainer after Josh Guenther left, and while the team had nothing to do with the decision, Bruce Luebke will no longer be calling games on radio for CKLQ.
While Klippenstein is especially thankful to McCrimmon for his time in Brandon, part of what made his time with the Wheat Kings so meaningful was the owner's absence when he joined Team Canada for the world juniors.
"I actually got to work on a daily basis with our coaches over Christmas and be on the bench and in the trenches with them," Klippenstein said. "I really enjoyed that. We have some very good young talent there in our coaching staff. The families and the players that I met along the way ... when you're the head scout you don't live in Brandon so you don't really have the same connection with people but there are a lot of good people in that organization. My scouting staff, the guys I spent the most time, definitely a big thank you to those guys as well."
Klippenstein said the nice part of watching bantam hockey is that scouts are among the first people to recognize great young players. He noted it's also the last chance to watch players competing against all the best in their age group before they scatter to various junior leagues and the college ranks.
"Bantam is the last league that all the top players play in," Klippenstein said.
Klippenstein will be in charge of the west for the Avalanche, with the additional opportunity to look at players all over Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Calling it a good fit, he said the small staff will give him a chance to be involved in the decision-making.
He expects that will include regular visits to Brandon.
"It's where you want to be," he said of the NHL job. "I'm looking forward to getting on the road and watching games. It's a little different but I'm looking forward to meeting the people in the organization and starting some new meaningful relationships.
"On to the next adventure."
