1 week Ago By Perry Bergson
Marcus Nguyen has looked into the future, and he’s seen his past. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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Marcus Nguyen has looked into the future, and he’s seen his past. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Marcus Nguyen has looked into the future, and he’s seen his past. The graduating 20-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings forward from Calgary is fairly certain what he’ll remember about his five years in the Western Hockey League, which ended last Friday with his club’s five-game loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
“Down the road, the memories of the long bus rides, the card games on the bus, the excitement in the room before games, it’s something you can’t buy,” Nguyen said. “Those things are going to live with me forever. The friendships I’ve created, the long-lasting memories, it’s great.
I think I’ll look and it will be ‘This was the best time in my life.’ “I’m very fortunate to be part of something very special.” It nearly didn’t happen for Nguyen.
He didn’t know what to expect on draft day in 2019. He was hanging out with his hockey buddies at school monitoring the draft and he wasn’t seeing his name. Eight rounds passed and he turned it off.
He checked again in the 10th round when teams were starting to pass on their picks, and turned off his phone again. The next time he picked it up, it was to answer a call from Portland Winterhawks general manager and then-head coach Mike Johnston. The American club had taken him in the 11th round with the 234th scheduled pick.
“It was an awesome feeling,” said Nguyen, whose surname is pronounced Win. “I was in the middle of class and couldn’t wipe the smile of my face for the rest of that week. Portland didn’t have a first- or second-round pick that year but still grabbed a pile of future WHLers, forwards Kyle Chyzowski, Carter Streek and Luke Schelter, and defenceman Ryder Thompson of Russell and Josh Mori.
They also drafted several high-end American prospects who elected to go to college instead. On April 27, 2020, Nguyen signed with the Winterhawks, and he beat the odds to become an 11th-round pick playing in the league at 16. Nguyen, who is the product of Vietnamese-born father Dan and South Korean mother Petra, said his game quickly evolved.
“Being able to go in and play at 16 with the players and staff that were in the Winterhawks organization was really special,” Nguyen said. “I couldn’t thank them more with turning me into the player I am today. Looking back at it today, when I was 16 I didn’t really know what type of player I was.
“I knew I liked scoring goals but I didn’t really have an identity. I think I found my way and learned when you get to higher levels, you’re not going to be the goal scorer: Everyone is the goal scorer on their minor hockey team and everyone comes to the WHL and they were the best player. “You have to find your way and learn your role as you go.
I think I can bring a lot of energy and hopefully a lot of bite to my game.” After posting a goal and an assist in 16 games in the shortened 2020-21 season, Nguyen exploded for 22 goals and 40 points in 68 games a year later. That was followed by 23 goals and 46 points in 2022-23 and 56 points in the 2023-24 campaign, including a career-high 24 goals as he skated on a line with former Brandon captain Nate Danielson after the deal at the trade deadline.
With an abundance of potential overagers for the 2024-25 season, Portland made an old-fashioned hockey trade with Brandon on June 5, 2024. The Wheat Kings sent 16-year-old forward Reed Brown — an Arizona product who was taken sixth overall by the Wheat Kings in the 2023 U.S.
Priority draft but didn’t want to play in Brandon — to the Winterhawks for Nguyen. “Getting traded in the summer, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Nguyen said. “Marty called me the day I got traded and let me know I was going to be a leader on the team.
I just tried to come in and show these young guys what the league is all about and hopefully be a good influence on them.” The five-foot-10, 182-pound speedster proved to be a great addition. He posted a career-high 36 goals, 29 goals and 50 penalty minutes in 68 games, and added a goal and an assist in five playoff games.
“I set goals for myself obviously,” Nguyen said. “I wanted to be a 40-goal scorer but 36 is pretty good as well. I think creating my own path and taking a new step into Brandon was nerve wracking and exciting in the same sentence.
” His great season also gave him an opportunity he couldn’t have imagined. Nguyen happened to join the league in the strangest time frame in WHL history. COVID-19 took away games from his rookie season, but the change in NCAA eligibility last November gave players the ability to skate at the highest levels outside U Sports.
On Dec. 23, he announced his commitment to the University of Nebraska Omaha. “It’s crazy,” Nguyen said of his career.
“Coming in during COVID and having that three-month season, and in the first half of the season the NCAA rule changes and you’re able to extend your career four more years at least with NCAA. “I think it’s incredible. It’s really lucky, and I feel super fortunate to be able to experience all of this.
I think I got a taste of everything.” Nguyen is heading down to the school in the next couple of weeks to have his first look at the facilities, and now that his time in the WHL is over, is starting to look forward to the next chapter. “I’m super excited,” Nguyen said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for me, just being able to get my degree and go to school while playing the sport I love. It’s going to be great.” They’ll be getting a very different player than the one who entered the WHL for the 2020-21 season.
Nguyen said the major junior development hothouse gave him some very unique experiences and insights. “It changed me tremendously,” Nguyen said. “It matured me a lot.
I remember getting drafted at 14 and coming in at 16 as a young teenager. I was still young and wanted to learn, take everything in and enjoy the moment. Looking back at it now, I’ve learned to take care of myself.
I know my body physically and what I should eat and when I should sleep, how to take care of myself on a hectic schedule of 68 games.” Before he moved on to the next thing, however, he had the rest of his WHL season to complete. The players are acutely aware of the milestones they pass in their final major junior seasons, it’s just a matter of how they handle them.
Nguyen set that aside as best he could during the season, but has been thinking about it a lot since the Wheat Kings were eliminated. “When I was in the moment, I was having too much fun,” Nguyen said with a chuckle. “I didn’t really think about it or let emotions get the best of me.
I wasn’t really thinking about it, but these last couple of days I’ve been looking back at the rinks I played in, the teams — ‘This is my last time playing Prince Albert or Portland, first time and last time playing Portland’ — it’s pretty special. Looking back at it, you’ll cherish all the memories.” Nguyen is grateful to a lot of people for his WHL experience, starting with his time in Portland.
The person in Portland he is most thankful for is Mike Johnston, the highly esteemed hockey man who was behind the bench all four years Nguyen was with the WInterhawks, and stepped aside after he left. “He was the backbone,” Nguyen said. “I would go to him for anything.
I learned so much from him about just how to be a good human and also a good hockey player as well.” Nguyen also credits the assistant coaches he had when he was there — Brian Pellerin, Kyle Gustafson and Don Hay — as great people to learn from for a young player. He said teammates he looked up to included Reece Newkirk, Seth Jarvis, Nick Cicek and Tyson Kozak of Souris.
“I would come to the rink every day and just follow them and watch their every move, what they would do,” Nguyen said. “I lived for three years with Gabe Klassen, the captain, and for two years with Kyle Chyzowski, who is having an incredible year there. And even Ryder Thompson, we all came in at 16.
” That class of 2004-born players included Nguyen, Thompson, Chyzowski, Luca Cagnoni and Luke Schelter. “We didn’t know what to expect and we just handled it,” Nguyen said. He’s also happy with his stay in Brandon.
Nguyen is thankful for the entire coaching staff — general manager and head coach Marty Murray who acquired him and assistants Del Pedrick and Mark Derlago — and all the guys he suited up with this season in Brandon. “Those guys are awesome, and I can’t say enough good things about my teammates as well,” Nguyen said. “Those guys welcomed me with open arms.
Being older and coming into a new team is a little different, but they made me feel comfortable. I’m going to have life-lasting friendships with those guys.” Off the ice, he billeted with Sean and Amanda Dryden and developed a strong bond that began before he even arrived.
“Sean and Amanda texted me in the summer knowing I was going to live with them for the year,” Nguyen said. “They also welcomed me with open arms. When I got here on day one, meeting Cody and Cooper, the billet kids here, they’re awesome and are going to be great hockey players one day for sure.
“It’s a little different living by myself because I lived with two other guys on the team in Portland for four years, but I can’t say enough good things. They’ve taken care of me tremendously. I appreciate them so much.
” While he admitted the trade to Brandon was difficult news last June, the new responsibilities and change of scenery proved to be exactly what he needed. After all, life sometimes puts you exactly where you belong. “I think in the moment it was tough for sure, but looking back at it now, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Nguyen said.
“Being fortunate enough to experience both sides of the league is a special thing. I always wondered what the East Division was like, I wonder what it’s like playing home in Calgary with the two games there instead of just the one every two years. “It’s really special.
I just can’t say enough good things about the WHL and how it shaped me as a person and a player.” » This three-part look at Brandon’s three graduating overagers began on Thursday with Luke Shipley and ends on Saturday with Nolan Flamand. » pbergson@brandonsun.
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