Lynden McCallum has gone through some ups and downs throughout his young hockey career. At 19-years-old, he’s missed time to injury and he’s had all-star seasons. He’s also had the opportunity to play for his hometown Western Hockey League team and that’s exactly what he’s doing right now.
Born in Brandon on January 26, 2000, Lynden played all of his minor hockey and AAA hockey in his home city. His best season was in the 2017-18 campaign when he had 74 points in 37 games with the Brandon U18 Wheat Kings. He also had another 14 points (6G) in nine playoff games.
During that season, Lynden also got the chance to play for a team he had dreamed about playing for years. He suited up in five games with the WHL’s Wheat Kings.
“It’s pretty special, I’m not going to lie. I’ve said this before, but every kid from Brandon hopes to play for the Wheat Kings and not many get the chance,” said McCallum. “I’m a guy that has been put in this position and I just go out there and give it my all every day.”
Last season was anything but ordinary for Lynden. He played in 46 games with the big club. His final game of the season with the team was on February 23. He suffered a season-ending upper-body injury in a 7-1 loss against the Prince Albert Raiders.
Previous to the injury, Lynden had four goals and three assists.
“It was a really tough thing to go through. I felt in the previous six-or-seven games I was starting to play well and find my way out on the ice,” said McCallum. “I think it made me mentally stronger because I had to push through it and not make excuses.”
Using excuses were indeed the last thing McCallum used. Poised and determined to make the team this year, Lynden did everything in his power to do so and he achieved his goal.
“I had a bit of a unique summer. I had surgery and I think that gave me a bit of time to step away from the game and work on myself and realize what I had to work on,” he added. “When I was able to get back on the ice, I had a fresh mindset and I was hungry to get back it. I did a lot of work in the gym and a lot of rehab work. I also did a lot of work on the ice to prepare for a big season.”
What a big season it’s turning out to be for the hometown boy. He already has two goals and three assists in seven games. All of last year he had just four goals and seven total points. He’s also a +3 this year compared to being a -11 last season.
“Being confident is big and I just started going out there and believing that I could do it,” he added. “I still have a lot of work to do. Our new coach Dave Lowry has helped us a lot as well. He’s a really smart hockey mind so we’re trusting what he’s saying and I think that’s working for us.”
“I always have high expectations on myself,” he added. “Whatever happens, I just need to keep going and that’s what I plan on doing. It’s all about proving myself.”
With his solid start, Lynden has helped his hometown club win. In their last game, the club stunned Saskatoon with two goals in the last 1:05 of the game. They ended up winning in a shootout and they’ve now won two of their last three games. In that contest, McCallum had one goal and one assist.
“When we stick together and stay after the game, we realized how good of a team we can be,” added McCallum. “That was a gutsy effort by our guys, it was our third game in three days. I’m really proud of the way the guys pulled together to get the job done.”
The team plays just one game this week. It comes on Friday night when they welcome the Saskatoon Blades to Westoba Place.
After that contest, the club will head out for their first two-week road trip. They play in Everett, Seattle, Portland, Tri-City, Spokane, Lethbridge, and Swift Current. The seven games come in 11 days.
“We’re really confident in each other and we’re really confident in our coaching staff,” concluded McCallum. “We’re hungry to get back at it. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted, but that’s behind us and we’re moving forward.”
More Wheat Kings news:
Earlier this week the club acquired Dominic Schmiemann in a trade from the Tri-City Americans. As a result, the team had four 1999-born players. Schmiemann, Zach Wytinck, Jiri Patera, and Connor Gutenberg.
WHL teams are allowed to carry a maximum of three 20-year-olds on their active roster so Brandon had a decision to make.
That decision was to trade Wytinck to the Regina Pats in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.
Zach had one goal and three points in seven games this season with Brandon.
