Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor
By Regan Bartel
Nolan Flamand leaves lasting impression

Coming back to haunt his old team

Jan 22, 2025 | 11:42 AM

Nolan Flamand will certainly never forget that night. As for his former team, the Kelowna Rockets, it’s best to quickly move on. 

The 21-year-old scored two goals, added two assists, and was named the game’s first star on Tuesday as his Brandon Wheat Kings secured a dominant 7-3 victory. 

Flamand, who was drafted by the Rockets in the second round (2019) a few years ago, was traded to the Wheat Kings in a one-for-one deal that sent Trae Johnson the other way. Johnson, now 19, is currently playing for the rising Lethbridge Hurricanes. Flamand, one of the oldest players in the league (born on January 12th), had family and friends in the crowd for his homecoming. 

As Flamand surveyed the ice during warmups, the arena felt like home, yet the Rockets’ roster looked nearly unrecognizable. 

After spending three years with the team, it was strange to see so few familiar faces. His last game for the Rockets was on January 7, 2023, against the Kamloops Blazers, just before he was traded. Of the players he once skated alongside, only fellow 20-year-old Max Graham remained—though Graham was sidelined with a lower-body injury for Tuesday’s game. Thirteen of Flamand’s former teammates have since been traded, while Will Munro, Jari Kykkanen, and Ty Hurley were released, and Dillon Wightman and goaltender Talyn Boyko have aged out. 

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Not even the coaches on the Rockets’ bench looked familiar. Derrick Martin was in his first season in the WHL, while assistant coach Liam McOnie rounded out the new-look staff. 

Undeterred, Flamand went about his business, coming back to haunt his former team in storybook fashion. He quietly showed the 3,300 fans in attendance why it may not have been wise to trade away a player who now leads the Wheat Kings in scoring, with 44 points in 40 games. 

On a night when the home team was without an overage player—thanks to Graham’s injury and Michael Cicek’s illness—the Wheat Kings fielded three of them, and the trio made a major impact on the scoresheet. 

Flamand finished with four points, while defenseman Luke Shipley added two goals and an assist. Marcus Nguyen, who had one assist, was constantly involved, firing six of the Wheat Kings’ 55 shots at Rockets goalie Rhett Stoesser. 

For Flamand, who wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the Wheat Kings’ plans as a highly sought-after 20-year-old before the season, skating to center ice to collect his first-star honors must have been especially rewarding. 

His trademark toothless grin was proudly on display for all to see. 

by Regan Bartel

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