Wheat Kings Sign Import Pick
Brandon, MB – The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed 17-year-old forward Zakhar Polshakov to a Western Hockey League Standard Player Agreement.
Polshakov was the 29th overall selection in last month’s CHL Import Draft, and will join fellow 2003 born skaters Brett Hyland, Jaxon Dube, Jake Chiasson Jacob Hoffrogge and Logen Hammett on the roster.
The 5’10”, 170-pound centreman scored nine times and added 17 assists in 38 games with his club team last season and was the Captain of the Belarus U18 team in Texas in May where he notched one assist in three games.
“Zakhar is excited to come to Canada and become a Wheat King,” said General Manager Doug Gasper. “As I said on draft day, he plays a solid game in all three zones, and I know he will fit into our current group.”
Polshakov comes from a long hockey bloodline, as his father Alexander played twelve seasons of pro hockey in Belarus, while his grandfather Valeri served as both Head and Assistant Coach with HK Minsk, Yunost Minsk as well as Lithuania’s U18 program.
“After watching him at the U18’s, including an impressive outing against Canada, I’m excited to see how he will progress at this level,” added Gasper.
Brandon’s previous two CHL Import Draft selections, Marcus Kallionkieli (Vegas) and Yaroslav Busygin (Russia) have both signed professional contracts but remain on the Wheat Kings protected list.
Welcome to the #BWK Zakhar! pic.twitter.com/H2dmOrjBkr
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) June 30, 2021
The Wheat Kings will open the 2021-2022 WHL Regular Season on Friday October 1st when the Winnipeg ICE come to town.
Season tickets will go on sale later this month.
