The team's leading scorer and a Weyburn local, Braden Birnie has gotten the nod from the SJHL to represent them at the SJHL/MJHL Showcase scheduled for January 21st and 22nd.

In 36 games so far this season, the rookie leads the Red Wings with 19 points so far, and the powerplay has been a bit a specialty. Out of the seven goals he's scored, five have come on the powerplay this season.

He first found out in front of his teammates.

"Rich kind of talked to me after one of our Estevan games that I was going to be able to go and represent our team, so it was good to find out in front of (the team) and I think they were pretty happy for me," Birnie said after hearing of the honour. "I was really excited, to be getting the opportunity to go and represent our team there. It was kind of a shock to me, I know it's a hard game to make."

The kid has impressed from the very start of the season where he put up four points in his first three games, including the first goal of the season the Red Wings would score thanks to a powerplay blast against the Estevan Bruins.

His best game statistically this season came off a 6-4 loss to the Kindersley Klippers where Birnie had four points in two periods in a comeback effort, including a goal on the powerplay goal in the final two minutes to pull the Wings back within one to give them an opportunity to tie it, which unfortuneatley did not go their way.

When it comes to players that he's looking forward to playing with, the answer isn't as obvious as you might think. The player he was looking forward to sharing some ice time with the most is a player that he's only faced twice this season against Flin Flon, and a guy who happens to have grown up next to and is good friends with teammate Mathieu Belanger.

"That (Tristan) Lemyre from Flin Flon, we've played against him a couple times this year now and maybe I'll get an opprotunity to play on his line. He's really skilled and if I got the chance to play with him I think that'd be good. There's lots of guys there I think I'd be able to learn from too and takes things from their teams that I can bring back with me."

The Red Wings' rookie has been a little snake bitten as of late as he does not have a point since the Christmas break in four games, but his presence has not gone unnoticed. His compete level is high, and has resulted in him taking a more physical approach to the game as he throws the body around in the corners to try and fish pucks out of the corner, and this pointless streak will come to an end if he keeps up at this pace.

"After the Christmas break I wanted to come back and switch my game to be a bit better defensively and be stronger on the wall too in winning battles and I feel like I have been winning a few more battles in these past few games."

Along with the positive traits on the ice, Birnie has proved to be a leader on the team that has seen a lot of turnover throughout the season as head coach Rich Pilon works to make this team a contender next year. Birnie is a player that the team rallies around in the dressing room, the bus, and any community event Wings are apart of.

Birnie will play for the SJHL's Team Schwartz wearing the white jerseys as he will play with an all rookie squad in two games against an all rookie squad for the MJHL.

The Showcase has two other teams they're sending full of veterans in the league that have NCAA elligibilty in the future, so players such as league leading scorer Chanz Petruic are exempt from the team.

Snubbed from the list is rookie goaltender Joseph Young, who leads the league in goals against average, save percentage, and is tied for the league lead in shutouts, despite playing at least five games less than the other goaltenders who have three shutouts. He is also perfect in the shootout this season with two games that have went into four rounds, and both of which he has stopped everything.

An honourable mention for the rookie squad as well for the Red Wings would be Daytona Houle. After a bit of a slow start to the season, the young man from Calling Lake, Alberta has cemented himself as a staple for the Red Wings so far this season on the blue line with a great shut down game, a great hockey sense and speed that he often uses to join the rush, and a shot on the powerplay that has earned him four powerplay goals this season.