KINDERSLEY — It did not take Brayden Koch long to establish himself as an important player and leader for the Kindersley Klippers.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League club acquired the defenceman partway through the 2021-2022 season from the Melfort Mustangs. During that campaign he was named as an assistant captain. Now in his final junior season, the 20-year-old is captaining the squad and playing an important role on the blue line. Koch is greatly enjoying his time in Kindersley.
“I honestly don’t have a bad thing to say about Kindersley,” the Lloydminster product said. “I love my billets and love the guys we have in our room. I have enjoyed every minute of my time here and hopefully we can start making a big push for the playoffs.”
The Klippers look to the defenceman to be solid on the blueline. Last season he shared the squad’s Top Defenceman award with Josh Morton. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder has a goal, four assists, and 39 penalty minutes through 22 games this season.
"'Cookie' is a smooth skating, intelligent defenceman that can be relied on in every situation,” Klippers head coach Ken Plaquin said. “You can see him on our penalty kill and our power play.”
Koch’s leadership is an important part of what he brings to the team. He is pleased to wear the “C” for the Klippers.
“It’s a huge honour and it’s something I take a lot of pride in,” he said. “I just try to be as positive as I can and use my experience to try and be a good voice in the locker room.”
Plaquin said Koch is a good leader for this group for several reasons.
“Brayden is a very popular player amongst his teammates and the people in Kindersley,” Plaquin said. “He is a very hard worker who comes to work every day with a smile on his face and a good attitude that rubs off on his team.”
The trade that brought Koch to town involved dealing away captain Mark Snarr. Hometown product Jaxon Georget donned the “C” after that deal.
“Definitely I learned a lot from Georgy. The biggest thing I took from him was just how calm he was. He didn’t always say much, but he came to the rink every day and worked as hard as he could and just led by example,” Koch said.
Growing up, Koch was an assistant captain for some teams. In 2019-2020, he captained the U18 AAA Lloydminster Bobcats.
“I learned a lot about what it was to be a leader that year,” Koch said of his first season being a captain.
The season before that U18 AAA campaign, he played for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons as a 16-year-old. Koch spent his 18-year-old campaign with the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys.
He would like to earn a scholarship to study and play at the post-secondary level after junior hockey. Koch is interested in kinesiology.
No matter where his next step takes him, there is no doubt Koch will be cheering for the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings.
“I’m a die-hard Wings fan,” he said. “I’ve been cheering for them since I was about four years old. I got to give credit to my grandpa for that. He is a big fan as well. When I was younger, the Detroit game was always on at my grandparents’ house and it’s a lot of fun being with him to watch them play.”
