By Laurence Heinen /

Brady Wacker has picked up right where he left off last season when he was named top defenceman at the Royal Bank Cup.

Wacker helped Humboldt capture the trophy, emblematic of success in the Canadian Junior A Hockey League, and has returned to guide the Broncos off to an 8-0 start in their title defence.

“Brady’s always been a character guy,” said Humboldt coach and general manager Dean Brockman. “He’s certainly got a very good skill level. His leadership and his ability to raise his level of play is really what sets him apart from a lot of guys.

With 14 points in seven games to lead all defenceman, Wacker was honoured as the SJHL’s Defenceman of the Month for September.

“He’s quite the competitor,” Brockman said. “He knows how to win and he wants to win every night. He’s smaller in structure but pound-for-pound he’s a pretty tough guy.”

With several players out of the Humboldt lineup due to injury, the 20-year-old blueliner has stepped up to take on a bigger role offensively. Through eight games, the native of Jansen, Sask., scored twice and set up 13 goals.

Not bad for the 5-7, 155-pound defenceman who actually played forward for the Saskatoon Contacts when they won the Telus Cup in his final season at the Midget AAA level.

“He understands the forward position, so it helps him,” said Brockman, who converted Wacker back into a defenceman in his rookie SJHL season. “We knew that he had experience playing back there and he actually liked playing back there better.”

While the Broncos haven’t named their captain yet, Brockman said it’s a good bet that Wacker will soon be wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey.

“I usually like to play about a month so that everybody sees what everybody’s like and then we vote on it and he’s definitely a front runner,” the bench boss said.

While Wacker hasn’t committed to a post-secondary institution yet, Brockman said scouts have showed interest in his leading scorer.

“He’s had a ton of interest,” Brockman said. “He’s had lots last year and lots at the beginning of this year.”