Extending the Pipeline: Brady Engelkes

Written by: Scott Savard

Headline photo: Scott Savard

Okotoks, AB (November 11, 2025) – Middleton, Wisconsin, also known as “The Good Neighbor City,” is home to 21,827, according to the 2020 census, including Okotoks Oilers forward Brady Engelkes.

Middleton is a skip and a hop from the capital city of Wisconsin, Madison, as it’s around a 16-minute drive. One of the more unusual features of Middleton is that it hosts the “National Museum of Mustard”.

Engelkes’ home state of Wisconsin has recently become a hockey hub, as players from “The Badger State” have been frequently getting playing time in the NHL since the late 2000s. Some names who share the same home state as Engelkes are Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel, Cole Caufield, Nick Schmaltz, Gary, and Ryan Suter, amongst many more.

While football took the majority of the State of Wisconsin’s attention with the “Cheeseheads” drooling over the Green Bay Packers, Engelkes would grow up idolizing the Chicago Blackhawks and find ways to watch live hockey around his home state.

“I grew up in the (Patrick) Kane era. It was fun watching the Blackhawks (Jonathan) Toews, Kane, and those guys. I would watch them a lot. Then about 20 minutes away from Madison, I’d go to a decent amount of (University of Wisconsin) Badger games as well,” Engelkes explained.

Engelkes would also share the same ice as the Madison Capitals (USHL) while attending high school, and he would venture to Green Bay for tournaments when he was younger. He would give credit to his brother Justin for getting him interested in the sport at a young age.

“I got it from my brother, and my brother got it from my cousin,” he said about how he got the itch to play hockey. “My cousin just gave it a try, and my brother watched; he liked it. Then I ended up watching my brother, and I liked it, stuck with it, and ran with it.”

“My brother and I have a really competitive edge, and we both just really like the look of it in the competitiveness with hockey. So, I would say that’s probably the main thing.”

Wisconsin native Joe Pavelski, a former NHL player with the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, earned the nickname “Captain America,” leaving an impression on Engelkes. The two would cross paths earlier in Englekes’ hockey career.

“Oh absolutely,” Engelkes replied when asked if Pavelski inspired him. “I actually won in high school, there’s a Joe Pavelski Award. It’s for the best forward in the State, so I won that in my junior year. I ended up getting an award from him, and he signed it for me as well.”

“He’s a great guy to watch. He’s so smart with the game. So, I mean, you can pick a part of his game and learn a lot of things from him, too.”

Engelkes mentioned that his favourite player to watch right now is McDavid, as he is “Magical” out on the ice. Just like McDavid, Engelkes likes to use his speed as an advantage in his style of game.

“I’ve always been fast with any sport that I’ve played. I’ve always tried to push the pace to another level,” he said about his speed.

Engelkes also possesses a high-quality shot, getting good velocity off his shot while being able to pick his spots. He said many people have complimented his speed and shot, so it’s been two areas he has focused on utilizing while continuing to grow in the game.

Last season, Engelkes played north of the Alberta and BC border as he was with the Kenai River Brown Bears in Alaska, the same team as former Oiler Logan Broten is playing for this season. The Brown Bears are a part of the NAHL, where Engelkes has played two full seasons before making the jump to the BCHL this season.

“Yeah, I think the opportunity came up and it was hard to say no,” he said about joining the BCHL. ” Being my last year (of junior hockey), I wasn’t super sold on the Alaska side of things. So, I was kind of looking for a change, and it seemed like school-wise, the BCHL seemed like it was probably a better option. So, I ended up taking that route, and it’s been going really well so far.”

Engelkes added that it would mean everything to him to earn an NCAA commitment this season, as he’s in his last junior year and has worked his whole life to play post-secondary hockey.

No matter where Engelkes has gone to play hockey, he has been a point producer. While he says it’s not something that comes naturally, he mentions that hard work and determination are what have led to his success across different leagues. What comes naturally are the points through his style of play, which he has worked on his whole life.

“I think as long as I’m on my game and play well, the points just come naturally, and yeah, it’s easy to rack up points with how I play,” Engelkes added.

As for the coaching staff, Engelkes is excited to grow with them and believes they are helping him grow his game to another level.

“Yeah, I love them. They’ve all been around for a long time (with the Oilers), other than Corban (Knight), so they definitely know what they’re doing. Obviously, having Dylan Holloway come through here, like they have some pretty big names. SO, they know what they’re doing, and you can tell on the ice and on the bench. They’re sharp with what they’re doing,” he praised the Oilers coaching staff.

“The addition this year of Corban, I think, is huge. Just being able to pick an NHL player’s brain on things, it’s really cool, and he’s a great guy to talk to as well.”

Engelkes isn’t the only American on the team, but it’s not something he really thinks about. He mentioned it’s cool to have fellow Americans on the team, but said he loves all the guys, no matter where they are from, and is really enjoying the current group of guys.

“I think my team, my line, I don’t know, it’s a lot easier to play together and mesh with these guys and create chemistry. I feel like everybody likes to play offence. Obviously, defence comes first, and you can build offence from there. I just feel like these guys are fun to play with,” Engelkes said about his teammates.

He said that this isn’t his first time he’s been to the Great White North, as he’s played in tournaments in Ontario’s capital of Toronto, but it is his first time out west, and he is enjoying the town of Okotoks.

“I love it. Great town, no complaints, like everything’s great. All the people are super friendly, everything’s amazing here,” he said about Okotoks. “Then you got Calgary 30 minutes away, too. So slip out to some Flames games or something as well.”

Engelkes would explain that he finds the amount of deer that roam Okotoks hilarious and that it doesn’t bug him at all as he’s used to dealing with large moose fralicking around Alaska. He joked by saying that deer are just smaller moose.

Back at home, Engelkes grew up the baby of the family, as Justin, his brother, was the oldest, and his sister Taylor was the middle child.

“They mean everything. I mean, my brother and I grew up playing hockey. He’s got five years on me, but just following his footsteps, watching him grow up and play.  He was committed to Miami, Ohio, so he was a good mentor for me, and watching just how he handled things and whatnot. It was great just following him and watching him over the years to see what I can improve on from his game,” Engelkes said about his brother Justin.

“Then my sister, just an amazing person as well. Fun to be around. She was a gymnast through high school, so the athletics are really, really good in my family for sure.”

Engelkes said that he and his siblings tried out all sorts of sports until they found their match, and that his parents were all for them finding what they loved most. Lacrosse, baseball, soccer, football, and more were all sports Engelkes dipped his toe into. Even though Engelkes said he played football the longest, it was the sport of hockey that would win over him and his brother Justin’s hearts.

“I just love it. I was really good at it, too. I just felt it was natural for me, and my brother was doing the same route. It was kind of an easy choice,” he added.

When it comes to being the youngest of the siblings, Engelkes said that being picked on came with the territory, but he believes it helped toughen him up quickly.

“The toughness was definitely engraved in me from a young age. My brother wouldn’t take it lightly on me. You could ask him the same question, and he would say the same thing.”

Mini stick games would get the most intense as tempers would flare between Justin and Engelkes. While they would try to include Taylor in the games, Engelkes joked that she learned pretty quickly to stay out of the mini stick games and that he doesn’t blame her for keeping her distance while the two brothers played.

Engelkes explained that his brother Justin had already been to Calgary before, as he had friends in the area and made sure to visit the Stampede. Neither Taylor nor Justin has made the trip since Engelkes joined the team, but they hope to visit soon. As for his parents, Jeff and Tammy, they recently visited Okotoks to watch their son play for the Oilers.

“Everything, man,” Engelkes said when asked what his parents mean to him. “I wouldn’t be where I am without both of them. They have been there, supported me every single step of the way. I just can’t say enough about them. I love them to death, just amazing people.”

He added that his parents have made the trip down a couple of times already, and they made sure to visit Banff just before the 2025-2026 BCHL season as they arrived early.

Engelkes mentioned that this season isn’t the first time he’s been on the same team as second-year Oiler Michael Kowalski, as both were teammates in their youth.

“So, Koalski and I played on the Cap’s team together when we were way younger for like one or two years. The Madison Capitals AAA team. So, he would drive from Illinois to Madison every day, pretty much for practice. I ended up finding out, like over the summer, that he was on the team. I guess Derek (Purfield) gave him a call and told him to reach out to me. He called me, and I don’t know, small world. But, yeah, I was super excited. I always liked him and his game,” he said about having Kowalski as a teammate once again.

“Missed him for sure, he’s a great kid and has a great family. Awesome to be around him.”

As for the Green Army, Engelkes has enjoyed his time playing in front of the fans and is excited to continue to put on a show.

“Everything,” he responded when asked what the Green Army has meant to him so far. “We just build off of their energy and what they’re bringing to us. If we are in a little bit of a hole or facing some adversity during the game, you know they’re there to help us. It means a lot, and we can take a step from there,” Engelkes said.

10 Questions with Brady Engelkes:

What is your go-to cheat meal?

“It’s hard to go wrong with some ice cream or something like that. Ice cream with a brownie, slip over to some Dairy Queen over here. A blizzard or something like that.”

What is your favourite sport other than hockey?

“Baseball. Big Brewers fan. So I was a little heartbroken when they got beat by the ‘pay to win’ Dodgers. So, that was a little annoying. The guys definitely let me know about that one.”

Favourite player and team growing up?

“I feel like I have to go with Knae and Toews, that era with the Blackhawks growing up. They were just fun to watch, Kane in his prime, like his hands and skill. (The Hawks) making those deep runs in the playoffs. It’s just really fun to watch them.”

What is your favourite movie and TV show?

“I’d probably have to say The Hangover. Hangovers’s hard to say no to. Love Alan. TV series, I watched a Netflix series called Blacklist. That was pretty good. It’s really long, but it was really good.”

What is your guilty pleasure song?

“Pink Pony Club has to be on that list somewhere. A lot of Ariana Grande, 34+35’s gotta be on there. Halsey’s Bad at Love, that one gets you fired up.”

Who was your celebrity crush growing up?

“Oh god, Megan Fox, can’t go wrong with that.”

If you could relive any day of your life, what day would you choose?

“Probably Morgan Wallen’s concert. He was so good, he put on a good show.”

Would you rather travel to the past or the future?

“I think it would be cool to go into the past. Technology, AI, and everything has taken over the world. I think it would be cool to go back and see things like the dinosaurs or the pyramids. Like them building that stuff, the history of those kinds of things. I think it’s really unique and something special. Just seeing how they lived back in those days. Obviously, it’d be cool to see the future with technology and where things are going right now, like with AI and robots. It’s crazy, but I think if I could choose, I’d probably go to the past.”

If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be?

“I think it’d be cool to meet Elon Musk or something. Just an absolute genius with SpaceX and whatnot. I think just being able to hang out with him, pick his brain a little bit, would be really cool. From a hockey standpoint, though, Wayne Gretzky would be really cool to be around.

Where in the world would you go if I could snap my finger and get you there right now?

“Probably somewhere really warm, like the Bahamas.”

Bonus

Who has the worst stick tape job on the team?

“I don’t know, Josh Wiebe likes to change it up. He’s kind of weird with it. He changes it, I feel like he’s got to stick to one thing. He’s always changing it or doing something. Me, Pajor, and Wiebe were on the same line, and we were kind of doing like a sock thing, and he ended up messing with our groove. We didn’t play well that weekend, or not our greatest, and I’m blaming Josh for that.”

Who would you trust as an emergency contact on the team?

“I think Kowalski or Wilson. I think those two are my go-tos. They both switch off picking me up because I don’t have a car here. I feel like I can trust them, and I know what I’m going to get from them.”

What’s the best advice you have got from your parents?

“When you get knocked down, you get back up, keep fighting. There’s going to be adversity in your life. It’s not a matter of how hard you fall down, it’s how hard you get back up.”