Bruins forward Brandon Wahlin was named NAHL forward of the month recently.

There is one name at the top of the current NAHL scoring leaders and that name belongs to Austin Bruins forward Brandon Wahlin. The 20-year old from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, is having a career season and it has coincided with his Bruins enjoying the largest lead of any division leader in the NAHL. During the month of December, Wahlin racked up a league-high 14 points, which included six goals and eight assists, in nine games played as the 1st place Bruins posted a 7-1-1 record. Wahlin’s 49 points and 33 assists are both tops in the NAHL so far this season. Four of those nine games featured Wahlin registering three points in those games, which were all wins. His hat-trick in a New Year’s Eve win over Coulee Region sealed the monthly award for the veteran forward.

Now in his second season in the NAHL, Wahlin has already set career highs for goals, assists and points, something his coach Chris Tok attributes to his hard work and attitude heading into this season.

“Brandon brings a lot to the table, but he has also worked hard for it. Most importantly makes an impact on and off the ice,” said Tok. “There have been some significant interest in him from some Division I schools and I know the scouts will continue to come evaluate. He will get there because he is a legitimate future Division I college hockey player.”

Wahlin said that there is no secret to his success because it stems from the members of his team and his head coach.

“I think we have a great group of guys in the locker room. Everyone is very close and on the same page,” Wahlin said. “Secondly, I think we have a great coach in Chris Tok. He has taught me more in the last two years than probably all my life in hockey. He is a big reason that we are playing well as a collective unit.”

Last season, Wahlin said that playing in the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament as a part of Team Central was a big eye-opener and a great experience.

“I think coming into this year, I knew it was my last go around and I needed to make a big impact,” he said. “ I think it really started during Top Prospects last year. I played well and knew I could play with some of the best players in this league so that was very helpful and a great experience.”