10 WHL Final Things, Volume XXXIX

By: Glen Erickson

It’s crunch time, isn’t it? At least three more games before the Western Hockey League crowns its champion and they’ll all be played south of the 49^th parallel. But, if the Championship Series finds its way back to Medicine Hat for an elimination game, I expect southeastern Alberta will go completely bonkers! This, I gotta see! Read on if you dare.

1 – Even Steven – An interesting start to the WHL Championship Series by Nutrien, now tied at one game apiece after the two opening tilts at rambunctious Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. The Spokane Chiefs became the first team to outshoot the Tigers during the post-season, and they did it twice. In fact, the Chiefs were perhaps more dominant in terms of territorial play in the first game, a 4-1 loss to the hosts. Goaltender Harrison Meneghin, who continues to play with a heavy heart, probably stole this one for the Tigers and occasionally, a championship team needs that kind of inspiring effort. But two nights later, Spokane waltzed back into Co-Op Place, pulled down the hosts pants and gave them a spanking in front of 6,238 fans, many of whom had to be somewhat befuddled by the result. It was reported one mature(?) gentleman left the facility in a rage, tearing off his Tigers jersey while spewing venom aloud over what he saw as a lacklustre effort. Locals haven’t seen the Tigers dismantled in the Gas City since about October 16, 2024. That’s the night a undermanned Tigers team was pounded 8-1 by the visiting Prince George Cougars.

2 – Roster Construction – Medicine Hat had its entire complement of star power loaded in the chamber, though there are rumblings wonder kind Gavin McKenna is not one hundred per cent right now. The 17-year-old saw his 54-game point scoring streak come to and end in the 6-2 drubbing Sunday evening. While national sports networks that haven’t really given the WHL much attention all season long continue to gush over McKenna and his incredible skill set, perhaps it’s time now for his mates to pick him up? This is a very complete team, top to bottom, but the group showed it is as capable as any of producing a wretched performance. It’s just unfortunate it happened in front of a tremendously supportive fanbase that has gone absolutely bananas in Tiger town for much of 2025.

3 – Puck Luck – Sunday in Game 2, Medicine Hat scored early, then watched Spokane tally four times within a five-minute span in the first frame to take complete control. If that wasn’t enough to dishearten a game Tigers bunch, the hosts were also stymied on the night by three goal posts and a cross bar. On a few occasions this past season, opponents attending Co-Op Place have suffered a similar fate, with pucks clanging obediently off the iron, much to the satisfaction of many locals who seemed to consider that to be good defending. It’s pretty apparent puck luck always enters the conversation at some point and a bounce here or there can have an enormous result on outcomes. The Chiefs were at its opportunistic best, a script the Tigers have written and followed for much of the 2024-2025 campaign. Medicine Hat is a successful, resilient, competitive and galvanized group that can probably just flush the Game 2 film. While the bus trip to Spokane may not have been as jolly with the series now tied, expect a more cohesive effort Tuesday night in Game 3.

4 – A Spokane Swarm – And while it’s easy to rail on what Medicine Hat didn’t produce, the Spokane Chiefs deserve some props for overcoming the challenges associated with landing in a hostile environment. The Chiefs top line of Shea Van Olm, Berkly Catton and Andrew Cristall gets plenty of well-earned press, but this is a young team with speed, skill and depth that closely matches what the Tigers possess. In fact, this is a team that could be even better next season with a couple of key additions to replace the grads. Goaltender Dawson Cowan has been a workhorse all season long and does not appear to be intimidated by the moment. But he also gets tremendous support from an underrated blueline brigade that can also jump into the offensive fray with some authority. The Tigers have to be wary the likes of rearguards Brayden Crompton, Will McIsaac and Saige Weinstein. The Chiefs continue to receive solid post-season performances from their import forwards and youngster Mathis Preston, who is NHL draft eligible in 2026 and appears to be gaining confidence on almost every shift.

5 – Coaching Battle – As noted last week, I really like the coaching match up in this series, a couple of good Saskatchewan lads in Brad Lauer and Willie Desjardins. Dave Nichols of the Spokesman Review quizzed the pair on the weekend, asking Lauer specifically about the Chiefs penchant to fall behind early. Spokane has surrendered the first goal in 12 of its 17 playoff games. “It didn’t really phase us. You know, we stuck with it, like we have for most of the playoffs,” Lauer told Nichols. “When we got down, we stuck with it. We just kept chipping away. Finally, I thought, we got our legs going and got our legs underneath us.” For his part, Desjardins was quick to praise Spokane for its determination in Game 2. “I thought Spokane played really well, you know,” Desjardins said. “I thought they were quicker than us in the first period. They were just a little bit hungrier. I don’t think there’s much more than that. They just played a really good game, and they outplayed us tonight.”

6 – Welcome Back – The old sporting adage suggests one can’t lose their position due injury. There may be some legitimacy to this, but there are also many examples to the contrary. I like that head coach Willie Desjardins and his staff opened the door for Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom to return to the lineup for the WHL Championship Series. It would be easy for the Tigers fanbase to be a little uneasy with this, and at the same time, absolutely ecstatic, given the team’s incredible success in 2025 without Basha and Lindstrom in the lineup. I have to defer to the management team on this as they know the players and the group on a level the fanbase cannot possibly understand. And so it is the Tigers move along, with the good fortune of adding a signed National Hockey League prospect in Basha (Calgary Flames) during its championship run. Lindstrom spent the entire season rehabbing a UBI under the supervision of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but has yet to ink and ELC. But, let’s also give a hearty tip of the chapeau to their teammates, those now relegated to the press box with these two upper-echelon skaters ready to go. Indeed, what the Tigers have accomplished this season is all about a team effort.

7 – From The Booth – It’s rather an interesting dynamic with Will Bryant and Mike Boyle at the helm on the radio broadcasts in the Championship Series. Boyle has been at the mike for a couple of decades in Spokane, since 2002. “Boyler” is a familiar face and voice league-wide, who was in the booth for the Chiefs championship run back in 2008. Boyle is a workhorse, who also calls baseball in eastern Washington, home of the Colorado Rockies affiliate Spokane Indians of the Northwest League (High-A). Those in the know will recall Boyle’s recounting of the night he drove in a snowstorm between Swift Current and Medicine Hat and struck a deer, totalling both the vehicle and the unfortunate jaywalker. Bryant is, however, the new kid on the block, landing what must be a dream gig of sorts as the Tigers are destined to be an upper echelon WHL team for at least a couple of seasons. In his first WHL campaign, Bryant has endeared himself to Tigers fans as a pleasant, young on-air personality with boundless energy. I recall opining on a Tigers fanbase social media chat space that Bryant perhaps should have garnered consideration as the organization’s rookie-of-the-year this season. While it’s plain to see the significant difference in WHL tenure, there is no mistaking that both Boyle and Bryant bring at least one common attribute to the airwaves. Passion for the league!

8 – From the Booth, Part Deux – With respect to the gentleman handling the telecasts for TSN, it‘s apparent they are not keenly familiar with the two WHL combatants during this Championship Series. David Foot, who handles play-by-play for the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League, was originally pegged to call the Quebec Maratimes Junior Hockey League final from a studio but was also offered the live call gig in Medicine Hat and Spokane. (I know what choice I would make!) His cohort, Nate Thompson, played four seasons and 291 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds 20 years ago and parlayed that junior experience into a 930-game NHL career. However, dropping in an eastern Canadian on-air personality for the WHL final? I just don’t get it, but that’s the Toronto Sports Network’s call. There are insights that come with awareness and a season long commitment to the Dub, nuances between the eastern and western conferences that many western Canadian media wags can speak to and expand upon. Many would also be familiar with the towns and cities and leagues the majority of the players grew up in. I think it’s this kind of intel these current telecasts are missing. On the other hand, perhaps there is some comfort down east hearing a familiar voice on the call? Mind you, how good will the ratings really be across the center of the universe with those 10:00pm EDT starts from Spokane? It won’t be the first time I give some thought to turning on the tube, hitting the mute button, then jumping back and forth between the home and away radio broadcasts.

9 – Rivalries – I love the city of Kamloops, where I spent the past week connecting with a few business partners and enjoying some down time I believe to be well-earned. Canada’s “Tournament Capital” has tremendous golf courses, many terrific food and beverage options in the downtown core and it’s a fabulous, historic WHL city. Funny, we spent 14 years in Kelowna and I suppose in some quarters, I’m supposed to have a hate on for Kamloops as some kind of rival. Nope, it’s not happening! It brings to mind so many civic rivalries over the years, growing up in Saskatoon where many would often jab at Regina as the only hole in the country above ground. Then, 12 years in Edmonton, listening to the rednecks chirp the old “ABC” mantra…Anybody But Calgary! Even back in 2019 and 2020 when the Kamloops media was constantly lambasting the Kelowna Rockets, all because the city of Kelowna was chosen to host what became that ill-fated 2020 Memorial Cup. Now, six years into really enjoying life in Medicine Hat, you won’t hear me ripping on Lethbridge. I get the idea many people want to be viewed as boosters of “good old our town”, but I’ve just never, ever bought into the mayhem. These are all terrific western Canadian cities. I love ‘em all!

10 – RANDOMS – There are six overage players in the Championship Series. Their major junior hockey careers come to an end in just a couple of weeks. What will their futures hold? With the mammoth task ahead in the coming days, I often wonder how these veteran WHLers consider the old saying, “time flies”…Chiefs forward Berkly Catton takes over as holder of the longest active point scoring streak in the post-season, now at 14 games…Tigers d-man Bryce Pickford has scored a goal in six straight games…They’re packing ‘em in at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat, but it is entertaining watching many among the fanbase try to figure out exactly what the number is for a sell out. The Gas City made the number 4,006 famous for years, filling the old Arena night in and night out. A total of 12,482 showed up for the first two games in Medicine Hat, a city of about 67,000 strong. Through 9 playoff games, the Tigers are averaging 5,837 per contest. The Chiefs are averaging 4,880 through eight home dates…It would appear the Spokane Arena solved the potential scheduling issue we highlighted last week. The Rocky Mountain Rodeo was apparently dialed in for May 16 and 17, with what seemed like a set-up day on May 15, but for some reason, it all went by the wayside. The teams and the WHL will benefit, of course…Apparently, modern-day hockey pundits are beginning to deem anything and everything that has occurred post-Y2K as “modern-day”, as if the likes of former Prince Albert Raiders forward Jeff Nelson no longer deserves mention for his incredible WHL achievement. Or, the last team to go through the WHL playoffs undefeated. Come on, doesn’t anybody still have the newspaper clippings? Okay, go ahead and Google it all…How’s your stock and mutual fund portfolio doing these days? Did you seize the opportunity or light your hair on fire?…The sports menu in North America from Victoria Day in Canada to Memorial Day in the USA has always been action packed. Absolutely something for everyone. Get comfortable and enjoy your week!

(Glen Erickson is a hockey writer based in Medicine Hat, AB)