10 WHL Playoff Things

By Glen Erickson

A busy weekend across the Western Hockey League as the playoff push has begun. Gotta like the surprisingly healthy numbers through the turnstiles for round one this season and also some positive experiences across the board with the Victory+ streaming production. There is plenty of action to come this week. Proceed with caution!

1 – Playoffs Buzz – The opening weekend of the WHL post-season didn’t disappoint as we had a little bit of everything transpire. The first two games of each series were played at the home of the higher placed team in the regular season standings – with one exception! The Spokane Chiefs, which finished second in the U.S. Division and third overall in the western conference, were forced to hit the road for its first two games against the Vancouver Giants. Spokane (45-20-1-2) finished 17 points ahead of the sixth-place Giants (34-26-8) and took care of business at the Langley Events Centre, dropping the Giants 4-1 Friday before escaping Sunday with a 7-5 decision. The Chiefs didn’t have access to the Spokane Arena from March 28-31 because the city played host to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Chiefs and Giants are set up to play 2-3-1-1 format should the first round series go the full seven games.

2 – Big City, Big Events – The Spokane bid to host the 2026 Memorial Cup was passed over by the CHL and few major junior hockey fans in western Canada even noticed. When the city of Kelowna was awarded the tournament, there was significant disdain directed at the CHL’s decision, particularly from southeastern Alberta. In my opinion, and many in-the-know, the Spokane bid was likely a very close second to the Kelowna bid. The eastern Washington city is located within a trading area with well over 450,000 people, the region possesses a fully functioning international airport and a bustling area near the Spokane Arena that is very popular among tourists and locals. If the city of Spokane can host a major NCAA event, it is eminently capable of hosting a successful Memorial Cup.

3 – Tundra Time – The Brandon Wheat Kings limped out of Lethbridge after a pair of losses to the Hurricanes, but puck drop for its two home games this week will not take place in the friendly confines of Westoba Place. The Wheaties, much like the Chiefs, have been bumped by a major event in Brandon, the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, scheduled for March 30 to April 5. So, games three and four will be played at Tundra Oil & Gas Place in Virden, Manitoba. Capacity for hockey at the arena in Virden is said to be about 1,200, but I’m sure the fans who jam into the building will create rather a raucous environment. The Wheat Kings need at least one victory to return to Lethbridge for game five on Saturday. Westoba Place will surely be good-to-go if the series returns to Brandon for game six.

4 – It’s Upsetting – Both the favoured Everett Silvertips and Prince Albert Raiders took one on the chin in the first game of their respective series. The Seattle Thunderbirds waltzed into Angel of the Winds Arena and edged the regular season champions, 3-2. The next night, the Silvertips scratched and clawed their way to a 3-2 overtime win to even the series. The teams now head to Kent, Washington for games three and four, where the “tips will have to figure out how to get pucks past veteran goaltender Scott Ratzlaff, who threw up the plywood making 89 saves in the first two contests. And how about the Edmonton Oil Kings cruising into the Art Hauser Center and knocking off the Raiders 3-1 in game one! Prince Albert clobbered Edmonton 6-1 in game two, but the Oil Kings outshot the Raiders in both tilts. Shots on goal can be a misleading statistic, as the numbers don’t always reflect the quality of scoring chances. But I will suggest the stat is typically indicative of territorial play. The Raiders had the eastern conference’s top power play during the regular season, operating at a 28.1 percent clip. The Prince Albert power play accounted for three goals in the win on Saturday.

5 – Beasts in the East – Both the Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers are doing what was entirely predictable. They are dominating opponents. Calgary drilled the Saskatoon Blades twice at the Scotiabank Saddledome, 4-2 and 5-1. So far, Calgary is doing its damage without number one goaltender Daniel Hauser between the pipes. Hauser was injured in Calgary’s penultimate regular season game in Red Deer and has not played since. The Tigers gave Swift Current what-for at Co-Op Place on the weekend, handing the Broncos 4-0 and 6-3 losses. Medicine Hat has won 12 straight games. Early in the post-season, it looks like the top two teams in the eastern conference just have too much for their respective first round opponents. The best tonic for playoff success is often making quick work of early round opponents while advancing to the next round with a healthy roster.

6 – Full House – They crammed ‘em in at the CN Centre in Prince George where the Cougars managed a split against the Portland Winterhawks. Prince George overcame a 5-2 deficit Friday to win in 7-6 in overtime before they no-showed and lost Saturday by a 5-2 count. It’s nice to see the CN Centre rockin’, as 11,626 fans took in the two games. The teams will play the next three games in Oregon. On Vancouver Island, the Victoria Royals outscored the Tri City Americans 9-3 over two games to take a 2-0 series lead into Kennewick, Washington this week. The Royals, who won the B.C. Division crown, averaged 3,679 per game during the regular season. The two playoff games at Save On Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria drew an average of 4,655 per game! 

7 – Regular Season Attendance – The WHL website reports total attendance this season at 3,122,466, an average of 4,174 for 748 games. The totals are trending in the right direction since the pandemic adventures. In 2021-2022 the average was 3,205, then 3,895 the next season. Last season, the average per game was 4,114. For awhile, the numbers for this season seemed a bit skewed as there were two games where there was no attendance reported on the game sheets; October 25 in Regina and March 12 in Lethbridge. I understand that errors occur. Heck, I’m probably good for a typo or a few every 1,000 words! Another attendance entry boo-boo surfaced concerning the Saskatoon Blades home game on March 22 against the Prince Albert Raiders. A couple of my scouting pals were at SaskTel Centre for the tilt, and they suggest the place was packed, probably over 10,000 in attendance. But the data entry on the game sheet for the contest was entered as “10”. It was an obvious mistake, but it has since been rectified, and the game actually drew 10,990 fans. The Edmonton Oil Kings, who play in the swanky Rogers Place, led the WHL with an average of 7,527 per game. Spokane (6,588), Everett (6,358) and Portland (5,073) were next. The Blades rounded out the top five with an average of 4,771, testimony to the ownership group’s outstanding sports marketing efforts in recent years.

8 – Goals, Goals, Goals – For the first time in 12 years, there was no 50-goal scorer in the WHL. Shea Van Olm of the Spokane Chiefs led the league with 49 goals, followed closely by teammate Andrew Cristall with 48. Coincidentally, back in 2012-2013 when nobody sniped 50 times, the league’s goal-scoring leaders also played for a U.S. Division team. Brandon Leipsic of the Portland Winterhawks led the circuit with 49 goals, followed by teammate Ty Rattie with 48. In 2019-2020, the season that was not completed due to the pandemic over reaction, Adam Beckman of the Chiefs led the league with 48 goals and also in points with a total of 107 in 64 games.

9 – Back To The ‘Wack – Exciting news Wednesday as the expansion application was confirmed at a gathering in Chilliwack Wednesday, with an eye on play beginning for the 2026-2027 WHL season. The expansion franchise does not yet have an owner, but the league’s process to secure one is in the works and apparently the WHL has made a long-term lease commitment to the Chilliwack Coliseum. I think it’s a nifty junior hockey building and it’ll likely see some love in form of a few renovations. I also think Chilliwack is a great location for a WHL team. I enjoyed some fun in Chilliwack while the Bruins were part of the league between 2006 and 2011, when I covered the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge game in late November back in 2006. What followed was drive through a crazy snowstorm through the mountains to work the game in Kamloops the next night. The likes of Peter Loubardias and Sam Cosentino can speak to this as well, given their own planes, trains and automobiles adventure while handling the telecasts for both of those games on Sportsnet. WHL fans who occasionally scour the record book will be familiar with this little Chilliwack Bruins tidbit. Lucas Gore, a former goaltender for the Bruins, still holds the league record for most saves in a regular season game, making 77 stops on March 16, 2011, against the Spokane Chiefs.

10 – The Apology – WHL commissioner Dan Near apologized to the city of Chilliwack during the press conference. “I apologize for what this community went through in 2011,” Near said, referring to the year the franchise was moved to Victoria. “We made a mistake, and we can’t change what happened, but we’re here today to make amends for it, and my expectation is we will select an owner who’s is committed to the same thing I am, that the Mayor is and that council are committed to, making Chilliwack one of the best WHL communities in the league.” As one old media wag told me (yes, thankfully there are a few of us still above ground), “Interesting in that the new commish apologized to the City of Chilliwack and threw (Ron) Robison under the bus, then drove over him, then backed it up and drove over him again”. It’s certainly an interesting take! When asked what makes Chilliwack more viable today, Near kind of doubled down. “I don’t think it was ever not viable. I think there was decision-making, internal tensions, structural things that resulted in the team moving. I don’t think it was a lack of viability. That might have been part of the storyline at the time. But I think Chilliwack has always been viable.” Gotta give the commissioner props. I like his moxie. He’s got some fortitude, near as I can tell.

RANDOMS – I read fellow Rod Pedersen Show contributor Mike Stackhouse from time to time and often chuckle at his take on so many things. It’s apparent many of his views and opinions are pretty much aligned with mine. Sorry about that, Mike. Oh, the humanity! And so it was this past weekend that after Stackhouse deftly delivered yet another arrow from his quiver in form of healthcare system critique, I recalled how a terrific study published on May 11, 2021 by the Ross University School of Medicine came across my desk a few weeks ago, courtesy an old – okay, “former” – WHL media colleague. The study compares the Canadian healthcare system to many others, including that in the USA. It’s a really interesting read and I can send you the link if you want to reach out in the comments section. In Canada, we have gotten so used to highlighting the negatives in the American system that we seem to assume things north of the 49^th parallel are just peachy-keen. I think our healthcare system is a money-pit, a monopoly void of the benefits that materialize through true competition. Canadians don’t have a choice and that enables the system to function, not flourish, as the flawed business model I believe it is, especially in terms of customer service. And before you try to tell me we’re not customers, “we’re patients”, know that I’m not ever buying that rationale. If there’s a saving grace in all of this, the system tends to perform well on the urgent care side. Indeed, the most efficient healthcare systems in the world do not operate anywhere close to North America. And no, healthcare in Canada is not at all free, but if you like, cling hard to that mythology. But please folks, the moral of the story is you really just have to take it upon yourselves to take care of yourselves!

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