10 WHL Things From Glen Erickson, Volume XIX

With the trade deadline adventures done and gone, it’s time to get back to playing games for keeps. But first, a few reflections. Here we go…

1. Deadline Day – It was quiet and boring, to say the least. Most of the big deals had been completed and many junior hockey fans sat in wait on Thursday’s final day, wondering if something of substance would occur. Even amid the attempts by the Western Hockey League’s punditry’s chosen few and their collective coaxing on “X” to keep us on the edge of our seats, the results supplied little excitement. There was activity, and all told a total of 30 transactions in January, leading up to the deadline on Thursday. But alas, it just continues to prove that despite our prognostications and speculation, those pulling strings simply do what they think’s right. And what the heck, they’re the ones in the trenches! So, let’s all just strap in for the next couple of months of meaningful WHL hockey to see whose roster juggling created the best mix. Through it all, there were a few deals that caught my attention.
2. Deals I Like – It wasn’t the most significant by any means, but one deal I did like was the Prince George Cougars picking up 20-year-old Dawson Seitz from the Wenatchee Wild. Residing perhaps in the desolation that is currently the former Winnipeg ICE franchise’s locale, Seitz has indeed made a name for himself in the DUB. Let’s just say he’s well-known to the league office. I don’t necessarily dislike his approach on the ice, but his wrap sheet is lengthy. But I like that the Cougars have rolled the dice to make themselves a whole lot tougher to play against. Prince George has been terrible of late, due in large part to Hockey Canada’s insistence to keep a pair of core Cougars in Minnesota for the better part of the last month. The Cats are floundering, 1-7-2 in its last 10 games, while the division rival Penticton Vees, who lost nothing to the WJC, have gone a solid 9-1 in its last ten starts. Penticton now sits atop the BC Division by a whopping seven points, but I suspect the lads residing in BC’s Northern Capital will play a little angry these next 25 games. Deitz, listed day-to-day with an upper body injury last week, was in the lineup Sunday for the Cougars 6-4 loss to the Everett Silvertips. I think he can play a huge part in making opponents feel plenty of discomfort, and I hope he does so with style and panache. He’ll have to keep his head. This, I can’t wait to watch!
3. Deals I Like, Part 2 – A nice “get” for the Seattle Thunderbirds, acquiring forward Noah Kosick from the Swift Current Broncos. Some in Seattle may have felt the sky was falling with the likes of Radim Mrtka and Braeden Cootes rumoured to be on the move, but the management team had a sneaky good run leading up to the trade deadline. Yes, the T-Birds dispatched Cootes, the Vancouver Canucks prospect, to the Prince Albert Raiders for a great haul, but Seattle also acquired forwards Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Matthew Gard (Red Deer) and league scoring leader Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver), while hanging on to Mrtka. The T-Birds picked up Kosick the day after the Cootes deal and he’ll be a good add, too. Kosick, from Victoria, BC, was the Calgary Hitmen’s first round selection, 11^th overall at the 2023 WHL Draft. He was dealt to Swift Current back in June. The diminutive centreman led the Broncos in scoring by a wide margin, with 10 goals and 24 assists in 37 games and if he continues to produce with consistency in Seattle, the T-Birds can expect a healthy offensive jolt as it pushes for a western conference playoff berth.
4. Deals I Like, Part 3 – I think the Edmonton Oil Kings got a good one from the Vancouver Giants in Aaron Obobaifo. I just hope the player can get into the lineup quickly…and stay there! The Oil Kings parted ways with Joe Iginla, who certainly wasn’t going to be a top six forward in Edmonton this season. After appearing in 56 games during his first season in Langley with the Giants, Obobaifo got off to a fast start last season before it was derailed by a significant upper-body injury. His last game played was November 29, after a total of only 13 outings. Currently, with 37 games under his belt this season, he’s listed week-to-week with an upper body injury on the WHL Report and hasn’t played yet in January. The Giants saw enough from the Calgary-native to make him its first-round pick, 19^th overall at the 2022 WHL Draft. Obobaifo will celebrate his 19^thbirthday February 13. As the season moves along here in 2026, the Oil Kings will at some point add, when they’re healthy, Obobaifo, Adam Jecho and Jaxon Fuder to the mix. Instant depth and production!
5. Perspective – Thanks to Cole Waldie of the Prince George Cougars for lending this tidbit online to the trade deadline discussions. General Manager Mark Lamb was adamant in his position, hesitant to jump too far into the deep end. “There’s a lot of guys mortgaging their future,” Lamb said. “Everyone does their own business. We try hard to make the right deals and make the fair deals. But you’re giving two first round picks or eight pieces and gutting your lineup for one year and you really don’t know what happens with this landscape. You make those trades and they may leave you, like what happened to us with (Ben) Riche. That’s probably going to happen a lot more this year. We’re very careful.” At the deadline a year ago, Lamb sent Hunter Laing, Luke Dumas, a 2026 first round pick and a 2028 fifth round pick to Saskatoon for explosive forward Ben Riche, who collected 74 points in 64 games during the 2024-2025 regular season. Rather than stick around with the Cougars as a 20-year-old this season, Riche opted for Quinnipiac University in the NCAA. Effectively, the Cougars had Riche for 34 games, regular season and playoffs combined. That’s not a great return, given the assets Prince George parted with. As mentioned above, I like the move the Cats made to acquire Dawson Seitz.
6. Goaltending – It would seem all 22 teams are confident enough in their goaltending this season. Not one deal in and around the trade deadline saw anybody consummate a trade that involved a netminder. I imagine there were conversations, but nobody pulled the trigger. Shortly after Christmas, veteran Joey Rocha departed Swift Current for the Weyburn Red Wings of the SJHL, then a few days ago, the Prince Albert Raiders dispatched Dmitri Fortin in favour of youngster Steele Bass. That was the extent of transactions involving goalies. I wondered if potential difference-makers like Evan Gardner (Saskatoon) or Chase Wutzke (Moose Jaw) might have been sought after pieces for teams struggling to keep the puck out of their own net? Was the price too high? Or, did I just choose the wrong week to stop sniffing glue? Indeed, these two starters will finish their careers on a pair of middle-of-the-pack eastern conference teams. For certain, they’ll play heavy minutes and for Gardner (signed by Columbus) and Wutzke (a Minnesota prospect) they’ll continue to develop in the DUB under heavy fire. Wutzke is currently on the shelf, day-to-day with a lower body injury.
7. Penticton – There has always been a winning expectation in Penticton, albeit in recent years at the Junior A level, which I will typically refer to as “tier two”. Yes, I am that damn old! Regardless, the tradition continues as the expansion Vees are certainly making its mark on the WHL western conference standings. Penticton is on a heater right now with nine straight wins. Upon returning from the break in the schedule, the Vees have won eight consecutive games, seven of those against BC Division rivals. The Vees are well above the .500 mark at 24-9-4-3 and are showing no signs of slowing down. Of course, this is a veteran-laden team with four 20-year-olds and at times, twelve 19-year-olds in the lineup. The Vees are solid in goal with American Andrew Reyelts and Ethan McCallum sharing the crease. I hope to connect with overage forward Brady Birnie soon, as I’m pretty confident he is currently the league leader in career games played at 321 and counting, regular season and playoffs combined. It would also be foolhardy to under-estimate in any way, shape or form, the savvy of head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson.
8. From The Booth – A fun chat Friday afternoon at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat with longtime Seattle Thunderbirds play-by-play man, Thom Beuning. He’s been at it for over 25 years now and during that time, the T-Birds have won a pair of WHL championships, 2013 and 2017. Interestingly, Seattle lost in the league final in each of the seasons – 2016 and 2022 – prior to the year they captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy. The T-Birds were busy this past week ahead of the trade deadline and as a result, the team hit the ice against the Tigers with few new faces in the lineup. I recall mentioning to Beuning that the Tigers have been a pretty good third period team and as fate would have it, Medicine Hat erased a 3-0 first period deficit and cruised to an 8-3 victory. I also opined to Beuning that I’m hopeful he might write a book at some point, given his vast experience in the league, most all of it south of the 49^th parallel. Personally, I know I get a bit pigeon-holed at times when I wear my WHL hat, so to speak, focusing so much of my attention on what’s going on in western Canada. But the WHL has extensive hockey and business history in the United States northwest and Beuning has been on board for much of it. There is some interesting history regarding the challenges associated with construction of the Thunderbirds rink in Kent, Washington, after many years playing at its former home, KeyArena. But, like many of us, Beuning did chuckle along the lines of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, a common sentiment from many among hockey’s old guard. Indeed, so many of the great stories from bygone years are likely destined to stay forever in the vault.
9. Anholt Resigns – Speaking of the vault, that sometimes doesn’t really matter does it? Sounds like 11 years ago, someone didn’t appreciate how Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt spoke to or with them. I wonder how long this complaint has been on the books at the league office? According to the WHL, “Anholt’s resignation follows the investigation of a historical personal conduct matter. The alleged matter, dating to 2015, involved a verbal interaction with a player that, as described, falls outside of the WHL’s Standards of Conduct with respect to threatening and intimidating language.” The revelation comes on the heels of a suspension earlier this season, when it was found that Anholt had breached the league’s code of conduct by the manner in which he addressed the team after a woeful outing. I don’t know enough specific details about the two incidents, to be able to either agree or disagree with the decisions made by anybody involved, but dare I say, I’ve never been keen on presentism. When high expectations collide with sub-par performance, it’s not unusual for somebody’s feelings to get hurt, and this reality is certainly not exclusive to hockey. What I can speak to is my personal experience and over the years Anholt has treated me with respect and professionalism in every one of our interactions. He’s a great interview, very well-spoken, an informed hockey executive, and I think history will show his record of business success is pretty darn good. Barclay Parneta has taken over as the interim general manager in Lethbridge.
10. Fisticuffs: A History Lesson – A few weeks ago, I chuckled in this space about what many these days consider to be a line brawl. I’m still enjoying some spicy interactions with a few hipsters on social media who are, to their credit, very supportive fans of the DUB. I was watching line brawls in the league before these folks were soiling a diaper. In fact, long-in-the-tooth types like me remember well how so many arguments were settled on the playground with fists and a swift kick in the nuts. Teachers and principals understood this for the right of passage it was and didn’t always intervene. But really, how would “letting ‘em go” be received by modern-day soccer moms? Lol! Sadly, that old school, mature, and mostly effective approach from days gone by is ancient history, as many conflicts have morphed into opportunities for young people today to use weapons instead. Perhaps this is viewed as progress by the Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft generations? On the ice, if players were mouthing off and screwing around, the officials were perceptive enough to let them settle things because they saw up close what was happening, heard the trash talk, and recognized some of these idiots deserved to pay the tab. Today, officials are instructed to intervene quickly. Line brawls, in their truest sense, are a thing of the past, even if using the phrase in posts and chats perhaps generates likes and clicks.
11. RANDOMS – How were things going in Vancouver with the Giants of late? Well, four of its top five scorers were dealt at or near the trade deadline … Since the conclusion of the WJC, the Kelowna Rockets have won three straight games with top six forwards Tij Iginla, Tomas Poletin and Vojtech Cihar in the fold …  Medicine Hat has won 17 in a row. Wow! The Tigers can set a franchise record with a win in Edmonton Wednesday night … The Oil Kings rolled through Saskatchewan last week and won three straight, knocking off Swift Current, Saskatoon and the big one, a 5-3 win at Prince Albert over the Raiders. Edmonton is 8-1-1 in its last ten games … The Everett Silvertips are the first team to reach the 30-win mark, sweeping a double-dip in Prince George on the weekend. At 31-5-2-1, the ‘Tips lead the western conference by eight points over the Penticton Vees … On May 19, 2022, Red Deer and Moose Jaw collaborated on a seven-piece trade, the biggest piece landing with the Warriors, goaltender Connor Ungar. Moose Jaw went on to win the league title, backstopped by Ungar, in 2024. I’m pretty sure that deal marked the first time at 2026 draft pick was packaged in a WHL trade, a selection Moose Jaw is set to use in the sixth round at the WHL Draft in May …  According to the WHL website, Wenatchee and Vancouver have each been fined for a “multiple fight situation” during their tilt on January 10. Wild defenceman, no pun intended, Brandon Osborne will sit awhile after a kneeing major, and his status as a repeat offender will factor into the suspension. I haven’t seen the footage from the Langley Events Centre but was this all related? … In addition to the adventures in Langley on the weekend, the powers that be in Calgary will be busy meting out justice for a trifecta of checking-to-the-head infractions this past weekend. Give the DUB website a look in the next day or two and you can see how long Charlie Elick (TC), Nathan Brown (PORT) and Yaroslav Bryzgalov (MH) will be on vacation … Kelowna goaltender Josh Banini was struck in the face near his eye with a puck while he sat at the end of the bench during the Rockets 5-2 win at Portland Saturday night. The injury is described as an “hyphema”. Google it. Ugh. Back in the 2019-2020 season, when Kelowna was geared up to host the Memorial Cup before the world went crazy a couple of months before the tournament, the number of both major and bizarre injuries the players experienced was just off the charts. It feels like history is repeating itself this season. Sheesh!

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