10 WHL Things From Glen Erickson, Volume XXIV

As is always the case, proceed with caution.

1 – Queen City Kid – On Wednesday, the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades treated the 3,172 in attendance at SaskTel Centre to what we used to refer to as a barnburner. The Pats escaped with a 7-6 victory, scoring two goals 1:21 apart to steal an extra point. Rookie forward Maddox Schultz tallied the equalizer with 18 seconds to play, then 1:03 into overtime, he scored the winner. The 15-year-old finished the affair with his first WHL hat trick and solidified himself in the history books as the youngest member of the Pats ever to do so. The hatty came in Schultz’s 20^th game. He is allowed to play in 34 games this season. After play this past weekend, the Pats have 15 games remaining and Schultz can dress for 11 of them. He could be a valuable piece of the puzzle for a Pats team battling Red Deer and Moose Jaw for the eighth and final post-season berth in the eastern conference. Meanwhile, his midget team, the Regina Pat Canadians are 35-3-3 atop the standings and Schultz has scored 30 goals and 20 assists in 21 games this season, good for fourth in team scoring.

2 – Second Fiddle – It was a huge win for the Pats in Saskatoon, securing the extra point in the standings. But the player I kind of feel for is Caden Brown, who will celebrate his 21^st birthday, March 22. Brown also scored a hat trick against the Blades, but he gets to be accused of bad timing, given so much focus on Schultz’s exploits. In fact, it was Brown’s third hat trick of the season and he leads Regina in scoring with 27 goals and 27 assists in 54 games. All the Prince George, B.C. product has done during his WHL career is play in 296 games, regular season and playoffs combined. That total would be well over 300, but during the 2023-2024 season as a member of the Everett Silvertips, Brown did not play during the months of November and December. Brown was acquired amid some controversy in Regina during the 2024-2025 season when the Pats did a little house cleaning. Brown has collected 82 points in 89 games with Regina.

3 – Freaky Friday – Kind of a tough time for the upper echelon teams in the WHL. What a crazy night! The top five teams in the league all played on the road and four of them lost. The Prince Albert Raiders dropped a 4-3 decision in Brandon against the Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat lost in overtime in Red Deer and the Edmonton Oil Kings lost in Calgary to the Hitmen, 5-3. Over in the western conference, the lowly Vancouver Giants beat the Penticton Vees, 3-2 in a shootout. Only the league leading Everett Silvertips earned two points on the night, scoring an 8-4 win in Lethbridge over the Hurricanes. It was the Silvertips 12^th straight win…And just in case you missed it, maybe pull up the Victory+ site and watch the final three minutes of the Saskatoon Blades home ice win over the Swift Current Broncos. I don’t think the basic highlight package on the WHL site does it justice. Freaky Friday indeed!

4 – Game of the Week – If you watched the Everett Silvertips victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday, you witnessed perhaps a preview of the WHL Championship Series. This was game of the year stuff! The Silvertips, playing its fourth road game in five nights, edged the Tigers in overtime, 4-3. It was a contest at Co-Op Place between the Tigers, the league’s top team on home ice and the ‘Tips, the league’s best team on the road. It was Everett’s 13 consecutive win and the ‘Tips continue to lead the race for the Scotty Munro Trophy with 93 points. Now 45-7-2-1, that’s a winning percentage of .845 with 14 games remaining. The Tigers and Silvertips are among the WHL’s most dynamic teams. Should their paths cross in the post-season, it would be a repeat of the 2004 finale. The Tigers swept that series and advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament in Kelowna.

5 – Family Day Weekend – Afternoon games were a big part of the gig back in the Rotary Dial days growing up in Saskatoon. We used to ride a city bus from the southeast part of the city to downtown, then walk over to the old Saskatoon Arena to watch the Blades. In fact, we would often walk home after the games, about an hour in total, starting with a jaunt across the creepy old Victoria Bridge. Is there a 12-year-old even allowed to think about doing this these days? Give the WHL credit, as 10 games were scheduled for the holiday Monday, the latest puck drop being a 2:30pm local time start in Brandon. Only Portland, Spokane and Wenatchee did not play. These afternoon games are terrific, especially for families. Facility availability can certainly play a role in whether or not these games can be scheduled earlier in the day. Dare I say, I imagine many teams would prefer them to some of their mid-week dates. Kudos to the league and the teams for the commitment to these annual February festivities. Nice to see a huge crowd in Edmonton – 11,392 to see the Oil Kings edges Lethbridge, 3-2. The 10 games on the holiday Monday drew a total of 53,349 fans.

6 – Prospects Game – After the busy holiday Monday schedule, it’ll be a pretty quiet week in rinks across the DUB until Friday. Except, that is, the Langley Events Centre. The 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass will take place Wednesday night. Imagine the logistics, coordinating travel for the 44 players and support personnel. Every team will be represented. It doesn’t look like we’ll have a WHL broadcast team handling the telecast, and I’m not sure if there will be a radio call. In fact, I wonder if it might be a remote commentary production? Sounds like Victory+ will use some of its on-air talent, Brien Rea and Brent Severyn. At least Severyn has ties to the DUB. He played over 180 games in the league with three teams between 1983 and 1986. This one should be fun!

7 – DUB Randoms – How about that 14-round shootout in Kamloops on the weekend. The Prince George Cougars prevailed, 3-2, after tying the game with five seconds remaining in the third period. Reminds of the horror show scenario I used to chuckle about with some colleagues about writing a game coverage piece for an 8-8 tie that goes to a shootout. Good luck making the 10:00pm deadline!…It’s not the longest shootout in WHL history. I recall the Everett Silvertips and Kamloops going 15 rounds a few years ago. Has there been a longer one?…Kelowna Rockets overage forward Ty Halaburda played in his 300^th career regular season game Saturday. His first 283 games were played as a member of the Vancouver Giants. It was game number 332 for Rockets overage defenceman Mazden Leslie. His first 280 games were also played as a member of the Giants…Poul Anderson of the Red Deer Rebels had himself a week. The 18-year-old from Minnesota tallied a pair of overtime game winners on home ice, against Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. Every point in the standings is crucial for Red Deer, which is battling Regina and Moose Jaw for one the last two eastern conference playoff berths.

8 – DUB Randoms, Part Deux – A big win for the Calgary Hitmen over the league-leading Everett Silvertips Monday afternoon, 3-1. It was the ‘Tips final game on its road trip through the Central Division. Everett won the first four. An interesting goaltending match up as well, between former teammates Eric Tu and Anders Miller. Calgary traded Miller to Everett back in mid-October. Tu stopped 42 of 43 shots on the night and earned the first star. A nice crowd, too, 8,574 strong…A total of 49 shutouts so far this season, by 25 different netminders. Logan Edmonstone of the Kamloops Blazers leads the way with four clean sheets. By my count, Only Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Kelowna and Vancouver have yet to blank an opponent…The expansion Penticton Vees hit the road this week for its road trip through the East Division. They start Friday in Brandon and finish up in Moose Jaw. Six games in eight nights…Kamloops and Kelowna engage on the weekend in a home and home battle. Perhaps a playoff preview?