10 WHL Things From Glen Erickson, Volume XXVI

If there is such a thing we might categorize as the Western Hockey League’s “clubhouse turn”, that’s got to be where we are now. I think it’s the portion of the regular season schedule annually played in March. Here we go…

1 – Western Front – The top five teams in the Western Conference are getting hot, all of them well over .500 in their last ten games. It’s that time during the regular season when a three or four game winning streak can cement a playoff berth. Of course, dropping three or four straight games can really turn up the heat on a team’s post-season aspirations, too. The Everett Silvertips, 50-7-2-1, eclipsed the 100-point mark on the weekend and look to have at least one hand firmly on their second straight Scotty Munro Trophy. This season, the Silvertips have to hope they can make it to the playoffs with a healthy lineup, which was certainly not the case a year ago. Spokane has made a move of late, winning six straight and is 8-2 in its last ten games. At the other end, the Tri City Americans have parlayed their 0-9-1 run of late into a five-point deficit in the chase for the final post-season berth in the conference. The Kamloops Blazers, 2-6-1-1 in its last ten games, have dropped from battling for home ice advantage in the first round to sixth in the conference. The ebb and flow throughout the month of March is always exciting.

2 – Down the Stretch – Over in the Eastern Conference, Moose Jaw is 1-8-1 in its last ten games and that’s a bad deal for the Band City. The Warriors trail Red Deer by a point for the final playoff berth and the Rebels have two games in hand. I think the Warriors have an easier schedule down the stretch, but how many wins will they need to clinch a playoff berth, one that will likely result in an unenviable first-round matchup with either Prince Albert or Medicine Hat? Moose Jaw, despite the roster resembling a M.A.S.H. unit for much of 2026, can still score but haven’t been able to keep the puck out of their net. One wonders how this Warriors team would look today with Lynden Lakovic in the lineup. The Washington Capitals draft pick required season-ending surgery in December to repair a UBI. But it’s been the backend that has been hit hardest by the injury bug. The depth has been tested of late with veteran defencemen Brady Ness, Connor Schmidt and Nolan Paquette sidelined. Rookie rearguard Cole Carter, a real good one who adds offensive punch, has also been in and out of the lineup. Red Deer hasn’t scored with any consistency all season long but seems capable of defending. Regina has created some breathing room for now, holding down seventh place by five points, but the Pats have a tough schedule through March. If the playoffs started today, I’d be dialed right into the Calgary Hitmen / Brandon Wheat Kings first round battle.

3 – Tigers Beat – The Medicine Hat Tigers are on an 8-0-2 roll of late, nine points ahead of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Central Division standings. This edition of the Tigers is simply a different team with defenceman Bryce Pickford in the lineup. The team captain, Pickford has scored 11 game winners this season, tops in the league. He also leads all rearguards with 37 goals. The Ruck twins, Markus (88 points) and Liam (86) are first and third in the WHL scoring race. Medicine Hat will play four games in five nights this week, only one of those in the friendly confines of Co-Op Place. The Tigers head east to take on Regina Tuesday and Brandon Wednesday. The Calgary Hitmen come calling to the Gas City Friday night, then the Tigers load the bus again for a Saturday affair in Edmonton. That’s at least 2,700 kilometres and a couple of nights in hotels. Ka-ching! A productive week could secure a second straight Central Division title for the Tigers, now 42-9-5-3. Next in their crosshairs are the Eastern Conference-leading Prince Albert Raiders. Both teams have played 59 games. The Raiders, 45-8-5-1, have a four-point lead as the calendar switches to March.

4 – Rockets Roll – A few days after WHL teams returned to action after the break in the schedule for Christmas, the Kelowna Rockets had staggered to a 1-2-1 record following a 4-1 loss in Kamloops to the Blazers. Injury woes and player absences for international events played a role in the lacklustre results, but the DUB is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately proposition. Since those dour days early in 2026, the Rockets have rattled off a 16-5-1-1 record and have moved firmly into fourth place in the Western Conference standings. A 6-2 loss in Wenatchee on the weekend, where the Wild scored five third-period goals, was an unexpected hiccup for a Rockets team that had won six straight starts. Forward Tij Iginla has been on a tear with points in nine straight games, 10 goals and 10 assists. The Rockets know where they’ll be playing in late May, as Memorial Cup hosts. Some playoff success would potentially quiet chronic malcontents across the league who are upset their favourite team will have to win its way to Kelowna. But for my money, it’s more important the Rockets arrive as hosts at the national championship tournament in great health.

5 – Playoffs Berths – A total of six teams have clinched playoff berths in the Eastern Conference, though there will be some jockeying for positions as teams enter the final three weeks of the regular season. Prince Albert and Medicine Hat appear to be firmly in possession of home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, while Edmonton and Calgary might still have to shoulder check in the short term. A strong finish by Brandon could earn the Wheaties fourth spot, but that would likely resurrect the organization’s annual spring time home ice adventures due to non-hockey activities that occupy Assiniboine Credit Union Place. Saskatoon has clinched for the seventh straight season but is unlikely to finish higher than fifth at best. Regina, Moose Jaw and Red Deer continue to jostle for the final two playoff berths. Indeed, even a couple of home playoff games can create valuable incremental revenue. It’s next year country for Swift Current and Lethbridge.

6 – Memory Lane – It wasn’t quite the Rotary Dial era because by 1982-83, we were blessed to have sleek, new, push-button telephones attached to the walls in our homes. Remember those beauties? The WHL post-season, including the Memorial Cup, was full of fireworks that spring, providing chatter and lore for those of us who today are a bit long in the tooth. The Saskatoon Blades were a wagon that season, finishing atop the 14-team WHL standings at 52-19-1 for 105 points. It was a weird playoff set up, with the top two teams in the eight-team east division (Saskatoon and Regina) receiving a first-round bye. Over in the west, the Portland Winterhawks went 50-22 for 100 points and led the league with 495 goals scored. The Winterhawks were Memorial Cup hosts, the first time the event was played in the USA and the first time it was set up as a four-team tournament. It was also the last time a participating team was allowed to “pick up” a goaltender from another team to bolster its lineup for the tournament. The surprise that spring was the play of the Lethbridge Broncos. Can anyone name their leading scorer without letting Google do the work? The Broncos swept the Winnipeg Warriors in the first round to set up a best-of-seven against the Blades. Lethbridge was on a roll, while the favoured Blades were battered and bruised.

7 – Memory Lane, Part Deux – The Sutter twins, Rich and Ron, ran roughshod during the series, Bob Rouse and Gerald Diduck were monsters on defence, but it was goaltender Ken Wreggett who stole the show. Wreggett stymied the Blades high-octane offence – it was insane – and the Broncos eliminated the Blades in six games. Canadians are currently lamenting how a goaltender stole the Olympic gold medal game. How about when a goaltender steals an entire series? Lethbridge met the Calgary Wranglers in an incredibly volatile east division finale and won in six games as well. The Broncos then hammered Portland in the league final, winning in five games, but lost Wreggett to an ankle injury. Lethbridge wanted Wranglers netminder Mike Vernon to accompany the team to the Memorial Cup, but he refused the offer. Vernon had played with Portland the previous year at the Memorial Cup in Quebec and accepted the Winterhawks invitation to suit up with the host team again in Portland. To say the fit hit the shan during Memorial Cup week would be a massive understatement. By the time the Broncos and Winterhawks met in the round-robin, Portland had already clinched a spot in the final and chose not to dress its full roster. Lethbridge won the meaningless contest, 9-3, its only win that week. The record will show the Broncos bludgeoned the Memorial Cup champion Winterhawks in five of six post-season meetings that spring. Their leading scorer that season was Ivan Krook with 34 goals and 54 assists in 72 games. Vernon was named the top goaltender and led the Portland to the championship though curiously, it was Oshawa Generals goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz named to the Memorial Cup all-star team…I wonder what the 2026 WHL playoffs might bring this time around? It’s all setting up to play out eerily similar to the 2004 WHL playoffs. Stay tuned!

8 – DUB Randoms – Interesting goalie statistics out of Everett, which has won 50 games this season. Anders Miller has earned 26 of those wins while teammate Raiden LeGall is credited with 24…Penticton’s Andrew Reyelts, Medicine Hat’s Jordan Switzer and Josh Ravensbergen of the Prince George Cougars also have 26 wins so far, tops in the league…Ethan Eskit of the Victoria Royals is the busiest netminder in the league with 50 appearances. Evan Gardner of the Saskatoon Blades is next with 46. Last season, Max Hildebrand of the Prince Albert Raiders appeared in a league-high 55 games…Miller, Carter Esler of the Spokane Chiefs and Logan Edmonstone of the Kamloops Blazers share the league lead with four shutouts apiece…Probably just a fluke but of the top ten scoring leaders in the league, five players reside in each conference. Three are rookies and two are imports…Gavin McKenna led the WHL last season with a plus-60 rating. Might another member of the Tigers claim the category this season? Tigers defenceman Jonas Woo leads the way at plus-55, tied with Everett’s Matias Vanhanen…Justice Christensen of the Prince Albert Raiders led the league in goal scoring among defenceman last season with 22 goals. Already three rearguards have surpassed that total this season. Bryce Pickford is far and away the leader with 37 goals, followed by Woo with 26 and Christensen’s Prince Albert teammate Daxon Rudolph with 25. Edmonton Oil Kings Ethan McKenzie has scored 20 times…The Canada West conference final goes this weekend in Calgary as the Mount Royal University Cougars host the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. It’s a best-of-three series and the winner advances to the University Cup in Hallifax. USPORTS is perhaps the best kept secret in hockey across Canada. I think it’s appalling neither national sports network in our country gives it the respect and profile it deserves. The U of S and Mount Royal rosters are both stocked with WHL grads.

9 – Olympics Drama – Sometimes we just have to sit back and be thankful for our fellow countrymen and their ability to provide mind-boggling entertainment. The borderline moronic reactions to the USA Men’s Hockey team attending the White House were laughable on so many levels. I continue to marvel at how convenient it has become for so many Canadians to ignore the problems that exist within our own country. Does anybody even research what’s coming in Bills C2 and C9? Instead, indignant self-righteousness continues to pollute both social and mainstream media. It is amusing so many people assume because a few players did not attend festivities in Washington, it was solely about making a political statement. The USA men’s team certainly proved that collectively, it can recognize what a joke is, unlike a certain TSN reporter in Ottawa. I’m confident that in their heart of hearts the ladies team also possesses a sense of humour. But, they tend to have to kow-tow to a faction of supporters who consistently come across as hyper-sensitive, virtue-signalling, do-gooders, who demonstrate some of the most curious perspectives I have ever had to attempt to absorb. Have these geniuses not figured out that Team USA simply finished first in what has long been nothing more than a two-team tournament? I will never downplay the commitment and preparation of the players, but as far as I’m concerned, the most exciting bit of news this group created during the Olympics was the team captain’s engagement to her friend on the American speedskating team.

10 – Drama, Part Deux – Thumbs down to those who railed on about or made light of Nathan McKinnon’s reaction to receiving a stuffed toy at the Winter Olympics after the gold medal game. The stuffies were presented to every athlete who medalled. It wouldn’t have been a secret to anyone with a pulse, including multi-millionaire hockey players, that the presentation would be forthcoming. Geez man, just grin and teddy bear it! The momento would fit in just fine as a little gift for any toddler within arms length of McKinnon or his teammates. I’m seldom critical of how athletes react “in the moment” after big wins or big losses, because I think they deserve some time for sober second thought. This however, is not a luxury rabid media and fans will ever seem to grant them. But really, some of the nonsense that titillates the masses these days is just plain goofy…The 3-on-3 overtime employed in both the men’s and women’s gold medal games was also not a secret to anyone heading into the Winter Olympics. Sure, I don’t care for it in a championship game. I think it’s like a USPORTS national championship basketball game being decided after regulation time by free throws. I remember how cool that quadruple overtime, game seven was between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. It was back in the spring of 1987. Pat Lafontaine’s winning goal? Memorable indeed! Would the whiners across our country really be feeling better today about life in general had the USA won 5-on-5?

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