10 WHL Things, Volume IX

By Glen Erickson

1 – The Injury Bug – Maybe it’s just me, but it certainly seems like there are a few more serious injuries already this season? We’re at least a couple weeks shy of the quarter pole in the 68-game schedule, but the most recent Weekly Report (October 22) from the WHL office documented a total of 24 players out of their respective lineups with “week-to-week” injuries, three others are “month-to-month” and three are listed as “indefinite”. That’s 30 injuries I would define as serious, as most bumps and bruises don’t keep players out of the lineup too lengthy of a period of time. We seldom ever get in-depth details about injuries, with the specifics typically kept in the vault in favour of the preferred UBI and LBI descriptions. However, week-to-week or month-to-month? An absence like that would seem to suggest there’s a little more to the story.

2 – Glitter Games – The 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada is set for November 26 at Canada Life Place in London, Ontario, then the next night at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa. It’s Year 1 for this two-game format, which pits CHL draft eligible players against USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s U-18 team. The event replaces the annual Top Prospects Game that was typically played in January each season. A total of 10 WHL players will participate including Carter Bear (Everett), Braeden Coots (Seattle), Benjamin Kindel and Reese Hamilton (Calgary), Lynden Lakovic (Moose Jaw), Cole Reschny (Victoria), Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver), Blake Fiddler (Edmonton), Jackson Smith (Tri City) and Josh Ravensbergen (Prince George). Brandon’s Roger McQueen was also selected but will sit these games out due to a long-term UBI. No word yet if any WHL officials will be invited to work either of the games. A handful of WHL teams won’t sit idly by during the festivities in Ontario, as six contests are on the schedule at the same time. Moose Jaw, Victoria, Everett and Seattle will play league games while their mates are busy in Ontario, while Kelowna Rockets head coach Kris Mallette will miss a regular season tilt while he works the bench at both games.

3 – Woes at the Gate – It’s always easy to focus on teams near the top of the heap. After all, “winning” makes for pretty easy conversations and it’s usually good copy! But typically every season, there are questions as middle-of-the-pack teams will largely outnumber the handful of top performers. Enter the current edition of the Regina Pats, a team now two years removed from the impact of Connor Bedard, both on and off the ice. General manager Alan Millar has had his hands full since arriving in the Queen City. “The first thing I’ll tell you is everybody in the organization has a responsibility to the fan base, to do the best we can with the product, on the ice and off the ice, and sell tickets,” said Millar in an interview with the Regina Leader Post prior to the 2023-2024 season, his first with the Pats. But one might wonder if it’s become so completely en vogue for sports fans to prefer watching a favourite player more than a favourite team? The Pats averaged 4,501 per home game during the 2022-2023 campaign, which included six sellouts (6,499) during the second half of the season and two other contests that drew crowds over 6,000 spectators. After Bedard’s departure to the NHL, the Pats have played 41 regular season games over two seasons at the Brandt Centre and have drawn over 4,000 spectators only four times. This season, Regina plays 13 of its first 18 games on home ice.

4 – Strike While the Iron’s Hot – Some would suggest it’s important to advertise when things are slow, to encourage consumers to keep your product top of mind. I look at it the other way – bang the bloody drum as loudly as you can while you are having success – because that’s when you already have a big audience paying attention to your product, available to see, hear and absorb your messages. While the presence of the very exceptional Connor Bedard enabled more than just the Pats to count a few extra gate receipts, what now? Regina averaged 3,219 per game last season and so far this season, the Brandt Centre has seen an average of 2,614 through the Pats first seven games. That’s 21^st among 22 WHL teams. How much of this lays at the feet of ownership? What about the perception of value? I couldn’t find a ticket for less than $32 for the October 25 game against the Calgary Hitmen. With capacity for 6,500, almost 3,800 empty seats would suggest plenty of options might exist to re-visit pricing and promotions. After all, an empty seat doesn’t buy a hot dog or team logo merchandise.

5 – Injury Bug, Part Deux – It certainly doesn’t help that the Pats currently have three key veterans on the shelf, week-to-week according to the WHL Weekly Report. Tanner Howe (UBI), who rode shotgun with Bedard at times, is a veteran of over 200 games, as is overage forward Braxton Whithead (LBI). Logan Peskett (UBI), who came over from the Kelowna Rockets is another forward with 100 games of WHL experience. Regardless of perceived roster depth and the occasional insertion of affiliate players, these are tough players to replace and the subsequent demands on others to perhaps play more minutes than they are ready for can make consistency difficult to achieve. But, give the Pats some credit…they’re 5-4-1 through 10 games.

6 – Historical Significance – As a venue, I’ve always enjoyed the Agridome. (Okay, the Brandt Centre.) What great history! Not only the WHL, but so many other sporting events over the decades. Who can forget the January 3, 1991 World Junior Championship game between the Soviet Union and Finland? The Finns scored twice late in the contest to salvage a 5-5 tie that breathed new life into Canada’s gold medal chances when the event was played as a round-robin tournament. Two nights later in the final game of the tourney in front of a capacity crowd at Saskatoon, Canada edged the Soviets 3-2 to capture gold. And for many years, my uncle, Gerry Wood, who passed away November 21, 2017, worked Pats home games, tending to the needs of scouts and media. I’m thankful for the Pats organization, what it meant to Gerry, my aunt Glenys and my cousins Ryan and Allison. I also remember when the best WHL rivalry in Saskatchewan was the Pats versus Blades, before the days of the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders. But yes, times have certainly changed.

7 – Milestones – A nifty achievement for Luke Schenn, the former Kelowna Rockets defenceman who recently played in his 1,000^th career National Hockey League game. A good Saskatoon-boy, Schenn inspired me to look into how many former WHLers have achieved this NHL milestone. As impressive as it is, it’s actually quite common. In terms of total “regular season” games, here’s the top 15 former WHL players and the number of NHL games played: Patrick Marleau-1,779; Mark Recchi-1,652; Jarome Iginla-1,554; Shane Doan-1,540; Mike Modano-1,499; Glen Wesley-1,457; Trevor Linden-1,382; Joe Sakic-1,378; Ray Whitney-1,330; Darryl Sydor-1,291; Ken Daneyko-1,283; Bryan Trottier-1,279; Ryan Smyth-1,270; Scott Niedermayer-1,263; Ray Ferraro-1,258.

8 – Success Story – Another former Rockets forward, Justin Kirkland, is getting some good press these days. The Camrose, Alberta native is now 28 years old and has endured some significant off-ice adventures in pursuit of an NHL career. He’s off to a terrific start with the Calgary Flames and tallied his first NHL goal against the Edmonton Oilers on October 13. He also scored the shootout winner in Round 6 of a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the Saddledome. Kirkland, who played under head coach Ryan Huska in Kelowna, has been reunited with his junior hockey bench boss in the Stampede City. There is a great piece of video online from April 19, 2016, the night Kirkland scored a pair of third-period goals in Victoria against the Royals to propel the Rockets to a 3-2 game-seven victory. His second goal, perhaps the most famous game-seven tally in Rockets playoff history, came with 0.2 seconds remaining. If you locate the video, scroll to the 12:00-minute mark and sit tight for a couple of minutes. Kirk Fraser and Bill Wilms were on the call that night during the WHL on Shaw telecast. Kirkland scored 11 times in 18 games during the 2016 post-season. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round, 62^nd overall at the 2014 NHL Draft and toiled in the minors for much of the past decade until the opportunity in Calgary surfaced.

9 – From the Booth – A shout out to Cole Waldie, play-by-play voice of the Prince George Cougars. It’s always nice to connect with some of the young guys in the business. Waldie is truly a home-grown product, a Prince George native who paid his dues behind the microphone with the Cariboo Cougars and Prince George Spruce Kings before landing the WHL gig prior the 2022-2023 season. Waldie provided some great roster insights when I met him at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat, noting the Cougars have frequently dressed three 16-year-old defencemen this season. He’s had the unique experience of growing up a Cougars fan, following the team through some tough times, then providing coverage the past two seasons when there has been a definite resurgence at the CN Centre in Prince George. Waldie is following in the footsteps of some pretty solid PXP men, the likes of Fraser Rodgers and Dan O’Connor. You can give the Cougars a listen on 94.3 The GOAT.

10 – RANDOMS – Still no sign of Cayden Lindstrom on a gameday roster for the Medicine Hat Tigers. At 6’3 and 215 pounds, Lindstrom could be a force in the WHL, given his size, mobility and offensive prowess. The Chetwynd, B.C. native, selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2024 NHL Draft, is dealing with a regimen of treatment and rest to combat a herniated disc He’ll be a great addition at some point this season…How about forward Nathan Behm of the Kamloops Blazers? His tidy six-point effort – 3 goals and 3 assists – against the Victoria Royals Tuesday helped extend the Blazers winning streak to three games. His backhand dish to spring Emmitt Finnie for a first period breakaway tally was a thing of beauty…Alex Ovechkin needs 40 more goals to pass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time career NHL record. I’ve likened his chase to Tiger Woods’ pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major championship wins. For years, sports fans figured it was a slam dunk for Tiger, much like Ovie hunting down Gretzky might be viewed as automatic. We shall see! Speaking of Tiger, do you think Eldrick will ever surpass the $121,000,000 mark in PGA Tour earnings? He’s had a tough time of late. The poor guy is 219^th in earnings this season with $44,400 and is stuck at $120,999,166 for his career. FORE!

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