10 WHL Things, Volume V

By: Glen Erickson

1. Surprises – Was there any bigger surprise out of the gate than the Moose Jaw Warriors getting off to a 3-0 start? One WHL personality suggested to me the team has gotten much of its roster back from its disappointing 2024-2025 campaign, so continuity is working in their favour. And, to further support his assertion, the coaching staff remains intact. Reliable forward Lynden Lakovic has also just returned from Washington Capitals camp, so the question begs, how long can the Warriors keep up their great start? Moose Jaw scored 21 goals through three games but perhaps came back down to earth a bit this past weekend when the highly-rated Edmonton Oil Kings waltzed into The Jaw and subdued the Warriors, 5-1, before the Vancouver Giants earned a 5-3 decision at the Temple Gardens Centre Saturday. Expect an up and down campaign this season in the Friendly City. Or, do we run with Little Chicago? Regardless, keep an eye on Warriors forward Colt Carter. The 16-year-old forward is playing with speed and confidence out of the gate and has tallied the game winner in two of the Warriors three victories this season.
2. Surprises, Part Deux – Out west, the Kamloops Blazers made it three straight wins to start the campaign, including a 6-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs on opening night at the Sandman Centre. In fact, the Blazers played three in a row on home ice, sweeping the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds last weekend. Forward J.P. Hurlbert burst on to the WHL scene with some productive pre-season performances, collected six goals and three assists in those three games and earned WHL Player of the Week honours. Hurlbert, who spent last season with the US National Team Development Program, has committed to the University of Michigan for the 2026-2027 season. So, it would appear the Blazers may have the Allen, Texas native for only one season. He looks to be a terrific complement to the forward group in Kamloops, alongside proven scorers in Nathan Behm, Tommy Lafreniere and overage forward Jordan Keller. In a bit of a scheduling quirk, Kamloops played Seattle three straight times, and its first five games were against U.S. Division teams. The T-Birds turned the tables on the Blazers this past weekend, notching a 7-4 win at the accesso ShoWare centre in Kent, before the Portland Winterhawks handed Kamloops a 6-4 loss. The Blazers will have 12 games under its belt, including its six-game road trip through the East Division, before it faces off against a B.C. Division opponent in late October.
3. Slow Starts – At the other end of the spectrum, is it a surprise the Brandon Wheat Kings have yet to hit the win column? The Wheaties have been outscored 31-18 in five games, with four of those losses coming on home ice. That includes a 5-0 early season litmus test against the Edmonton Oil Kings this past weekend. We spoke a couple for weeks ago to the skill and depth on Brandon’s roster, which hasn’t yet begun to demonstrate the kind of chemistry that can lead a group to becoming an upper echelon team. Despite its record, the Wheaties lead the eastern conference in power play efficiency, rolling along at a 40-percent success rate so far … And it seems there are some Regina Pats supporters getting restless early on in the Queen City, as the locals are off to a 1-4 start. The Pats collected their first win of the season, 4-2 over the Swift Current Broncos at the Brandt Centre this past weekend. There is still plenty of excitement with young stars Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue in the mix, but any notion a pair of 15-year-olds can carry a WHL team to great heights would seem to be pure folly to me. Patience in each of these long-time WHL markets will have to rule the day.
4. A Hot Tip – Looks like the Everett Silvertips are picking up right where they finished up last season. The Silvertips have earned a point in each of their first six games and sit atop the U.S. Division and Western Conference standings. At 5-0-1, the ‘Tips have surrendered only one point this season, compliments of an overtime loss to Portland. Everett, which captured the Scotty Munro trophy last season as the regular season champions, have returned a few key players. In goal, Raiden LeGall, who played the lion’s share down the stretch last season, is off to a 4-0-1 start. NHL draft picks Tarin Smith (ANA), Carter Bear (DET) and import Julius Miettinen (SEA) are back, along with 20-year-olds Rylan Pearce, Nolan Chastko and Zack Schantz. Add exceptional status rearguard Landon Dupont now in year two and the ‘Tips appear to be a safe bet to stay at or near the top of the western conference standings this season.
5. Vee for Victory – The Penticton Vees had an eventful and productive weekend, playing three games in three nights, all against U.S. Division opponents. The WHL’s newest franchise won them all, knocking off Portland 3-2 Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre. On Saturday, the Vees scored eight second-period goals in their 10-4 win on home ice over the Seattle Thunderbirds. This includes four goals in a span of 2:02 right after the T-Birds tallied their third of the night to make the score 5-3. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest this will be a Vees franchise record for goals in a period that will stand for many, many years. Sunday in Wenatchee, Penticton dumped the Wild, 5-1 … Interesting that the Vees drew 5,307 fans for their game on opening night, then this past weekend the numbers came in at 3,017 and 2,912 respectively. Granted, these were U.S Division opponents and it’s likely the B.C. Division rivalries might prove to be a bit more enticing for local supporters. I wonder what the attendance sweet spot might be at the SOEC this season?
6. Having An Import – The Medicine Hat Tigers gave Bobby Fox a new title awhile back. He’s now the assistant general manager, in recognition of a few duties he had already assumed. Fox has been a key member of the organization’s scouting and recruiting group. This past off-season, a new wrinkle emerged as WHL teams prepared for the opportunity to add a third import player to their rosters. According to Fox, the Tigers were “all in” on trying to find a good fit. “We started the process early last year, once we kind of knew we were going to be able to,” Fox said. “We were fully expecting to get both of our Finns back on the back end and they’ve both returned from their NHL clubs. So, we thought we’d look for some forwards, based on guys we were losing.” The result? Yaroslav Bryzgalov from Minsk in Belarus joins the Tigers along with returnees Veeti Vaisanen (Utah Mammoth) and Niilopekka Muhonen (Dallas Stars).
7. Potential Power Forward – Bryzgalov, 18, checks in at 6’4, 220 pounds. The Tigers made him their first-round selection at the 2025 CHL Import Draft, 60^th overall, the second last pick in round one. “Fortunately, he was still there,” Fox said. “He’s a pretty good skater. He has a lot of deception, especially in tight. He uses his size to protect the puck. He has great hands. He’s hard to handle along the boards and down below the goal line. He’s really, really strong, and he’s going to be able to bring a physical element that maybe we were lacking. We’re very pleased.” Bryzgalov chipped in with 10 goals and seven assists last season in 51 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL. It was his first season playing in North America. The Bucs did not earn a playoff berth. Through five games this season, the rookie import has scored two goals and added five assists.
8. Rockets Bolster Coaching Staff – Prior to the 2025-2026 campaign, the Kelowna Rockets added Brandon McMillan, 35, as an assistant coach. He played four seasons with Kelowna between 2006 and 2010. It’s his first coaching gig. I remember him well from the 2010 World Junior Championship in Saskatoon. His strength was his skating ability and when defenceman Travis Hamonic was injured late in the tournament semi-final, head coach Willie Desjardins had a decision to make heading into the gold medal game against the USA. Team Canada tabbed McMillan to move from forward to defence, a tribute to his versatility and, as mentioned, his skating ability. Selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the third round, 85^th overall at the 2008 NHL Draft, McMillan played 179 NHL games for the Ducks, Coyotes and Canucks before playing ten seasons professionally overseas … Speaking of the Rockets, the roster includes only one 20-year-old for now; defenceman Mazden Leslie, who was acquired from Vancouver during the off-season. I’m curious what the management team might have in the works? Do they sit tight for awhile, playing the youngsters until a couple of solid overagers surface? With teams required to designate their complement of 20-year-olds by about mid-October, it’s one of those things that makes me go, hmmm…
9. Vegas Baby – Interesting to scan the Henderson Silver Knights hockey operations group, as WHL alumni is eminently prominent. The team is the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, so I suppose I’m not surprised in the least that Kelly McCrimmon and the NHL organization may have looked squarely to the WHL for a host of qualified hockey people to fill important positions. General Manager Tim Speltz enjoyed a storied WHL career on the management side, including a pair of Memorial Cup titles while at the helm with the Spokane Chiefs. At ice level, Ryan Craig (Brandon) is the head coach, flanked by assistants Jamie Heward (Regina/Vancouver/Swift Current) and Brent Kisio (Lethbridge/Calgary). Jared Crooks and Jorge Lopez (Seattle) are filling important support roles. It’s apparent careers in professional hockey can last a long time for those able to both play at a high level and also learn as much as possible about the business side along the way. So much focus on the WHL relates to developing players, yet the evidence would seem to support the notion that those with ties to the DUB can become very capable of filling any number of important roles across the professional hockey universe.
10. Ka-Ching – I dove into some numbers on Puck Friendly and note that among those with Canadian birth certificates, Sidney Crosby’s estimated career earnings are $150.54M over 20 seasons. Connor McDavid’s estimated career earnings are $92.78M over 10 seasons. That’s an average of $7.53M for Crosby and $9.28M for McDavid. Crosby, who wears #87, is dialed in through next season at a cool $8.7M. By the way, I wondered what former WHL player has the highest estimated career earnings in the NHL and the best I could come up with was former Swift Current Broncos forward, Joe Sakic, who is said to have earned about $94M as a player. Jarome Iginla is said to have earned about $96M. Then there’s Evander Kane at about $102M. Did I miss somebody obvious in all of this?
11. DUB Randoms – If the stars align, I’ll take in the Victoria Royals/Kelowna Rockets contest next week. The new score clock was installed in late June and I’ll be curious to see the upgrades at Prospera Place. I worked many a night in that building over the years and it’s a special place. I’m sure there will be a little Def Leppard and Elton John blaring throughout the night…Another member of the Moose Jaw Warriors to eyeball this season is defenceman Aiden Ziprick, a 20-year-old with some emerging offensive skills and championship pedigree. I can see a few teams inquiring about the possibility of the Russell, Manitoba-native experiencing a change of address at some point this season … Ever notice those misconduct penalties for mouth-guard violations seem to surface early in the season? Then, they just kind of go away. Some of the players treat their mouthguards like our Yorkie treats her chew toys … After the Vees second period onslaught Saturday night, I looked for the league record for most goals in one period. The best I could come up with was nine, by the Prince Albert Raiders on December 28, 1988, against the Spokane Chiefs … What do the Vees, Silvertips, Tri City Americans and Wenatchee Wild have in common so far this season? They all completed a dreaded WHL scheduling nuance this past weekend, playing three games in three nights … Everett (5-0-1), the Prince Albert Raiders (4-0-1) and Prince George (4-0) Cougars have yet to lose in regulation time this season.
12. Randoms – I refuse to suffer fools gladly … The Minnesota Wild have committed $136M to star forward Kirill Kaprizov over the next eight seasons. That’s $17M per season which, today, converts to over $23.7M in Canadian funds. … Learn anything new this time around on National Truth and Reconciliation Day? … I enjoyed the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage in New York. Amid all the prognostication, speculation, rationalization, the blame-game and the paralysis by analysis, Europe’s 15-13 win over the USA confirms my take on pretty much all things sporting; “Players Gotta Play”.

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