10 WHL Things, Volume VII

By Glen Erickson

1. Game of the Week – I wondered if there was any bad blood between the Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings, given the first-round playoff series last season. The Oil Kings jumped out to a 3-1 series lead, only to see Prince Albert win three straight to end Edmonton’s season. Both teams lost their overage players, but neither has experienced a particularly mass exodus to the NCAA. Entering the contest in Prince Albert this past weekend, the Oil Kings and Raiders sat atop the eastern conference standings. In what turned out to be rather a tame affair, both teams kept the puck on the outside for much of the tilt, a 3-2 decision for the visitors who directed only 17 shots at the Raiders net. It was defenceman Ethan McKenzie who scored the game-winner in overtime, as the Oil Kings improved to 9-2 on the campaign. The Raiders, now 7-0-2, remain undefeated in regulation time and sit two points behind the East Division leading Saskatoon Blades (9-3). The Raiders have three games in hand.
2. Raiders Rockin’ – If you didn’t see him knocking down the flagsticks and breaking par all summer long at Prince Albert’s Cooke Municipal Golf Course, you can find Martin Ring during the winter months in the broadcast booth at the Art Hauser Centre, riding shotgun on Raiders’ radio broadcasts. When I rung him up last week, he agreed with me when I opined that I don’t think Prince Albert’s start this season is by any means an accident. This is a solid roster. Ring points to the trio of 20-year-olds; Justice Christensen, Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring, who I think might constitute the top overage group in the league. The likes of Ryley Boychuk, Daxon Rudolph and Ty Meunier add to the depth and experience among returnees. I figured the really big hole to fill would be in goal, finding a replacement for Max Hildebrand who, as a 20-year-old, was recognized as the WHL’s top goaltender last season. Ring suggested the Raiders have been rotating Dimitri Fortin and Michal Orsulak so far. Fortin, who has played his entire DUB career behind workhorses Hildebrand and Connor Ungar, has amassed only 39 career appearances, though he does have a WHL championship under his belt as a member of the 2024 Moose Jaw Warriors. But it appears he’ll get pushed hard by Orsulak, a Czech import who goes 6’4 and 220 pounds. Among newcomers, Brocks Cripps and Ben Harvey, along with Owen Corkish from Minnesota, have not looked at all out of place.
3. No Lead Is Safe – It’s been said by many over the years that a team has to play until the final buzzer. You know, a full 60 minutes…all the cliches that admittedly run true. Three minutes into the second stanza in Moose Jaw last week, Kamloops trailed the hosts 4-0 and looked anything but interested. In fact, the Warriors held a 5-1 lead with a little over three minutes to play in the period. Kamloops then proceeded to score six unanswered goals and escaped the Temple Gardens Centre with an unlikely 7-5 victory…A few nights later in Lethbridge, the struggling Hurricanes trailed the division-rival Calgary Hitmen 4-1 after the first period, then 6-1 midway through the second. Lethbridge, which entered the contest on a four-game losing streak, stormed back with six unanswered tallies to win in overtime. One has to wonder how many of the 3,352 fans actually remained in the building for the final frame? Dustin Forbes, on the radio call for the ‘Canes deadpanned afterward, “that…is one to remember!”…In Prince Albert Friday evening, the Raiders held a 6-2 lead over Regina with less than ten minutes to play, but the Pats tallied three times to tighten the hosts collars. The Raiders hung on for a 6-5 win and remained undefeated in regulation time.
4. Three In Three – A busy weekend for the Saskatoon Blades, who capped off a dreaded WHL scheduling reality with a win Sunday at home, 4-3 over Edmonton. The win came on the heels of its home-and-home with Moose Jaw. Neither team could hold serve on home ice, but they split the two contests and filled the net in the process. The Warriors won 6-2 Friday and the Blades answered with an 8-5 victory Saturday. But that’s not the three-in-three that really got my attention. How about the curious case of referee Mike Langin from Kelowna? He skated in Regina Friday night, Swift Current Saturday, then worked the Blades win over Edmonton Sunday afternoon. I’m not sure when Langin arrived in Saskatchewan, but I know he is familiar with the entire province given his years working as a territory rep for Taylor Made Golf and Adidas. Regardless, that was a busy grind for the veteran official, skating in three games in less than three nights in three different cities, with plenty of roadwork to navigate between assignments.
5. World U-17 Hockey Challenge – It’s one of a select few tournaments that are kind of near and dear to me, as I enjoyed working the event when it was co-hosted by Swift Current and Medicine Hat back in 2019. A total of 19 players with ties to 16 WHL teams have been selected to participate this year in Truro, Nova Scotia. Hockey Canada has compiled two teams for the event. There is some very definite Prince Albert Raiders flavour among the coaching staffs. Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert Raiders) is head coach for Canada Red, while Kyle Chipchura (Edmonton Oil Kings) is an assistant coach for Canada White. Chipchura played 232 games over four seasons with the Raiders and was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, 18^th overall, at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The entire complement of WHLers can be found on the league’s website or visit Hockey Canada online for the details. In addition to the DUB representation, there are 17 OHL and eight QMJHL players participating. The six-team tourney, including Sweden, Finland, the United States and Czechia, runs November 2-8, with TSN providing coverage.
6. 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge – Willie Desjardins of the Medicine Hat Tigers has been named head coach of Team CHL. The event includes two games, November 25 in Calgary and November 26 in Lethbridge. Mikki Lanuk will handle duties as the head athletic therapist for both games, while Jayce Desjardins has been tabbed as the video coach. While the trio is busy with this event, the Tigers will travel to Saskatchewan for road games against conference rivals in Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Mike Johnston of the Portland Winterhawks has been named an assistant coach.
7. Guys I Like – It looks to me as if overage Victoria forward Roan Woodward is continuing to play like a royal pain in the butt. And yes, it’s entirely a compliment! The Nipawin, Saskatchewan native is a veteran of 267 WHL games, regular season and playoffs combined, and counting. He continues to do what every antagonist is supposed to do, which is to rile up the opposition. Woodward perhaps did his best work in the Central Division last season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, messing with opponents while also contributing 22 goals and 31 assists in 68 games. The Royals acquired Woodward, who began his DUB career with Everett, during July in exchange for a couple of future draft picks. At 5’10 and 175 pounds, he’s seldom the biggest dog in any confrontation. Woodward, who leads the DUB with seven power play goals, is not going to dominate physically, but he doesn’t shy away from the grind or the traffic. He reminds me a little of Oasiz Wiesblatt, who graduated from the DUB after last season. I think every team needs at least one of these guys. With fellow forward Reggie Newman and rearguard Cosmo Wilson, Victoria looks to have a solid overage group this season.
8. Guys We Miss – A seven-pack of stat lines here for your consumption, guys who are still eligible to play in the WHL but chose the NCAA Division 1 this season. The numbers read, in order, games played; goals; assists; plus/minus rating; team win/loss record. Here goes! Gavin McKenna, Penn State 5gp/1g/5a/-4/5W-1L. Cole Reschny, North Dakota 4/1/2/-2/3-1. Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota 4/2/1/0/3-1. Jackson Smith, Penn State 4/1/3/+1/5-1. Roger McQueen, Providence 3/0/1/-4/1-2. Ryder Ritchie, Boston University 5/2/4/0/2-2-1. Tomas Mrsic, Colorado 6/0/2/0/5-1. Any thoughts?
9. Guilty Pleasures – Love the location of Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. The building itself is just terrific, a wonderful junior hockey venue. It opened as the Canalta Centre just prior to the 2015-2016 WHL season but still has enough of that new car smell for my liking. South Country Co-Op acquired the naming rights in 2020. The facility is also just a hop, skip and jump away from Costco, where I can’t stop myself from indulging in the waffle cones for a cool $3.03. Vanilla all the way! My guilty pleasure! Of course, the hot dog and drink deal is outrageous. It’s $1.58, all in! I suppose in comparison, the ice cream is a bit of a splurge. So, why not plan to fill up your gas tank, grab a couple of hot dogs, then wander over to watch the Tigers prowl. Hmmm…date night.
10. Randoms – Penticton and Vancouver went seven rounds in a shootout Saturday. The Vees had scored in the final minute to force overtime. Is that the longest shootout of the season?…Remember many moons ago in the NHL when the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals went 20 rounds? I remember officiating a midget hockey game in West Kelowna that went 17 rounds. No, I didn’t get paid overtime. And yes, the Zamboni driver waiting to resurface the ice for the next game was going nuts! Probably wasn’t getting overtime either…The Giants have surrendered the most power play goals in the league with 18 against in 50 chances…Prince George leads the DUB with 16 power play goals…Moose Jaw and Seattle lead the DUB with three shorthanded goals. Two of those scored by the Warriors came in the same game against Saskatoon and both were empty netters…I’m not sure there is a fanbase in the DUB that complains more about officiating than the folks in Medicine Hat. Sheesh!…Weird Stat: The Warriors lead the DUB with 51 goals scored through 11 games. They are among the league’s worst with 51 goals against…Vancouver acquired goalie Kelton Pyne from the Regina Pats. Pyne is a 20-year-old…Braden Cootes (Seattle) is back with the T-Birds after his stint with the Vancouver Canucks…Terrell Goldsmith (Tri City) appears on the WHL Weekly Report as injured, out week-to-week…How do you like the new look schedule on the WHL website? It’ll take awhile for me to get used to. I like that game attendance is still featured prominently. On the other hand, the concept of reverse improvement comes to mind, too…Big tilt in Edmonton Tuesday when the Spokane Chiefs take n the Oil Kings. Touted as two of the top teams in the league, Spokane is 2-2 on its current road trip through the Central Division, while Edmonton is atop the eastern conference standings. The Chiefs enter the contest with a power play sputtering along at a 7.7% clip, the worst standard in the DUB so far…Central Scouting has posted its 2025-2026 preliminary players to watch list, which includes 89 WHL players. You can dig up the PDF at NHL.com.

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