10 WHL Things, Volume XIX

By Glen Erickson

1 – They’re Baaaaaack! – What did we learn this past weekend once Western Hockey League teams returned to the ice? Well, things are heating up in the U.S. Division. The Portland Winterhawks continued their winning ways with a pair of victories over the Tri City Americans. That’s six straight for the ‘Hawks, which have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Everett Silvertips continue to roll, knocking off Seattle twice, making it three wins in a row and an 8-2 record in its last 10 starts. When leading after two periods, the ‘Tips are 25-0-1 and they have been outshot by their opponent only once this season! The lowly Wenatchee Wild scored four third period goals to overcome a 3-0 deficit in its home ice win over the Spokane Chiefs, a team that authored a 10-game winning streak prior to the Christmas break. The Chiefs are 7-3 in its last 10 games and prior to the loss in Wenatchee, were 19-1 when leading after two periods.

2 – Who’s Hot? Who’s Not? – Prince George traveled to Vancouver Island and won a pair over the Victoria Royals. The Cougars have won four straight and are firmly atop the B.C. Division standings, five points ahead of Victoria. Meanwhile, Kelowna continues to struggle, losing five straight. Yuck! In the east, Edmonton and Lethbridge are on heaters, 7-3 in their last 10 games. When leading after two periods this season, the Hurricanes are 10-0 and the Oil Kings are 13-0-1. Saskatoon has won three straight games after the break and are tied with Medicine Hat atop the conference standings with 44 points. The Blades have three games in hand on the Tigers. Red Deer has dropped three games after the Christmas break. In fact, when the Rebels left on its road trip through the U.S. Division on November 8, it was leading the Central Division standings. Since then, Red Deer has gone 6-12-0-2. They’re battling for the final playoff spot in the conference with Swift Current.

3 – Rat Patrol – Back in the day, NHLer Ken Linseman was nicknamed “The Rat”, for his penchant to get under the skin of opponents. Lost in his antics at times was his obvious skill on the offensive side. He collected 927 points in 973 career games. Oasiz Wiesblatt of the Medicine Hat Tigers is without question the WHL’s current version of “The Rat”. Opponents hate playing against him and he’s also punishing them with his offensive (no pun intended) output. With 15 goals and 36 assists in 36 games, along with 92 penalty minutes, Wiesblatt is a handful every night out. For his career, he’s collected 241 points in 263 games, along with 430 penalty minutes. And remember, penalty minute totals no longer include misconducts or game misconducts and Wiesblatt’s mouth has earned him a few extended stays in the sin bin this season. He’s an absolutely ideal player to fill a 20-year-old roster spot. I recall another diminutive WHLer referred to as “The Rat”; Dale Derkatch of the Regina Pats. He was an incredibly gifted offensive forward (594 points in 258 games) and also willing to initiate some chirp. A big difference between he and Wiesblatt is that Derkatch played in an era where he was frequently protected by mammoth teammates. That’s just how rosters were built back then and how the game was played. Semenko/Gretzky, anyone? Wiesblatt? He’s been fighting his own battles his entire career.

4 – Professionals Worldwide – Here are a few names from the WHL past who kept busy on the international stage during the holiday season. Linden Vey (MHAT), Reid Gardiner (SEA/KEL), Tommy Kivisto (RD), Taylor Leier (POR), Skyler McKenzie (WPG), JC Lipon (KAM), Nelson Nogier (STN/RD), Adam Tambellini (CGY), Simon Knak (POR) and Matej Stransky (STN). Their teams played some pretty meaningful games at perhaps the most forgotten hockey tournament played this time of year. That is, the Spengler Cup. The aforementioned are members of teams not named “Canada”. Indeed, former WHL players dot the global professional landscape and so many often surface at the Spengler Cup. Some of these players have NHL experience, but they’ve moved on to carve out pro careers across the pond. It’s typically a lighter schedule, they make a nice living, and they see the world. Leier and Lipon scored for the Straubing Tigers from Germany in its 4-2 semi-final win over Canada. Madison Bowey (KEL) and Dylan Ferguson (KAM) wore the maple leaf at the event.

5 – WJC Hype – Interesting to listen to Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron speak about “hype” on TSN and his view on the media’s role in all of it. “Sometimes the hype takes precedent over what’s really going on,” Cameron opined. He’s not wrong. But trust me, it’s not going to change, especially during the WJC and especially when it’s played in Canada. On the other hand, I wonder if Cameron’s nose might be out of joint in part because he has had to answer over the years after some historic Team Canada losses. In the 2011 gold medal game in Buffalo, Cameron was behind the bench when Canada surrendered five third period goals to the Russians in a 5-3 loss. He was an assistant coach for Bill Peters in Helsinki when Canada lost 6-5 to Finland in a quarter-final game at the 2016 WJC. He will forever be the head coach of record for Canada’s historic 3-2 shootout loss to Latvia in Ottawa. But it’s not all bad. Cameron was head coach for Canada’s gold medal winning team at the WJC played in the Edmonton bubble during the summer of 2022.

6 – Small Thoughts at Large – I’ve long enjoyed scouring the compilation of future WHL draft selections produced by Alan Caldwell. I think his work is masterful. Caldwell can be followed on X (@smallatlarge). Processing the information contained in trades among WHL teams can be plenty challenging, given that at times the deals include draft selections as far out as four or five years down the road. Then, many of these picks are traded again. Caldwell’s efforts, and his clever mastery of excel spreadsheets has been on display for years and is frequently referred to by media and fans alike. You can dig it up online through his profile on X, where you’ll also find some nifty roster and prospects information for all WHL teams. Here’s hoping Caldwell keeps up his great work for years to come.

7 – Looking Ahead – Things will change, especially between now and the trade deadline, which is January 9 at 6:00pm MT. But for now, here are a few observations about the 2025 WHL Bantam Draft from Caldwell’s exceptional body of work: Looks like Lethbridge doesn’t have a pick until the fourth round, while Portland doesn’t have a pick until round three. Saskatoon, Seattle, Red Deer and Swift Current also do not pick in the first round. Five teams have multiple picks in the first round. Kamloops has three. Brandon, Edmonton, Regina and Vancouver have two each. Medicine Hat is loaded with 18 picks in total, the most among WHL teams, but no second-round pick. Looking way down the road to the 2026 WHL Bantam Draft, the Saskatoon Blades have but one pick in the first seven rounds. One! (Remember, this information is typically pretty accurate, but it is unofficial. The precise, official draft order over the entirety of the 12 rounds resides in the friendly confines of the WHL office.)

8 – Did You Know – According to Caldwell, only two teams do not have a full compliment of overage players. Kelowna and Seattle. I wonder how this might come into play with the trade deadline looming? Gotta think both teams might be active sellers. Often times trading an overage player means having to take one back in the same deal. Also, there is only one team that does not have an import player on its roster. The Moose Jaw Warriors. Seven teams have only one import player.

9 – Playoff Experience – After last season, Caldwell calculated the playoff experience each roster had heading into the current campaign. Red Deer and Saskatoon topped the list with 270 games and 268 games respectively, followed by Portland (251) Lethbridge (237) and Moose Jaw (236). The team with the lowest number of playoff games played? Tri City’s roster with 52. Among players, Brayden Yager, Jonas Woo and Sawyer Mynio led the way with 40 playoff games played. Yager and Woo are likely to add to their totals this season, but Mynio could be stuck at 40 if he isn’t moved by the T-Birds.

10 – RANDOMS – I continue to cringe at the absurd amount of money spent to finance businesses like Canada Post and the CBC. When the combination of top-heavy executives, under-performing managers and overpaid employees contribute to a consistent lack of profitable, revenue-generating strategies, is it okay to suggest there are some significant problems? Please don’t mistake this for a political conversation. It’s a discussion about proven business failures that each of us have been funding for far too long!! … Will you be watching The Golf League? I’m really intrigued by the technological innovations, and I hope it can be competitive. But I can also see it devolving into a bunch of trash-talking, yuk yuks for professional golf’s chosen few. The YouTube generation seems to dig that kind of stuff. I always enjoy Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf re-runs, its slow pace and gentlemanly vibe. The TGL series runs from January 7 to mid-March. ESPN and Sportsnet look to be all-in. … Happy New Year, everyone!

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