10 WHL Things, Volume XL

By: Glen Erickson

That was quick, wasn’t it? The Medicine Hat Tigers are the 2025 Western Hockey League Champions after winning a 5-game championship final series with the Spokane Chiefs. I don’t think it was even close, and now the Tigers advance to the Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Quebec. Proceed here with caution, and you might be awhile. It’s a cool baker’s dozen for you this week!

1 – Expectations – It was way back on September 18, 2024 when the Canadian Hockey League published the first of its weekly Top 10 rankings. Compiled before the regular season began, the list was produced primarily through input from Central Scouting and as the season progressed the teams and the standings kind of took over as the barometer for each week. The Medicine Hat Tigers were ranked atop the list nationwide before pucks began to drop in earnest, and while that anointment has not been proven to be an entirely accurate projection with the Memorial Cup still to be played, the prognosticators nailed it by pegging the Tigers as the top team in the WHL. Winning isn’t always easy, but, like many sporting endeavours, I have often wondered just how hard it really is to win … when you are expected to win.

2 – The Woodshed – The Tigers kind of stunk out the joint in Game 2 at Co-Op Place in the Gas City, in what turned out be their final home game of the season. It was rather an aberration – the 6-2 spanking administered by the Spokane Chiefs – and it appeared to supply the western conference champs with a measure of confidence and momentum. But that all seemed to linger for about the length of time it took the Tigers to travel to the Lilac City in Eastern Washington. Medicine Hat waltzed into the Spokane Arena and took the hosts to the woodshed three times in four nights. The series clincher, Game 5, was the only one-goal game of the series (okay, okay, there was an empty-netter). The others were pretty much one-sided decisions with the smallest margin of victory being three goals on two occasions. The Tigers outscored the Chiefs 21-11 in the series and 15-4 in the three games at Spokane. Medicine Hat has played a bob-and-weave all season long, inserting players into varying roles due to a long list of injuries and absences. This is a very complete team with tremendous depth.

3 – More Better Players – It’s really that simple. Medicine Hat has more good players, more consistently productive inter-changeable players, than any other team in the WHL. The Tigers went 16-2 in the playoffs, en route to the league title. It’s a mix of veterans and youngsters put together over the last two or three years, with some key additions this season. Let’s give a big shoutout to Director of Player Personnel Bobby Fox and the scouting staff! It certainly didn’t hurt that the Tigers won the 2022 Draft Lottery, which enabled the organization to select forward Gavin McKenna. (Does anybody remember who was chosen second?) McKenna has taken the WHL by storm during his two seasons. He has indeed been an important building block.

4 – Depth, Depth, Depth – The depth will be tested at the Memorial Cup with the likes of McKenna and Misha Volotovskii said to be on the limp, and Cayden Lindstrom apparently on some sort of playing schedule the Tigers and Columbus Blue Jackets are said to be collaborating on. Lindstrom took a bump in Spokane and was unable to travel home to Medicine Hat on the team bus; he returned by air. The Tigers stayed healthy for most of the post-season, until the injury bug kind of surfaced during the Championship Series. The Tigers rampage through the WHL playoffs included a paltry total of 18 games played, which probably helped limit some of the bumps and bruises, as the group had a few good rests along the way. Medicine Hat swept the Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes, dropping one game to the Swift Current Broncos and one to the Chiefs. We won’t hear too much about any of the more serious injuries until well after the season, but even if I did know now, I too would keep it all in the vault. I mean, I know I can keep a secret; it’s the people I tell who can’t!! Suffice to say, every player who dresses in Rimouski will likely be dealing with minor ailments of some sort. After all, most are already about 80 games into the 2024-2025 season.

5 – Key Additions – Both the deal made at the 2024 WHL Draft that landed defenceman Bryce Pickford from the Seattle Thunderbirds, and the move to acquire netminder Harrison Meneghin from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in early October, were crucial. I for one, didn’t really believe Medicine Hat needed to devote an overage spot to a 20-year-old goalie, but since he arrived, Meneghin has been an absolute stud, a leader and an inspiration. He was honoured as the 2025 WHL Playoff MVP and surely looks to be a massive, seventh round steal by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2024 NHL Draft. Pickford, who for some reason was bypassed at the 2024 NHL Draft, is just a gamer, a tough and nasty piece of business who can fill the net. He shoots the puck…hard! The trade deadline deal to bring over Volotovskii and Tanner Molendyk from the Saskatoon Blades added to the then eastern conference leading Tigers star power and depth, which was especially important for Medicine Hat because Pickford and Jonas Woo were out of the lineup with hand injuries during the second half of the season. The December 31, 2023 deal that saw the Tigers acquire versatile Marcus Pacheco looks pretty good, too. Great moves! Great results!

6 – Spokane Scoring Woes – Perhaps lost in much of this is the reality the Chiefs are a very good young team, one which gained tremendously valuable experience during its long playoff run. Only five teams iced a younger roster at the beginning of the 2024-2025 campaign. It would not be an entirely outlandish proposition to suggest the Chiefs and Tigers could reacquaint next season during the playoffs. But the WHL Championship Series will be discussed at some length with the inability of Spokane’s high-octane line to break through against Medicine Hat. Not only did the Chiefs top line struggle to put the puck in the net throughout the series, they struggled to keep it out of their own net. Through five games, the veteran trio of Berkly Catton, Andrew Cristall and Shea Van Olm was a combined minus-26. Indeed, for all their incredible accomplishments, this result will be a bitter pill.

7 – Overage Grads – There are typically 66 spots filled league-wide by overage players and every season, only three secure the opportunity to participate in the Memorial Cup. It’s one of many compelling roster nuances in major junior hockey. Chiefs forward Shea Van Olm, who led the WHL in goals scored during the regular season with 49 tallies, is done, as is defenceman Brayden Crampton and import forward Rasmus Ekstrom. On the ice, the three 20-year-olds played 705 WHL games, regular season and playoffs combined, accounting for 174 goals and 322 assists. (And yes, I am well aware that occasionally these players complete their WHL careers well after celebrating their 21^stbirthdays.) For the Tigers, forwards Oasiz Wiesblatt and Matthew Ward, along with Meneghin, move on to the 2025 Memorial Cup, no doubt an experience that will serve as a major junior career highlight.

8 – Historic Achievements – Tigers D-man Bryce Pickford scored in eight consecutive playoff games. He tallied in every game of the WHL Championship Series. It’s heady stuff! Pickford led all rearguards with 13 playoff goals, six ahead of Lethbridge Hurricanes captain, Noah Chadwick. It’s being referred to as a modern-era record, you know, since not much happened in the DUB before 1996. … Is Pickford’s playoff performance perhaps an all-time WHL record for defencemen? I’m not sure where to hunt down that intel. … It hasn’t been touched for what, almost 50  years, but is Blair Chapman’s record of 24 playoff goals in 1976 as a member of the Saskatoon Blades so far in the past it’s become irrelevant because that wasn’t the modern-era? … Medicine Hat rearguard Jonas Woo sits atop the heap as the current the leader in post-season games played among active WHLers, with 58 appearances under his belt. The all-time leader, at least the best I could come up with, is Nic Petan who played in 88 playoff games for the Portland Winterhawks between 2011 and 2015. Imagine that, the modern era. … Medicine Hat has appeared in seven WHL Championship Series as a franchise and has won six times. Pretty good winning percentage!

9 – Rimouski, 2009 – The Memorial Cup was played in northeastern Quebec back in 2009 and in some regards, it was quite bizarre. The Kelowna Rockets represented the WHL, won their first two contests, and before they played their final round robin game, had already clinched a berth in the championship final. When the Rockets faced off against the Windsor Spitfires in the penultimate game of that round robin, they had an opportunity to eliminate Windsor from the tournament with a victory, as the Spitfires had lost its first two games. But the Rockets stumbled, and the Spitfires parlayed that 2-1 round-robin victory into a four-game winning streak that included a 4-1 decision over Kelowna in the final. Windsor was led by Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique, who are still active in the National Hockey League. The Rockets roster featured Jamie Benn, Tyler Myers and Mikael Backlund, who also remain active in the NHL. The bizarre twist in all of this from 2009 is that Kelowna had four full days off after its final round robin game. Four days. In Rimouski. Four. Good times. It could happen again next week to the WHL representative.

10 – Rimouski 2009, Bonus Round – I reached out to wily veteran Doyle Potenteau, a solid newspaper man who did an outstanding job covering the Rockets for many years. He still argues the 2009 edition was the best Rockets team ever, and I would be hard-pressed to disagree. Potenteau was in Rimouski and recalled that goaltender Mark Guggenberg started the final game in tough shape, suffering from an athletic hernia that later required surgery. The Rockets backup was Adam Brown, a rookie. “They kind of went into a defensive shell,” Potenteau said. “Guggenberger couldn’t get up quickly when he went down. It really affected the team mentally.” Windsor scored three times on its first five shots to take control and while Brown came in and pretty much shut the door, it was too little, too late. The Rockets also had a great energy line in Curt Gogol, Kyle St. Denis and Mitch Callahan, a trio that was instrumental in the Rockets playoff run and the WHL Championship Series win over the Calgary Hitmen. “I look back and they should have played that third line more, but in the Memorial Cup, with all the extra timeouts, they focused on their top two lines,” Ppotenteau said. “I have to say, the hardest part was interviewing (some of) those young men, their eyes red with tears, knowing their junior careers were over.” Yeh, I hear that, Doyle. It’ll happen again next week in Rimouski.

11 – Memorial Cup Titles – The Tigers have favourable history traveling to Eastern Canada for the Memorial Cup. They won the national championship in both 1987 (at Oshawa) and 1988 (at Chicoutimi). In 1973, when the tournament was played as three team round robin, the Medicine Hat team led by Tom Lysiak and Lanny McDonald did not qualify for the championship final. In 2004 at Kelowna, the Tigers lost in the semi-final, 6-5 to Gatineau. Three years later in Vancouver, Medicine Hat lost in the final, 3-1 to the host Giants. Medicine Hat has never played host the tournament. It has always arrived at the Memorial Cup through the front door, as WHL champions. Look for the Tigers to be labelled as the “bad guys” at this one, rather a common theme at Quebec-based Memorial Cups. Back in the day, the WHL champions won four straight – 1985 Prince Albert Raiders, 1988 Medicine Hat Tigers, 1991 Spokane Chiefs and 1994 Kamloops Blazers – who all rolled into La Belle Province and ran roughshod over their opponents. I’m not sure many Quebecois have ever forgotten the beat downs. It warms my heart.

12 – Elimination Games & Championships – Watching the Toronto Maple Leafs implode Sunday on home ice against the Florida Panthers was as entertaining as it was excruciating. Now, I don’t expect people to understand that I sincerely don’t have a dog in any hockey fight, whether it’s the NHL or WHL. I’ve gone to the rink for most of the past 20 years to work. Not to cheer. Not to drink beer out of plastic solo cups. Not to yell obscenities at the officials. Not to spill nacho cheese on my overpriced team jersey. I went to the rink work! I do know that one of the byproducts is that I’m almost numb to the hysteria that occurs in the stands. I simply do not care about the results at a level even close to those who have a vested interest. But, with the Leafs in mind, I will admit to growing up in Saskatoon, where the Blades were the “show”. The organization is an original WHL franchise dating back to 1966 and Blades fans are still waiting for its team to win a championship. 1966! Does that date resonate with anybody? I think Leafs fans get it. No Stanley Cups for Toronto since 1967. Okay. I feel for you all, because I understand why that annual swift kick in the nuts occurs every spring, thanks to a team and an organization that just cannot get it done. Hey Toronto…try being a Blades fan!

RANDOMS – DYK, with the second pick at the 2022 WHL Draft, the Tri City Americans selected defenceman Jackson Smith. He is projected to be a first-round pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. … The last team to go 16-2 through four rounds in the WHL playoffs was the Vancouver Giants back in the spring of 2006. Since Y2K, four teams have gone 16-3 to clinch the WHL championship. None were able to win the Memorial Cup tournament. … The 1988-1989 Swift Current Broncos went 12-0 through the playoffs after earning a first round bye, then went on to win the Memorial Cup, losing only a round-robin game during its entire post-season. That edition of the Broncos is the last Saskatchewan-based team to win the national championship. The Edmonton Oil Kings (2014) and Red Deer Rebels (2001) are the most recent Alberta-based teams to win. … For those nit-picking at me for admonishing TSN’s decision to airlift an eastern-Canada based duo to call the WHL Championship Series, perhaps there really is no eastern Canadian bias? Will you be placing a wager of any kind that the tandem in the booth at the Memorial Cup will be of the western-Canadian variety? Where are the likes of Peter Loubardias or R.J. Broadhead when we need them? … The Memorial Cup kicks off on May 23 in Rimouski when the Tigers take on the host Oceanic. The Moncton Wildcats and London Knights round out the field, with former Saskatoon Blades goaltender Austin Elliott wearing the Knights green and gold. … The 2025 Centennial Cup featured an all-western Canada affair in its championship game as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melfort Mustangs took on the tournament host Calgary Canucks. Melfort advanced to the final with a 4-3 semi-final win over Trenton, while Calgary needed overtime to dispatch Rockland, 3-2. In the finale, the Canucks beat the Mustangs 7-2. … Nice to see Pete Rose welcomed back to MLB by commissioner Rob Manfred. But, as mentioned by Rod Pedersen last week, I agree, it’s too little, too late. While Rose is now eligible for the Hall of Fame, don’t look for the Baseball Writers Association of America to enshrine him any time soon. After all, they’re in charge of the popularity contest that also refuses to recognize the incredible achievements of Barry Bonds. I think there is a decidedly liberal smugness, veiled as “responsibility”, among those who purport to be the sporting world’s moral compass. … I just can’t get enough Game 7’s! … Would PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler have more global star power if he were a visible minority? … How about the Saskatchewan Rush layin’ the boots to Buffalo Sunday night in Saskatoon! Game 3 for all the NLL marbles goes next Saturday afternoon in western New York. … Is the Indianapolis 500 still must-see TV?

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