10 WHL Things, Volume XXIX
By Glen Erickson
We have definitely entered the Western Hockey League schedule’s home stretch. The page on my calendar has flipped to “March”, which has certainly come in like a lamb in my neck of the woods! But good old prairie folks know Mother Nature is plenty capable of teasing us in many, many ways at this time of year. Let’s get on with it!
1 – Talkin’ ‘Bout Playoffs – Most Western Hockey League teams now have fewer than 10 regular season games remaining. A total of eight teams have already clinched playoff spots, but there will be plenty of jockeying for positions these next couple of weeks. The races for top spot in both the Central Division and East Division are too close to call right now, so strap yourselves in across Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the mad dash to the finish line. Over in the western conference, Everett and Victoria have seven-point and five-point leads respectively on the second-place teams in their divisions. The Silvertips, who have a five-point lead and two games in hand on the Medicine Hat Tigers in the race to capture the regular season championship, will play five of its last eight on the road and seven of those are against U.S. Division teams. Two of those contests are in Spokane against the Chiefs, one of which is featured as the Wednesday Night In The Dub tilt, streamed live on Wednesday, March 12. The teams have split their previous four games this season, but last time out Spokane hung a 10-3 drubbing on the ‘Tips in Everett. The Chiefs play four of its final seven at home, but before that run starts, they’ve got a tough doubleheader on the slate in Victoria this weekend. Which of these U.S. Division powers has the tougher schedule? And how might the injury bug play a role? Suffice to say, they’ll play ‘em all!
2 – Winning Ways – The Prince George Cougars did what they were supposed to do last week, winning both ends of its mid-week doubleheader over the flailing Kelowna Rockets. The back-to-back wins were important because they were of the “games in hand” variety. Those GIH mean nothing unless you win them! About a week ago, the Royals had a nine-point lead on the Cougars in the B.C. Division, but winning those games in hand almost cut that margin in half. Both teams have played 60 games now. The Royals are the hottest team in the western conference over its last ten games, but both teams have won four straight games. Maybe that Victoria/Prince George double dip at CN Centre on the final weekend of the season really could be for all the marbles in the B.C. Division? The teams have split their six games so far this season.
3 – The Century Mark – Last season, three teams finished the regular season with over 100 points. That was Saskatoon (105), Prince George (102) and Portland (101), and only Saskatoon posted 50 wins. This season, only Everett would seem to have a legit chance as the Silvertips need nine points in its final eight games to reach the century mark, and the ‘Tips will have to run the table to reach 50 wins. The only other team with a mathematical chance to reach 100 points is the Calgary Hitmen, which has 84 points and eight games remaining. No other team can reach the 100-point plateau this season. Calgary, with 39 wins, cannot reach the 50-win standard. I’ll go out on limb and suggest there will not a be a 50-game winning team when all is said and done this season. The last time no WHL team won at least 50 regular season games was back in 2005-2006 when three teams posted 47 victories. The 2017-2018 season was the last time WHL teams played a 72-game schedule.
4 – King of the Cats – Riley Heidt has risen to the top of the mountain among Prince George Cougars all-time scorers, setting the career standard for both assists and points. In 273 games over five seasons, Heidt has scored 113 goals and 243 assists, and he’ll continue to add those totals. He also has an opportunity to pass Chase Witala’s career mark of 120 goals, but he’ll be hard-pressed to overtake teammate Koehn Ziemmer, who set the new Cougars’ all-time record this season and now has 124 snipes, and counting. Heidt has also added 30 points in 27 career playoff games. The Saskatoon-native has plied his trade in the WHL’s northern most outpost, so he may not get the looks and views many other elite players do, but the Minnesota Wild saw enough to make him their second-round pick, 64th overall, at the 2023 NHL Draft. He’s not huge, checking in at 5’11 and 180 pounds, but he’s sturdy and very strong on his skates. Heidt was the second pick overall at the 2020 WHL Draft, behind Connor Bedard and just ahead of his Saskatoon Contacts teammate and current Lethbridge Hurricanes forward, Brayden Yager. Current Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Lukas Dragecevic and current Medicine Hat Tigers rearguard Tanner Molendyk rounded out the top five at that draft. In fact, it was an incredible top 15! Heidt, who signed an entry level contract on March 23 last year, will celebrate his 20th birthday, March 25.
5 – The 2020 WHL Draft – If you visit the WHL website on occasion, drill down and have a peak at the 2020 WHL Draft. Of the first 15 players selected, Bedard and Zach Benson are playing in the NHL. The other 13 are all playing in the WHL, but only five of them are still playing for the team that called his name at the draft. A total of nine still toiling in the WHL have been drafted by an NHL team. Six of those have signed entry level contracts. One has already been traded by the NHL team that selected him. Barring something entirely bizarre, one of the signed players will probably win the WHL scoring race this season. At least 11 or 12 of the 13 will play in the WHL’s post-season later this month.
6 – Clean Sheets – An impressive run between the pipes is evolving in the Central Division. Daniel Hauser has posted four straight shutouts as the Calgary Hitmen continue to pursue top spot in the eastern conference. Enroute to setting what is now a Calgary franchise record, Hauser has made 84 straight saves. If he can hold the fort in his next start for 25-minutes and 14-seconds, he will take over ownership of the league record for consecutive minutes played without surrendering a goal. Best information I could find suggests that standard was set over 50 years ago by Chris Worthy of the powerhouse Flin Flon Bombers during the 1967-1968 season. That was when the circuit was referred to as the Western Canada Hockey League. Hauser, now 21, spent the majority of his WHL career with the Winnipeg ICE/Wenatchee Wild organizations, before landing in Calgary at mid-season. With the Hitmen, Hauser is 15-3 with a 1.88 goals against average and .926 save percentage. He simply continues to win, compiling a 117-35-8-1 career record along with 23-11 career playoff record.
7 – McKenna Suspension – Admittedly, I was a tad perplexed by the length of the suspension handed to Medicine Hat Tigers forward, Gavin McKenna. He’s a special talent, but he did spit the bit in Edmonton on February 23. The two-hander he landed on Oil King’s defenceman Josh Mori was certainly not hidden from view. Of course, the action has been downplayed in Medicine Hat, as one would expect, suggesting contact was made with the opponent’s stick. There has been little if any mention about the intended crosscheck aimed at the Oil Kings player while he was down on the ice after the slash, the potential severity perhaps mitigated by McKenna’s already broken twig. The video would appear to show this action, allegedly, but I suppose it could be argued that at my age, a trip to the eye doctor might be in order. However, I won’t be coughing up any green backs for a pair of rose-colored glasses. While I still think three-game suspension is too harsh, the predictable uproar in the Gas City has been quite entertaining. In these situations, and there have been many over the years across many leagues, team spokespeople, loyal fans and members of the media alike do what they have always done and what they will always continue to do; compare, rationalize and defend the actions of “our guy”.
8 – Game Has Changed – I feel for McKenna, and many other elite players in the junior and professional ranks. They are constantly targeted. I completely understand why, but they are all too frequently left to defend themselves these days. The hockey world’s rule-writing class has been making it more and more difficult for team mates to patrol in defence of the game’s star players. (Note that I am staring directly at my prized pair of Don Cherry bobbleheads for inspiration as I punch this out!) The luxury afforded to the Great One, Wayne Gretzky back in the day, by the intimidating presence of valued, productive NHLers like Dave Semenko, Marty McSorley, Kevin McClelland and Dave Lumley, has vanished as quickly as a Zippo lighter can destroy a participation ribbon. Sidney Crosby has paid a steep price his entire career. Connor McDavid? Same thing. Connor Bedard? It’s coming, as soon as opponents begin to take the Chicago Blackhawks seriously. Gavin McKenna? Sadly, it’s his turn now, although it should be noted the Tigers have a few tough customers willing to take opponents to task. Problem is, they keep breaking their hands in the process, earning lengthy stays on injured reserve! And so, we are where we are, folks.
9 – Athletically Speaking – I’ll wander into the hockey side of The Athletic publication on occasion, just to see if there is ever any viewpoint offered beyond the NHL. Last week, a tidbit I found interesting surfaced in a piece penned by a group of writers who spoke with a handful of agents who requested anonymity. Here’s a snippet from one unnamed player agent regarding the new CHL-NCAA rules: “I think there will be a lot of discussion about the four-year college free agency thing. Teams (NHL) hate that. Agents love it where the guys can basically walk after four years. I think there’s going to have to be a lot of modification based on the CHL-NCAA changes just to try to get people on some sort of level playing ground.” We still don’t really know how this all going to shake down and I suspect we’ll learn plenty during the upcoming off-season. Already, over 25 current WHL players have committed to NCAA schools, though the obvious trend suggests these are all 19- or 20-year-olds. The jury is still out, methinks, as to how younger players might choose to plan for their respective, immediate futures.
10 – The Athletic, Part Deux – And how about this from another player agent, on NHL signing bonuses associated with entry level contracts; “The signing bonuses haven’t even kept up with the cost-of-living expenses. If you’re a rookie in New York and told to get an apartment, you’d rather stay in the hotel for three more months. To me, Connor Bedard making a $95,000 signing bonus is crazy. That’s the same as a college free agent. I go to Hawks games and there’s 16,000 Bedard jerseys. Maybe there should be an exception for first-round picks.” There certainly does come a time when these youngsters enter the hockey world’s realm of big business. It’s commonplace for WHL players to ply their trade as teenagers flush with bank accounts stuffed full of US dollars. In the high school hallways of the real world, that is definitely not a thing! But, the example regarding cost of living realities has some merit. Some professional hockey careers are surprisingly short, and what might seem like big bucks and potential generational wealth early on can actually transform into a pretty skinny chicken if the curtain falls on a player’s pro career in their early- or mid-20’s. Maybe there is some real long-term value in a hockey career overseas? Play professionally and enjoy a shorter schedule. See the world. Avoid getting the crap beaten out of you for $100k in the minors. I suppose it’s good to have choices.
RANDOMS – If you are so inspired to agree or disagree with anything I write, please let me know what you think. However, would it be too much to ask for a demonstration of self-respect by signing your full name? I mean, what is it about your point of view that you are so eager to share, but so afraid to own? … How does Gavin McKenna’s three-game hiatus impact the WHL scoring race? He’s currently ten points behind Andrew Cristall of the Spokane Chiefs. Cristall has seven games remaining. When McKenna returns, he’ll have five games to play. Cristall is scoring at a pace of 2.32 points per game so far this season. …A nice run through the East Division by the Lethbridge Hurricanes, a team slowly being pieced back together after a nasty bout with the injury bug. The ‘Canes collected seven of eight possible points in four road games last week. …Not to be outdone, the Medicine Hat Tigers earned road wins in Regina and Brandon on the weekend without surrendering a goal in either tilt. …Can you name the top three powerplays in the league right now? They are Spokane (29.1%), Prince Albert (28.6%) and Victoria (28.1%). Bet you didn’t have the Raiders on your bingo card. …Up to and including March 2, the WHL reported total attendance through 656 games of 2,650,046. That’s an average of 4,040 per contest. If that number holds true through the remaining 92 games, attendance will surpass the 3,000,000-mark at some point during the final weekend of the regular season. …What do goaltenders Jackson Unger, Chase Wutzke, Max Hildebrand, Josh Ravensbergen and Dawson Cowan have in common? Each netminder is likely to appear in at least 50 regular season games. I think that’s a healthy workload! The WHL schedule is now a 68-game docket. …Rookie netminder Jordan Switzer has been on a roll, backstopping the Medicine Hat Tigers to three shutout wins in his last three starts. Switzer, 18, is 22-6-2 this season, compiling a 2.67 GAA and a .901 save percentage. He has been outstanding in what might be considered relief of overager Harrison Meneghin, the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect who has spent some time on injured reserve this season. Switzer is certain to garner significant consideration for the eastern conference rookie of the year award. … Can somebody explain this mouthguard program to me? These things will never prevent damage to a set of chiclets if a player gets drilled either by a puck traveling 80 miles per hour or, a stick colliding with his chops. But these devices do cushion the blow when one’s bottom teeth collide with one’s upper teeth. When worn properly, it is designed (hopefully) to reduce the potential severity associated with contact to the head. Watching the likes of Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid go full chew-toy on these things while in the heat of battle just looks silly…Enjoy your week!
(Glen Erickson is a hockey writer based in Medicine Hat, AB)
