10 WHL Things, Volume XXV
By Glen Erickson
1: Injury Bug – A scan of the weekly report on the Western Hockey League website this past weekend confirms a handful of teams will be without some key players for a while yet. Andrew Basha of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Jace Weir of the Red Deer Rebels caught my attention as “indefinite”, while Vancouver Giants forward Aaron Obobaifo, who hasn’t played since November 29, is listed as month-to-month. Roger McQueen of the Brandon Wheat Kings has been week-to-week since early October. All tolled through January 27, a total of 12 players are listed week-to-week, 11 as indefinite and four as month-to-month. I wondered how this stacks up against the past two seasons and was surprised to find it’s really about par for the course at this juncture in the league schedule. Last season at the end of January, there were 16 players listed week-to-week, only one indefinite and seven month-to-month. During 2022-2023, it was 24 week-to-week, four indefinite and two month-to-month. Suffice to say that given the speed of the game, the size and strength of the players, the type of equipment worn these days, along with a somewhat condensed schedule, it’s hard not to see that injuries continue to be a definite concern league wide.
2: Bridge City Reunion – The Wenatchee Wild wrap up its swing through the East Division this week, a five-game road trip across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It began in Saskatoon at the SaskTel Centre, a homecoming of sorts for a couple of veterans on the Wenatchee roster. Defenceman Reid Andresen, who appeared in a few games for both the Saskatoon Blazers and Saskatoon Contacts around the time of the Covid pandemic over reaction, played in his 255th career WHL game. The diminutive 19-year-old rearguard began as a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers during the bubble season, where he played the bulk of his junior career before being dealt to Wenatchee at the 2024 WHL Draft. Andresen, who is eligible to play in the WHL next season as a 20-year-old, could potentially exceed the 340-career-game mark. Also in the lineup for Wenatchee was overager Tye Spencer, who scored in the Wild’s 4-2 loss to the Blades. Spencer, who graduated from the Contacts program, appeared in front of friends and family in his 222nd WHL game. He came over to the Wild from the Regina Pats prior to the trade deadline last month.
3: Road Warriors – The Medicine Hat Tigers completed a dominant road trip through the U.S. Division, collecting 11 of a possible 12 points. The Tigers won five straight games before dropping a 4-3 shootout decision to the lowly Seattle Thunderbirds. In fact, the Tigers ran roughshod over its opponents until the head-scratcher at accesso ShoWare Centre, although a couple of key players were not able to play. Medicine Hat arrived for the tilt in Seattle riding a 12-game winning streak. The Tigers scored 28 times in the six games and surrendered 14 goals, while Gavin McKenna ran his point-scoring streak to 26 consecutive games. Medicine Hat was able to create a little bit of separation atop the Central Division standings. Goaltender Harrison Meneghin made life miserable for opponents on the trip, compiling a 2.03 goals against average in five appearances along with a .927 save percentage. Through February 2, the Tigers played 51 games, the most in the WHL.
4: Middle of the Pack – While I enjoyed the airing of a 2017 episode of Austin City Limits featuring the Pretenders, with legendary Chrissie Hynde tearing it up in her late 60’s, I couldn’t help but chuckle about the play on words when the band played Middle of the Road. Indeed, there are a couple of WHL teams rolling along in the middle of the pack, teams that intrigue me as we approach the 50-game mark. The upper echelon teams in the WHL this season appear to be well-established so far, but there are still plenty of games to be played. So, a question rattling around my occasionally aching melon is … are the Edmonton Oil Kings and Vancouver Giants just pretenders this season?
5: Giant Expectations – Vancouver was relatively quiet at the trade deadline, tweaking its goaltending and overage situations. I feel like the Giants have shown signs they can run with the big dogs. In terms of verdicts decided in regulation time, Vancouver (24-19), is five games over .500 and should be secure in the knowledge they will play in the post season. Currently third in the B.C. Division, I’m not sure the Giants can chase down the Victoria Royals or Prince George Cougars. Should Vancouver coast along the rest of the way and perhaps finish seventh in the conference, they would earn a first-round date with the number two seed, either the Royals or Cougars. Even a 4/5 matchup could result in an all-B.C. Division clash. If familiarity breeds contempt, these could be matchups neither B.C. Division frontrunner would be likely to enjoy. Forward Cameron Schmidt is of the high-octane variety on the offensive side, and I like what veteran Tyler Thorpe can do. Overager Connor Levis brings some healthy playoff experience to the group and head coach Manny Viveiros knows a thing or two about long playoff runs. When the Giants run hot and keep opponents hemmed in, they can dominate, evidenced by a 15-4 record when outshooting their opponents. But the Giants can’t seem to keep the puck out of its own net with enough consistency. If they can tidy this up down the stretch and either Brady Smith or Burke Hood go ballistic between the pipes, might there be some good times this spring at the Langley Events Centre?
6: Crowning Achievements – It would seem the Edmonton Oil Kings are in tough among the Central Division powerhouses. Edmonton was even more quiet at the trade deadline than Vancouver and didn’t jump into the frenzy at all in comparison to Medicine Hat, Calgary and Lethbridge. The Oil Kings are seven games above .500 (26-19) in games decided in regulation time and are likely destined for fourth place in the Central, which could actually land them fifth in the conference. That wouldn’t be good enough to earn home ice advantage in the first round, but it would most certainly guarantee a date with a Central Division rival. Edmonton has had a tough time with the Hitmen this season, but they have had some success against Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. Edmonton is kind of a scoring-by-committee group. A big question for now is how the Oil Kings will perform these next few weeks without leading scorer Gracyn Sawchyn, who hasn’t played since January 17 and is on the shelf week-to-week. Sawchyn had 15 points in January before being sidelined. The Oil Kings have been better-that-average defensively – only four teams have given up fewer goals so far this season. The group on the backend, featuring Ethan MacKenzie, Rhys Pedersen, Parker Alcos, Blake Fiddler and Josh Mori, provides size, mobility and varied experience. Edmonton’s goaltending tandem of Alex Worthington, who will celebrate his 20th birthday Wednesday, and Ethan Simcoe, who turns 19 on March 2, have a combined total of 50 games of WHL experience. Can the Oil Kings continue to improve enough to make their first-round playoff opponents nervous?
7: Press Box Seating – Was it at all surprising to see the WHL again instruct 19-year-old defenceman Corbin Vaughn of the Prince George Cougars to take a seat somewhere above ice level? This time, he’s been dealt a 10-game suspension for a charging major committed against the Swift Current Broncos on January 28. It’s the longest suspension doled out by the WHL office this season and the longest in the league for an on-ice infraction since Dawson Butt of the Everett Silvertips was suspended 10 games on January 12, 2020. Vaughn has compiled a lengthy wrap sheet, and it’s not shy on variety. It all began November 1, 2022 when the league sat him down four games for a check to the head violation. Six weeks later it was three more games for another check to the head. In November, 2023, two more games, this time for a slew foot. It started early this season for Vaughn, suspended four games in late September for another check to the head. These transgressions occurred as a member of the Regina Pats and precluded the situation in November when the Pats made the decision to suspend Vaughn indefinitely for a “hockey-related matter”.
8: Regina’s Roster Shuffle – Shortly thereafter, Jaxin Vaughn, Corbin’s twin brother requested a trade and left the Pats. Jaxin is also considered a repeat offender by the WHL, having been suspended twice while playing for Regina, once for three games and the second time for six games. He was quickly traded to Everett after leaving the Pats and has collected 10 points in 31 games for the ‘Tips. But it took about three more weeks for Regina to get a deal done with Prince George for Corbin. Since arriving in B.C.’s northern capital December 8, Corbin has played 14 games for the Cougars and chipped in with one even-strength goal and a minus-4 rating. On January 11, he was suspended by the WHL four games for a cross-check in a game against Kamloops. In his first game back from that league-imposed hiatus, he committed the charging foul against the Broncos. All told, it’s six suspensions for 26 games. One wonders what switch is being flipped when the blades are laced up, because off the ice, early on as WHLers, the pair was honoured as recipients of the Pats community service award.
9: Offensive Outbursts – Andrew Cristall of the Spokane Chiefs sits atop the WHL scoring race after the weekend’s play with 89 points in 38 games. Since landing south of the border at the trade deadline, Cristall has played in 10 games wearing a Chiefs’ uniform. Spokane has a 7-3 record in those contests. Cristall, who is signed by the Washington Capitals, has chipped in with eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points. All told this season, including 60 points in 28 games with the struggling Kelowna Rockets, Cristall is scoring at a 2.34 points per game pace. Medicine Hat Tigers sensation, Gavin McKenna, is one point behind Cristall with 27 goals and 61 assists and 88 points in 42 contests, good for a 2.10 points per game pace. Nobody else is even close. Spokane has 19 games remaining, while Medicine Hat has 17.
10: RANDOMS – The Lethbridge Hurricanes extended their road winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary Sunday. Attendance at the afternoon tilt is reported on the WHL website at 10,122, the second largest gate of the season at the Saddledome and fourth largest in the league this season…Jordan Keller of the Kamloops Blazers is quietly putting up special numbers for a group battling to earn a playoff berth in the western conference. Through 48 games, the veteran forward has collected 24 goals and 25 assists. While Emmett Finnie (68 points) and Nathan Behm (58) lead the team in scoring, Keller leads the league in power play goals with 15 and leads the Blazers with two shorthanded tallies…Defenceman Landon Dupont sits comfortably atop the rookie scoring race with 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points, heady stuff for a player almost four months shy of his 16th birthday. Dupont has a seven-point lead on Blazers’ rookie forward Tommy Lafreniere (19-24;43 points). Gavin Garland of the Tri City Americans leads all rookies with 20 goals.
(Glen Erickson is a freelance hockey writer based in Medicine Hat, AB)
