Glen Erickson’s 10 WHL Things

By Glen Erickson
Medicine Hat

Nice to be back in the saddle after a couple of years away from the rink as the circle of life can certainly impact priorities for those of my vintage. However, the Western Hockey League – its past, present and dare I say, future – is never really too far away from my consciousness. The league continues to produce a solid on-ice product, providing developmental opportunities for many future professionals who parlay their hockey exploits on to the global stage. We’ll bounce around a bit these first couple of weeks before the teams settle in and begin to provide us with what we expect will be a myriad of current topics for weekly consumption:

1. The Championship Season: We’d be remiss if we did not reflect at least briefly on last season’s conclusion. The city of Moose Jaw was treated to its first WHL title, as the Warriors knocked off the Portland Winterhawks in the league championship series. It was the Warriors first appearance in the final since 2006, when the Vancouver Giants swept Moose Jaw, winning the series finale in the Friendly City. One big difference between those two championship final appearances? The venue in Moose Jaw. Much of the Warriors storied history over 40 years includes memorable events at the “Crushed Can”, the old barn also known as the Civic Centre back in the day. Last season, the Warriors celebrated their on-ice success in swanky new digs, Mosaic Place, one of the WHL’s particularly nifty, modern facilities. One wonders what the defending league champs have in store for its fanbase this season. The current group has a tough act to follow.

2. Never is a Long Time: Among the Warriors playoff conquests last season was its epic seven-game series victory over the Saskatoon Blades in the Eastern Conference final. Six of the games needed overtime, including game seven where Moose Jaw won the deciding match in extra time at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. Is there anything more final than sudden death in game seven? The Blades are one of the WHL’s original franchises and sadly for long-time supporters, the organization has never won a league championship. Never. Not once. Nadda. It’s fact; not fiction. That’s almost 60 years…and counting. Ouch!

3. Feeling a Draft: The WHL enjoyed success back in late June at the 2024 National Hockey League Draft in Las Vegas. Five players were selected in the first round on day one of the festivities, then 29 more from the DUB were selected on day two. The total of 34 players?  That’s about an average compilation, looking back on the past 20 editions of the NHL Draft. And early In September, 133 youngsters eligible to play this season in the WHL were off to NHL rookie camps. There is no doubt the WHL provides a developmental springboard for many players to move on to professional hockey, but not everyone will ultimately pursue or land a pro gig. Let’s not forget the value the league also provides through its scholarship program.

4. Cap Friendly ELC’s: How many WHL players will stick with their NHL team this season? For many players, the options are cut and dried. Either crack the NHL team’s roster or it’s back to junior hockey for another season. That’s just how the Collective Bargaining Agreement works in the big leagues. How many NHL teams will choose to burn year one of a three-year entry level contract on a player who may not be quite worthy of a full-time job over the course of an 82-game schedule? That’s the big question NHL brass always has to answer early on. And don’t forget, if an organization is under the gun to some extent with the salary cap, players earning well under $1M per season become pretty valuable assets if they can aptly fill even a bottom six role. Junior hockey operators also wait patiently for these decisions to be made, as the return of a star player can have an enormous impact on a team’s fortunes, both on the ice and at the ticket window.

5. Season Two Begins: With one season under its belt in Wenatchee, how will the Wild continue to evolve? When the franchise relocated from Winnipeg prior to the 2023-2024 campaign, it arrived in Washington State with a pretty solid roster, but virtually no draft picks. In its pursuit for a WHL championship, the previous ownership group pretty much went full yard sale and traded away a significant number of its early round draft picks. The ICE fell just short of its title aspirations, falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2023 championship final. Less than a month later, the team was sold and moved to Wenatchee, a locale with surrounding beauty rivaling that of WHL cities in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The organization did regain a multitude of draft picks when it sent star forwards Matt Savoie to Moose Jaw and Connor Geekie to Swift Current near mid-season. The deals will provide some relief at the WHL bantam draft table, but how quickly can Wenatchee become a sought-after destination, and will the Wild soon contend for a US Division title?

6. Gone But Not Forgotten: As the Regina Pats enter the 2024-2025 season, let’s call it 2AC. That’s 2 years after Connor Bedard. The wunderkind left an indelible mark on the franchise, the Queen City’s junior hockey fanbase and indeed, the entire WHL. The Pats possess a long list of elite alumni, players who’ve graced the confines of both the old Exhibition Stadium and the Agridome, now known as the Brandt Centre. Remember Dennis Sobchuk, Greg Joly, Clark Gillies, Doug Wickenheiser, Dale Derkatch, Jordan Eberle, Sam Steel? Bedard may have been the best ever and the oddity of his first WHL season being played in a Covid Bubble will always be kind of an unfortunate and unique head scratcher. But he’s gone to Chicago and the Pats have some work to do in his wake if they want to return to the top of the heap in the WHL’s East Division. Who is ready to answer the call?

7. Tigers Prowling: There is a case being made the Medicine Hat Tigers might be the team to beat this season, at least in the Eastern Conference. The team’s young forward depth allowed head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins to acquire a few important pieces during the off-season. Medicine Hat graduated its three overage players last season – they were all defenceman – so Desjardins went to work quickly at season’s end to fill this void with the likes of Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo. Then, the most recent deal with the Prince Albert Raiders that landed Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie certainly demonstrated the Tigers intentions heading into the 2024-2025 season. With Gavin McKenna coming off a 95-point season as a rookie and also being touted as the consensus number one pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, expect Co-Op Place in the Gas City to be abuzz each and every night the Tigers take to the ice.

8. A Princely Sum: With its on-ice success the last two seasons, the most recent editions of the Prince George Cougars have enjoyed a game-night experience many players sadly had to go without for much of the past decade. That is…a full building! Last season, the Cougars averaged 3,219 fans per regular season game, the highest total in the past decade. During its post-season run to the Western Conference final, attendance at the eight playoff games at the CN Centre averaged 5,894 spectators. The place was rockin’! It’s heady stuff for an organization that has struggled to win consistently and has struggled to attract fans in B.C.’s Northern Capital. Incidentally, just last week, the Cougars signed a new four-year lease agreement for the CN Centre. We wonder if the Cats will continue to be competitive, a contender out west and subsequently, continue to enjoy success at the gate.

9. Balance? What Balance?: It’s a scheduling oddity that has simply become a fact of life in the WHL. Long gone are the days when every fanbase has the opportunity to see every team at least once each season, which is typically referred to as an aspect of a balanced schedule. For the 2024-2025 regular season, East Division teams will play in each BC Division city. BC Division teams will visit Central Division locales. The Central Division teams will travel throughout the US Division. US Division teams will play in East Division centres.

10. From the Booth: An interesting opening weekend for a couple of WHL broadcasters. On Friday in Swift Current, Saskatoon Blades play-by-play legend Les Lazaruk will call what has to be at least his 2,200^th WHL game. (We’ll dig up the official count soon!) Saturday in Medicine Hat, the new voice of the Tigers, Will Bryant, will call the first game of his WHL broadcast career.

Week 1 Bonus: It was announced on September 13 by Braxton Whitehead of the Regina Pats that he has made a verbal commitment to attend Arizona University and play hockey for the Wildcats next year. Nobody of consequence across the CHL or NCAA is saying too much at this point, but there will undoubtedly be fallout, speculation and assumptions during the coming weeks. Stay tuned!