10 WHL Things: Canes Pull The Trigger

By Glen Erickson

We’re past the quarter pole in the 2024-2025 Western Hockey League schedule and there’s plenty to ruminate about these days.

1 – Monster Deal – If there’s one thing for certain I’ve learned over the years covering the WHL, it’s Peter Anholt is not shy about rolling up his sleeves. After his charges followed up a five-game winning streak with five straight losses on the road, the Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager got together with his counterpart in Moose Jaw – Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger – and orchestrated an enormous deal that clearly demonstrates Anholt’s intentions for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season. (I’ll be very surprised if he’s finished!) Forward Brayden Yager and goaltender Jackson Unger, key, veteran members of the Warriors 2024 WHL championship team, are on their way to the Hurricanes in return for two roster players, one prospect and six future draft picks – two of the picks being first rounders in 2025 and 2028. This move should bode well for the ‘Canes at the gate, too, although fans in Lethbridge might only see Yager in his new digs once this month because he’ll be gone to a Hockey Canada camp shortly. Lethbridge starts a four-game homestand this week before a home-and-home Highway 3 rivalry weekend with the Medicine Hat Tigers concludes their pre-Christmas break schedule.

2 – Setting the Tone – Both teams and the league office have issued the usual press releases, but make no mistake, this deal sets the tone – and the price – for any trades conjured up in the next month that might involve elite WHLers. Contending teams looking for extra ammunition heading into the second half of the season have a pretty good idea now as to how much they’ll have to pay to play. And let’s not ignore Ripplinger’s decision in all of this. He clearly is not willing to sit on elite talent and experience while his roster is so obviously in the midst of a retool or rebuild after its championship season. There are numerous WHL examples of teams electing to hang on too long to top end players, rather than make the kind of deal necessary to seriously restock the cupboard. Kudos to Ripplinger for the lesson in leadership – for reading the tea leaves and pulling the trigger.

3 – 2025 IIHF World Junior – The players invited to the Hockey Canada selection camp includes perhaps the most robust WHL group I can remember. Two goalies, four defenceman and six forwards will compete for Team Canada roster spots, then move on to play in Ottawa, December 26 to January 5. In a neat little quirk, it is entirely possible four graduates of the Saskatoon Contacts AAA Midget program will skate for Team Canada. Do you know who they are? A quick glance at the list of 32 players invited to the selection camp confirms the wealth of talent available and also, the reality that some very good players will not make the team. Here are the WHL hopefuls: Carson Bjarnason (BDN), Scott Ratzlaff (SEA), Harrison Brunicke (KAM), Tanner Molendyk (SAS), Caden Price (KEL), Berkly Catton (SPO), Andrew Cristall (KEL), Riley Heidt (PG), Tanner Howe (CGY), Gavin McKenna (MH), Brayden Yager (LETH).

4 – Percolating in Prince Albert – Forward Tomas Mrsic has pretty much gone ballistic offensively since mid-November, collecting a pair of hat tricks and 12 points in his last six games. Mrsic, with 31 points in 20 games, was acquired during the off-season from the Medicine Hat Tigers in a deal that saw Prince Albert send Ryder Ritchie to the Gas City. But, according to Martin Ring, who handles colour commentary on Raiders’ radio broadcasts, it’s the line of Mrsic, Aiden Oiring and Brayden Dube who have been a driving force of late. Ring added that Mrsic tallied his first career WHL hat trick, perhaps conveniently during the Raiders parents/billet weekend when they won twice at the Art Hauser Centre, knocking off the Tri City Americans and Edmonton Oil Kings on consecutive nights. The win over Tri City put a halt to the Americans 13-game winning streak.

5 – Blueline Brigade – Ring also opined that it may have taken a little time for assistant coach Conor Yawney to get things dialed in among the rearguards. Yawney, whose father Trent played 218 games for the Saskatoon Blades and 653 NHL games, joined the Raiders staff on May 30. Team captain Justice Christensen anchors the crew, but off-season acquisition Lukas Dragicevic, who came over from the Americans, is currently tops among defenceman in the league with 25 assists. Prince Albert just picked up goaltender Dimitri Fortin from the Moose Jaw Warriors to add some insurance behind 20-year-old keeper, Max Hildebrand. Fortin was part of the Warriors championship team last season and he’s only 18-years-old. The Raiders have gone 8-1-1 in its last 10 games to creep back into the eastern conference playoff hunt.

6 – Officially Speaking – Unlike a seemingly large number of hockey fans, I’m a big supporter of WHL referees. The job they take on, the challenges they encounter and the developmental hockey road map so many travel, continues to intrigue me. I marvel at how an officiating crew that seldom skates together as a unit, has to work to establish sight lines and communicate amid the constant motion and mayhem in front of them. Curiously, it seems officiating and opining from the comfort of the press box or an all-too-familiar season-ticket perch in the stands is an absolute piece of cake. But at ice level? Among a dozen athletes all pushing the envelope to gain an advantage? While one has to be in constant motion? Yeh, that program’s not easy.

7 – C’mon Ref – Chief among the many highlights for me on the media side over the years have been my occasional conversations with WHL Senior Director, Officiating, Kevin Muench. We spoke at some length this past weekend and I’ll drop in a few officiating tidbits from time to time over the next couple of months. Muench has occupied his current WHL role since the summer of 2001, about five years after he hung up the blades. I was surprised to hear from him how many experienced officials the league has lost in recent years. “Not so much prior to this season,” Muench said, “but prior to last season. We lost a lot of our veteran referees. I remember Steve Papp and Chris Crich officiating the Memorial Cup final in Kamloops, then they retired. Brett Iverson, Kyle Kowalski, Fraser Lawrence…they all retired. And Graedy Hamilton moved on the NHL.”

8 – Mentorship and Accountability – The WHL is a developmental league, not only for players and coaches, but also for officials. “We lost a lot of experience,” Muench said. “But we are really fortunate our leadership group talks about the culture within a team, the accountability, the professionalism on and off the ice. Our veteran staff has been really good to help bring along our young officials.” Muench suggested he’s thankful to be able to lean on the likes of Jeff Ingram, Mark Pierce, Troy Murray, Taylor Burzminski, among others, to work with the up and comers. And let’s not forget, we’ve reached the time of year when international assignments come available for officials striving to broaden their experience and development. More on this next week!

9 – Teddy Bear Toss – The benefits of playing in an NHL-sized arena really emerge at this time of year with the annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion. It’s always a tough act to follow league-wide when the Calgary Hitmen hosts its TBT game and the 2024 edition did not disappoint. There were 16,869 supporters in attendance Sunday afternoon at the Saddledome to watch the Hitmen thrash the Moose Jaw Warriors, 9-0. It only took 1:35 for Carson Wetsch to tally his 10^th goal of the season, which sent a total of 22,013 projectiles flying on to the ice. Not to be outdone, on November 24, there were 17,224 fans at Rogers Place in Edmonton as the Oil Kings shut out the Red Deer rebels, 5-0. It evolved as a bit of family business of sorts in the first period as Gracyn Sawchyn tallied the TBT goal, with his brother Lukas supplying one of the assists. It’s really a nifty tradition across the WHL for a great cause and the league has provided a complete rundown on its website with dates scheduled in each WHL city. The Seattle Thunderbirds held its TBT game November 23, a 5-4 shootout win over Lethbridge. There will be 13 more TBT games played this coming weekend.

10 – Memorial Cup Announcement – I took a little heat for my comment last week, “I’m ecstatic for the Rockets ownership group!” I guess the best way to sum it all up might be to simply say, “thanks for reading!”, then move on. But yeh, not so fast. Anonymous social media stalkers and sports fans with tunnel-vision are just an occupational hazard that comes with the byline. But, just to let the fringe in on a little secret, here goes. Prior to the CHL’s 2026 Memorial Cup announcement, I had compiled five different commentaries. One started with, “I’m ecstatic for the Tigers ownership group!” Another began, “I’m ecstatic for the Wheat Kings ownership group!” Get the picture? There were five possibilities, and I produced a little shy of a couple of hundred words to speak supportively to each eventuality. Preparation, you know? And balance. So, for the critics? No soup for you! Next!!!

BONUS ROUND – Gotta admit that I admire the creativity of so many hockey play-by-play guys. For what it’s worth, most of them absolutely bust their butts – the amount of preparation time required per broadcast should not be under appreciated by listeners. Many of these gents are also busy with social media posts during the games. They truly are skilled and multi-talented. But I’m still a big fan of how they command the English language. One of my favourite lines over the years, courtesy of former Winnipeg Jets broadcaster Dennis Beyak is “leather larceny”, coined to describe a great glove save. Then along comes Will Bryant, the new voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers with his description of a goal scored Friday night by rookie Markus Ruck, on a nifty feed from his brother Liam. “Twin telepathy, on display”! C’mon, man! Now that’s solid!

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