10 WHL Things, Volume XVI

By Glen Erickson

A fun-filled week that included a road trip into Saskatchewan. Read on if you dare!

1 – The InnovationPlex Experience – I love the smaller venues in the WHL. So, when an opportunity arose to take in the Medicine Hat Tigers tilt against the Swift Current Broncos last week on my way to Saskatoon, I couldn’t make my hotel reservation quickly enough. The I-Plex as I like to call it, is certainly unique. It’s full of WHL history and it’s also home to some terrific Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame displays. The teams occupy benches across the ice from each other. The penalty box is beside the home team’s bench. The standing room areas on the concourse and at ice level are numbered – yes, they’re sold as seats. At one point, I was told by a friendly young man that I was standing in somebody’s seat! I imagine capacity might be 3,000 if the fire chief is on vacation and these communities are famous for cramming them in for important events. The renovations over the years have taken into account the team’s spiffy blue, green and white color scheme. It’s just a great place to watch junior hockey. Medicine Hat overcame a 3-1 deficit after 40 minutes in a game the Broncos really had no business leading. The under-manned Tigers dominated territorial play and went full buzzsaw in the third period, solving Swift Current keeper Reid Dyck three times to skip town with a well-deserved 4-3 decision. Gavin McKenna tallied the winner with 16 seconds to play.

2 – Banter With Brady Birnie – I have long marveled at how so many WHL players enter the league as wide-eyed teenagers, perhaps somewhat shy and intimidated by the prospect of facing the media. After all, how many 15- and 16-year-olds find themselves the subject of media requests? It’s a junior hockey reality and by the time many of these players move on from the WHL, they’ve established themselves as mature, well-spoken, young men. I’m confident that in large part, many play-by-play guys and media wags across the league play a role in how these youngsters evolve as the subjects of interviews. Diminutive forward Brady Birnie of the Swift Current Broncos is an eminently self-aware WHL veteran who has not missed a regular season game since some point in his rookie season. In his fourth full season now, the 19-year-old Regina, Saskatchewan native has appeared in 234 regular season games and nine more in the post-season. He’s off to his best start offensively this season with 15 goals and 24 assists in 28 games.

3 – Time Flies – I spoke with Birnie before the game in Swift Current. “I still remember showing up at 15 years old, going to the bubble (in Regina), coming in super scared, super nervous and not knowing a soul,” Birnie said when asked about his first stint in the Dub. “And then, you know, five months, six months later, coming into the InnovationPlex here for the first time for my first camp. It all seems like it was a flash and now it’s coming closer to the end.” Birnie is quick to credit the likes of Raphael Pelletier and Sam McGinley for showing him the ropes early on, and he recognizes how his role has evolved. “I just talked to Sam today,” Birnie said. “It’s good to have guys like that who can kind of help you grow in the league. Looking back now as an older player, where I’m in the shoes that they were in, it all kind of makes sense. It does. It truly makes sense.” Birnie, who has managed to play close to home during his WHL career, is in for more of the same next season. He’s committed to Bemidji State in Minnesota for the 2025-2026 season.

4 – From the Booth – If you’ve never seen the space occupied by the play-by-play guys in Swift Current, it’s legendary. Well, sort of. My estimation is maybe just shy of 60-square-feet of working space for each person? The infamous climb up the wall-mounted ladder is tough enough, as I found out, without even considering the amount of equipment these folks have to lug up to their perch…particularly the visiting broadcasters. The home and away broadcasters actually sit about eight feet apart. Watching and listening to Gino “Hot Damn” De Paoli and Will Bryant last week was particularly interesting and what a game they had to call! Like it or not, there’s a unique history between these two gentlemen and in fairness, it’s certainly not at all their own doing.

5 – World Junior Championship Musings – With news surfacing that Kamloops Blazers defenceman Harrison Brunicke was not medically cleared for the Team Canada selection camp, speculation ran amok his replacement would naturally come from the WHL, in form of Calgary Hitmen rearguard, Carter Yaremchuk. Well, not so fast. As much as the Ottawa Senators first round draft pick would not at all be out of place among the 32 players invited, the nod went to Zayne Parekh of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. When Hockey Canada announces its selection camp invitees, it also has a list of replacements in the event illness or injury prevents a player from attending. It’s likely that Parekh, selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round, ninth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, would’ve been the choice regardless of who could not answer the bell. It’s a crummy deal for Brunicke, the Pittsburgh Penguins second round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, who is listed on the WHL’s weekly report as out of action week-to-week with an upper body injury. I’d love to know if there is another WHLer on the waiting list among forwards!

6 – WJC Musing, Part Deux – So many wonderful memories over the years and last week, when the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Moose Jaw Warriors did some business on the trade front ahead of the WJC, it took me down memory lane … and perhaps not in a good way. It was December of 2008 and Hockey Canada announced its selection camp roster for the 2009 WJC, the tournament made famous by Jordan Eberle’s goal in the dying seconds of a preliminary round game against the Russians. The Prince George Cougars, a struggling team and franchise at the time, had a tremendously valuable asset in forward Dana Tyrell. There were said to be deals on the table, likely of the massive variety, but the Cougars and any trade partners seemed willing to wait until after the WJC. Then, during a pre-tournament game against Sweden, Tyrell collided with an opponent, suffered a torn ACL and never played another WHL game. In fact, after surgery to repair the knee, I think he wound up at home in Airdrie, Alberta rather than returning to Prince George. Tyrell, an absolute speedster, had been selected in the second round, 47^th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2007 NHL Draft and would eventually play 139 games with Tampa Bay. In January of 2012, he tore the ACL again and required surgery. It’s a sad but true tale that highlights how both a player and a team can be adversely affected by hockey’s cruel realities.

7 – Officially Working The WJC – As much as it’s all about the players battling for roster spots to play at the WJC, it’s also a sought-after opportunity for on-ice officials. The WHL will be well represented, as it often is. Mike Langin and Mike Campbell will attend as referees, while Tarrington Wyonzek will attend and work the lines. But remember, as proficient as these gents are working games across western Canada, they’ll have to be well-versed and understand the application of the rules under IIHF guidelines. It’s kind of a different rule book in many ways. It’s also unlikely they’ll work any games together, so they can look forward to the occasional on-ice experience where a language barrier can create challenges. Regardless, it’s a commendable achievement to officiate at the WJC and a terrific continuing development opportunity.

8 – A Six-Pack – Have a peek at the WHL website and give Taylor Rocca’s piece on Portland Winterhawks defenceman Tyson Jugnauth a look. The 20-year-old from Kelowna collected six assists in Portland’s 7-2 win over the Vancouver Giants on the weekend. It’s a mighty rare accomplishment and the article contains some nifty information from long-time Winterhawks beat writer and historian, Andy Kemper. Jugnauth’s hockey road map is an interesting one. He actually landed in Portland from the NCAA last season, walking away from the program at the University of Wisconsin. The Winterhawks made a deal with the Kamloops Blazers for Jugnauth’s playing rights, then signed the rearguard midway through last season. The Seattle Kraken selected Jugnauth in the fourth round, 100^th overall at the 2022 NHL Draft.

9 – 2026 Memorial Cup – The fallout, so to speak, is beginning to wind down after the city of Kelowna was awarded the 2026 Memorial Cup. There have been a few press conferences and various interviews, with attempts from many of us to elicit specific reasons why Kelowna won the bid to host and the reasons why other cities were unsuccessful. I’ve contacted the CHL office twice but have yet to receive a reply. Much of the response to questions is the standard gobbledygook one would expect from decision-makers who simply refuse to partake in no-win conversations. I understand this from a public relations perspective, but the more questions that go unanswered, the more speculation runs rampant, which is typically the stuff that really stinks in this era of social media bravado. Of course, if the powers-that-be were ever to unveil a negative aspect or two from a particular locale’s bid, the fringe would then have all the fuel it needs, and more, to just pounce and continue piling on. So, the standard reply taking form is along the lines of, “every bid was awesome, it’s just that Kelowna’s was better”. Sadly, I don’t think this really helps the bid committees who may want to tackle the process again in the future. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if privately, everyone has been on the receiving end of some specific details that will never, ever land in the public domain.

10 – RANDOMS – Disgruntled hockey fans on social media provide endless entertainment. Bless their hearts. …The InnovationPlex in Swift Current is a true multi-purpose facility. It will play host to the Dominion Securities Western Showdown, Dec. 12-16, an elite curling event that attracts the top teams from across Canada and the world. …Funny how a hockey team that forces the play seems to draw more penalties. …It’s been a while since the Prince Albert Raiders took one on the chin, but the Brandon Wheat Kings arrived at the Art Hauser Centre on the weekend and waltzed out of town with a 7-3 win. The Raiders entered the contest on an 8-1-1 run to jump back into the playoff picture. …I like this take by Rod Pedersen in his 10 Weekend Things column, available through his weekly newsletter. “For as long as we roam the earth, we will be doubted by critics, naysayers and haters, no matter how much success we have.” Seems to aptly describe how so many WHL fans choose to treat Bruce Hamilton of the Kelowna Rockets. …I wonder if there was a bag skate in Saskatoon? The front-running Blades dropped a pair of games at SaskTel Place, 5-4 in a shootout to the Red Deer Rebels, then 5-4 in overtime to the Calgary Hitmen. Head coach Dan DaSilva was not happy after the loss to Red Deer, and I suspect he may have been in slow-burn mode after the loss to Calgary. The Blades roll into Medicine Hat Tuesday and Lethbridge Wednesday for a pair of eastern conference marquee matchups. …Hitmen forward Oliver Tulk is on a heater. He’s tallied a goal in eight straight games. It’s the longest consecutive game, goal-scoring streak in the league this season. In terms of consecutive game points scoring streaks, Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers is at 14 games and counting. Swift Current’s Luke Mistelbacher had a 16-game point-scoring run earlier this season.