10 WHL Things, Volume XXIV

By Glen Erickson

1 – Bucking Broncos: The Swift Current Broncos are off to a great start on their road trip through the B.C. Division. The roady started on Vancouver Island and the Broncos are working their way east. Swift Current kicked off the trip with a 5-4 overtime win in Victoria against the Royals, the top team in the B.C. Division. The next day, after a ferry ride to Vancouver, the Broncos knocked off the Giants at the Langley Events Centre, 3-2, also in overtime. The reward, for the back-to-back wins was a 10-hour bus trip up to Prince George. The Broncos will take on the Cougars Tuesday night before heading south to the Okanagan Valley where they wind up the trip with games in Kamloops and Kelowna. It’s an important stretch for Swift Current, as putting together a few consecutive wins could vault the Broncos into top spot in the East Division standings and the second seed for the eastern conference playoffs. Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Swift Current and Brandon are in a battle that at this point looks too close to call.

2 – Wheat Kings: Bushels of Experience – I’ve always been a huge fan of overage players in the WHL, the league’s grizzled veterans! Look no further than the Brandon Wheat Kings roster for a very experienced group of 20-year-olds. While forward Marcus Nguyen has played only 43 games in a Wheat Kings jersey after coming over from the Portland Winterhawks, the Calgary-native has officially played 259 games for the teams located as the league’s most western and most eastern outposts. (Sounds kind of Ray Ferraro-ish, eh?) Forward Nolan Flamand began his career in Kelowna and has played 147 games with Brandon. The Saskatoon-native has played a total of 251 games and counting. Defenceman Luke Shipley came over from Victoria and is 151 games in with Brandon. The Powell River, B.C.-native has played 254 WHL games. That’s plenty of experience, a total of 764 regular-season games combined and testimony to each player’s ability to stay healthy, reliable and in the lineup over the course of their respective careers.

3 – Talkin’ About Playoffs: In the eastern conference, it’s a done deal as the top eight teams have established themselves ahead of Red Deer, Moose Jaw and Regina. The eighth-place Brandon Wheat Kings are 11 points in front of the Rebels with three games in hand, so that’s a really steep mountain to climb for Red Deer, which has 22 games remaining. There will be plenty of jockeying for positions to secure home ice in the first round, which will lead to some nifty matchups. Over in the western conference, the top seven are already pretty much assured of a berth in the post-season. Look for Prince George and Victoria to go toe-to-toe for the B.C. Division title and the number two playoff seed. But it’s an absolute logjam in the battle for the final playoff spot. Wenatchee, Kelowna, Kamloops and Seattle all have a legitimate chance shot to advance.

4 – Rockets Fuel: It’s important Kelowna secures a playoff berth, given its host status for the 2026 Memorial Cup. The Rockets were ranked in the CHL’s Top 10 at the beginning of the 2024-2025 campaign, due primarily to a stable of NHL drafted players, four of whom were signed to entry level contracts. Although the team has been battered by the injury bug, the Rockets have failed to launch any semblance of consistency from the get-go. The loss of Tij Iginla in early December to season-ending hip surgery was huge. The number of trade deadline deals – trades that were necessary with next season in mind – further decimated the current roster. Word this week that 20-year-old Max Graham is gone for the season following knee surgery further compounds what has been a disastrous regular season that also included the firing of head coach Kris Mallette. Missing the playoffs will be a bad look and will cost the players some valuable post-season experience. It will also continue to fuel the rage among critics, keeping alive the steady flow of vitriol and smugness from supporters in the cities still hurting after their respective bids to host the Memorial Cup tournament were unsuccessful.

5 – Streakers: It’s 22 games and counting for Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The odds-on favorite to be the number one selection at the 2026 NHL Draft, McKenna leads a group in Medicine Hat that is fast becoming an offensive juggernaut. With 11 goals and 33 assists during his current heater, McKenna can tie for the longest point scoring streak in the league if he finds the scoresheet Tuesday in Wenatchee against the Wild. It was 2025 NHL Draft eligible forward Ben Kindel of the Calgary Hitmen who collected 15 goals and 30 assists during his 23-game streak between Nov. 8 and Jan. 12. Kindel’s teammate Oliver Tulk also went off for 20 straight games (17g, 28a) between Nov. 15 and Jan. 12. Coincidentally, both of those streaks ended when the Tigers waltzed into the Saddledome and shutout the Hitmen, 3-0 on Jan. 17. If McKenna keeps his streak alive Tuesday, he’ll overtake Andrew Cristall of the Spokane Chiefs for the league scoring lead. Both have collected 78 points so far.

6 – Not Even Close: If McKenna can run the table this season, with 21 games remaining, he’ll finish with a 43-game point scoring streak. It’s impressive, but some perspective kicks in when we consider that Jeff Nelson holds the WHL record at 56 games, set during the 1990-91 season while he was a member of the Prince Albert Raiders. According to Rod Pedersen, a former Raiders’ play-by-play voice, Nelson was awarded a “phantom” assist in game #57, but advised the hometown scorekeepers he did not deserve a helper on the goal. Thus, his streak ended at 56 games. And let’s not forget, Nelson achieved his feat without the benefit of regular season overtime games. Back then, a tie game was just that…a tie, and one point in the standings for each team. The CHL record is held by Mario Lemieux, 61 consecutive games in 1983-84.

7 – Still Streakin’: There are old school types among us (like myself) who believe these point scoring streaks should be all about what occurs within the same season. I mean, wouldn’t it be something if a WHL player achieved a 68-game scoring streak? But look at what’s happening over in the OHL with London Knights forward Easton Cowan. He finished up last season on a 36-game streak (25g-43a) and has collected at least a point in all 26 games he’s played this season (17g-19a). That makes it 62 consecutive regular season games. Not surprisingly, the local press in London is suggesting Cowan’s achievement is superior to Lemieux’s. Others are scouring video to discredit Cowan’s streak by attempting to identify phantom assists. For several reasons, Cowan will not play a full compliment of 68 games for the Knights this season, but if he runs the table these next couple of months, it could wind up being 87 straight games with a point…over two seasons. That would be a hell of an accomplishment. But no, not a league record.

8 – Highs and Lows: Scanning the WHL site as I am wont to do, I noticed the “high” for majors in a game this season occurred on Oct. 11 in Medicine Hat. Yes, they were all fighting majors. On that night, the Tigers bounced the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-1. I’m long enough in the tooth to remember the days when that many fights was maybe a period or two, not a game…The largest winning margin in a game this season is 10. That’s right 10, it happened twice, within four days, by the same team. The Spokane Chiefs knocked off Wenatchee 12-2 on Jan. 11, then beat Kelowna 10-0 on Jan. 15…Three teams are tied for the fewest shots on goal in a game this season with 13. Moose Jaw was held to 13 shots back on Oct. 18, while Saskatoon and Red Deer shared the dubious achievement on the same night, Jan. 10. You are correct if you assumed all three teams lost those contests…The league high for saves in one game, 54, occurred on Nov. 3 by Lukas Matecha, who backstopped the Tri City Americans to a 6-5 overtime win against the Everett Silvertips.

9 – Good Seats, Still Available: According to the WHL website, six teams are averaging over 4,500 fans per home game this season. Four of them reside in the U.S Division. The Edmonton Oil Kings are the top home draw so far this season, averaging 6,338 per contest. Through 497 games to date, the WHL has attracted 1,979,075 fans, plus however many people showed up at the Brandt Centre in Regina on Oct. 25. (The attendance has yet to be reported.) The numbers available suggest an average of 3,982 per game, league wide. It’s safe to say attendance will pass the 2,000,000-mark at some point this week, likely Wednesday night. Last season, the 748 regular season games drew 3,076,922 fans, an average of 4,114. The Oil Kings, which missed the playoffs, led the way last season averaging 7,404 per game.

10 – RANDOMS: Queue the apocalypse, please. On the evening newscast in my fine city last week, I heard the anchor describe a picture sent in by a viewer the other day. There were four or five snowmen built in a public park, and they all looked pretty neat. Somebody was creative and energetic! But three or four times the news anchor called them, “snow-people”. Snow. People. Huh? I can’t make this up…Speaking of political correctness and the scourge it has become, I don’t think I could survive a current-day editorial department meeting at a newspaper, radio or television station without a bag of popcorn, a joy buzzer and a whoopee cushion…For the record, when I sing the Canadian national anthem, it’s always “in all our sons command”…Props to the WHL schedule makers! Don’t forget WNITD this week as the two conference leaders will tangle in living colour for your viewing pleasure. The Medicine Hat Tigers (30-15-2), riding a nine-game winning streak, visit the Everett Silvertips (34-6-4-3) at Angel of the Winds Arena.

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