10 WHL Things, Volume III

By: Glen Erickson

The Western Hockey League preseason is over and done with. Expect some tough decisions in the coming days as rosters are juggled entering the regular season. That juggling will most certainly continue for a few more weeks … it always does! Meaningful play begins this weekend with eight games Friday and another 10 Saturday. Each team will play 68 times, so strap yourselves in for a grand total of 782 games!

History In The Making – A few “firsts” this coming weekend as the expansion Penticton Vees get their inaugural WHL season started. Penticton begins on the road with a pair of divisional contests. The Victoria Royals host the Vees Friday at the Save On Foods Memorial Arena, then the Vancouver Giants welcome Penticton Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. It looks like Brady Birnie (281 games played; Swift Current), Ryden Evers (0 GP), Matteo Danis (231 GP; Calgary/P.G.) and Nolan Stevenson (0 GP) appear on the Vees preseason roster as its four overage players, but how might this change in the coming weeks? The Vees first home game is slated for September 26 when the Kelowna Rockets invade the South Okanagan Events Centre. The B.C. Division, like the U.S. and East, now consists of six teams. Only the Central has five teams. Wonder what happens to divisional alignment when the expansion team in Chilliwack joins the fray?
“Hawkey” Town – Will Hentschel calls his first WHL game Friday as the new voice of the Portland Winterhawks. The ever-personable Nick Marek, who handled the Winterhawks play-by-play for seven seasons, has left the west coast and returned to North Carolina to be closer to family, and pretty close to the Carolina Hurricanes backyard in Raleigh. For Hentschel, his introduction to the league will come in the form of one heckuva Western Conference road trip, a doubleheader weekend at the CN Centre in Prince George where the ‘Hawks take on the Cougars to open the campaign. In fact, Portland will play its first 11 games on the road while the “Glass Palace” undergoes renovations. Among those contests in Portland’s run through the Central Division, including a visit to Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat October 11 to face off against the defending league champion Tigers. Indeed, that’ll be a “Battle of Wills”… Hentschel, meet Bryant. (Figure it out for yourselves, folks!) Hentschel, who comes over to Portland from Florida, will make his first call in the friendly confines of Veterans Memorial Coliseum October 25 against the Saskatoon Blades, a night dubbed to commemorate “Fifty Years of Hawkey” in the Rose City.
BWK High Expectations – An interesting transaction during the off-season saw the Brandon Wheat Kings acquire goaltender Jayden Kraus from the Victoria Royals for netminder Ethan Eskit. The Wheaties also tossed in a 2029 seventh round pick. It’s poignant, as the Wheat Kings prepare for life after veteran keeper Carson Bjarnason likely moves on to professional hockey in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. I queried Rob Mahon, Brandon’s eminently entertaining play-by-play voice, about the deal and found his take very informative. “Carson is signed, I think he’s going to be in the American Hockey League,” Mahon said. “Jayden got into 46 games last season. The advantages with Kraus come from three different things. He’s got starter’s experience. He’s actually used to those 40-plus-game workloads. He’s taller. That does matter with goaltending; he’s 6’2”. But the big one that really drew the team to Kraus was his NHL experience. He was invited to Colorado’s development camp this summer and made such an impression they’re having him back for rookie camp and possibly main camp. (I think) it was too much for the Wheat Kings to pass up, especially in a year where they’ve got expectations for themselves. You need to go to a number one guy.” Kraus, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, compiled a 2.86 goals against average and .908 save percentage in 46 regular season appearances during the 2024-25 campaign.
BWK High Expectations…Part Deux – Brandon appears to be very deep up front. There is a vibe percolating around the WHL’s eastern-most outpost, one that suggests the Wheat Kings want to position themselves as a very tough group to play against. Mahon is bullish on the roster construction. “You run through the lines, one through three, as they stand right now, on both the left and right wings and they look really solid,” he said. “The depth up front does look like the strength of this team.” Mahon alluded to the skill among forwards Caleb Hadland, Jordan Gavin and Nick Johnson on the left side, along with Luke Mistelbacher, Brady Turko and Joby Baumuller patrolling the right side. And nobody in the Dub will sleep on a healthy Roger McQueen up the middle. Then, there’s the team toughness, too. “When I talked with Chris Moulton, our director of hockey operations, he was saying that as much as the team needs to be skilled, you need to be able to push back”, Mahon said. “Hadland kind of leads the charge on that front. He’s a wrecking ball when he’s on his game. There’s Carter Klippenstein; nobody wants to play against him. He’s a mean guy. He’s big and willing to get under your skin. Then, (defenceman) Giorgos Pantelas. When he decides he wants to lean on somebody, he’s 6’2”, 210 pounds and tends to step up with what I would describe as the highlight reel hits. He’s the one who throws the big, open ice blows.”
Giant Steps – A busy few months for the Vancouver Giants, who gave their hockey ops a makeover after last season. Hnat Dominechelli takes over as general manager from Barclay Parneta. Parker Burgess is the new head coach, as Manny Viveiros has moved on to professional hockey, coaching EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian League. I wonder what the Giants will impose on opponents this season? Cameron Schmidt is a sniper and will get a taste of NHL cooking at rookie camp with the Dallas Stars. And how much mileage will Vancouver get out of Aaron Obobaifo? The 18-year-old from Calgary collected 10 points in 13 games last season before injury kept him sidelined the rest of the way. Obobaifo was invited to the Vancouver Canucks prospects camp. On the backend, look for homegrown talent, Richmond-born Ryan Lin to emerge. Lin was the sixth overall selection at the 2023 WHL Draft. The Giants appear to have a good one between the pipes in Burke Hood, who was selected in the sixth round, 170^th overall, by the New York Islanders at the 2025 NHL Draft.
Naming Rights – The Numerica Credit Union has stepped up in Spokane, inking a 10-year deal that will see the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, home of the Spokane Chiefs, now referred to as the Numerica Veterans Arena. The company is also committing to the Numerica Heroes Fund to support local veterans and military. I like the initiative and would love to see a similar program of sorts north of the 49^th parallel. The United States has long demonstrated pride in its military, unlike the manner in which our current federal government in Canada has treated veterans in our neck of the woods. But, like all of these naming rights arrangements, I have to ask…what piece of the pie will the WHL team receive, if any? The Chiefs and Numerica have had a working relationship since 2016, so there is at least a long-standing rapport on the business side.
CHL-USA Top Prospects Challenge – It’s the WHL’s turn to host this prestigious annual event. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have stepped up, along with the Calgary Hitmen, in partnership with the WHL and CHL to host the 2025 CHL-USA Top Prospects Challenge on November 25 (Calgary) and November 26 (Lethbridge). It’s so important for WHL teams and markets to demonstrate a willingness to host these events, which always come with additional responsibilities and logistics to coordinate. I’m confident there is a financial commitment involved, or at least a willingness to underwrite certain associated expenses, but I’ve never been able to extract those funding details from the powers-that-be. It makes sense to me to have Calgary involved, given access to the city through its international airport, it’s home to the WHL head office, an NHL building awaits, along with the myriad of amenities in Cowtown. But, might this have been a nifty event, given the proximity of the two cities, for Medicine Hat and Lethbridge to have collaborated on? Successfully hosting these events from time to time is a great way gain the confidence of decision-makers for such prestigious events as the Memorial Cup or the World Junior Championship. Sometimes, methinks, you gotta show ‘em a few times that you can do it!
NHL Prospect Watch – While he’s been gone from the WHL for three seasons now, I continue to pull for Jack Finley as he pursues his career in the NHL. At 6’6” and 220 pounds, Finley is the kind of big body forward any team can use, as long as he can move with the pace and efficiency required in the NHL. He always seemed to stand out during his junior career, as a member of the Spokane Chiefs before being dealt to the Winnipeg ICE in his final Dub season. To date, he has only suited up for one NHL game with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who selected him in the second round, 57^th overall, at the 2020 NHL Draft. Being able to continue to develop and improve, whether it’s from minor hockey to an academy program, then to junior hockey and the professional game, requires constant effort and commitment. I’m hoping Finley is up to the challenge. His younger brothers Mason and Max combined to play 271 WHL games, while their father, Jeff, has ties to the league as a player with the Portland Winterhawks and coach with the Kelowna Rockets.
Orca Wiesblatt – The 25-year-old appeared in 151 WHL games as a member of the Calgary Hitmen. Wiesblatt died on the weekend in a single-vehicle crash in Nanaimo, B.C. on Vancouver Island. RCMP report the incident occurred at approximately 3:00am Sunday when a vehicle left the road and struck a light pole. Wiesblatt, reported to be the driver, perished at the scene. A 25-year-old passenger was injured and taken to hospital. The Wiesblatt family is well known in the Calgary area and have cut a rather wide swath across the WHL. Three of the four brothers – Orca, Ozzy and Oasiz – played in the WHL, while Ocean won a league championship as a member of the Portage Terriers during the 2018-19 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season. In fact, Orca also played on that championship team in Portage. WHL fans will recall that Ozzy was a member of the Prince Albert Raiders when it won the WHL championship that same season. Oasiz won the WHL title last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. There is plenty of terrific information chronicled online, detailing the challenges the family has overcome and the many successes they have achieved.
DUB Randoms – I watched a nifty little vignette produced by the Blades announcing to its fanbase that all games will be available for viewing this season on Victory+ TV. The service arrived for WHL fans late last season, and it was a huge hit with great video and reliable audio…An online post I saw last week asked what WHL team set the standard for the best record ever during the regular season. If my research is accurate, the 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings might be it. That edition went 58-5-9 for 125 points in 72 games. They had nine ties, each worth one point in the standings. There was no overtime or shootout during the regular season back then, so no “loser points” were awarded. That team legit lost only five games! Or, did I miss something on any of this?…Further to Manny Viveiros coaching in Austria, a quick glance at the team’s roster shows WHL alumni in Devante Stephens (Kelowna), Tyler Lewington (Medicine Hat) and Troy Bourke (Prince George) …The Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Kelowna Rockets by scores of 8-4 and 5-2 this past weekend at the WHL Yukon Showcase, presented by Casino Mining. With its wins at Tahkini Arena in Whitehorse, the Tigers earned the inaugural WHL Northern Lights Cup.
Randoms – Get comfortable being uncomfortable…Do you remember what happened on Wednesday, April 16, 2024? That’s the day the Liberal government in Canada last tabled a federal budget in the House of Commons. That’s well over 500 days ago. Isn’t that a disservice to taxpayers?…The assassination of Charlie Kirk confirms the dangers associated with publicly questioning radical left-wing ideology. Among my favourite Kirk commentary was his suggestion the “self-esteem movement is one of the great philosophical carcinogens in our society. Self-control is a lot more important than self-esteem”. Kirk, 31 years of age at the time of his death, was a devout, courageous, successful and charismatic family man of tremendous conviction, who challenged people to favour character, personal accountability, and meritocracy. His attributes helped his message to be particularly effective across at least a couple of generations. I hope his memory inspires a legacy of strong-willed, dedicated people who continue to encourage civil discourse, rather than choosing to applaud and promote incessant virtue signalling…I’ll leave you with this tidbit, a bit of wisdom courtesy of the late Charlie Kirk: “It’s not always about you. Sometimes you have to do something you don’t like, because it’s going to benefit someone else.” ’nuff said!…See you in a couple of weeks!