10 WHL Things, Volume IV

By Glen Erickson

A busy time in these parts, including some travel across western Canada. Sadly, these tasks are not all about the Western Hockey League, but the Dub is certainly never too far from my consciousness. Here we go!

1. CHL Top 10 Rankings – Did you happen to look at the first go around, the rankings put forth with primary input from NHL Central Scouting? Three WHL teams made the grade. Spokane Chiefs (#3), Edmonton Oil Kings (#6) and Kelowna Rockets (#9). Boy, I don’t know. If I’m affiliated with the defending champs, the Medicine Hat Tigers, with access to the dressing room, I’m having this photocopied and pinned to the bulletin board as soon as possible. Frankly, a handful of WHL teams may choose to do something similar. The rankings will ebb and flow once play begins across the country, but this early season snub, much like the jolt last season when it was denied the 2026 Memorial Cup, might have many in the Gas City continuing to do a slow burn.
2. Like Father, Like Son – It was back in late June when the Lethbridge Hurricanes promoted Matt Anholt to the role of head coach. Bill Peters left the ‘Canes in May to sign on with Augsburger Panther in Germany. I remember Anholt from my days in the Okanagan Valley, where he played a couple of seasons with the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL. In fact, I think he wore the “C” at some point? The Warriors played out of what was a relatively new complex at the time, a nifty venue known as Royal Lepage Place. He went on to play four seasons in the NCAA at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. At 31 years of age, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest he’s likely the youngest head coach in the WHL. Am I wrong? Anholt has worked for the Hurricanes in a number of coaching roles for seven seasons, under Peters and previous bench boss, Brent Kisio. Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt, who has an extensive junior hockey resume, is Matt’s father.
3. ‘Canes Randoms – I like the group young Anholt will have to work with. Forwards Logan Wormald and Shane Smith, along with defenceman Matteo Fabrizi. Wormald was also named team captain. Smith was acquired in early October last season from the Medicine Hat Tigers and Fabrizi comes over from the Prince Albert Raiders. Smith and Fabrizi have been named alternate captains as well…At its annual general meeting September 15, the success story also known as the Lethbridge Hurricanes announced a profit of $1,103,113.00 in 2024-2025, though I do not have the specific fiscal year dates. Of course, one interesting line item reported the organization received $666,667.00 in expansion fees. The “Canes exceeded all budgeted target amounts for both ticketing and advertising revenue. Average attendance last season climbed to 3,791.
4. Hitmen Home Opener – I enjoyed the Calgary Hitmen home opener at the Scotiabank Saddledome, probably much more than the home team and its supporters. The Lethbridge Hurricanes were the visitors and waltzed out of Cowtown with a 4-0 victory. Calgary won the night before in Lethbridge, the season-opener for both teams, 5-3. The game I attended was the debut on home ice for head coach Dustin Friesen. He takes over for Paul MacFarland, who moved on after last season to join the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant coach. Friesen played 296 games for the Swift Current Broncos over four seasons before a five-year stint at the University of New Brunswick. He spent last season with Moncton as an associate coach during the Wildcats run to the Memorial Cup in Rimouski. All told, four of five Central Division teams have a new head coach behind the bench heading into the 2025-26 campaign. While in the massive stadium that is the Saddledome, I tuned into Brad Curle and Jeff Hollick on the radio call. What a terrific team!
5. The Dub’s Elder Statesman – I snuck up on Les Lazaruk during the Saskatoon Blades morning skate at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat this past weekend, being as careful as possible not to scare the 66-year-old, wily veteran. I enjoyed our chat, one that bounced around a number of topics. We don’t exchange birthday cards, but we both have important ties to the city of Saskatoon. I admire his energy, a guy who is inching closer and closer to the 35-year mark in the booth as the voice of the Blades. (Okay, this is year “32”, and CJWW radio and the Blades have announced a new three-year broadcasting deal.) There’s been much more than just hockey play-by-play during Lazaruk’s career, but unlike legendary Bob Ridley of Medicine Hat fame, Lazaruk is adamant he’ll never drive the Blades bus. He has, however, appeared at ice level in Saskatoon to sing the national anthem, and I’m not sure Ridley ever took that plunge! The Blades roster, like many league-wide, is a work in progress as the management team has some tinkering to do with both the blueline and the forward group in front of blue-chip netminder, Evan Gardner. Will the Blades ever win a WHL championship or Memorial Cup? It’s been 60 years and counting. Stay tuned!
6. Cross Border Shopping – The exodus of CHL players to the NCAA has been well documented, but the influx of American players heading north of the 49^th parallel so far this season should also be turning heads. Look no further than the defending league champion Medicine Hat Tigers. At the outset, it looks like there could be five new arrivals from the USA on the roster, in addition to second year forward Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll, who was an integral, depth contributor last season. That’s almost a third of the skaters on the roster. I spoke with assistant general manager Bobby Fox this past weekend about the incredible roster construction efforts the organization has successfully undertaken in recent years. More on that later. Stay tuned!
7. Buyer’s Remorse – I wonder what the dynamic will be like for the youngsters who chose to ply their trade in the NCAA this season? The rosters are what, 28 players deep? For the coaching staffs, there’s only so much ice time to dole out. Most of the players who left major junior spoke to the developmental opportunities, ostensibly playing against older players. But what if they don’t play? They’re probably looking at about 20 to 25 games less than a major junior schedule. What if they ride the pine a few times? Curiously, not one of the players I’ve seen interviewed has had the temerity to at least acknowledge that potential financial benefits were a major consideration. And, how will NCAA powers-that-be deal with problem parents, in comparison to what junior hockey operators have long had to navigate or tolerate? What if the phone does happen to ring in a few WHL cities a couple months into the season? Should a player who pine for a return to the Dub, will he be welcomed back with open arms?
8. Money Talks – Interesting comments from Everett Silvertips general manager, Mike Fraser in a piece penned by James Mirtle of The Athletic a couple weeks ago. “I don’t blame the players – if they’re getting money like that thrown at them, I understand,” said Fraser. “It’s a tough thing to compete against – if you want to call it competing. I can sit there and talk to a player about our track record and how we’ve been the best development league for 50-plus years, but if someone’s throwing $100,000 or more at them, and that’s what I’m up against, that’s a pretty tough sell for us.” Fraser was responding to questions about the exodus of WHL-eligible players to NCAA Division 1 programs. “There’s not a lot of certainty of what to do about it. There’s certainly some nervousness,” Fraser said. “I fully admit I’m in that group. I still think the caliber of play is still going to be really high in our league.” As I mentioned, I for one find it a bit disingenuous when the players leaving junior hockey, or their representatives, choose to expound on the virtues of the NCAA as a developmental opportunity. Goodness, the CHL has an undeniable track record of success as a developmental vehicle that leads directly to NHL opportunities. I just wish these players would come clean and admit their preference is to start getting paid well before signing an NHL entry level contract. And let’s face facts, a player’s career can take a nasty turn in a moment. He can blow a knee in major junior as easily as the NCAA. It’s yet another reason for them to look the hockey world in the eye and say, “show me the money”.
9. Connor Ingram Waived – The Utah Mammoth placed former WHLer Connor Ingram on waivers. Ingram is from Imperial, Saskatchewan, and he has put on some hard miles throughout his junior and professional careers. But at 28 years of age, I think he’s got plenty left in the tank. I became aware of Ingram’s skills and presence through an old softball teammate, Doug Michasiw. At the 2014 Telus Cup in Moose Jaw, the Prince Albert Mintos rode Lane Michasiw, Doug’s son, through its success in the round-robin and that led to Lane being recognized as the tournament’s top goaltender. I think it was his gloves and stick that were sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame after the tournament? However, the Mintos typically rotated Michasiw and Ingram. When Prince Albert started Ingram in the tournament’s playoff round, he was outstanding, and they stuck with him through the championship game. Ingram made 60 saves in the finale, a game the Mintos won in triple overtime! Ingram went on to become an absolute workhorse for the Blazers in Kamloops, appearing in 52, 61 and 45 games in three consecutive regular seasons. He shared the net with another former WHLer, Carter Hart, on Team Canada’s entry at the 2017 World Junior Championship, earning a silver medal after a 5-4 shootout loss to the USA in the gold medal game. Ingram has endured and overcome some personal battles and has been open and up front about his challenges along the way. I’m hoping he lands another NHL gig. I think he’s an easy guy to pull for.
10. Travel Wows and Woes – I have a background in hotel industry sales and marketing, and I remember the days back in the 1980’s when WHL teams would utilize our property in Saskatoon. It was a good way for us to fill rooms and generate some food and beverage revenue. As an advertising sponsor with the Saskatoon Blades, we had an expectation the team would recommend and support our facility and many of the teams that required accommodation in Saskatchewan did so. Of course, the Blades also had an expectation that they would get paid by us, and at one point I remember having to politely boot our owner in the ass to write a bloody cheque. Man…good times! I was blessed to have met many terrific WHL personalities and execs over those years and thankfully, many will still take my calls! Back then, it really was all about the money as teams would cram four players into one hotel room with two beds. Inevitably, the kids would drag mattresses off the box springs and toss them on the floor to have their own bed. We’d draw the line at a team wanting a cot so they could jam a fifth player into a room. We’re also talking about four teenagers sharing one bathroom…hardly a disaster waiting to happen! Typically, the hotel rooms would get the crap beaten out of them, even if the players weren’t messing around. All that for a cool $48 per room, per night back then, plus taxes of course. I remember a few general managers railing on me about the rates, thinking of course that we were making a pile of dough. The program has certainly changed over the years and now it’s two per room, with two beds and in some WHL markets, I think teams will be hard pressed to find accommodation for less than $100 – $150 per room, per night, not to mention the food and beverage costs. Some teams might ask coaches to share a room, but that’s not always the case. And, the Canadian teams that travel to the USA get absolutely hammered by the exchange on the dollar. Conversely, the US-based teams travel to Canada these days at about a 40% discount.
11. Randoms – An unfortunate and eminently damaging by-product of modern-day society’s addiction to, and belief in, all things social media is how comfortable so many people are with sound bites rather than true, investigative journalism. “Context”, which has always been crucial for understanding, requires more insight than just glossing over a 140-character post or one of those nauseating memes on Facebook. I think social media has been to journalism what kryptonite is to Superman…In the hockey world, not everybody is everybody’s buddy…I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. The last time the Liberal government in Canada tabled a federal budget was April 16, 2024. Apparently, the feds have now committed to present a budget November 4. That’s a span of 567 days and we’re also about six months into the current fiscal year. Beautiful, eh?

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