10 WHL Things From Glen Erickson, Trade Deadline Edition

It’s a timing thing, folks, that Tuesday morning submission is a day late this week. Blame the trade activity! We’re about 24 hours from the Western Hockey League trade deadline, so the next time we convene, it will be a more comprehensive review of the transactions. For now, what’s been goin’ on?

1 – It. Is. Over. – Thud! The gold medal pursuit by Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship came to a crashing halt Sunday in Minneapolis when Czechia earned a hard fought 6-4 decision in the semi-final contest. It marked the third straight year Czechia has derailed Canada’s charge toward the tournament championship. This time around, both teams were effectively all-star teams, pulled together a couple of weeks before the tournament in the hope they could gel efficiently enough to run the table at what has become in large part an IIHF flagship event. In fact, Czechia had 16 players on its roster with direct ties to CHL teams this season and prior, a number equal to that of Canada’s entry. The Czechians, like Canadian teams from yesteryear, play a relentless, high-energy game that has made life miserable for opponents in recent years. In fairness, there really was little to choose from between the two combatants. Canada won in the preliminary round, 7-5, so the teams tied 11-11 in goals for and against in their two games at the tournament. But it was Czechia’s timely win in the medal round that will leave many north of the 49^th parallel wondering what might have been. Queue the pissing and moaning up here about the referees and the IIHF rulebook, anything of course that dyed-in-the-wool Canadian hockey fans need to cool their pain. Bottom line? The best of the best among our junior aged players are pretty damn good, but they simply cannot dominate on the world stage anymore. And, I think that’s okay! Just watch the games with an open mind, if you can. When you know, you know…And a quick question here with attendance in mind. Just because Canadians have demonstrated a willingness to spend an exorbitant amount of money on WJC tickets and packages, does that really make us the smartest people in the room? There are countries and federations that have every right to host the event.

2 – Stupid Is As Stupid Does – The not-so-intelligent forensics taking place on social media are as entertaining as they are habitually bizarre. Everybody has a solution! Well, I know I sure don’t. I just boil it all down to “players gotta play”. But, we’ve all heard it for a million years in Canada, the notion we have enough great players to ice at least two competitive teams at these international events. The same exercise is happening with regard to Canada’s entry for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where people are revelling in the concept of identifying “snubs”. Yes, apparently we are that damn good! So, Team Canada collects a bronze medal at the 2026 WJC and some of the supposedly most informed veteran hockey media types on the planet insist on listing all the junior-aged NHL players who could’ve contributed but were not made available for the tournament. So, which is it? Canada needs all of its best players to win? Or, we have enough good players to ice a bunch of teams capable of winning?

3 – Trade Deadline – Speaking of all-star teams, that’s pretty much what general manager Willie Desjardins constructed last season in Medicine Hat at the trade deadline. Might that be the program again in the Gas City this week?…It was referred to last season as the Central Division “arms race”, as the Tigers, Hurricanes and Hitmen were ultra-busy leading up to the trade deadline. Edmonton has been very busy, bolstering its blueline brigade with overage veterans Austin Zemlak and Carter Sotheran from the U.S. Division… I’m still not sure how to ascertain the true value of a 2026 first round pick? Or, think 2027? What if it’s a 2026 lottery pick? Maybe I’ll have it figured out for next week?…Last season, according to the WHL website, a total of 28 transactions took place within 72 hours of the trade deadline. Other than the deal between Kelowna and Spokane that saw Andrew Cristall move on to Washington State, the really big moves were made prior to this flurry of activity. What’s in store for us this time around?…The Vancouver Giants and Seattle Thunderbirds, among the cellar dwellers in the western conference have both effectively added and subtracted. I don’t get it. The same day leading scorer Cameron Schmidt was sent Seattle, high-octane forward Mathis Preston was acquired from Spokane…The trade between Seattle and Prince Albert included 12 pieces. Is that a WHL record? I’m not sure it elevates the Raiders beyond Edmonton and Medicine Hat in the eastern conference. But, the deal for Dante Hannoun back in 2019 paid dividends for PA.

4 – Speculation – A long-time WHL general manager once told me that he always looks at the lay of the land and sometimes, the confidence his team might be able to play two or three rounds in the post-season can be an important consideration. After all, it’s a business, and playoff revenues are crucial. With this in mind, I wonder about the Kamloops Blazers, who earned four valuable points in the standings by sweeping a weekend double-dip against the undermanned Kelowna Rockets. There is a logjam in the western conference standings, much like traffic congestion in Kelowna. The Blazers are explosive but couldn’t seem to keep the puck out of its own net during the first half of the season. I’ve opined for awhile that a big “if” would be the status of defenceman Harrison Brunicke. Now that his work is done at the WJC and the Penguins have confirmed he’s returning to Kamloops, do they go shopping for more help, perhaps a goaltender, too? There are a couple high-end veteran netminders residing in the East Division and one of the Blazers current keepers is a Saskatchewan lad. Brunicke is a great “add” that comes at no cost to the Blazers. I think it’s conceivable the Blazers could find a way into the western conference final with a few tweaks and some good fortune. The fanbase in Kamloops is really supportive and a deep run in the post-season would certainly generate a few bucks for the organization’s coffers. On the other hand, maybe this revenue-generating approach to planning for the post-season is more important to a community-owned team, in comparison to an ownership group with already deep pockets?

5 – Wealth of Riches – I sure like the return of Andrew Basha to Medicine Hat. On the hockey side, adding a top three forward certainly doesn’t happen every day. Considering the cost – zero assets – it’s just an incredible stroke of good fortune for the team and the fanbase in the Gas City. Understand folks, the Tigers have won 16 in a row and lead the WHL in scoring, all of this while many continue to pine for the presence of Gavin McKenna. As I opined often last season, Medicine Hat was going to be very good this season. Basha wasn’t a huge part of the Tigers success last season, as he suffered a nasty injury mid-season. Prior to that, he was a burner, great speed, and creative with the puck. He’s pocketed some NHL monies this season, but back in the WHL, he’ll play much, much more than he did with the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL. On the business side, general manager Willie Desjardins and his management team, which boasts a 27-6-3-2 record, will have a tough decision to make. One of its overage players will have to go to make room for Basha, 20. Forwards Ethan Neutens, Misha Volotovskii and defenceman Josh Van Mulligan have all been productive in their respective roles this season, but a lesson in the business of hockey awaits.

6 – Everett Adds – I opined last week that defenceman Luke Vlooswyk of the Red Deer Rebels might be a sought-after piece and it was the Everett Silvertips who pulled the trigger to land the Philadelphia Flyers prospect. I wondered if Kelowna had been a suitor as well, but when they did business with the Rebels, the Rockets landed defenceman Keith McInnis. Despite statistics that would certainly prove me wrong to date, I still believe Vlooswyk has some untapped offensive upside, though I couldn’t see it being unearthed in Red Deer. I wonder if the Silvertips see this in Vlooswyk, a big, rangy, right-handed shooter who checks in at 6’5 and 210 pounds. But, the ‘Tips have plenty of fire power and if it’s going to be all about defending, Vlooswyk has answered the bell to this end through 120 WHL games, evidenced by the Flyers who came calling in the fifth round at the 2025 NHL Draft. I’m pretty sure Vlooswyk crossed paths with Silvertips phenom Landon Dupont at the Edge School program, though they are a couple of years apart, and Rhys Jamieson is a former bantam teammate in Calgary. That reunion of sorts in Everett also has me intrigued. Everett forward Mirco Dufour, 17, is another Edge grad.

7 – From the NCAA – A couple of interesting “adds” of late from the NCAA. Defenceman Charlie Michaud has landed in Penticton from the University of Miami (Ohio). Michaud, 19, is from Denver and after three seasons in the USHL, appeared in six NCAA games this season before arriving in the WHL. Forward Riley Bassen from Frisco, Texas, arrived in Wenatchee last month, coming over from Merrimack College. Bassen, now 20, also played three seasons in the USHL. While neither arrives on the scene as an absolute game-breaker – Bassen does have two goals and three assists in six games – the reality is that WHL teams are obviously willing to look at what might come their way from US college programs. Indeed, there is movement in both directions. Portland landed a couple of real good ones in recent years, defenceman Tyson Jugnauth and forward Alex Weiermair. Everett forward Rylan Gould and Edmonton rearguard Austin Zemlak are perhaps the two most noteworthy players to return to the DUB after de-committing from their respective NCAA programs.

8 – Gary Sutter – Sad news out of Viking, Alberta last week. On December 31, Gary Sutter passed away. He was the eldest of the Sutter brothers but never did pursue a playing career in the NHL. I enjoyed him over the years in West Kelowna. I first met Gary while he was working at a Home Hardware location and incidentally, I’m pretty sure he was part of a group at the store that had a big lottery win back in the day! Gary played some golf at the Shannon Lake Golf Course, where I was a member of the management team. He was a gracious, soft-spoken man who was never shy about talking hockey with me when I posed a question or two. Just a real good guy! During those years, he was doing some scouting for the Calgary Flames. Prior to his passing, Gary was inducted into the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation.

9 – From the Booth – An interesting discussion on “X” last week. Sure, it can happen, but alas, sometimes the platform can also become ferociously obnoxious. A post that led with “Unpopular opinion…” was shared regarding female sportscasters in men’s sports. Of course, many posters interpret the written word in their own way, creating the context they prefer, then they rabidly head down a rabbit hole of hysteria. I think the questions are legit and the conversation can be a healthy one, though it can be difficult to avoid so much disingenuous drivel. One comment stood out: “Listening to two women give a play by play on men’s hockey sounds unnatural and screams DEI.” And this one from another supposed female poster: “Women don’t want equality. They just want to be in charge of everything and emasculate men.” So, yes, the discussion can certainly either evolve or devolve. There were also a few dummies who chose to point the finger at specific on-air personalities, but I didn’t really care for those takes. Male or female, the amount of preparation these people undertake before hitting the airwaves would surprise most anonymous social media experts. These are very demanding roles that require a significant commitment! Coming off a week where I absorbed some historical commentary on the state of sports media, supplied by the uber-qualified Mark Hebscher in his book, “Madness – The Rise and Ruin of Sports Media”, I also wonder if the powers-that-be at sports networks find some of these young women to be rather budget-friendly in their current respective roles? For me, when I’m watching, I just don’t like the sound. Nothing more. Nothing less. But, I am a big fan of meritocracy, so I’ll continue to cling to the hope that decision-makers are committed to the practice of hiring the best person for the job. Hey, if I’m giving the poohbahs too much credit, so be it.

10 – Missed It By That Much – A boo-boo at my end last week, but it doesn’t at all blur the point. For the 2025 calendar year, the Medicine Hat Tigers compiled a 70-12-4-3 record. I had its record at 69-13-5-2, before its 70^th win December 30. That lofty standard includes regular season games, the 2025 post-season (16-2) and the Memorial Cup tournament in Rimouski (3-1), that loss coming in the finale. So far this season, prior to January 1, Medicine Hat was 25-6-3-2. In comparison, the Memorial Cup champion London Knights, a perennial contender in the OHL, went 65-19-5 in the 2025 calendar year, including a combined 20-2 record in OHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. One of the losses was a 3-1 verdict to the Tigers in the Memorial Cup round-robin. Both are impressive records of course, but the Tigers have been absolutely off the charts successful, currently riding a 15-game winning streak. Historically, the Tigers record for consecutive wins was set back in the 2006-2007 season – 17 wins in a row. Will that record be obliterated this season? Medicine Hat has Seattle and Lethbridge in town at Co-Op Place this weekend, before a home and home set with the division rival Edmonton Oil Kings. Stay tuned!

BONUS – Olympic Men’s Hockey – Always nice to see WHL alumni representing Canada at the Winter Olympic Games. The roster announced last week is nine deep from the DUB, with Sam Reinhart, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Mark Stone, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey, Darcy Kuemper and Logan Thompson. A total of 25 players were named, but interestingly to me, the support staff for the team includes 30 people. That’s a big group traveling overseas. I’d love to see the financials!

RANDOMS – Defenceman Bryce Pickford has scored 16 goals and 13 assists on his current 13-game point scoring heater…At some point this month – tonight actually – the Kelowna Rockets, for the first time this season, will have Tij Iginla, Tomas Poletin and Vojtech Cihar in the lineup together. I wonder how this is going to look…Crummy news from the WJC, where Edmonton Oil Kings import forward Adam Jecho has been on the shelf with what has been reported to be a broken hand. The Czech-born forward, signed to an ELC by the St. Louis Blues, apparently suffered the injury when he slipped on some ice near the WJC venue in Minnesota. Jecho is a veteran of almost 150 WHL Games, pretty much a point-per-game producer…Fair to say that David Branch was rather an iconic figure in junior hockey circles for many, many years. Indeed, the long-time OHL Commissioner cast a large shadow. Branch passed away Sunday. He was 77 years old…There are folks finding both subtle and not-so-subtle ways to comment on the play of Gavin McKenna this season, both in the NCAA and at the WJC. I’m certainly not going to dump on the kid, nor am I prepared to be overly sympathetic. He’s a tremendous talent, a youngster who is currently dealing with life in the spotlight when not everything is going his way. But, his plight does bring to mind an old tune by Cyndi Lauper, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week. The song? “Money Changes Everything”.

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