10 WHL Playoff Things From Glen Erickson, Volume XXXII

Among the eight teams still battling in the current Western Hockey League post-season, four of them managed to take commanding leads in their respective second round series. Here we go…

1 – Raiders / Blades – It didn’t really look like a fair fight at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on the weekend. I assume the folks in Hockey Town North don’t mind that one bit. The Raiders hammered the Saskatoon Blades 6-1 and 3-0 to take a two-games to none lead back to the City of Bridges. Prince Albert may possess the deepest roster in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders dominated territorial play in both games, outshooting the Blades by a combined total of 79-32. Perhaps the Blades emptied the tank in their seven-game, round one upset of the Edmonton Oil Kings? Regardless, counting the Blades out is perhaps premature at this point, but the likelihood they can win four of the next five certainly requires a healthy amount of optimism. The Raiders went 6-1-1 against the Blades during the regular season and appear destined to advance to the conference final.

2 – Tigers / Hitmen – A pair of one-goal decisions has the Medicine Hat Tigers only two more wins away from advancing to the conference final. I opined with a few others that the Calgary Hitmen needed to win one early to instill some belief. The Tigers have now won nine of 10 this season over the Hitmen and for Calgary, the losses have come in a number of different ways. The Tigers’ 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 epitomized how the Hitmen have suffered tough losses against their division rival. Medicine Hat scored with a minute to play in the first extra period to send the crowd at Co-Op Place into a frenzy. Saturday, the Tigers gave up three first period goals, then clawed back to earn a 4-3 decision. While Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu, 17, continues to position himself among the top keepers in the league right now, Medicine Hat continues to find ways to win. I’ve said it on many occasions this season that for the Tigers, this is their time. The current group has become a such a tough out, perhaps the best third period team in the DUB. Whether it’s fitness or just plain determination, there is simply no quit. Call it their version of “belief”. This is a group that can act like it’s done it before. Because it has. Can Calgary find a way to win four of the next five games?

3 – Everett / Kelowna – Holding serve at the Angel of the Winds Arena was not unexpected as the Silvertips knocked off the Rockets 4-1 and 4-2. The Scotty Munro Memorial trophy winners have won six straight playoff games so far and I just don’t believe Kelowna has the answers right now. Rockets overage forward Ty Halaburda was hospitalized after a collision and awkward fall in Game 2. High-octane forwards Tij Iginla and Vojtech Cihar have been neutralized through two games. Meanwhile for Everett, their best players have indeed been their best players. The Silvertips are healthy this post-season and the group looks poised to play it any way its opponents would like. I liked the goaltending matchup heading into this one, as it was perhaps the only area I thought Kelowna might have an edge. But through two contests, Anders Miller has been as solid if not better than Harrison Boettiger.

4 – Penticton / Prince George – A little adversity this week for the expansion Penticton Vees, drubbed 4-1 and 6-2 on home ice by the Prince George Cougars. The B.C. Division rivals square off twice this week at the CN Centre and if the Cougars can hold serve, Penticton’s Cinderella story will come to an abrupt conclusion. Despite outshooting Prince George by a wide margin in both games (35-20 and 42-25), the Vees haven’t been able to solve netminder Josh Ravensbergen. The San Jose Sharks 2025 first rounder has been a workhorse so far during the post-season, as his mates haven’t done a great job keeping opposing shooters at bay. It will be interesting to see how the Cougars brass addresses this. Meanwhile, forward Terik Parascak has come alive with four straight multi-point outings. The Washington Capitals 2024 first-rounder has scored four goals and two assists against Penticton. Cougars forward Brock Souch leads the WHL Playoff scoring derby with 15 points, one ahead of Parascak. If the Cats can eliminate Penticton, it will advance to its second Western Conference final in three years. But let’s not count the Vees out just yet, as there is something about the Penticton mystique. Junior hockey success has long been both a habit and the expectation in the Peach City. A premature celebration could potentially bite the Cougars in the back side. Can Penticton plant the seed of doubt with a win in Game 3?

5 – Good Call – The hullabaloo concerning Mat Barrett’s play-by-play call in overtime of Game 7 between the Saskatoon Blades and Edmonton Oil Kings is just utter nonsense. Barrett has been a breath of fresh air these past couple of seasons among DUB broadcasters. He is absolutely one of the league’s most energetic young voices. I’ve certainly enjoyed his calls, given I reside in a Central Division locale. I wonder if his eminently qualified sidekick, Guy Flaming, has to keep one hand on Barrett at times to prevent his enthusiasm from resulting in an unexpected exit over the edge of the broadcast booth! Barrett and Flaming handled the Oil Kings season-ending loss just fine, thank you. We’ve seen a gradual changing of the guard among the WHL play-by-play fraternity in recent years and I hope a guy like Barrett sticks around for awhile.

6 – Air Travel, DUB-style – Is this the next step for the WHL, allowing teams to choose air travel? There is a long history of teams riding the bus across western Canada, and some of the equipment they travel on is truly state-of-the-art. Oh, those lengthy, team-building road trips! The league has used charters over the years during the WHL Championship Series, where one team sits in the back of an Air North 737 while the other sits up front. The convenience is obvious. I have never been privy to the financials, but it would be interesting to analyze the costs. Back in the day, there were teams that could afford to fly, but because others couldn’t, the chatter among punditry suggested it was considered an unfair advantage for those with deeper pockets. Hence, travel on the old iron lung continued to rule the day. Perhaps players and families are simply demanding more from major junior teams these days? Maybe the perception or the reality is other leagues – think NCAA – are providing more safety and convenience? I’m confident the NCAA generates an absurd amount of money in comparison to the WHL. If a bit of financial muscle-flexing has become a concern in these parts, do major junior hockey operators feel they have no choice but to find ways to offer similar convenience? How might this impact recruiting? Or, ticket prices? Spend a little time on social media these days and it’s pretty apparent WHL fans en masse prefer the product they support to remain as cheap and cheerful as possible. If, and when, the franchise pegged for Chilliwack materializes, the healthy expansion fees distributed league-wide might assist in offsetting some travel costs in the short-term. Indeed, interesting times ahead.

7 – WCPSF – I haven’t seen the official announcements, but it looks like the Western Canada Professional Scouts Foundation may be moving its induction ceremony and festivities to late August in Okotoks for 2026. You can give the organization’s website a look for some terrific history and insights into the work being done to honour and assist the scouting fraternity. I understand there has also been some discussion about a fundraising golf tournament in southeastern Alberta as well, perhaps in conjunction with the event in Okotoks. Last year in Regina, the organization also held a successful event to honour the contributions from the Indigenous hockey community. Word is a similar event might materialize in Kelowna in late September. Gregg Drinnan of Kamloops, the erstwhile junior hockey media legend and historian, chips in to handle most of the communications for the organization, so we’ll sit tight and wait for all the details to be confirmed. Stay tuned.

8 – NCAA – The Frozen Four came and went on the weekend in Las Vegas and it delivered some excitement. University of Denver Pioneers defeated the University of Wisconsin Badgers, 2-1 in the finale. Former Portland Winterhawks forward and team captain Kyle Chyzowski tallied the game winner with an about six minutes to play. Both goaltenders were solid – WHL alumni Johnny Hicks (Denver) and Daniel Hauser (Wisconsin). TSN tapped into the ESPN feed and I thought the production was outstanding. Many Canadian hockey fans would love to see USPORTS hockey treated with even an ounce of this kind of respect from our national sports networks. After all, we love our hockey! Prior to the tournament, I gave the four rosters a look and by my count, there were 12 former WHLers participating.

9 – NCAA, Part Deux – If you’re bored, give this terrific piece on the College Hockey News website a look. Penned by managing editor, Adam Wodon, it’s a long read, but full of solid insight. Here’s an excerpt: “The money available and the ability to transfer at will, has conspired to fundamentally alter college hockey. It’s reached full instant gratification – call it the Tinder-fication of college sports,” Wodon writes. “In a perfect world, what’s good for the team and good for the individual is the same thing. (but) Player development doesn’t have to be hindered by playing in a team concept, even if the player isn’t on the top power play unit, yet. But that’s what all of a players’ support system is telling him these days. Instant gratification. There’s parents, agents, the NHL team that drafted them, all telling the player what’s right for the individual,” said one coach. “Coaches are the only ones talking team.”

10 – Randoms – I enjoyed a few days in Kelowna last week, my old stomping grounds. Kudos to the 2026 Memorial Cup site selection committee for getting it right. Go Rockets! Fortunately, in early April, the beautiful Okanagan Valley has not welcomed its annual influx of tourists, which will simply create almost unmanageable traffic congestion throughout the summer months. It was not a business trip, though. We visited friends who sadly, are not well or are recovering from health-related adventures. Goodness, I certainly wouldn’t consider myself to be the picture of health! I suppose if I can provide any advice to young people – as if these geniuses would even acknowledge a baby boomer – it would be, try not to grow old too quickly. And, with air travel top of mind, flying on a full Q400 is just a bizarre experience. Good luck evacuating one of these. There is also a generation of air travelers today I sincerely wish would just take a bus instead, rather than infesting the two-o’clock pterodactyl from Calgary to wherever. (Flintstones, anyone?) I truly feel for the airline personnel, especially those winding down their service-industry careers. I’m sure they’ve seen some stuff! The youngsters styling their pyjamas in public are every where these days and they seem proud to be disheveled and disengaged. The upside of gentle parenting, perhaps? Yes, we are where we are.

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