With the puck dropping on another Western Hockey League season this week, it’s time to weigh in with my annual predictions — from the division standings to the playoff picture.
The way I see it, there’s an imbalance within the conferences as of today, with the U.S. and Central rosters appearing far superior to the B.C. and East on paper.
In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking to me if both wild-card berths went to teams from the U.S. and Central divisions in the Western and Eastern conferences, respectively.
That said, there seems to be decent parity within each of the four divisions, which should still make for entertaining playoff races and captivating series through the first two rounds of the postseason — and beyond.
The balance of power, in my opinion, is below the border. The U.S. Division has been a powerhouse for a few seasons now and should be considered the favourite to produce the 2019 WHL champion. Be it Spokane or Portland, possibly even Everett or Tri-City.
Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks faces off against Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs during WHL action last season.
However, the Central is on the verge of a resurgence and should be taken seriously for a change. There could be a few challengers coming out of that division, including an obvious contender in Lethbridge.
One thing is for certain, there will be plenty of elite talent on display in the Dub this season — with a handful of prospects being touted as potential top-10 picks for the 2019 NHL draft and upwards of a dozen in the mix to be first-rounders, counting a few new imports.
It promises to be a bounce-back year for the WHL in terms of the NHL draft after only two players from the league were selected in the 2018 first round — including an import with the 31st and final pick of that opening round — and just 20 were taken overall, through seven rounds and 217 total selections.
Junior hockey is cyclical in nature and the WHL is trending up again, which should have fans in all 22 markets excited for the season to come.
Without spoiling any more of my predictions, here’s how I foresee the division standings shaking out as well as the playoffs playing out.
Western Conference
U.S. Division
1) Spokane Chiefs
2) Portland Winterhawks
3) Everett Silvertips
4) Tri-City Americans
5) Seattle Thunderbirds
B.C. Division
1) Vancouver Giants
2) Kamloops Blazers
3) Kelowna Rockets
4) Victoria Royals
5) Prince George Cougars
Eastern Conference
Central Division
1) Lethbridge Hurricanes
2) Edmonton Oil Kings
3) Calgary Hitmen
4) Red Deer Rebels
5) Medicine Hat Tigers
6) Kootenay Ice
East Division
1) Brandon Wheat Kings
2) Prince Albert Raiders
3) Saskatoon Blades
4) Regina Pats
5) Moose Jaw Warriors
6) Swift Current Broncos
Playoff Picture
Western Conference
First Round
US1) Spokane vs. WC2) Seattle
US2) Portland vs. US3) Everett
BC1) Vancouver vs. WC1) Tri-City
BC2) Kamloops vs. BC3) Kelowna
Second Round
US1) Spokane vs. US2) Portland
BC1) Vancouver vs. BC2) Kamloops
Third Round
US1) Spokane vs. BC1) Vancouver
Western Conference Champion — Spokane
Eastern Conference
First Round
C1) Lethbridge vs. WC2) Medicine Hat
C2) Edmonton vs. C3) Calgary
E1) Brandon vs. WC1) Red Deer
E2) Prince Albert vs. E3) Saskatoon
Second Round
C1) Lethbridge vs. C2) Edmonton
E1) Brandon vs. E2) Prince Albert
Third Round
C1) Lethbridge vs. E2) Prince Albert
Eastern Conference Champion — Lethbridge
Fourth Round
Ed Chynoweth Cup
US1) Spokane vs. E1) Lethbridge
WHL Champion — Spokane, in six games
Western Conference Breakdown
U.S. Division
1) Spokane Chiefs
ANALYSIS: Starting with my favourite to win it all, Spokane is stacked at forward, with a special defenceman and capable goaltending. The Chiefs were a good team — a high-scoring team — even without Kailer Yamamoto to start last season and they will continue to light it up this season despite that star forward turning pro. Dan Lambert is the ideal coach for not only Ty Smith but this entire group, and he’ll be pressing the right buttons to push the pace on offence. There is a ton of firepower in Spokane and Jaret Anderson-Dolan will make sure his teammates are as hard-working as they are skilled. Add it up and you’ve got the makings of a championship team, or certainly a contender.
2) Portland Winterhawks
ANALYSIS: Mike Johnston and Don Hay are a formidable tag team behind the bench in Portland, and they should get Cody Class back as their go-to guy. The Winterhawks lost a lot of offence with Kieffer Bellows, Skyler McKenzie and Henri Jokiharju all going pro, but Portland will reload with the likes of Seth Jarvis, Cross Hanas and two new imports in Michal Kvasnica and Dean Schwenninger. Johnston always seems to get the most out of his imports, so look for one or both of those two to become impact players this season. Portland should get above-average goaltending and there are two overagers to anchor the blue line in Brendan De Jong and Jared Freadrich. Portland isn’t as potent as last season — there isn’t as much elite talent on this roster — but don’t expect the Winterhawks to take much of a step back, and don’t expect them to struggle when it comes to scoring goals either.
3) Everett Silvertips
ANALYSIS: Last season’s Western Conference champs are returning a solid core and could still have the league’s best goalie with Dustin Wolf taking over for WHL MVP Carter Hart. Most teams would be reeling from the loss of Hart, but Wolf is arguably the top goaltending prospect for the 2019 NHL draft and another star in the making. This is his time to shine for Everett, which enjoyed tremendous success under first-year coach Dennis Williams last season and will look to build on that with returnees such as Connor Dewar and Riley Sutter up front, Jake Christiansen and Wyatte Wylie on the back end. The Silvertips will have solid leadership and plenty of playoff experience, so they could contend again if Wolf is able to pick up where Hart left off.
4) Tri-City Americans
ANALYSIS: With their top player likely turning pro — Michael Rasmussen seems destined to stick with Detroit — and a new coach in Kelly Buchberger, the Americans will be a different team this season. But don’t call this a rebuilding year for Tri-City since the forward group should still be able to fill the net. Look for Sasha Mutala to take a big step in his draft year and for new import Krystof Hrabik to be an offensive catalyst alongside key returnees Isaac Johnson, Nolan Yaremko and Kyle Olson. Scoring won’t be an issue, but defence is a concern for the Americans after losing their dynamic duo in Juuso Valimaki and Jake Bean. It’s nearly impossible to replace talent like that and it hasn’t happened to date, so the back end is a weakness for Tri-City as of today and the Americans won’t be able to outscore the opposition on a nightly basis.
5) Seattle Thunderbirds
ANALYSIS: Seattle will be better than last season, but it’s still going to be an uphill battle for the T-Birds in this daunting division. Fortunately for Seattle, the playoff format opens the door to a wild-card berth if the T-Birds can finish with more points than the fourth-place team from B.C. That looks possible, with Seattle led by late-blooming overager Zack Andrusiak, 2017 championship holdovers like Matthew Wedman, Nolan Volcan and Jarret Tyszka, draft-eligibles Dillon Hamaliuk and Jake Lee, plus new import Andrej Kukuca. Together, they seem to have more skill and experience than a few of the B.C. teams, but Seattle is far from a playoff lock and Liam Hughes will certainly have to do his part in goal.
B.C. Division
1) Vancouver Giants
ANALYSIS: Vancouver looks to be the best of the bunch in B.C. and should be the favourite to win this division banner. Tyler Benson and Ty Ronning are gone — graduated to the pro ranks — and their offence will be missed, but the Giants are still in good shape with one of the league’s top goaltending tandems and an awesome defence corps led by Bowen Byram. A lot of Vancouver’s offence will come from the defence, so scoring shouldn’t be a huge concern. If need be, the Giants should be able to win low-scoring games, but this promises to be an exciting team to watch under first-year coach Michael Dyck.
2) Kamloops Blazers
ANALYSIS: Kamloops is going to be climbing the standings this season and looks, to me, like Vancouver’s biggest challenger for top spot under another first-year coach in Serge Lajoie. Kamloops has a strong overage trio in Dylan Ferguson, Jermaine Loewen and Luc Smith — an NHL-signed goalie and two hulking power forwards. The Blazers will be a big team — the beasts of B.C. — but won’t be short on skill either, with a very balanced lineup and nicely constructed roster. There are no glaring holes, no real weaknesses, so look for Kamloops to take a big step with the potential to slay the Giants in a seven-game series.
3) Kelowna Rockets
ANALYSIS: For the first time in franchise history — since relocating to Kelowna from Tacoma, Wash., in 1995-96 — the Rockets won’t have any players on their roster who are NHL property to start the season. Braydyn Chizen, their towering overage blueliner, had been drafted but went unsigned by Minnesota. That has many pundits labelling this a rebuilding season for Kelowna, which has bid farewell to its top-four scorers from last season — Kole Lind, Dillon Dube, Carsen Twarynski and defenceman Cal Foote, all turning pro. However, the Rockets do have three top prospects for the 2019 NHL draft in forward Nolan Foote and the defence pairing of Kaedan Korczak and new Finnish import Lassi Thomson — all projected to be first- or second-round picks. Kelowna’s overagers are below average and its goaltenders are still young, but the Rockets should have good depth up front with some older forwards stepping into bigger roles. Jason Smith will have his work cut out for him in getting the most out of this group, but that draft-eligible trio should develop enough to keep Kelowna in the playoff picture.
4) Victoria Royals
ANALYSIS: Victoria will be pushing Kelowna every step of the way in that playoff race. The Royals have much better overagers in Dante Hannoun, Lane Zablocki and goaltender Griffen Outhouse, an NHL-drafted defenceman who should break out in Scott Walford, plus two talented import forwards in sophomore Igor Martynov and newcomer Phillip Schultz. Comparing rosters top to bottom, Victoria might have an edge over Kelowna on paper as of today, but the Rockets boast more potential than the Royals as the season progresses.
5) Prince George Cougars
ANALYSIS: Prince George, like Kelowna, is without any players who are NHL property — drafted or signed — to start this season. Richard Matvichuk and new GM Mark Lamb will use this as a building year, developing their young core to take a leap next season. Taylor Gauthier should be able to steal some games in goal, but the Cougars are almost certain to bring up the rear again in B.C. Goaltending will be a strength and this team will take on a hard-working, gritty identity, but the Cougars will have to scratch and claw for every goal they get — and every point they get in the standings this season.
Eastern Conference Breakdown
Central Division
1) Lethbridge Hurricanes
ANALYSIS: It’s looking like Lethbridge will be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference after reloading at last season’s trade deadline and still making a run to the third round of the playoffs. The Hurricanes have five high-end talents in draft-eligible forwards Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage, Pittsburgh prospects Jordy Bellerive and Calen Addison, and Swiss goalie Akira Schmid. The supporting cast is decent, but those five will power the Hurricanes to a division title and perhaps a championship. That playoff experience will bode well from start to finish.
2) Edmonton Oil Kings
ANALYSIS: The more I look at Edmonton’s roster, the more I like it. The Oil Kings are in really good shape, with Kirt Hill and Brad Lauer inheriting a quality group from Randy Hansch and Steve Hamilton. I feel like almost every player warrants a mention, but Trey Fix-Wolansky and draft-eligible Matthew Robertson are the two key figures, while new import Vladimir Alistrov and Jake Neighbours are two of the league’s most exciting rookies this season. This team will need to grow together under a new coach, but Edmonton has the potential to be something special in a couple years and could be a sleeper this season.
3) Calgary Hitmen
ANALYSIS: The Battle of Alberta is going to be just as heated in the WHL as the NHL, with Hamilton now coaching a Calgary club that is also trending up. The Hitmen are loaded on defence with a fair bit of firepower up front. Carl Stankowski is the wild card here, but if he’s healthy and returns to form from backstopping Seattle to the 2017 championship, Calgary could make a lot of noise too. Looking at this lineup, I feel the Hitmen are a better fit for Hamilton and I’m thinking he’ll enjoy significantly more success on this side of the rivalry. The only problem is his old team will be standing in his way this season and for the foreseeable future. Sparks will fly when the Hitmen and Oil Kings clash going forward.
4) Red Deer Rebels
ANALYSIS: I’m not overly confident in my order for these last three teams in the Central. I like my top three, but Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Kootenay all have their strengths and weaknesses that could make them interchangeable in the standings. Red Deer has the best defence of the three — with three studs on the back end — and should get adequate goaltending, but the Rebels’ forwards aren’t the best. They do have a trio of overagers up front in Brandon Hagel, Jeff De Wit and Reese Johnson, and Oleg Zaitsev is another promising new import, but scoring won’t come easy for Red Deer. I was pretty torn on where to rank the Rebels, but that defence with Alexander Alexeyev, Dawson Barteaux and Jacob Herauf makes me think Red Deer will be a playoff team.
5) Medicine Hat Tigers
ANALYSIS: Medicine Hat has the most forward depth of the three, which is typical of the Tigers with a bunch of undersized scorers. Josh Williams showed at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup that he’s going to fill the net in his draft year, but the Tigers should be able to attack in waves as per usual. Medicine Hat should also get above-average goaltending from Jordan Hollett and Danish import Mads Sogaard, but they are going to face a ton of rubber behind a very mediocre defence group. Goaltending will be key here because it sure looks like the Tigers will be a run-and-gun team again. I do think the Tigers will score their way into the playoffs as a wild card, especially if they get any or all of Mason Shaw, David Quenneville and Linus Nassen back as overagers.
6) Kootenay Ice
ANALYSIS: That leaves Kootenay on the outside looking in again. The Ice have been rebuilding for some time already and will be reaping the benefits of picking high with the dynamic duo of Peyton Krebs (first overall in 2016) and Connor McClennon (second overall in 2017). Those two might be more talented than anybody on Red Deer or Medicine Hat’s rosters, but Kootenay just doesn’t have the supporting cast in place. The Ice were sellers again throughout last season and traded away some older players who could have provided nice depth for this season. Brett Davis is Kootenay’s lone drafted player and he’ll be a leader in Cranbrook as an underrated scorer. Perhaps the Taphorn twins will live up to their potential and Gilian Kohler will take a big step during his second season in North America, but Krebs and McClennon are clearly the one-two punch here and I don’t see a whole lot for them to work with. The Ice are looking mediocre on defence as well, with Jonathan Smart and Martin Bodak being their go-to guys on the back end. Duncan McGovern is an underrated goalie, but he’s going to be under fire against all these division rivals. Sadly, I don’t see a happy ending for Kootenay, but the Ice do have my favourite jerseys in the league if that’s any consolation.
East Division
1) Brandon Wheat Kings
ANALYSIS: This division was probably the toughest to predict — at least the top three, or even four. I shuffled the order of the top three several times before settling on Brandon. The Wheat Kings have some real offensive weapons, should get quality goaltending and have decent defence. I expect Brandon to be the highest-scoring team in this division, so that should make up for some defensive lapses and erase some deficits. If Erik Brannstrom and/or Martin Kaut were to end up in Brandon, the Wheaties would definitely be division favourites and possibly even conference favourites with both in the fold. However, those game-breaking imports are more likely to play in the AHL than the WHL. Kelly McCrimmon did do his junior team a favour by sending Czech goaltender Jiri Patera to Brandon and he’ll get plenty of run support this season.
2) Prince Albert Raiders
ANALYSIS: This could be the year of the Raiders. Yes, Prince Albert could ascend to the top of the East Division and make some noise in the playoffs. Backstopped by Ian Scott, the Raiders are finally ready to compete under Marc Habscheid and Curtis Hunt. They have built this cellar dweller into a potential contender. Like Edmonton in the Central and Kamloops in B.C., Prince Albert is looking solid at every position and poised to return to the postseason. In a lot of ways, I prefer Prince Albert to Brandon and I went back and forth between those two for the top seed. The Raiders are better on the back end and in goal with Scott, but Brandon is going to be tough to stop. Prince Albert will score its fair share too, so let’s just say the coin flip went to the Wheaties in the regular season and then to the Raiders in the playoffs.
3) Saskatoon Blades
ANALYSIS: Saskatoon was also worthy of consideration for the top seed, and the Blades would have been the sexy pick to win the division since this is a young team clearly on the rise. The sky could be the limit for the Blades this season, and Mitch Love seems like the perfect coach at the perfect time. There’s lots of upside with Saskatoon, which should have a fairly deep and potent forward group led by Kirby Dach, Max Gerlach, Eric Florchuk and Chase Wouters. The goaltending is in good hands too, with Nolan Maier showing last season that he can handle a heavier workload. Maier, in his NHL draft year, will be peppered again behind a leaky-looking defence that features Dawson Davidson as an offensive-minded overager and an intriguing new import in Emil Malysjev. Saskatoon should finally be a playoff team again, but that defence will be in tough against Brandon and Prince Albert as the season plays out. Shore up the blue line and the Blades will be a legit threat.
4) Regina Pats
ANALYSIS: Regina remains in pretty good shape considering the Pats loaded up to host the Memorial Cup last season. That’s a credit to John Paddock, who might have enough talent left over to push for a playoff berth — competing with Medicine Hat for the second wild-card spot, according to my predictions. I have the Pats falling short, but they should be in that mix with Max Paddock in goal, an older defence group and some firepower up front. Nick Henry should have a big year, along with Jake Leschyshyn, while Austin Pratt appears primed to break out and Koby Morrisseau should also make significant strides in a bigger role. Regina’s new imports are getting some preseason hype too, with Russian draft-eligibles Sergei Alkhimov and Nikita Sedov looking like good finds. So don’t rule out Regina, with the Pats’ holdovers sure to benefit from their Memorial Cup experience.
5) Moose Jaw Warriors
ANALYSIS: Moose Jaw has a few high-end defenders in Josh Brook, Jett Woo and Daemon Hunt, but the Warriors lost a ton of offence among their forwards and also have question marks in goal this season. Reality is, Alan Millar and Tim Hunter built this team to win last season — and succeeded in the regular season, with a division banner to hang on opening night — but the Warriors are no longer contenders. Moose Jaw’s defence is a strength — ranking among the league’s best — but the rest of the roster will be a work in progress and may result in the Warriors becoming sellers.
6) Swift Current Broncos
ANALYSIS: Swift Current experienced a mass exodus following its championship run last season, and the Broncos are now entering a rebuilding phase on and off the ice. Dean Brockman has taken over without much talent to work with, so don’t expect a repeat from Swift Current. Goaltender Joel Hofer, who backed up Stuart Skinner in the playoffs, is the only player on the Broncos’ roster who is NHL property — drafted or signed — to start this season. There are some promising newcomers in Finnish import Joona Kiviniemi — who is already drawing favourable comparisons to Aleksi Heponiemi — and Ben King, the Broncos’ first-rounder from 2017, but the offence as a whole is lacking and the defence is looking mediocre too. Hofer may steal some games, but I have the Broncos bringing up the rear in the Eastern Conference.
The real bad news for Swift Current is that Prince George owns its first-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft from the Josh Anderson trade last season. That’s great news for the Cougars, who could enter the draft lottery with the two highest odds of winning the Matthew Savoie sweepstakes. For those unfamiliar, Savoie has been labelled a generational talent and seems a lock to go first overall in 2019. A lot can — and will — happen between now and then, so it should be interesting to see how my predictions hold up this season.