WHL embarks on 50th season
Wednesday September 23, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
The Western Hockey League celebrates 50 years in 2015-16 and features the same hard-hitting brand of hockey to go with a great lineup of special events in store for the coming months.
Each WHL Club will host a special night on the calendar in honour of the milestone season while national CHL events in the 2015 Canada/Russia Series, 2016 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on January 28th in Vancouver and the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer headline the anniversary campaign.
On the ice, the Kelowna Rockets are defending champions after coming one shot away from MasterCard Memorial Cup glory last spring.
The Rockets, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary season with a commemorative logo and jersey, are early favourites in the Western Conference once again, ranking fourth in the BMO CHL Top-10 Pre-Season Rankings released September 10th.
New head coach Brad Ralph takes over a capable offence from Dan Lambert who has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Buffalo Sabres. Returning Arizona Coyotes first rounder Nick Merkley leads a cast that also includes 19 year-olds Rourke Chartier and Justin Kirkland, sophomore Dillon Dube and prospective overagers Tyson Baillie and Cole Linaker.
The returning presence of Jackson Whistle in goal gives the Rockets stability defensively as Devante Stephens and Joe Gatenby take the lead on the blueline from graduates Josh Morrissey and Madison Bowey.
The Prince George Cougars try and take another step in the right direction, having increased their point totals in each of the past three seasons. Winnipeg Jets second round pick Jansen Harkins will have some talent to work with in 38-goal scorer Chase Witala, New York Rangers prospect Brad Morrison and power forward Jesse Gabrielle who was acquired from Regina during the summer.
Overage goaltender Mack Shields returns for a fourth WHL season after being acquired from the Calgary Hitmen. He’ll play behind a defence corps that includes rugged Columbus Blue Jackets draftee Sam Ruopp and Vancouver Canucks prospect Tate Olson.
Mathew Barzal, Ryan Gropp, Keegan Kolesar and the Seattle Thunderbirds are expected to be another contender in the West should they fill the void left by graduated WHL Goaltender of the Year Taran Kozun. Returning 18 year-old Logan Flodell and offseason acquisition Taz Burman will battle it out in the crease for the chance to try and help guide the Thunderbirds to their first U.S. Division title since 2005.
Always a part of the discussion, the Portland Winterhawks could give the Thunderbirds some fierce resistance on the west coast as graduated scoring sensations Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan and Chase De Leo pass the torch to Columbus prospect Paul Bittner, Dominic Turgeon, versatile defenceman Caleb Jones and Nashville Predators prospect Jack Dougherty. Nineteen year-old Arizona Coyotes draftee Adin Hill returns to the crease, widely considered to be one of the WHL’s best goaltenders coming into the season.
The 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup host Red Deer Rebels are building for a championship run this season and feature Colorado Avalanche first rounder Conner Bleackley, St. Louis Blues prospect David Musil and overage centreman Wyatt Johnson joining Winnipeg Jets pick and first round CHL Import Draft selection Michael Spacek in forming the core of their offence.
Canadian World Junior hopeful Haydn Fleury leads from the blueline while goaltender Rylan Toth looks to build off a 28-win season in 2014-15 as head coach Brent Sutter and the Rebels build toward a shot at CHL supremacy.
After a 7-0 preseason, the Calgary Hitmen could pose the biggest challenge to Red Deer in the Central Division. Should he return, 19 year-old Vancouver Canucks first round pick Jake Virtanen will look to build off 52 points (21-31–52) in 50 games last season, supported by a cast that includes Russian winger Radel Fazleev, veteran flank Chase Lang and Belarussian centreman Pavel Karnaukhov.
Philadelphia Flyers prospect Travis Sanheim, draft eligible sophomore Jake Bean, 19 year-olds Ben Thomas and Micheal Zipp along with overager Colby Harmsworth give the Hitmen a formidable blueline in front of 20 year-old goaltender Brendan Burke.
The diminutive overage duo of Trevor Cox and Cole Sanford in Medicine Hat look to put the Tigers in the Central Division discussion with Red Deer and Calgary. The two forwards combined for 204 points last season and will be joined by Montreal Canadiens prospect Matt Bradley and 19 year-olds Steven Owre and Chad Butcher in providing an intriguing offensive punch.
Entering the season on top of the BMO CHL Top-10 Pre-Season Rankings, the Brandon Wheat Kings appear to be the established favourites in the East Division after winning the Scotty Munro Trophy with a league-best 53-11-4-4 record last season.
A talented offensive core featuring Florida Panthers product Jayce Hawryluk, New Jersey first rounder John Quenneville, overage 42-goal man Tim McGauley and Latvian sniper Rihards Bukarts will try and match a league-leading 340-goal output from last season.
Philadelphia Flyers seventh overall pick Ivan Provorov was returned to the club on Wednesday after attending his first NHL Training Camp. The smooth-skating rearguard will undoubtedly be among the league’s best defencemen after propelling Brandon’s second ranked 25.7% man advantage last season with 32 powerplay points.
Brandon will also be a hot spot for NHL scouts once again as 17 year-old 2017 NHL Draft prospect Nolan Patrick returns after an impressive 30-goal campaign in his rookie season. Sophomore rearguard Kale Clague is also up for the 2016 NHL Draft, returning after an injury-shortened 2014-15 season that limited him to just 20 games. What’s more, 2014 WHL Bantam Draft first overall pick Stelio Mattheos will step into regular duty and could be a top prospect for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
The Wheat Kings will also have the presence of 19 year-old goaltender Jordan Papirny back between the pipes after he led the league with 44 wins last season.
The two other teams looking capable of pushing the Wheaties in the East Division will open the WHL’s 50th season in Moose Jaw on Thursday. The Warriors host the Regina Pats as the two clubs who competed in the first ever WHL Championship series in 1967 will be recognized for their long-standing traditions.
Moose Jaw will wait and see if Canadian World Junior gold medalist Brayden Point will be returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 19 year-old centreman headlines an up-and-coming Warriors team that features 17 year-old standout Brett Howden through the middle and Ivan Hlinka gold medalist Zach Sawchenko in goal.
Regina’s offence features 30-goal man Adam Brooks, draft eligible centreman Sam Steel and Los Angeles draftee Austin Wagner in front of a capable blueline that includes New York Rangers third rounder Sergey Zborovsky and Washington Capitals selections Connor Hobbs and Colby Williams. Overage veteran Daniel Wapple returns to the crease after winning 29 games in 2014-15.
A hockey historian’s dream, the Western Hockey League is pulling out all of the stops in it’s 50th anniversary celebration. Great features such as learning more about the top 125 WHL players of all-time, weekly profiles of all 49 of the league’s past championship teams, along with Throwback Thursdays on Twitter and Facebook are just a few of the exciting promotions running throughout the 2015-16 season.
The puck drops Thursday on a 50th season to remember as the momentum builds toward what’s shaping up to be a climactic 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup on WHL ice this spring.