Making a Western Conference Finalist
The Spokane Chiefs’ 2018-19 season officially came to a close last week with the team falling just short of a WHL Western Conference Championship title. The team’s deep run in the 2019 WHL Playoffs will make the transition from postseason to off-season an abrupt one as the WHL Bantam Draft will take place this week, on Thursday, May 2.
Before the landscape of the 2019-20 roster starts to take shape, here is a look at how exactly this season’s team came together, turning in the franchise’s highest winning percentage (0.640) since the 2010-11 campaign, which was also the last time the Chiefs appeared in the Western Conference Championship.
Of the 27 players listed on the Chiefs’ final playoff roster, 13 were bantam draft selections by Spokane, two arrived via the CHL Import Draft, three were listed and signed to WHL player agreements and nine players were acquired via trade.
| Player | Acquired |
| Ty Smith | Bantam Draft – Round 1 (#1) |
| Jack Finley | Bantam Draft – Round 1 (#6) |
| Luke Toporowski | Bantam Draft – Round 1 (#8) |
| Jaret Anderson-Dolan | Bantam Draft – Round 1 (#14) |
| Campbell Arnold | Bantam Draft – Round 2 (#28) |
| Matt Leduc | Bantam Draft – Round 2 (#31) |
| Ethan McIndoe | Bantam Draft – Round 3 (#58) |
| Erik Atchison | Bantam Draft – Round 5 (#94) |
| Adam Beckman | Bantam Draft – Round 5 (#96) |
| Mike Ladyman | Bantam Draft – Round 5 (#108) |
| Luke Gallagher | Bantam Draft – Round 8 (#163) |
| Jake McGrew | Bantam Draft – Round 8 (#168) |
| Cordel Larson | Bantam Draft – Round 9 (#186) |
| Egor Arbuzov | Import Draft – Round 1 (#50) |
| Filip Kral | Import Draft – Round 2 (#78) |
| Luc Smith | Trade (Kamloops) |
| Michael King | Trade (Kootenay) |
| Bobbu Russell | Trade (Kootenay) |
| Bailey Brkin | Trade (Kootenay) |
| Reece Klassen | Trade (Lethbridge) |
| Eli Zummack | Trade (Red Deer) |
| Riley Woods | Trade (Regina) |
| Nolan Reid | Trade (Saskatoon) |
| Noah King | Trade (Swift Current) |
| Connor Gabruch | Listed |
| Bear Hughes | Listed |
| Kaden Hanas | Listed |
The success of the club’s bantam draftees speaks to an overarching organizational philosophy, from General Manager Scott Carter through the scouting and coaching staffs, to develop players to become better on and off the ice. Later this week, joined by scouts from all over Western Canada and the United States, Carter and Assistant General Manager Chris Moulton will select the next crop of future Chiefs at the bantam draft in Calgary.
When the front office does strike a deal with another WHL organization, Spokane has had recent success acquiring players with 2-3 years of eligibility remaining, opening an opportunity for the coaching staff to work with those acquired players to succeed in the Chiefs’ systems on the ice.
All three of the team’s overage players, forwards Riley Woods and Luc Smith and defenseman Nolan Reid, were acquired via trade. While Smith was an in-season acquisition this year, both Woods and Reid were acquired as 18-year-old players. With expanded roles as veterans, they saw their production flourish under the lights at Spokane Arena.
As the front office works hard in preparation of Thursday’s draft, they’ll have nine of their original 10 allotted selections — this year’s 2nd-round pick was included in a trade last season that netted the Chiefs forward Zach Fischer — as they look to continue assembling the foundation of a championship squad.
