SERIES PREVIEW: (2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (1) Seattle Thunderbirds
The 2023 WHL Western Conference Championship presented by Nutrien begins Saturday, April 29. We present this preview of the best-of-seven series between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers.
The Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers will meet in the Western Conference Championship for the second consecutive spring.
The best-of-seven series begins with Game 1 April 29 in Kent, Wash. (6:05 p.m. PT, accesso ShoWare Center).
The teams have been bent on a rematch since last season’s Western Conference Championship, a series Seattle won in seven games.
Both Clubs have posted perfect 8-0 records through the first two rounds of the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, too. The Thunderbirds earned sweeps over the Kelowna Rockets and Prince George Cougars, while the Blazers knocked off the Vancouver Giants and Portland Winterhawks in the First and Second Rounds.
The series is full of NHL Draft picks, 19 to be exact, including Blazers duo Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars) and Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks), who hold a share of the WHL Playoffs scoring lead with 21 points apiece. Zellweger’s last appearance April 20 at Portland saw the defenceman tie a League post-season record for points in a game by a blueliner with seven.
Seattle’s Dylan Guenther, a first-round pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2021, leads his Club with 10 goals from his eight post-season outings, while Winnipeg Jets prospect Brad Lambert’s 16 points are tops among Thunderbirds skaters.
Fans of Canada’s entry at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship will no doubt be familiar with these two squads as well. Nine members of that Canadian team will feature in the Western Conference Championship including Stankoven, Zellweger, Guenther and Seattle netminder Thomas Milic.
The talent pool for the 2023 NHL Draft will be on full display, too. Four players in this series appeared at the 2023 Kubota CHL / NHL Top Prospects Game in Langley, B.C. in January, and a a total of eight players on the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings are featured on the two rosters, six on the Seattle lineup alone.
It’s a series that stands to capture the attention of fans and NHL personnel across North America and if last spring’s seven-game thriller is any indication of what to expect, this series will not disappoint.
The two teams met four times during the regular season, with each team winning twice, and three of the four encounters decided by a single goal. The teams met three times in the month of March, most recently in Kamloops March 22 in a game that saw a furious second-period rally from the Thunderbirds before the Blazers earned a 6-5 victory.
Seattle defenceman Jeremy Hanzel led his Club with six points over the regular season set, including a goal in the most recent meeting with the Blazers. Guenther’s three goals were tops among Seattle skaters against Kamloops during the regular season.
Zellweger, Stankoven and Minnesota Wild draftee Caedan Bankier all finished their regular seasons with six points against the Thunderbirds during the regular campaign, though each of Zellweger’s three assists against Seattle came prior to his acquisition by Kamloops from the Everett Silvertips.
Milic finished the season series with a 2-0-0-1 record and .949 save percentage over three starts for the Thunderbirds, while 2023 NHL Draft prospect Dylan Ernst and running mate Matthew Kieper each earned a win against Seattle this season.
The two sides share a rich post-season history, meeting in WHL Playoffs and even a Memorial Cup over their time as Western Conference rivals. This series marks the seventh post-season meeting between the two sides over the past 30 years, with Kamloops and Seattle splitting the previous six series with three wins apiece.
STAT PACK
| Seattle Thunderbirds | Kamloops Blazers | |
| Regular Season Record | 54-11-1-2 (1st, U.S.) | 48-13-4-3 (1st, B.C.) |
| Playoff Record | 8-0 | 8-0 |
| Playoff Leaders | Brad Lambert (2-14-16) Dylan Guenther (10-5-15) Jared Davidson (5-8-13) Thomas Milic (8-0, 1.13, .953) |
Logan Stankoven (10-11-21) Olen Zellweger (7-14-21) Caedan Bankier (6-9-15) Dylan Ernst (8-0, 1.80, .927) |
| Season Leaders | Jared Davidson (38-44-82) Lucas Ciona (28-47-75) Kevin Korchinski (11-62-73) |
Logan Stankoven (34-63-97) Caedan Bankier (37-48-85) Matthew Seminoff (31-51-82) |
| Leading Goaltender | Thomas Milic (27-3-1-1, 2.08, .928) | Dylan Ernst (38-10-2-1, 2.69, .906) |
| Power Play | 20.6% (15th) | 30.1% (1st) |
| Penalty Kill | 83.5% (2nd) | 77.2% (14th) |
| First Round | def. Kelowna (4-0) | def. Vancouver (4-0) |
| Second Round | def. Prince George (4-0) | def. Portland (4-0) |
| Last WHL Championship | 2017 | 1995 |
2022-23 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Seattle (2) at Kamloops (1) OT – November 9, 2022
Kamloops (3) at Seattle (2) SO – March 7, 2023
Kamloops (3) at Seattle (6) – March 21, 2023
Seattle 5 at Kamloops (6) – March 22, 2023
GAME BREAKERS
Seattle Thunderbirds: Dylan Guenther has proven a valuable addition since joining the Thunderbirds in January. The Arizona Coyotes prospect leads the team with 10 playoff tallies and recently saw a run of 13 straight games with a goal come to an end. In fact, since the shortened 2020-21 season, Guenther has scored 93 goals in 115 regular season and playoff games with Seattle and his hometown Edmonton Oil Kings.
The Dynamic Duo of Brad Lambert and Dylan Guenther strikes again!@SeattleTBirds | @ArizonaCoyotes | @NHLJets #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/0Ukb5EFNf6
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
Kamloops Blazers: Like Guenther, Logan Stankoven loves scoring goals. The Kamloops captain led the WHL Playoffs a year ago with 17 tallies, and his 28 post-season markers are six shy of the franchise record. The Dallas Stars prospect has averaged north of two-and-a-half points per game over his eight appearances during the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.
🥵 STANKOVEN 🥵@blazerhockey | @DallasStars#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/ujQRVvzASJ
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 21, 2023
GOALTENDING
Seattle Thunderbirds: Thomas Milic has been sensational through the first two rounds of the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, posting a miniscule 1.13 goals-against average and League-best .953 save percentage over eight appearances in this post-season. In six of his eight starts, the product of Coquitlam, B.C. has allowed one goal or fewer, and he earned a .923 save percentage versus the Blazers in last season’s Western Conference Championship.
🎥SAVE OF THE NIGHT🎥
He's one in a Milic. @RealCdnSS | @SeattleTBirds | #NHLDraft#WHLPlayoffs | #SaveoftheNight pic.twitter.com/HpYw0isCm6
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 19, 2023
Kamloops Blazers: Dylan Ernst has an 8-0 record to show for his work through the first two rounds of the post-season, and as has been the case all season long, the product of Weyburn, Sask. has been a steady presence in the Kamloops crease. Ernst led the League with 38 wins during the regular season, and has three shutouts to his name during the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.
Just an ordinary day in the office for Dylan Ernst and his big toe!😱@blazerhockey | #NHLDraft | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/75lZ1x0vWP
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 2, 2023
X-FACTORS
Seattle Thunderbirds: In his final WHL season, forward Kyle Crnkovic is enjoying his deepest run so far in the WHL Playoffs. The product of Chestermere, Alta. has collected five points in the post-season so far for Seattle and is coming off his second straight 30-goal campaign. The 21-year-old has fit in well since arriving via trade from Saskatoon in 2022 and has the CV to be a difference-maker in the series; he finished fifth in League scoring in 2021-22 with 94 points.
The accesso ShoWare Center is already electric tonight, but that doesn't matter to Kyle Crnkovic.
He's CRNKing it up anyways!@SeattleTBirds | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/IgIdzCCCWs
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
Kamloops Blazers: This series offers a mix of skill and size on both rosters, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jakub Demek brings both elements to the Blazers roster. The skilled centreman had five points for Edmonton against Seattle during the 2022 WHL Championship series; both of his goals were game-winners including in the deciding Game 6. This season, the Slovak forward has collected nine points in eight post-season games after missing the bulk of the regular season due to injury.
Logan Stankoven and Jakub Demek work their magic to get the @blazerhockey started in Game 3!#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/z3X7OPmPWc
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 20, 2023
SERIES SCHEDULE
| Game | Date | Away | Home | Time | |
| 1 | April 29, 2023 | Kamloops | Seattle | 6:05 p.m. PT | |
| 2 | April 30, 2023 | Kamloops | Seattle | 5:05 p.m. PT | |
| 3 | May 2, 2023 | Seattle | Kamloops | 7:00 p.m. PT | |
| 4 | May 4, 2023 | Seattle | Kamloops | 7:00 p.m. PT | |
| 5 | May 6, 2023 | Kamloops | Seattle | 6:05 p.m. PT | * |
| 6 | May 8, 2023 | Seattle | Kamloops | 7:00 p.m. PT | * |
| 7 | May 9, 2023 | Kamloops | Seattle | 7:05 p.m. PT | * |
* – if necessary
Through WHL Live on CHL TV, fans can enjoy every single scheduled game throughout the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien with the purchase of a WHL All-Access Pass at the low price of $59.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.
WHL Live – 2023 WHL Playoffs Packages
All-Access: $59.99
Round-by-Round: $19.99 per round
24-Hour Access: $9.99
* all prices in Canadian dollars
+ does not include applicable taxes and fees
WHL Live on CHL TV is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit WHLLive.com for complete details.
