Winterhawks Postseason Success
The Portland Winterhawks have made the WHL Playoffs for 14 straight seasons and appeared in back-to-back Western Conference Championship series. Only Portland, the Kitchener Rangers, and the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the CHL can boast that they have made the second round of the playoffs for four straight years.
Eight active WHL players have appeared in 50 career playoff games, and the Winterhawks boast three. The other five have played with multiple organizations to reach the personal milestone. Kyle Chyzowski and Ryder Thompson are tied for most playoff games with Winnipeg Jets 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager, with 56 appearances. However, 16 of Yager’s came with Lethbridge and 40 with Moose Jaw.
Josh Zakreski hit the 50 mark in Game 4 against Spokane. The winger from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, appeared in five playoff games as a then 16 year old during the 2022 WHL Playoffs and he ranked third on this year’s team with 11 postseason goals.
“Playoffs are the best time of the year,” Zakreski said during his exit interview. “Growing up, I’d watch the Saskatoon Blades and I saw them when they made the Memorial Cup that one year. That’s a big memory I bring in (to Portland). Fifty games is a huge honor for me and Mike (Johnston) making that a high honor so I took a lot of pride of getting to 50 games. I think playoffs is a time where it’s most important to show up and I feel I really did that this year.”
The other players in the top eight include: Jonas Woo (40 with Winnipeg/Wenatchee and 13 with Medicine Hat), Tanner Molendyk (39 with Saskatoon and 13 with Medicine Hat), Sawyer Mynio (40 with Seattle and 11 with Calgary), and Brandon Lisowsky (39 with Saskatoon and 11 with Victoria).
The top ten of playoff game appearances rounds out with Sam Oremba and Portland forward Diego Buttazzoni. Oremba’s 47 are split amongst Spokane (15), Regina (7), and Seattle (25), meanwhile, Buttazzoni’s 45 games are all with the Winterhawks.
When speaking of playoff accomplishment, on the bench, Kyle Gustafson became the first, first-year head coach to lead his team to a Conference Championship since Brad Lauer did so with the Edmonton Oil Kings during the 2019 WHL Playoffs. Gustafson was behind the bench for nearly two full decades worth of playoff runs as an assistant coach.
Playoff experience goes a long way, and the Winterhawks were a prime example during their run in this year’s postseason.
“I’m so proud of the guys and the leaders, and it shows you know how much playoff experience does for a team. We had three guys who played in 50 playoff games, and we have others who played a lot as well. We’ve gone through it, and everyone relies on them. It helps everyone get through the toughest moments,” Chyzowski said during the playoffs.
(Header Photo Credit left-to-right: Kai Brown, Kyle Smutzki, Keith Dwiggins)
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