Warriors hot on heels of top spot in CHL Top 10 Rankings
Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the week 19 edition of the CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2017-18 season. The weekly rankings of the CHL’s Top-10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.
Holding steady in second place once again were the league-leading Moose Jaw Warriors, also making the grade for a 17th straight week. As the Warriors split their two games over the weekend, winning 3-2 in overtime against the Lethbridge Hurricanes before dropping a 5-3 decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers, the team’s newest addition on the blue line, Kale Clague (Los Angeles Kings), had five assists over those two games. In the seven games since his trade, Clague has 10 assists in seven games, moving him into second place in the scoring race among WHL defencemen. Western Hockey League scoring leader Brayden Burke has also continued to lead the way, with 20 points (5G-15A) in the month of January. The Warriors will open up a four-game home stand on Friday, February 2 (7:00 p.m. CST) against the Red Deer Rebels.
Also remaining in the top five of the CHL Top 10 Rankings this week were the Swift Current Broncos, who remained in the rankings for a 16th straight week. The Broncos won all three games this week, sweeping a home-and-home against the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup host Regina Pats and shutting out the visiting Prince George Cougars by a 4-0 score. Aleksi Heponiemi (Florida Panthers) has moved into second place in the WHL scoring race with 93 points (24G-69A) in only 39 games. Rookie goaltender Joel Hofer is also worth talking about. He’s played in just 14 games, but brought his best, sporting a 6-2-0-1 record, 2.61 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. He also picked up his first career WHL shutout in Tuesday’s blanking of the Cougars, making 30 saves. The Broncos are in action next Friday, February 2 (7:00 p.m. MST) against the Lethbridge Hurricanes to begin a two-game road trip.
Also holding onto their spot were the Western Conference-leading Kelowna Rockets, who marked their sixth straight week in the CHL Top 10 by holding down the 10th spot in the rankings. The Rockets have now taken points from five straight contests while sporting a 7-2-1-0 record in their last 10 games. Forward Kyle Topping, ranked 64th by NHL Central Scouting in their 2018 midterm rankings, is having a productive 2017-18 campaign, registering 48 points (17G-31A) in 50 games, setting career-highs in all three statistical categories. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound product of Salt Spring Island, B.C. that was selected by the Rockets in the 11th round, 220th overall, of the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, has 13 multi-point games this season and a pair of multi-goal games. Up next for the Rockets is a battle against the U.S. Division-leading Everett Silvertips on Friday, February 2 (7:05 p.m. PST) at Prospera Place.
Also earning inclusion to this week’s list were the Silvertips, who remained an honourable mention on this week’s edition of the Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips saw their winning streak halted at eight games Saturday in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Seattle Thunderbirds, but have taken points from 10 straight games. Before Friday’s date against the Rockets in the Okanagan, the Silvertips will travel south to take on the Portland Winterhawks Wednesday, January 31 (7:00 p.m. PST).
CHL Top 10 Rankings – Week 19
| Rank: | Team: | Last Week Rank: | Number of Weeks Ranked: |
| 1 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (40-5-2-1) | 1 | 19 |
| 2 | Moose Jaw Warriors (39-7-1-2) | 2 | 17 |
| 3 | Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (34-9-3-1) | 3 | 19 |
| 4 | Sarnia Sting (34-12-3-0) | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | Swift Current Broncos (36-12-3-1) | 5 | 16 |
| 6 | Halifax Mooseheads (32-11-5-1) | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | Hamilton Bulldogs (31-11-3-3) | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | Drummondville Voltigeurs (33-13-1-1) | 8 | 10 |
| 9 | Kitchener Rangers (33-14-2-0) | 9 | 4 |
| 10 | Kelowna Rockets (32-14-3-1) | 10 | 6 |
| Honourable Mention: | |||
| Everett Silvertips (32-16-1-2) | – | 0 | |
| Rimouski Oceanic (30-13-4-1) | – | 7 | |
| Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (29-12-5-3) | – | 5 |
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 350 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.
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