2023-24 Season Preview – Calgary Hitmen
WHL post-season action returned to the Stampede City in 2023, and this year’s Calgary Hitmen squad enters the new season seeking out further post-season success. Veterans Sean Tschigerl and Tyson Galloway lead a Hitmen team that offers a strong returning cast, while defenceman Carter Yakemchuk has cemented himself as one of the players to watch ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft. Calgary’s lineup features size and skill, with plenty of competition for jobs ahead of opening night September 22.
Key Returners
Oliver Tulk is Calgary’s leading returning scorer, and after collecting 60 points as a 17-year-old in 2022-23, the product of Gibsons, B.C. has earned a training camp invite with the Calgary Flames ahead of the 2023-24 WHL season. The centre-piece of the returning Hitmen core is 20-year-old forward Sean Tschigerl, who enters his fifth season with Calgary having earned 150 points over his WHL career (he also led the League in short-handed goals in 2021-22). Calgary’s blueline features several returness including 19-year-old Grayden Siepmann and 20-year-old Tyson Galloway, both of whom are off to NHL camps this fall.
Who’s In And Out
Riley Fiddler-Schultz heads to the American Hockey League after serving as Hitmen captain in 2022-23; the former WHL Humanitarian of the Year leaves behind a legacy that extends beyond the playing surface and the Hitmen dressing room. Brayden Peters’ graduation has led to Ethan Buenaventura inheriting the number-one job in the Calgary crease but Buenaventura is experienced; the Winnipegger has appeared in 53 regular season games over the past two seasons with the Hitmen. Defenceman Jason Spizawka joins the Calgary blueline via trade from the Victoria Royals, while the Club’s fourth-overall selection in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Reese Hamilton, is set to enter his 16-year-old season vying for ice time in the Hitmen defence corps.
NHL Draft Prospects
Defenceman Carter Yakemchuk tops the list of NHL Draft-eligible Hitmen after leading all WHL defencemen with 15 power-play goals a season ago. Yakemchuk found his groove late in the 2022-23 campaign; 15 of his 19 goals were scored between January 28 and the end of the regular season in March. Forward Carson Wetsch enters the 2023-24 season with some personal momentum, too, having just helped Canada win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August. Watch out for forward Chase Valliant, too. The 17-year-old is primed to earn a spot on this year’s Hitmen roster after appearing in 10 games a season ago.
HITMEN BY THE NUMBERS (2022-23):
Team Record: 31-29-5-3 (70 points)
Division Ranking: 3rd, Central
2023 WHL Playoffs: lost First Round (Red Deer)
Goals For: 220 (14th)
Goals Against: 224 (T-8th)
PP (Overall): 19.4% (16th)
PK (Overall): 83.7% (1st)
Leading Scorers: Fiddler-Schultz (31-44-75), Tulk (24-36-60), Tschigerl (27-30-57)
Leading Rookie: Danis (12-15-27)
NHL Draft: none
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