2026 WHL Championship Series Preview
The WHL will crown a new champion in 2026.
Will the Everett Silvertips hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history?
Or will the Prince Albert Raiders add to their trophy case with a second league title in under a decade?
The regular-season champion Silvertips swept the expansion Penticton Vees in the Western Conference Championship.
Draft-eligible Matias Vanhanen (NHL CSS: 54) clocked in with three goals and a pair of assists in four games- including the series-clinching strike.
Out East, Prince Albert got its revenge against Medicine Hat, knocking out the reigning champions in six high-scoring, heated matches.
Top 2026 NHL prospect Daxon Rudolph (NHL CSS: 5) hit a new level with four goals and seven helpers.
With 23 points in 15 games, the Raiders alternate captain has surpassed Everett’s standout Finns Vanhanen and Julius Miettinen for the playoff scoring lead.
The series is primed for a defensive showdown between Rudolph and fellow Defenceman of the Year finalist Landon DuPont- the WHL’s first exceptional status defender.
Prince Albert and Everett only met once in the regular season, with the Raiders charging away with a 4-1 win back in November.
Twenty-year-old Evan Smith scored twice in the win, while fellow overagers Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring bagged a goal and an assist each, while Czech netminder Michal Orsulak (NHL CSS: 2) made 31 stops in the win.
Prince Albert was the stingiest team in the regular season, while sitting second in goals for.
Everett was a hair behind, sitting second in goals-against and third in goals for, but owned the most important stat- 57 wins.
The Silvertips clinched a second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy with their best regular season in franchise history.
This marks Everett’s third trip to the WHL Championship Series.
The Raiders have captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup twice, most recently in 2019.
Both teams surpassed 50 wins in the regular season, but now, each side is just four victories away from claiming WHL glory and punching their ticket to Kelowna for the 2026 Memorial Cup.
Game 1 kicks off on Friday, May 7, 2026, at Angel of the Winds Arena at 7:00 p.m. PT.
Fans in Canada can follow the action on TSN, while Victory+ will carry the series for people in the United States and around the world.
Our prediction? The green team wins!
STAT PACK
| Prince Albert Raiders | Everett Silvertips | |
| Record | 52-10-5-1 (1st East) | 57-8-2-1 (1st U.S.) |
| Playoff Leaders | Daxon Rudolph (9G-14A, 23 pts)
Braeden Cootes (6G-12A, 18 pts) Aiden Oiring (7G-10A, 17 pts) |
Matias Vanhanen (10G-9A, 19 pts)
Julius Miettinen (10G-8A, 18 pts) Landon DuPont (4G-13A, 17 pts) |
| Season Leaders | Daxon Rudolph (28G-50A, 78 pts)
Aiden Oiring (28G-41A, 69 pts) Brandon Gorzynski (27G-42A, 69 pts) |
Matias Vanhanen (21G-66A, 87 pts)
Carter Bear (36G-41A, 77 pts) Julius Miettinen (35G-41A, 76 pts) |
| Leading Goaltender (Playoffs) | Michal Orsulak (12-2-1), 2.32 GAA, .898 save percentage, three shutouts) | Anders Miller (12-0-1, 1.79 GAA, .936 save percentage, one shutout) |
| Power Play (Playoffs) | 29.2% (5th) | 26.2% (6th) |
| Penalty Kill (Playoffs) | 76.7% (9th) | 85.1% (2nd) |
| Second Round | Def. Medicine Hat (4-2) | Def. Penticton (4-0) |
| Last WHL Championship | 2019 | – |
2025-26 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Prince Albert leads 1-0-0-0
November 11, 2025- Prince Albert 4, Everett 1
GAME BREAKERS
Prince Albert: Fifth in NHL Central Scouting’s North American skater rankings, first in the WHL Playoff scoring race. Defenceman Daxon Rudolph has piled up nine goals (including three game-winners and a shorthanded strike) and 14 assists for 23 points and a +10 rating in 15 games. Adjusted for points per game, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound rearguard is good for 1.53 points in every outing. Everett managed to hold Rudolph off the scoresheet in their lone meeting of the regular season, but he still came out of the night with a win, a +1 rating and six shots on net. Rudolph is a 2025-26 WHL Eastern Conference First-Team All-Star and finalist for Defenceman of the Year.
Everett: Landon DuPont has more than lived up to his exceptional status as another high-scoring defender. The 5-foot-11, 183-pound rearguard has gone wild with four goals (highlighted by a Game 5 overtime winner to oust Kelowna in Round Two) and 13 assists for 17 points and a +14 rating through 13 matches. The 16-year-old is tied for second in playoff points among all defencemen and has only been held off the scoresheet once in the postseason. In addition to joining Rudolph as a Defenceman of the Year finalist, DuPont also made the Western Conference First All-Star Team. The Calgary, Alta. product picked up a secondary assist on Everett’s lone goal against Prince Albert in the regular season.
GOALTENDING
Prince Albert: Michal Orsulak is ranked second among all North American goaltenders for a reason. The towering Czech product has a league-best three shutouts in the 2026 WHL Playoffs and was recognized as an Eastern Conference finalist for WHL Goaltender of the Year. Orsulak steered aside 31 of 32 shots in his regular-season win over Everett, with the Silvertips’ only goal coming on the powerplay.
Everett: Prince Albert didn’t see Silvertips starting goaltender Anders Miller in the regular season. Instead, it was Raiden Legall between the pipes on November 11, 2025, making 24 stops on 28 shots. Miller sits second among all goaltenders in the WHL Playoffs with a trim 1.79 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.
X-FACTOR
Prince Albert: The Raiders paid a king’s ransom to acquire Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes at the 2026 WHL Trade Deadline. The creative centreman has delivered six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 15 playoff games and is coming off a one-goal, three-assist effort to eliminate Medicine Hat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Championship. Cootes has represented four different teams in 2025-26, starting with his NHL debut in the fall, a return to the Seattle Thunderbirds, a turn with Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, and, finally, a run to the final round of the WHL Playoffs with Prince Albert. The WHL veteran from Sherwood Park, Alta., hasn’t faced off against Everett this season, but was the T-Birds’ top scorer against the Tips back in 2024-25.
Everett: A Bear warning is in effect for the PNW area! Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear has quietly racked up three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 13 postseason matches, while sitting second among all WHL skaters with a +16 rating. The West St. Paul, Man. product has one game-winning goal and assisted five other game-deciding tallies for Everett. How will he stack up against fellow 2025 NHL first-round pick and World Juniors teammate Braeden Cootes with a championship on the line?
SERIES SCHEDULE
| Game | Visitor | Home | Day | Date | Time | |
| 1 | Prince Albert | @ | Everett | Friday | May 8 | 7:00 p.m. PT |
| 2 | Prince Albert | @ | Everett | Saturday | May 9 | 6:00 p.m. PT |
| 3 | Everett | @ | Prince Albert | Tuesday | May 12 | 7:30 p.m. MT |
| 4 | Everett | @ | Prince Albert | Wednesday | May 13 | 7:30 p.m. MT |
| 5* | Everett | @ | Prince Albert | Friday | May 15 | 7:30 p.m. MT |
| 6* | Prince Albert | @ | Everett | Sunday | May 17 | 7:00 p.m. MT |
| 7* | Prince Albert | @ | Everett | Monday | May 18 | 7:00 p.m. MT |
* = if necessary
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