SERIES PREVIEW: (5) Portland Winterhawks vs. (4) Prince George Cougars

The battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup is on. With the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien launching on Friday, March 28, the Western Hockey League is previewing each of the eight Round One matchups in the leadup to puck drop.

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Rivalry. Renewed.

One year after a furious Western Conference Championship battle that saw the Portland Winterhawks down the Prince George Cougars in double overtime in Game 6, the powerhouses will clash again in Round One of the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

In case anyone thought they forgot about it, a total of 35 powerplay opportunities were handed out over their four regular-season meetings this season.

Portland swept the regular-season series, but three of the four matches were determined by a single goal (and two of those games went to overtime or a shootout).

Under first-year Head Coach Kyle Gustafson, who assumed the top job after 20 decades as an assistant, the Winterhawks were the sixth-highest scoring WHL team this year, with Captain Kyle Chyzowski hitting 40 goals for the first time and Josh Zakreski and 2025 NHL Draft-eligible Diego Buttazzoni surging past 30.

Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth is coming off a sensational second season that saw him lead all WHL defencemen in scoring with 89 points (13G-76A). The 20-year-old became the second defender in the 21st century to record a six-assist night when he popped off in a 7-2 win against Vancouver on December 7, 2024. Jugnauth was just one point away from joining former teammate Luca Cagnoni (San Jose Sharks) as the only blueliners to hit 90 points since 1993-94.

President and General Manager Mike Johston stayed quiet at the 2025 WHL Trade Deadline but pulled off a major move when the club convinced University of Denver forward Alex Weiermair to hit the Oregon trail. The 19-year-old made an immediate impact with 21 goals (including six game-winners) and 25 assists for 46 points in 41 games.

Prince George ranks 10th in both goals for and goals against.

Its top line of Captain and Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt, Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak and Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer accounts for a whopping 96 goals, while veteran Borya Valis played his way to an entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in early March thanks to a career-best 81-point run.

Vegas Golden Knights prospect Viliam Kmec clocked in at sixth in scoring among all defenders with 61 points (18G-43A) in 65 games.

Reigning WHL Executive and Coach of the Year Mark Lamb added a scoring touch by trading for sniper Ben Riche (33G-41A) at the trade deadline after bringing in gritty defender Corbin Vaughn earlier in the season.

Overall, the series features seven current NHL prospects- Ziemmer (Los Angeles Kings), Heidt (Minnesota Wild), Parascak (Washington Capitals), Valis (Toronto Maple Leafs), Vmec (Vegas Golden Knights), Jugnauth (Seattle Kraken) and Carter Sotheran (Philadelphia Flyers) and seven top NHL Draft-eligible prospects, highlighted by Cougars netminder Joshua Ravensbergen and Winterhawks centreman Ryan Miller.

This marks the sixth time Portland and Prince George have met in the postseason, with Portland owning an all-time record of 5-1.

Game One is set for Friday, March 28, at the CN Centre, where the Cougars put up the second-best home record in the WHL’s regular season (24-5-3-2).

The series will follow a 2-3-2 format, with Game Three being held at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday, April 1.

2024-25 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Portland leads 4-0-0-0
October 5, 2024- Prince George 2, Portland 3
October 8, 2024- Portland 4, Prince George 3 (OT)
October 9, 2024- Portland 5, Prince George 4 (SO)
December 13, 2024- Prince George 1, Portland 4

GAME BREAKERS

Portland Winterhawks: Ahoy, Captains. Winterhawks ‘C’ Kyle Chyzowski has stepped up to bat for his first 40-goal and 100-point WHL season. Only six players cracked the century mark in 2024-25. The 5-foot-10, 171-pound centreman netted two hat tricks and 15 games with three or more points to breeze past 200 career points. He’s a key player in all scenarios for the Winterhawks with a team-leading four game-winning goals, 39 powerplay points (10G-29A) and nine shorthanded points (4G-5A).

Prince George Cougars: Not to be outdone, Cougars Captain Riley Heidt caught fire at the tail end of the season to overtake Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak for the team scoring lead. His storied career in the Northern Capital has seen him put up 116 points and 254 assists for 370 points in 281 regular-season games. Heidt has set a franchise record in assists and has the most points of any Cougars player since the team moved to Prince George (third all-time). The 5-foot-11, 177-pound centreman also has the third-most points of any WHL skater in the 21st century, trailing only Jordan Weal (385 points- 2007-12) and 2025 WHL Top Scorer Andrew Cristall (412 points- 2020-25).

GOALTENDING

Portland Winterhawks: Ondrej Stebetak has battled in his first season in North America after making the jump from his native Czechia. The 6-foot-1, 173-pound netminder is 3-0-0-0 against the Cougars and is ranked sixth among all North American goaltenders heading into the 2025 NHL Draft. The 17-year-old has also faced 40 or more shots on nine occasions this season. Stebetak also tied Medicine Hat’s Jordan Switzer for the most wins among all rookie netminders this year with 23 each.

Prince George Cougars: The numbers may not be as gaudy as they were in his rookie season, but Joshua Ravensbergen has solidified his technical game and given his team an opportunity to win night after night while facing the sixth-most shots of any WHL goaltender in his sophomore year. Ravensbergen is tied for second among all goaltenders in wins (33) and breezed past the 50-career win mark this season. The 6-foot-5, 192-pound 17-year-old has also been dubbed the top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible goaltender in North America by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s midterm rankings.

X FACTOR

Portland Winterhawks: Is Josh Zakreski into hunting? He’s been the key Cougars slayer for Portland all season long. The 19-year-old has five goals against the Cats this season, highlighted by a hat trick (including the game-winning goal) in the teams’ most recent meeting, a 4-1 Hawks victory on December 13, 2024. The 5-foot-11, 191-pound winger was one goal short of 40 in his fourth season in Portland and enters the postseason on a six-game point streak.

Prince George Cougars: Koehn Ziemmer is a big goals guy. The Los Angeles Kings prospect led the Cougars with 37 tallies for his third 30-plus goal campaign (and was well on his way to another one prior to being injured last season) and was Prince George’s top scorer against the Winterhawks with three goals and one assist in three games. Ziemmer is also entering the postseason on a hot streak, with four goals and five assists in his final five games of the regular season.

2025 WHL PLAYOFFS SERIES SCHEDULE

Game	Visitor		Home	Day	Date	Time
1	Portland	@	Prince George	Friday	March 28	7:00 p.m.  PST
2	Portland	@	Prince George	Saturday	March 29	6:00 p.m. PST
3	Prince George	@	Portland	Tuesday	April 1	7:00 p.m. PST
4	Prince George	@	Portland	Wednesday	April 2	7:00 p.m. PST
5*	Prince George	@	Portland	Friday	April 4	7:00 p.m. PST
6*	Portland	@	Prince George	Sunday	April 6	6:00 p.m. PST
7*	Portland	@	Prince George	Monday	April 7	7:00 p.m. PST

*- If necessary