Victoria Royals, Tri-City Americans solidify 2025 WHL Playoffs Round One matchup

The Victoria Royals and Tri-City Americans are all set for a first-round clash in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Both teams enter the postseason with high hopes and a lot to prove.

Second-seed Victoria (40-17-4-7) is coming off its first 40-win season in nearly a decade and has locked up the B.C. Division title for the second time in franchise history.

The Royals are one of the top-scoring teams in the WHL and boast the second-best powerplay, led by veteran Teydon Trembecky, who sits third overall in goals (46) and top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible centreman Cole Reschny (26G-66A).

Tri-City (67-32-28-6) returns to the WHL Playoffs after a one-season absence as the upstart seventh seed after a hard-fought regular season campaign.

The Americans showed they’re never out of a game during a monster 12-game win streak that stretched from October 12, 2024 to November 11, 2024 and featured four overtime victories and more than a half-dozen comeback efforts.

Captain Jake Sloan has buried the bulk of the goals for his squad (29) and has a shot at a second-straight 30-goal season with one game left on the regular season schedule.

Tri-City also features a potential high first-round 2025 NHL Draft pick in smooth-skating blueliner Jackson Smith, who is heating up with 52 points (10G-42A) and a team-leading four game-winning goals.

Victoria owns a 3-0-1-0 regular-season record against Tri-City.

The Royals open the 2025 WHL Playoffs at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena on Friday, March 28 at 7:05 p.m. PST.

The series will shift south of the border for Game 3 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. PST.

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