WHL Championship Series Preview: Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Spokane Chiefs
Best-on-best Western Hockey League playoff hockey is here.
The Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs are set to clash in a powerhouse WHL Championship Series.
WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna will take centre stage as the electric Tigers offence takes on Player of the Year finalists Andrew Cristall and Berkly Catton, who form two-thirds of the highest-scoring line in the WHL.
Both teams have advanced to the big dance after sweeping their respective Conference Championships.
The Central Division champion Tigers are 22-1 dating back to February 22, 2025, in the regular season.
Medicine Hat took out the Swift Current Broncos in five games to open the postseason before breezing past the Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games, respectively.
Gavin McKenna’s modern WHL point streak has stretched on to a whopping 135 points in 53 straight games, setting a new modern CHL record point streak after passing Sidney Crosby and Alexander Radulov.
South of the border, no one has been able to outscore the Spokane Chiefs.
The league’s #1 offence downed the Vancouver Giants in five games before besting the B.C. Division Champion Victoria Royals in six games- but with more than 88:00 of overtime hockey (including two double-overtime slogs) played in that second-round series, it may as well have been a seven-game run.
Spokane punched its ticket to the Championship series by scoring 30 goals in four games to sweep Portland in the Western Conference Championship.
Captain Berkly Catton, Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall and regular season goals leader Shea Van Olm have combined for 39 goals and 61 assists in 15 games.
Spokane and Medicine Hat met once in the regular season, a 3-2 win for the Tabbies that sparked the team to a 5-0-0-1 U.S. Division road trip.
Van Olm struck 31 seconds into the game, which wouldn’t see another goal until 2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward Assanali Sarkenov doubled Spokane’s advantage early in the third period.
Medicine Hat hometown boy Josh Van Mulligen kicked off the Tigers comeback by swatting a long rebound home after a killer sequence from Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie and Gavin McKenna.
McKenna levelled the match three minutes later on the powerplay with a tremendous one-timer from the right faceoff dot.
Another draft-eligible forward, Jonas Woo, capped off Medicine Hat’s three-goal outburst by tipping the game-winner past Dawson Cowan.
The Tigers are on the hunt for the team’s first league championship since 2007, while the Chiefs are chasing the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time since 2008.
Notably, both teams advanced to the Memorial Cup final in their most recent appearances, with Spokane lifting the CHL’s top prize- well, part of it- in 2008.
Puck drops on Game 1 of the 2025 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien on Friday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. MST at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.
The series will shift to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena for Game 3 on Tuesday, May 13.
TSN will broadcast all seven games of the 2025 WHL Championship Series.
Fans in the United States and outside North America can tune in for free on Victory+.
STAT PACK
| Spokane Chiefs | Medicine Hat Tigers | |
| Record | 45-20-1-2 (2nd U.S.) | 47-17-3-1 (1st Central) |
| Playoff Leaders | Andrew Cristall (20G-17A, 37PTS)
Berkly Catton (8G-28A, 36PTS) Shea Van Olm (11G-16A, 26PTS) |
Gavin McKenna (8G-27A, 35PTS)
Oasiz Wiesblatt (14G-12A, 26PTS) Bryce Pickford (7G-10A, 17PTS) |
| Season Leaders | Andrew Cristall (48G-84A, 132PTS)
Berkly Catton (38G-71A,109PTS) Shea Van Olm (49G-43A, 92PTS) |
Gavin McKenna (41G-88A, 129PTS)
Oasiz Wiesblatt (36G-67A, 103PTS) Ryder Ritchie (29G-32A, 61PTS) |
| Leading Goaltender (Playoffs) | Dawson Cowan (12-2-0-0, 3.49 GAA, .872 save percentage) | Harrison Meneghin (10-0-0-0, 2.43 GAA, .889 save percentage, two shutouts) |
| Power Play (Playoffs) | 30.6% (4th) | 37.5% (1st) |
| Penalty Kill (Playoffs) | 63.6% ( | 78.6% (2nd) |
| Conference Championship | Def. Portland (4-0) | Def. Lethbridge (4-0) |
| Last WHL Championship | 2008 | 2007 |
2023-24 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Medicine Hat leads 1-0
January 24, 2025- Medicine Hat 3, Spokane 2
NHL PROSPECTS
Spokane:
F- Berkly Catton (Seattle Kraken)
F- Andrew Cristall (Washington Capitals)
D- Nathan Mayes (Toronto Maple Leafs)
D- Will McIsaac (St. Louis Blues)
D- Saige Weinstein (Colorado Avalanche)
Medicine Hat:
F- Hunter St. Martin (Florida Panthers)
F- Ryder Ritchie (Minnesota Wild)
F- Cayden Lindstrom (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F- Andrew Basha (Calgary Flames)
D- Veeti Vaisanen (Utah Mammoth)
D- Tanner Molendyk (Nashville Predators)
D- Niilopekka Muhonen (Dallas Stars)
G- Harrison Meneghin (Tampa Bay Lightning)
2025 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS
Spokane:
F- Owen Martin (NHL CSS: 54)
D- Owen Schoettler (NHL CSS: 138)
F- Assanali Sarkenov (NHL CSS: 217)
Medicine Hat:
D- Bryce Pickford (NHL CSS: 100)
F- Kadon McCann (NHL CSS: 116)
D- Jonas Woo (NHL CSS: 156)
G- Jordan Switzer (NHL CSS: 25)
GAME BREAKERS
Spokane: The WHL Championship series is about to get *Cristall-ized*. The WHL’s regular-season points leader hasn’t missed a beat in the postseason, racking up a league-leading 20 goals (including two hat tricks) and 17 assists for 37 points in just 14 games. Should we get a long series between the Chiefs and Tigers, there’s a very real chance that Cristall can get within reach of the all-time WHL record for points in a single playoff run (53, set by Regina’s Dale Derkatch in 1984). The prized Washington Capitals prospect has found a point in all 14 playoff games (his active streak extends to 19 games, dating back to the regular season), highlighted by a six-point (2G-4A) night in Game 5 to eliminate Vancouver and a back-to-back overtime winners against the Royals. Cristall has a single assist in Spokane’s 3-2 loss to Medicine Hat in the regular season, though it was just his seventh game with the Chiefs.
Medicine Hat: It’s gotta be Gavin. Forget trying to keep the Whitehorse Wizard off the scoresheet- McKenna has only been held to a single point twice in 13 playoff games. He’s registered four or more points on four occasions in the postseason. The WHL Player of the Year’s 35 points (8G-27A) are just a hair behind Cristall and Catton, but he’ll be drawing plenty of focus on the ice and from the stands as fans line up to watch the projected top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He’s dished two goal-of-the-year candidates already in the playoffs with a blistering lacrosse-style tally and brilliant shorthanded deke against Prince Albert. McKenna led the Medicine Hat comeback in the lone regular-season meeting in Spokane, picking up a goal and two assists in a five-minute stretch for a 3-2 comeback victory.
GOALTENDING
Spokane: Don’t let the numbers from the Western Conference Championship fool you- Dawson Cowan has given his team a chance to win night after night all season long. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound netminder led all qualified goaltenders in regular-season wins while stopping the seventh-most shots (1,284). He’s the reigning Pharmasave WHL Goaltender of the Week after helping the Chiefs complete the sweep of Portland in the high-scoring Western Conference Championship and sports an impressive 12-2-0-0 postseason record. Cowan stopped 27 of 30 shots for a .900 save percentage in Spokane’s lone regular-season tilt against the visiting Tabbies back in January.
Medicine Hat: Harrison Meneghin has been near-unsolvable for long stretches through the postseason. He hasn’t been dinged with a single loss (granted, he didn’t finish two games as a precautionary measure) and enters the Championship Series with two shutouts under his belt, including an emotional win in Game 1 of Medicine Hat’s first-round series against Swift Current and a series-clinching clean sheet against Prince Albert to close out Round Two. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect has been named WHL Goaltender of the Week five times this season, in addition to a pair of Monthly wins in April and March. Meneghin steered aside 27 of 29 shots for a .931 save percentage against Spokane in the regular season.
X-FACTOR
Spokane: Give it up for the Captains. Creative playmaker Berkly Catton has done it all for Spokane as the Chiefs continue their deepest playoff run since 2019. His 36 points (8G-28A) are second only to Cristall across all WHL players in the postseason. The Seattle Kraken’s eighth overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft is also closing in on the all-time record for assists in a single playoff run. Catton is tied with Rob Brown (Kamloops Blazers, 1986) for third with 28 helpers. Catton is two assists behind Keith Brown (Portland Winter Hawks, 1979) for second and 13 back of Dale Derkatch’s record 41 assists (Regina Pats, 1984). Catton had a solo helper against the Tigers in their January match.
Medicine Hat: There aren’t many guys who can do what Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt can. The 2025 WHL Eastern Conference Second-Team All-Star was one of only six players to surpass 100 points in the regular season (36G-67A), but also finished second in penalty minutes (148). The gritty 5-foot-9, 183-pound centreman has piled up a team-leading 14 goals (including a hat trick) and 12 assists for 26 points in 13 playoff games, while leading all WHL skaters with four game-winning strikes. Wiesblatt, 21, also has a point in every playoff game this year and has only been held without a goal on three occasions. Wiesblatt’s fiery play has helped him earn a three-year contract with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, where he’ll join his brother, 2019 WHL Champion Ozzy Wiesblatt, next season.
SERIES SCHEDULE
2025 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien
| Game | Away | Home | Day | Date | Time | |
| 1 | Spokane | @ | Medicine Hat | Friday | May 9 | 7pm MT |
| 2 | Spokane | @ | Medicine Hat | Sunday | May 11 | 7pm MT |
| 3 | Medicine Hat | @ | Spokane | Tuesday | May 13 | 7pm PT |
| 4 | Medicine Hat | @ | Spokane | Wednesday | May 14 | 7pm PT |
| 5* | Medicine Hat | @ | Spokane | Friday | May 16 | 7pm PT |
| 6* | Spokane | @ | Medicine Hat | Sunday | May 18 | 7pm MT |
| 7* | Spokane | @ | Medicine Hat | Monday | May 19 | 7pm MT |
* = if necessary
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