WHL Power Rankings: Week 14
Four teams have locked in for playoffs- and the upper echelon of the WHL Power Rankings.
1. Saskatoon Blades
1st East-42-9-2-3
We could almost just copy and paste Saskatoon’s entry from last week.
The Blades went 3-0-0-0 against Lethbridge (1-0), Medicine Hat (4-3 OT), and Brandon (5-2) while extending their point streak to 14 games (13-0-0-1).
Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week Evan Gardner posted a 16-save shutout against Lethbridge, while Maple Leafs prospect Brandon Lisowsky led the squad with three goals and three assists- with his 100th WHL helper coming in the win over the Wheat Kings.
Speaking of assists, Captain Trevor Wong added three more this week, bringing his season total to a league-leading 73- the most the WHL has seen since Justin Almeida put up 78 in 2018-19. With 12 games left in the regular season for the Blades, odds are Wong has a pretty nice shot at surpassing that mark.
2. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 38-15-0-3
Have a week, Prince George!
The Cougars blew the doors off of Kamloops (7-1) and Seattle (8-1, 5-1), while the Blazers got a touch of revenge with a 2-1 shootout win.
Zac Funk (4G, 5A), Ondrej Becher (2G, 7A) and Riley Heidt (4G, 4A) led all WHL skaters in points this week as Prince George clinched a playoff spot.
With 95 points on the season, Funk (who has also eclipsed 50 goals) and Wild prospect Heidt are neck-and-neck with Jagger Firkus (96) for the league points lead.
The Cougars will need some help from the out-of-town scoreboard, but they could lock up the B.C. Division title for the second time this weekend.
3. Portland Winterhawks
2nd U.S.- 37-14-2-1
Do you think Portland was a little stung by a 3-1 loss to Vancouver in a playoff-clinching situation on February 16?
The Winterhawks came out the next night, guns a-blazing, clinching a berth with a decisive 8-3 win over the Giants, though Portland would end its week with a 4-0 shutout at the hands of Everett.
With his 39th goal of the campaign, team-leading scorer James Stefan hit 100 career WHL goals.
Portland has plenty of games in hand on Everett and Prince George and a chance to reclaim the Western Division lead in a pair of matches against Victoria coming up.
4. Everett Silvertips
1st U.S.- 37-18-2-2
With less than ten regular season games to go and a playoff spot locked up, Everett is nearly at the finish line.
The ‘Tips beat Wenatchee (7-1), came back against Seattle but lost in overtime (4-3) and Tyler Palmer posted a 34-save shutout with a 4-0 win against Portland.
Vegas Golden Knights prospect Ben Hemmerling and Nashville Predators draft pick Austin Roest have split co-captain duties this season, setting the tone for the Silvertips’ by-committee offence.
Six Everett players have hit the 20-goal mark so far, including a pair of rookies who continue to impress.
Carter Bear is up to 23 goals and 28 assists in his first season, while 2024 NHL Draft top prospect and two-time Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week Julius Miettinen has 23 goals and 25 assists.
5. Medicine Hat
1st Central- 33-17-4-2
Medicine Hat let leads slip away against Prince Albert (2-1 SO) and Saskatoon (4-3), but hey, points are points.
They also followed it up with a 9-7 drubbing of Edmonton that saw Gavin McKenna net his second hat trick of the season to tie Prince George’s Terik Parascak for the rookie points lead (81).
Oasiz Wiesblatt also put up a goal and four assists against the Oil Kings.
The duo were included in the CHL’s three stars for their high-flying performances.
Medicine Hat could be the next team to clinch a playoff berth as soon as Sunday, depending on how the chips fall across the Eastern Conference.
6. Swift Current Broncos
2nd Central- 30-19-4-2
With wins in four straight games and eight of their last 10, the Swift Current Broncos have cracked the CHL Top 10 for the first time this season.
The Broncos dished the Pats a pair of losses (7-2, 6-2) before overpowering the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-2.
Conor Geekie’s tally against the Regina Pats on February 16 marks his 32nd on the year and his 100th WHL goal. The Arizona Coyotes prospect also put up four assists in the victory over Moose Jaw.
Next up, a battle between the top two teams in the Central Division as the Broncos take on the Medicine Hat Tigers.
7. Moose Jaw Warriors
2nd East- 34-19-0-2
A surprise week saw Moose Jaw go 0-3-0-0 against Calgary (5-3), Swift Current (5-2) and Lethbridge (6-3).
Jagger Firkus saw his astounding point streak come to an end at 26 games, in which he scored 19 goals and 32 assists.
The CHL points leader is four points shy of hitting triple digits, and will try to pad his stats- and Moose Jaw’s win column- as the team hit the road for a six-game swing through the U.S. Division.
8. Vancouver Giants
3rd B.C.- 27-25-3-0
Powered by four-time WHL Goaltender of the Week Brett Mirwald, the Giants swarmed the Winterhawks in a statement 3-1 victory on home ice.
The Winterhawks quickly rebounded for an 8-3 revenge match the following night, but Vancouver took it in stride and responded with a 6-3 win over Spokane, going 8-1-1-0 in their last ten games.
Rookie Cameron Schmidt had a pair of goals on the week to close in on the team’s rookie scoring record.
Gilbert Brule set the franchise record when he tallied 25 goals in 67 regular season games as a 16-year-old back in 2003-04. Evander Kane came close to matching the mark with 24 goals in 2007-08.
Schmidt currently has 19 lamp-lighters with 13 games remaining.
Vancouver looks to jump the Wenatchee Wild in the standings with games against Kelowna and Kamloops on tap.
9. Red Deer Rebels
3rd Central- 29-19-2-6
The Rebels lost momentum with a pair of 3-1 losses coming at the hands of Edmonton but rebounded with a dominant 7-3 win against Lethbridge.
Captain Kai Uchacz potted his third hat trick of the season, moving into fifth place in the Rebels’ all-time scoring list with 102 goals.
2024 NHL Draft-eligible forward Ollie Josephson also netted a dandy with a shorthanded effort and Predators prospect Kalan Lind quietly has quietly picked up five goals and four assists in his last eight games.
Red Deer hosts the Wenatchee Wild for the first time on February 24.
10. Brandon Wheat Kings
3rd East- 28-22-5-1
Brandon staged a third-period comeback with goals from Jackson DeSouza and Jaxon Jacobson to defeat Calgary 5-3 on February 16 before being overpowered by Saskatoon in a 5-2 decision on February 19.
The Wheaties put a bookend on the week with a 3-2 decision against Prince Albert.
Jaxon Jacobson earned two goals and two assists in the contests, including a wicked shot from the point to briefly tie the match against Saskatoon.
Wheat Kings leading scorer Brett Hyland hit the 30-goal mark against Calgary and added three more assists on the weekend- and he’s also adding a ‘C’ to his jersey.
Hyland has been named the 41st Captain in Wheat Kings history and will try to steer the ship the rest of the way to playoffs.
11. Prince Albert Raiders
4th East- 26-26-1-3
Prince Albert hasn’t managed to pull away in the logjam near the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings, but key wins over Medicine Hat (2-1 SO) and Lethbridge (4-3 OT) have helped the Raiders keep pace.
Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Brandon, however, will undoubtedly be viewed as a missed opportunity with 12 games to go.
Raiders leading scorer Sloan Stanick snagged the shootout winner against the Tigers and wired home the overtime winner against the Hurricanes to bring his season total to a career-best 70 points.
Prince Albert looks to get back in the win column with a set of home games against Brandon and Red Deer this weekend.
12. Wenatchee Wild
3rd U.S.- 28-23-4-0
Things have been better in Wenatchee.
Reigning Tempo WHL Player of the Week Graham Sward has been fighting hard and chipping in on offence, but after losses to Everett (7-1) and Spokane (6-4), Wenatchee is 2-8-0-0 in their last ten games.
Wenatchee now heads north for a three-game Alberta swing, including its first-ever visits to Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton.
13. Victoria Royals
2nd B.C.-27-22-4-4
Victoria snapped a dreadful six-game losing streak with a pair of 3-2 wins over the Kelowna Rockets. The streak was short-lived, however, as the surging Kamloops Blazers snagged a 3-1 win on Family Day.
Rookie Cole Reschny’s first shorthanded WHL goal also happened to be his first game-winner, and Tyson Laventure led all Royals skaters with two goals and two assists through three games.
Victoria hosts Portland in a pair of daunting weekend matches.
14. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4th Central- 25-25-5-0
After a nearly month-long run that saw the Hurricanes struggle to score goals, the team appears to have turned a corner- and with that comes much-needed points.
Lethbridge eked out a point in a 1-0 overtime loss to Saskatoon that saw Brady Smith save 33 of 34 shots, fell to Red Deer 7-3, dropped a three-goal lead to salvage a 4-3 shootout loss to Prince Albert and finally erupted for a 6-3 win over Moose Jaw to snap a seven-game skid.
Blueliner Tristan Doyle scored twice and added an assist for the first multi-goal game of his WHL career.
Lethbridge currently has possession of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve got the Calgary Hitmen breathing down their necks- and they’ll clash at the Saddledome on Sunday.
15. Spokane Chiefs
4th U.S.- 25-28-3-0
In case you forgot, Berkly Catton is really good at hockey.
Catton, who is ranked ninth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of June’s NHL Draft, is on an eight-game points streak that’s seen him pot eight goals and six assists.
Spokane split games against Tri-City (3-6 L, 6-4 W) before continuing the seesaw with a 6-3 loss to Vancouver and a 6-4 win over Wenatchee.
The Chiefs welcome Regina and Moose Jaw for a pair of weekend tilts south of the border.
16. Kelowna Rockets
4th B.C.- 25-28-3-0
Kelowna is back in the rankings after slipping off the list in Week 13.
The Rockets lost to Victoria in a pair of 3-2 decisions before Tij Iginla pulled off some last-minute magic by scoring the game-winner against Tri-City for a 3-2 decision.
The 2024 top NHL prospect scored in all three games to bring his season total to a team-leading 38.
The Rockets face down a difficult weekend slate that includes games against the red-hot Giants and Cougars on back-to-back nights.
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