WHL Power Rankings: Week 18
We’re all set for a wild final weekend of the regular season, and come Sunday night the 2024 WHL Playoff picture will be set.
But first, a final look at who has the momentum and who hit major milestones in the past week.
Too bad there’s no trophy for the Power Rankings champion.
1. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 47-15-1-3
Prince George is going out on top.
With wins over Victoria (6-1, 10-4) and Vancouver (6-3), Prince George’s point streak is up to 15-0-1-1.
With a 10-point week, Washington Capitals prospect Zac Funk made a late push to temporarily overtake Jagger Firkus for the league-scoring lead with 120 points. The WHL goals leader is also three away from hitting 70 on the season.
But will it be enough to clinch the Western Conference title for the first time in Prince George’s history? The Cougars will play a final set against Kamloops to push for the best in the west.
2. Saskatoon Blades
1st East- 48-13-2-3
With a 3-2 overtime win against Calgary on Wednesday, Saskatoon became the first WHL team to crack 100 points (48-13-2-3).
On milestone watch, Captain Trevor Wong put up a goal and three assists on the week to hit 98 points and Anaheim Ducks prospect Egor Sidorov is sitting at 49 goals.
The Blades can capture the Scotty Munro Trophy as the regular season champions with a win against Prince Albert on Friday.
3. Portland Winterhawks
1st U.S.- 46-15-3-1
The Winterhawks decimated Tri-City (11-1) and beat Wenatchee (5-3) to lock up Portland’s 15th U.S. Division title, but slipped up in a 5-4 overtime loss to Seattle.
Still, the high-flying Winterhawks are on a 7-0-1-0 run and lead the league in goals with 316 (Prince George is the only other team to crack 300, with 302).
James Stefan became the fourth active Winterhawks to earn a contract with an NHL club when he signed with Edmonton on Thursday, joining Marek Alscher (FLA), Nate Danielson (DET) and Josh Davies (FLA).
4. Everett Silvertips
2nd U.S.- 43-18-2-3
The Everett Silvertips swept Kelowna (6-2, 4-2) in a weekend set to improve to 8-0-1-1- in their last 10 games.
Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest’s three-goal week vaulted him over Dominik Rymon for the team goals lead with 36, while outstanding rookies Julius Miettinen and Carter Bear each tallied once more.
Miettinen sits third in the WHL rookie goals race with 30, while Bear is just behind in fifth with 25.
5. Swift Current Broncos
1st Central- 39-21-4-2
The Broncos’ busy week saw them split against Medicine Hat (8-4, 2-4), edge out Edmonton (5-4) and double up Red Deer (6-3) to overtake Medicine Hat and win the Central Division for the first time since 1996 (Swift Current clinched the East Division in 1999-2000 and 2000-01).
Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie, Rylan Gould and Luke Mistelbacher led the Broncos offensive charge with seven points each, with Gould and Mistelbacher hitting 20 goals for the first time in their WHL careers.
The Broncos are also getting a pre-playoff boost with the return of Jakub Dvorak, who went home to Czechia earlier this month to tend to a personal matter.
6. Moose Jaw Warriors
2nd East- 43-21-0-3
Moose Jaw and Saskatoon traded 6-3 comeback wins before the Warriors went on to beat Regina (6-3) and fall to Brandon (5-3).
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Brayden Yager racked up 11 points to lead the team on the week, while Seattle Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus reclaimed first place in the WHL points race with an eight-goal week.
With a hat trick against the Blades, Firkus has more games where he’s scored three goals (five) than games where he’s been held pointless (four) this season.
Moose Jaw will close out its regular season slate when it hosts Regina on Saturday.
7. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4th East- 32-28-6-0
Lethbridge claimed five of a possible six points on the week with a pair of wins against Red Deer (5-2, 3-2 OT) and an overtime loss to Calgary (3-2).
The Hurricanes have allowed the sixth-fewest goals this season (204) with both goaltenders earning second-star honours in games this week.
Brady Smith got the nod for a 31-save performance in the overtime win against Red Deer, while Harrison Meneghin wowed with 45 saves in the overtime loss to Calgary.
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Noah Chadwick also impressed with an assist and an overtime goal against Red Deer to clinch Lethbridge’s berth in playoffs.
8. Medicine Hat Tigers
2nd Central- 36-23-5-2
There’s a measure of disappointment on the ice for the Tigers, who seemed like a lock for the Central Division title for months.
With a split against Swift Current (8-4 loss, 4-2 win), the title will go to the Broncos this year.
But the Tigers are more focused on staying healthy and tuning up for the postseason, where they’ll face Red Deer in the first round.
With a five-point weekend against Swift Current, Andrew Basha has also hit 30 goals on the season and eclipsed 150 career WHL points.
9. Red Deer Rebels
3rd Central- 33-24-3-6
Red Deer is on a three-game slide with losses to Lethbridge (5-2, 3-2 OT) and Swift Current (6-3).
Worse still, Elias Carmichael, Matteo Fabrizi, Carson Latimer, and Frantisek Formanek are listed as week-to-week with injuries heading into the playoffs.
Still, the Rebels are locked in for a first-round matchup against the equally banged-up Tigers.
Talon Bridgley’s two-goal week brought him up to 20 on the season and team points leader Kai Uchacz was named Red Deer Advocate Male Athlete of the Year.
10. Vancouver Giants
2 B.C.- 32-30-4-0
The Giants erupted to beat Kamloops (3-1, 9-2) before getting doubled up by Prince George (6-3).
Brett Mirwald was named Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Week for a whopping fifth time with a 2-0-0-0 record, 1.5 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.
Rookie Cameron Schmidt also continued his impressive run with a four-goal week to hit 30 on the campaign.
He’s just the seventh WHL player in the last 30 years to score 30 goals in his 16-year-old season, joining the likes of Connor Bedard, Brayden Yager and Patrick Marleau.
11. Kelowna Rockets
3rd B.C.- 31-30-4-1
Despite being swept by Everett (6-2, 4-2), the Silvertips couldn’t completely silence the Rockets.
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Gabriel Szturc added two goals to surpass 30 tallies for the first time and hit 200 career WHL points.
The Rockets look to snap a three-game slide and build momentum heading into playoffs as they face Vancouver to close out the regular season.
12. Wenatchee Wild
3rd U.S.- 33-29-4-0
The Wild started their week off right with a win over Spokane (3-1) but fell to Portland (5-3), the Chiefs (6-1) and Victoria (7-3) to close out a frustrating week.
Nashville Predators prospect Graham Sward’s three-point week helped him keep pace in second place in the defenceman points race and reach 79 points.
With matches against Everett and Victoria on tap, Wenatchee needs three points in the final weekend to ensure home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs.
13. Brandon Wheat Kings
3rd East- 32-28-6-1
With only one game left, Brandon can’t climb any higher in the standings, but the Wheat Kings can better their chances of holding onto sixth place with a win over Regina on Friday.
The boys in black and gold built momentum with wins over Prince Albert (3-2) and a comeback victory against a potential playoff matchup in Moose Jaw (6-3).
Brandon scored four unanswered to pull out a win against the Warriors, including Rylen Roersma’s 20th goal of the season and Carson Bjarnson made 24 saves to clinch a playoff berth in the win over the Raiders.
14. Prince Albert Raiders
3rd East- 31-28-6-1
With losses to Regina (5-2) and Brandon (3-2), Prince Albert’s playoff hopes will come down to the final weekend.
A 5-1 win over the Pats on March 20 whittled the Raiders’ magic number down to one- but they’ll need to take it from the league-leading Blades or hope Calgary loses to make it happen.
Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Ryder Ritchie led the team in points with a goal and five assists to sit at 19 goals on the season, while Justice Christensen added three goals and two assists to help the Raiders’ cause.
15. Spokane Chiefs
4th U.S.- 29-31-5-1
Spokane felt a little stung with a 3-1 loss to Wenatchee, but some late-game heroics from Berkly Catton and Will McIsaac sealed a 7-6 win against Tri-City and locked Spokane in for playoffs.
The Chiefs also got a little revenge in a 6-1 win over the Wild.
With Spokane trailing the Americans 7-6 and a chance to clinch slipping away, Catton scored his second goal of the night and 52nd of the season to tie the match with 2:22 remaining.
They wouldn’t settle for overtime, with Conner Roulette and Catton teeing up blueliner Will McIsaac for his sixth of the campaign and second career game-winning goal.
16. Victoria Royals
4th B.C.- 29-29-5-4
Tyson Laventure was able to spoil Prince George’s shutout attempt, but the Royals got walloped by the Cougars (6-1, 10-4) before coming alive for a 7-3 win over Wenatchee.
Laventure led the squad with four goals on the week to reach 31- a new career-best.
Dawson Pasternak scored twice and had an assist on the game-winner against the Wild to salvage the week.
Victoria plays its final game of the regular season against Wenatchee on Friday.