Crown it: Royals and Wheat Kings stay hot in Week 6 of the WHL Power Rankings
The second half of the WHL’s regular season is officially underway!
Fresh off the break, teams are still feeling the rush of the holidays with star players away at the World Junior Hockey Championship, preparing for the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and some big trades.
1. Saskatoon Blades
1st East- 24-8-2-0
Saskatoon hasn’t been held without a point since November 22, sporting a 9-0-2-0 streak to reclaim the top spot in the WHL.
Egor Sidorov had three goals in a 5-4 OT win over Kelowna and 6-3 takedown of Prince Albert and has 14 points in seven games dating back to December 1. His 33 goals have him sitting second in the WHL scoring race.
Captain Trevor Wong continues to sit atop the assist column, also sporting a seven-game, 14-point streak to bring his total to 48 helpers in 34 games.
Saskatoon is still without Captain Canada Fraser Minten, who just tallied his first goal and assist against Latvia at the IIHF World Junior Championship, and Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk, who sustained an upper-body injury in a World Juniors pre-tournament game.
The Blades will go toe-to-toe against the upstart Wheat Kings in a pair of prairie clashes on December 29 and January 1.
2. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 24-10-0-0
The Cougars are still sitting pretty after a surprising 6-4 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings in their first match post-break.
Prior to the holiday, Prince George hammered Wenatchee 6-3 and Vancouver 9-2 to maintain its grip on first place in the B.C. Division.
The Cougars are second in the league in goals for (156) and fewest goals against (95) while asserting special teams dominance with a WHL-best powerplay humming along at 30.9 percent and rock-solid 84.8 per cent efficiency on the penalty kill.
WHL goals leader Zac Funk notched his fifth hat trick of the season against Wenatchee and added another goal and three assists against Vancouver, while alternate Captain Riley Heidt amassed a whopping three goals and six assists in three games. The duo sit first and second in the league points race with Heidt’s 64 and Funk’s 63.
The Cougars will continue their second-half push without the services of Czechia’s Ondrej Becher and Slovakia’s Viliam Kmec, who continue their World Juniors run on December 29.
3. Medicine Hat Tigers
1st Central- 22-9-2-0
The Tigers seem to have all the tools in the kit to be a strong playoff contender as we enter the second half of the regular season. Third-best win percentage (.697), second-best goal differential (+50) and a balanced attack featuring players who have plenty of junior hockey ahead of them.
After falling to Calgary in a tight 4-3 showdown at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the Tigers bounced back with resounding victories over Lethbridge (7-2) and Red Deer (4-2).
Cayden Lindstrom tallied his team-leading 27th goal against Calgary and Andrew Basha added a goal and six assists in three outings. The pair boast NHL Central Scouting ‘A’ rankings, which project them to be 2024 NHL Entry Draft first-round picks, and will attend the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton, N.B. at the end of January.
On the milestone front, third-year Tiger Oasiz Wiesblatt sniped his 50th career WHL goal against Red Deer, and star rookie Gavin McKenna and 2024 NHL Draft-eligible Tomas Mrsic cracked the 50-point plateau.
4. Victoria Royals
2nd B.C.- 21-12-0-2
The Royals have earned their crown as one of the hottest teams in the league with an 8-2-0-0 record in their past 10 games.
Victoria beat Tri-City in a pair of tight matches and doubled up Vancouver to put together a three-game win streak.
Rookie sensation Cole Reschny added two goals and an assist to bring his season point total to 30- good for third among rookies. His fellow first-year Logan Pickford showed up in a big way with two game-tying goals and two assists in three games.
Braden Holt also earned third-star honours twice, going 2-0-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, which ranks fourth among WHL goalies going back to December 15.
Victoria is still without its third-best scorer, Robin Sapousek and youngster Casper Evansen Haugen, who are representing Czechia and Norway at World Juniors.
5. Portland Winterhawks
2nd U.S.- 21-10-1-1
The Winterhawks snagged a pair of 6-5 overtime wins against Spokane and Tri-City but dropped one regular-time decision to the U.S. division-rival Chiefs.
Newcomer Tyson Jugnauth scored his first WHL goal and added a pair of assists against the Americans. The game saw Portland come from behind with three goals in 2:25 to stun Tri-City and earn the win.
Portland is one point behind Wenatchee for the U.S. Division lead with three games in hand and points in seven of its last 10 games.
6. Wenatchee Wild
1st U.S.- 21-12-3-0
The shorthanded Wild went 1-2-0-0 against some tough competition but managed to hang on to the top spot in the U.S. division. A number of Wenatchee players have continued to fill the net with top threats Conor Geekie, Matthew Savoie and Latvia’s Rodzers Bukarts away at World Juniors. Briley Wood pulled off the hat trick in a 6-1 win over Everett, Kenta Isogai had two goals and three assists to sit three points shy of Geekie’s team-leading 49 points, and Luka Shcherbyna is riding a five-game goal streak dating back to December 10.
Wenatchee’s depth will continue to be tested with contests against red-hot Victoria (Dec. 28) and Prince George (Jan. 3) coming up.
7. Brandon Wheat Kings
2nd East- 17-12-4-1
Brandon eked out a pair of one-goal wins to close out the pre-holiday schedule and kick things off after the break.
Rylen Roersma earned second and first star in each of the outings by scoring three goals to bring his season total to 13. His 36 points have also vaulted him to the team scoring lead.
Brett Hyland is also ripping up a seven-game point streak that’s seen him tally seven goals and four assists.
A reminder, they did this without Captain Nate Danielson, who has two goals at the World Juniors.
The Wheaties are 7-3-0-0 in its past ten games, sneaking past Moose Jaw to sit second in the East Division.
8. Everett Silvertips
3rd U.S.- 21-13-1-1
The Tips split their last couple of games, dominating Seattle 7-1 and falling to Wenatchee with a nearly identical score of 6-1.
Vegas Golden Knights prospect and Captain Ben Hemmerling led the offensive effort with four assists and Tyler Palmer stopped 43 of 44 shots in the win over Seattle.
Palmer’s 2.54 goals against average ranks fifth in the league and Everett’s +23 goal differential is also fifth-best in the league.
The Silvertips get an extra break until a New Year’s Day tilt against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
9. Red Deer Rebels
2nd Central- 17-13-0-3
Jhett Larson and Dwayne Jean Jr. scored in the shootout to help the Rebels slip by the Regina Pats in their lone win of the week.
The Rebels were doubled up by Medicine Hat, 4-2, in their previous effort but continued their steady climb up the standings.
The Rebels went 6-4-0-0 through December to sit in 2nd place in the Central Division. The team has also allowed the second-fewest goals with 93.
10. Moose Jaw Warriors
3rd East- 18-14-0-2
The Warriors are one of two teams yet to make their return since the holiday break, but stumbled slightly before Christmas with star forward Brayden Yager and Captain Denton Mateychuk away at World Juniors.
Moose Jaw fell to the Kamloops Blazers 5-3 to drop a fifth straight before righting the ship with a 4-3 win over Brandon.
Atley Calvert led the way with two goals and an assist while Seattle Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus put up three assists over the pair of games.
The Warriors will be looking for more consistency when they kick off the second half of the season on Friday against Regina.
11. Swift Current Broncos
3rd Central- 17-14-1-2
The Swift Current Broncos bucked back and forth between the win and loss column in three high-scoring affairs.
New Jersey Devils prospect Josh Filmon scored twice, including the game-winner, in a 6-3 drubbing of the Oil Kings, and tallied the game-opening goal in an eventual 6-5 overtime win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
2024 NHL draft-eligible forward Clarke Caswell also provided a generous seven assists over three contests as the Broncos jockey with the Rebels for second place in the Central Division… Which makes the tilt between Swift Current and Red Deer on December 30 a must-see.
12. Prince Albert Raiders
4th East- 17-16-0-2
A two-goal, single-assist performance from Sloan Stanick powered the Raiders to a 3-2 lead over Saskatoon, but the Blades battled back to dish Prince Albert a 6-3 loss on December 27.
It marked the second straight L for the Raiders, who also dropped a tight 4-3 match to the visiting Kelowna Rockets before the break.
The silver lining? Ryder Ritchie, who has been week-to-week with an injury, is expected to play in the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in January.
The Raiders now gear up for a home-and-away set against the Moose Jaw Warriors starting on December 29.
13. Tri-City Americans
4th U.S.- 15-14-2-1
Tri-City was clipped by the Royals in a pair of one-goal games and earned a point in a 6-5 overtime loss at the hands of the Winterhawks.
Jake Sloan and Jordan Gavin chipped in a goal and four assists each, while goaltender Lukas Matecha and former Kal Tire Rookie of the Week winner Max Curran earned invites to the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
The Americans look to get back in the win column with back-to-back matches against the Spokane Chiefs, starting on December 30.
14. Kelowna Rockets
3rd B.C.- 15-16-2-0
The road warriors from Kelowna have yet to play a home game in the month of December and have a respectable 5-3-0-0 road trip record to show for it. The Rockets are also 7-3-0-0 in its past 10 games.
2024 NHL Draft-eligible forward Tij Iginla led his squad with two goals and three assists in five games, while ever-solid Andrew Cristall put up five helpers. The Washington Capitals 2023 second-round pick sits fifth in the league with 35 assists.
Coming up, the Rockets make a much-anticipated return to Prospera Place for a three-game homestand, starting with a rematch against Kamloops on Friday night.
15. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4th Central- 15-15-3-0
The Hurricanes mustered a point in a 7-6 overtime loss to Swift Current but still saw their losing streak extended to five games to open the post-break slate.
2024 NHL Entry Draft-eligible forward Miguel Marques had a pair of goals and assists in the loss, as well as another lamp-lighter to open a 7-2 loss to Medicine Hat.
The Canes look to turn things around when they host the Red Deer Rebels on December 29 before traveling to Medicine Hat the following day.
16. Calgary Hitmen
5th Central- 13-15-3-1
Calgary earned decisive victories over Medicine Hat and Swift Current, earning points in every outing in a three-game homestand.
2024 Draft-eligible defenceman Carter Yakemchuk set up a powerplay goal to make it 3-0 versus the powerful Tigers and sniped the eventual game-winner in a 4-3 victory.
Max Muranov led the way with two assists and the game-winning goal in a 7-4 win over the visiting Broncos. Muranov earned first star for his efforts against Swift Current and Third Star against Medicine Hat.
The Hitmen are ready to kick off a four-game B.C. road trip, starting with the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars on December 28.
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