Milestones, medals and major moves in Week 7 of the WHL Power Rankings
Heavy hitters loading up ahead of the WHL trade deadline?
Hat tricks, World Junior medals and major milestones?
This week had a little bit of everything.
1. Saskatoon Blades
1st East- 25-8-2-1
Saskatoon’s active 13-game point streak stands as the longest in the CHL, thanks to a 3-2 shootout loss to Brandon and a 4-0 revenge shutout over the Wheat Kings a few days later.
The Blades have also allowed a league-low 91 goals- every other team has let in more than 100.
With two goals and three assists on the week, Captain Trevor Wong extended his point streak to three goals and 16 assists over nine games.
The former WHL first-round pick also hit the 150 career assists milestone this week.
Blades management proved it isn’t messing around ahead of playoffs by adding Washington Capitals prospect Alexander Suzdalev.
The former Regina Pat arrived in Toon Town late Thursday, but fans will have to wait and see if he’ll make his Blades debut against his former team on January 5…
2. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 27-10-0-0
After dropping the first game back from the holiday break to Edmonton, Prince George roared back with three straight wins over Calgary, Kamloops and Wenatchee to reclaim the top spot in the league.
With 70 and 69 points, respectively, Riley Heidt and Zac Funk are still casually perched atop the league points race. Heidt has 15 points in his last six games, while Funk casually recorded his sixth hat trick of the year against Wenatchee.
They’re still doing this without 19-year-old Ondrej Becher.
Over at World Juniors, Becher scored a hat trick and added two assists as Czechia stormed back with six straight goals to defeat Finland 8-5 to earn bronze.
The Cougars continue a four-game U.S. road swing in Seattle on January 5.
3. Portland Winterhawks
2nd U.S.- 23-10-1-1
Portland continued its home dominance with a decisive 8-5 win over Seattle and a 3-0 shutout against Vancouver, clawing its way back into the CHL Top 10 for the first time since the end of November.
Marcus Nguyen, Kyle Chyzowski and Luca Cagnoni all scored a pair against Seattle, while Chyzowski added a pair of helpers to edge Seattle.
Nick Avakyan has continued to be solid between the pipes since being acquired from Tri-City to aid the battered Hawks netminders, earning his first WHL shutout with a 14-save performance and improving to 5-2-0-0 with his new team.
Next up, Portland faces a big test against Everett and a CHL Top-10 showdown against Prince George.
4. Medicine Hat Tigers
1st Central- 23-11-2-0
Medicine Hat stumbled with back-to-back losses against Swift Current and Lethbridge but got back on track with a tight 3-2 overtime win against Red Deer to go 7-3-0-0 in its past 10.
Oasiz Wiesblatt scored twice in the victory against Red Deer- including the OT winner- to sit second on the team with 49 points (13 goals, 36 assists).
His seventh game-winning goal is second only to Saskatoon Blade Egor Sidorov and tied for second in the CHL.
Stick taps are in order for rookie goaltender Ethan McCallum, who earned first star with a 26-save effort in the loss to Swift Current and third star with a 27-save performance in the win over Red Deer.
The Tigers now head north for a rematch against Red Deer on January 5.
5. Moose Jaw Warriors
2nd East- 21-14-0-2
The Warriors have lived up to their name, putting together a tidy four-game win streak despite losing another star to World Juniors.
Firkus had three assists against Regina in a 5-2 Moose Jaw victory before heading to Sweden.
Brayden Schuurman had three goals- including two game-winners- and a pair of apples to help carry Moose Jaw through, while Atley Calvert earned a team-best two goals and five assists over the week.
Credit, as usual, is due to workhorse netminder Jackson Unger, who suited up for three games in three nights. He made a league-high 102 stops over the three games and earned first star against Regina and second star against Prince Albert.
The 18-year-old leads the WHL in minutes played (1882), shots faced (1114) and saves (1020). While Firkus, Captain Denton Mateychuk and Brayden Yager may be back on Canadian soil sooner than they’d have liked, Warriors fans hope to see the dynamic players back on home ice as soon as possible.
6. Victoria Royals
2nd B.C.- 23-12-0-2
The Royals faltered in a tight match against Wenatchee before earning overtime wins against Edmonton and Calgary.
Justin Kipke opened the scoring against Edmonton and closed with the overtime winner, while WHL Rookie of the Week Cole Reschny had a goal and three assists, but credit is due to goaltender Braden Holt, who made a number of show-stopping saves in the win.
The Royals are 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 outings and kick off an Eastern road trip against Regina on January 6.
Good news/bad news?
Czech standout Robin Sapousek helped Czechia earn bronze at World Juniors but suffered an injury in his fourth game at the tournament.
There is currently no update on how long the 19-year-old could be sidelined.
7. Everett Silvertips
3rd U.S.- 22-14-1-1
Everett was one of the last teams to return to action after the holiday break but managed to kick things off with a 5-4 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
But you can bet a last-minute 6-5 regulation loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings two days later still stings.
The Tips have also added overage defenceman Parker Berge from the Regina Pats. The former Pats alternate Captain ranks fourth amongst all WHL defenders in scoring with 10 goals and 27 assists in 36 games played and already tallied his first point in an Everett jersey with an assist against Edmonton.
The Tips look to get back in the win column on January 6 as they visit the streaking Winterhawks and look forward to the return of World Junior bronze-medal winner Dominik Rymon, who scored an empty-netter to seal a second-straight medal at the tournament for Czechia.
8. Wenatchee Wild
1st U.S.- 23-13-3-0
Change is afoot in Wild territory.
The team is preserving its future by dealing stars Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie ahead of the trade deadline, but there’s still a full roster of talented players who are hungry to keep their season going.
Wenatchee came from behind to beat Victoria 3-2 thanks to a pair of third-period goals and roared past Seattle 5-1 before falling to the powerful Cougars on January 3.
Briley Wood went off with four goals (plus two game-winners) and three assists for seven points in 3 games and Kenta Isogai served up four helpers against Seattle.
The group plays Kelowna on January 6 but get an extended break ahead of a January 14 match against Everett.
9. Brandon Wheat Kings
3rd East- 19-13-4-1
The Wheat Kings flexed their depth with seven different players finding the back of the net as Brandon went 2-1-0-0 this week to improve to 8-2-0-0 over its past ten outings.
Hats off the Carson Bjarnson, who stopped 35 of 37 shots and seven opponents in the shootout to foil the league-leading Blades 3-2 on December 29.
The Blades got some revenge with a 5-0 shutout victory on January 1, but Brandon still has eyes on moving up the standings, sitting just one point behind the Moose Jaw Warriors.
10. Swift Current Broncos
3rd Central- 18-15-2-2
The Broncos are sneakily the second-highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference with 138 goals.
While they only earned three of a possible six points in a 1-1-1-0 week, Swift Current is making noise with its off-ice moves.
The team has added size and skill in a blockbuster trade for 6-foot-4 star forward Conor Geekie and bulked up the blueline with the addition of 6-foot-5 Jakub Dvorak, who made his Broncos debut in a 6-3 loss to Lethbridge.
Swift Current is just one point behind Red Deer for second in the Central and could overtake the Rebels with a win against Spokane on January 5.
Speaking of…
11. Red Deer Rebels
2nd Central- 18-13-1-4
The Rebels have required bonus hockey a league-leading 10 times this season- including all three matchups in a 1-0-1-1 week to stay a point ahead of Swift Current for second in the Central.
Ollie Josephson, who is set to attend the CHL/NHL Kubota Top Prospects game in Moncton, N.B. at the end of the month, had assists on game-tying goals against Lethbridge and Medicine Hat to go along with a goal and game-winning assist against the division rival Broncos.
Rookie goaltender Chase Wutzke was nearly airtight in a pair of goalie battles against Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, posting a 1.85 goals-against average and .934 save percentage on the week.
Red Deer opens a six-game homestand against Medicine Hat on January 5- but this time, they’ll be looking for revenge in 60 minutes (or not, you do you, Red Deer).
12. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4th Central- 18-15-3-0
With a four game point streak and three straight wins over divisional opponents, Lethbridge is creating a logjam in the Central standings.
Harrison Meneghin went 3-0-0-0 on the week to earn WHL Goaltender of the Week honours, sporting a 1.95 goals against average and a .934 save percentage in three outings.
2024 NHL Entry Draft-eligible forward Miguel Marques and Logan Wormold continued to clip along at a career-best pace by adding a goal and three assists each.
Lethbridge welcomes Tri-City on January 5 for the second match of a four-game homestand.
13. Kelowna Rockets
3rd B.C.- 17-16-2-0
Y’all like goals? The Rockets are putting them up in droves.
Kelowna scored four goals in a row to seal a 6-4 in over Kamloops on December 29 and eked out a 7-6 victory over the visiting Hitmen the following night- thanks in large part to captain Andrew Cristall.
Cristall went off against Calgary with his first hat trick of the season and a tidy pair of assists to go with. The Washington Capitals prospect is currently rocking a 16-game point streak that’s seen him tally 11 goals and 21 assists.
His 60 points (21 goals, 39 assists) in 29 appearances has him sitting fourth in the league. However, his 2.07 points-per-game is good for second, only behind Matthew Savoie.
Kelowna closes out a three-game homestand against Edmonton on January 5. But be aware- that Oil Kings squad has been causing all kinds of trouble for top teams as of late.
14. Prince Albert Raiders
4th East- 17-17-0-2
Prince Albert has had the lightest of schedules since the holiday break with only two games- one this week- but the Raiders are still looking for that first win back.
Prince Albert got clipped by Moose Jaw in a tight-checking 2-1 contest on December 30.
Easton Kovacs scored his fourth of the season to get the Raiders on the board and Max Hildebrand made 23 saves in the loss.
Prince Albert looks to get some revenge- and get back in the win column- with a tough pair of weekend matchups against Moose Jaw and Saskatoon.
15. Spokane Chiefs
5th U.S.- 14-16-3-0
Spokane has clawed back into the rankings for the first time since December 1, thanks to a three-game win streak and monster performances from top NHL prospect Berkly Catton and Tempo WHL Player of the Week Chase Bertholet.
The duo combined for 17 points in a pair of critical wins over Tri-City- including a season-high 11 goals on New Year’s Eve.
The 11-3 victory also saw Bertholet record his first WHL hat trick.
Now, the Chiefs are just two points behind the Ams in the U.S. Division and have a game in hand.
16. Tri-City Americans
4th U.S.- 15-16-2-1
Tri-City is clinging to the last spot in the rankings despite being outscored 17-5 in a pair of losses to Spokane.
It’s tough going up against the Berkly Catton/Chase Bertholet show, but the Ams will need their top players to be better with Seattle hot on their heels in the standings.
One bright spot- Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragicevic has 13 points in his last 10 games, four of which came against Spokane.
Tri-City heads north for a six-game Central Division road trip starting against Lethbridge on January 5.
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