WHL Power Rankings: Week Nine
We’re almost a third of the way through the 2024-25 WHL regular season already!
This weekend will see 10 top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible WHLers- including five players whose teams are in the Top 10 this week- will pack their bags for next week’s CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada.
While they join a squad of CHL All-Stars to take on USA Hockey’s National Development Team Program, there’s a prime chance for WHL clubs to strike with some star players out of the lineup.
1. Everett Silvertips
1st U.S.- 17-3-1-0
Alright.
Tri-City had its week in the sun, but the Silvertips have snatched back top spot in Week Nine.
Carter Bear’s second hat trick of the season powered the Tips past Seattle in a 5-2 win, while Alex Garrett pitched a 33-save shutout against the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the second edition of Wednesday Night in the Dub.
Everett has points in nine of its last 10 games and has joined the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats as the first CHL teams to hit 100 goals this season.
2. Tri-City Americans
2nd U.S.- 15-5-1-0
There’s no shame in Tri-City’s game!
The Ams were the unanimous second-place vote this week.
Tri-City’s modern franchise-record 12-game win streak came to an end with a stumble to start their East Division road trip, but they’ve bounced back with wins against Swift Current- where draft-eligible Jackson Smith scored the game-winning goal- and Regina- where Brandon Whynott capped off the night with the shootout winner.
They’ll close out the road trip with bouts against Brandon and Moose Jaw this weekend.
3. Saskatoon Blades
1st East- 14-6-1-1
Home is still where the heart is for the Blades.
Saskatoon swept a three-game homestand with wins over the Edmonton Oil Kings, Tri-City and Medicine Hat.
They’re the only WHL team that has yet to record a regulation loss on home ice this season.
Alas, they closed out the week with a bit of a stinker after getting shut out by the Moose Jaw Warriors in a 4-0 tilt at the Hangar.
4. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 12-5-3-2
Did someone order a split?
Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer netted a late game-winner on the powerplay in a 4-3 victory against Kelowna last Friday, but the Rockets got some revenge the following night by a 5-4 score.
Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak also quietly picked up five assists over the weekend, while Viliam Kmec picked up a goal and an assist in his 200th WHL game.
The Cats look to get back in the win column with matches against the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Giants on tap.
5. Swift Current Broncos
2nd East- 13-7-0-0
The Broncos fell in their lone match of the week against Tri-City, but it wasn’t a blowout by any means.
Reid Dyck picked up first-star honours by saving 42 of 44 shots in the 2-1 loss.
Plus, Luke Mistelbacher netted the game-opening goal to extend his point streak to a league-leading 15 games.
Swift Current should be well rested for tilts against the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings this weekend.
6. Spokane Chiefs
3rd U.S.- 13-9-0-0
Falling is inevitable, but sometimes it’s all about how you get back up.
Spokane got smoked by the visiting Calgary Hitmen in a 7-2 loss but followed it up with a 3-0 shutout of the Red Deer Rebels in front of a sellout crowd of more than 10,300 fans.
Dawson Cowan turned aside a personal season-high 35 shots and recorded his 40th career win to get the Chiefs back in the win column.
Seattle Kraken prospect Berkly Catton also put up a pair of helpers to tie for second in the league in assists (23).
7. Calgary Hitmen
3rd Central- 10-7-3-1
In the Central, the Calgary Hitmen are making waves after a dominant run on their U.S. Division road trip.
We mentioned the drubbing of Spokane, but Calgary was able to close out strong with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Wenatchee Wild (thanks to two goals by Max ‘Max Effort’ Muranov) to go 4-1-1 on the southern swing.
Ottawa Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk is now tied for second in defenceman goals (seven) and leads all blueliners with six powerplay goals.
WHL Rookie of the Week Kason Kobelka is also 2-0-0-0 in his first two WHL starts and recorded two assists in the Wild match.
The Hitmen are also shaking things up with a blockbuster trade.
While they’re saying goodbye to top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Reese Hamilton and forward Keets Fawcett, they’re bringing in grit and goals with the addition of Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Tanner Howe.
8. Medicine Hat Tigers
1st Central- 13-10-0-0
The Tigers are still searching for consistency but climbed to the top of the Central Division with wins over Victoria and Prince Albert while falling to Saskatoon.
No shock here, star forward Gavin McKenna was a force in all three matchups, picking up four goals and three assists on the week to surge to the lead in the CHL scoring race with 46 points in 23 games.
Medicine Hat and Prince Albert also served up one of the most entertaining games of the week in the first meeting since swapping Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie and St. Louis Blues prospect Tomas Mrsic.
Ritchie had a secondary assist against his former squad and freshly-signed Florida Panthers pick Hunter St. Martin scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 showdown in Hockeytown North.
9. Victoria Royals
2nd B.C.- 12-7-2-1
Victoria’s Central Division tour has produced mixed results so far, with losses against Medicine Hat and Edmonton and a narrow win against Lethbridge under their belts.
Captain and Utah Hockey Club prospect Justin Kipkie netted the game-winner against the Hurricanes, while young gun Keaton Verhoeff has a goal and an assist in his last two outings.
Prime 2025 NHL Draft prospect Cole Reschny returned to the lineup against the Oil Kings after missing two previous matches and is expected to suit up against the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. He’ll hit the road on Sunday to join Team CHL for the new-look Prospects Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
10. Brandon Wheat Kings
3rd East- 10-5-3-1
The Wheaties collected three of a possible four points against the Pats this week with the clubs swapping 4-3 overtime wins.
Czech forward Dominik Petr scored the extra-time winner for Brandon and is up to four goals and six assists in his last four games.
The Wheat Kings will close out a six-game homestand with tilts against Tri-City and Swift Current coming up this weekend.
11. Lethbridge Hurricanes
2nd Central- 12-6-1-0
Lethbridge probably deserved better from a 3-2 loss to Victoria after outshooting the Royals 35-19, but they just couldn’t find their footing against Everett as they were shutout for a second straight loss.
The Hurricanes’ bread and butter is defence- they’re the third-stingiest team in the league- so they’ll need to be in top form and look for some goals as they visit the Portland Winterhawks on Friday.
12. Vancouver Giants
4th B.C.- 9-6-4-0
Vancouver is also going back to the drawing board after earning a single point in an overtime loss to the Winterhawks and falling in regulation to Kamloops.
In fact, the Giants have the opposite problem that Lethbridge has.
The G-men are consistently one of the WHL’s top-scoring teams, thanks in part to league-leading scorer Cameron Schmidt, but they need to keep a few more goals out of their own net.
They’ll enter a challenging stretch with matches against Kelowna, Spokane and Prince George on the docket.
13. Portland Winterhawks
4th U.S.- 10-8-2-0
It took a little extra hockey to get it done, but Portland is back in the top 16 after edging Red Deer in a shootout and defeating Vancouver in overtime.
Captain Kyle Chyzowski scored the game-tying goal against the Rebels before adding another tally and two helpers against the Giants, while Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth and Diego Buttazzoni scored in the shootout and Ryder Thompson got the overtime winner versus Van.
14. Kamloops Blazers
3rd B.C.- 11-10-1-0
Kamloops is on the seesaw right now after putting up a decisive win over the Giants before getting doubled up by Wenatchee.
Hometown boy Jordan Keller snagged his first WHL hat trick against Vancouver, while Detroit Red Wings prospect Emmitt Finnie also lit the lamp three times this week.
The road doesn’t get easier for the Blazers though, as they prepare to face the Cougars in Prince George.
15. Kelowna Rockets
5th B.C.- 8-8-1-1
Kelowna did well to split a road series against the B.C. Division-leading Cougars before falling to Wenatchee once again.
Notably, all three matches were decided by a single goal.
Rookie Kanjyu Gojsic scored three times this week- two of which came against the Wild.
Seattle Kraken prospect Caden Price has continued to tear the league up by adding another five points this week. He leads all blueliners with 28 points in 18 games and had five multi-point contests in a row before Wenatchee broke his streak.
Kelowna is also adding some reinforcements between the pipes with the addition of 2023 Central Division First Team All-Star Rhett Stoesser.
16. Prince Albert Raiders
4th East- 8-8-3-0
Prince Albert has climbed back into the Sweet Sixteen by snapping Tri-City’s 12-game winning streak in dramatic fashion.
…And by dramatic fashion, we mean a Tomas Mrsic hat trick.
The St. Louis Blues prospect followed up the three-goal effort with a two-goal, two-assist night against Edmonton to earn Tempo WHL Player of the Week honours.
Prince Albert would slip in overtime against Medicine Hat, but they’re still on a 4-0-1-0 streak to claw their way within striking distance of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
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