[{"id":267284,"date":"2026-04-07T09:58:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267284"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:58:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:58:04","slug":"whl-announces-2025-26-finalists-for-whl-business-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/whl-announces-2025-26-finalists-for-whl-business-award","title":{"rendered":"WHL announces 2025-26 finalists for WHL Business Award"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today the 2025-26 finalists for the WHL Business Award, presented annually to the WHL Club that best exemplifies giving back to the community and producing an electrifying game-day experience for fans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Winners of 2026 WHL Awards will be announced from Tuesday, April 21, through Wednesday, May 6.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>WHL Business Award<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Eastern Conference Finalist<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Prince Albert Raiders<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>WHL Business Award<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Western Conference Finalist<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Portland Winterhawks<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Prince Albert Raiders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Prince Albert Raiders achieved business success through a strong commitment to community engagement, digital growth, and collaboration. As a community-owned organization, the Raiders deepened local ties through expanded partnerships with minor hockey and increased charitable contributions, donating $85,000 to community initiatives. The Raiders also delivered significant growth across digital platforms, ranking among WHL leaders in app engagement, website traffic, and social media performance, despite operating in a small market. Attendance also saw notable gains. By prioritizing innovation, strategic partnerships, and league-wide collaboration, the Raiders strengthened their brand, enhanced fan engagement, and drove measurable business growth throughout 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Portland Winterhawks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Portland Winterhawks business success came through revenue growth, fan engagement, and innovative marketing. The Club saw ticket sales revenue increase by six per cent and surpassed 5,100 in average attendance, while expanding premium seating offerings, growing merchandising revenue, and partnerships. The Winterhawks enhanced the fan experience with state-of-the-art LED rinkboards, themed promotional nights, and community-driven initiatives. Digitally, the Winterhawks ranked among the WHL leaders in social media reach and streaming engagement, supported by strategic content and paid campaigns. The Club\u2019s collaboration with League initiatives and operational excellence further reinforced their position as a top-performing franchise.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WHL Business Award is presented annually to the WHL Club that best exemplifies giving back to the community and producing an electrifying game-day experience for fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2318,"name":"2026 WHL Awards","slug":"2026-whl-awards","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2318,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"10"},{"term_id":32,"name":"portland winterhawks","slug":"portland-winterhawks","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":181,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1183,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1808"},{"term_id":39,"name":"prince albert raiders","slug":"prince-albert-raiders","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":206,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1116,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1811"}],"class_list":["post-267284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-portland-winterhawks","tag-prince-albert-raiders","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/07092944\/260401_WHL-Business-Award-Nominees.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267294,"date":"2026-04-07T09:30:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267294"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:30:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:30:03","slug":"central-division-clash-featuring-tigers-and-hitmen-set-for-second-round-of-2026-whl-playoffs-presented-by-nutrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/central-division-clash-featuring-tigers-and-hitmen-set-for-second-round-of-2026-whl-playoffs-presented-by-nutrien","title":{"rendered":"Central Division clash featuring Tigers and Hitmen set for second round of 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Medicine Hat Tigers and Calgary Hitmen will meet in the second round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second-round series featuring two Central Division contenders was confirmed Monday night after the Saskatoon Blades upset the Edmonton Oil Kings in overtime of Game 7 of the final remaining first-round series.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Co-op Place in Medicine Hat will host Games 1 and 2 on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, respectively. The Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary will welcome the two Clubs for Games 3 and 4 on Monday, April 13, and Wednesday, April 15, respectively.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Tigers advanced to the second round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs after defeating the Regina Pats in five games, while the Hitmen swept the Brandon Wheat Kings in four games to punch their ticket.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Medicine Hat took home the regular season series between the two Clubs, going 7-1-0-0, including three overtime \/ shootout victories. The two teams last met for a home-and-home series on February 27 and 28, which saw the Tigers emerge with 3-2 and 8-3 triumphs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">2026 NHL Draft-eligible forward Markus Ruck, who led the WHL in scoring, finished atop Medicine Hat\u2019s scoring chart for the season series with Calgary, racking up 14 points (3G-11A) in eight games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hitmen received valuable output from veteran forward Julien Maze, who registered six points (3G-3A) in five games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between the pipes, Carter Casey went 6-0-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .923 save percentage for the Tigers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the other side, reining WHL Goaltender of the Week Eric Tu went 1-3-2-0 in six appearances for the Hitmen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 2015 WHL Playoffs represent the last time these two teams met during post-season play. A second-round series featured the Hitmen defeating the Tigers in five games, before falling to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL\u2019s Eastern Conference Championship.<\/p>\n<table style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\"><strong><br \/>\nGame<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"127\"><strong>Visitor<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"127\"><strong>Home<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"112\"><strong>Day<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"96\"><strong>Date<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\"><strong>Time<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Friday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 10<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Saturday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Monday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 13<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Wednesday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 15<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">5*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Friday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 17<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">6pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">6*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Sunday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 19<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">4pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">7*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Tuesday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 21<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm MT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em><strong>* = if necessary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The second-round series featuring two Central Division contenders was confirmed Monday night after the Saskatoon Blades upset the Edmonton Oil Kings in overtime of Game 7 of the final remaining first-round series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2300,"name":"2026 WHL Playoffs","slug":"2026-whl-playoffs","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2300,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":139,"filter":"raw","term_order":"25"},{"term_id":23,"name":"calgary hitmen","slug":"calgary-hitmen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":75,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1054,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1255"},{"term_id":30,"name":"medicine hat tigers","slug":"medicine-hat-tigers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":185,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1189,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1712"}],"class_list":["post-267294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-calgary-hitmen","tag-medicine-hat-tigers","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/07085624\/MHvsCGY_Series-Matchup-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267293,"date":"2026-04-07T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267293"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:00:34","slug":"raiders-and-blades-to-renew-post-season-rivalry-in-second-round-of-2026-whl-playoffs-presented-by-nutrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/raiders-and-blades-to-renew-post-season-rivalry-in-second-round-of-2026-whl-playoffs-presented-by-nutrien","title":{"rendered":"Raiders and Blades to renew post-season rivalry in second round of 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">It just might be the fiercest rivalry in the WHL \u2013 and now, the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien will be graced by a second-round, best-of-seven battle between the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The second-round clash was confirmed Monday night after the Blades upset the third-seed Edmonton Oil Kings in overtime of Game 7 of their first-round series. Captain Rowan Calvert redirected a power-play point shot to the back of the net, sending Saskatoon to its first ever Game 7 road victory in franchise history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Prince Albert\u2019s Art Hauser Centre will host Games 1 and 2 on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, respectively. The series will shift to Saskatoon and SaskTel Place for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15, respectively.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Raiders \u2013 the No. 1 seed in the WHL\u2019s Eastern Conference \u2013 advanced to the second round of the post-season following a five-game set with the Red Deer Rebels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Prince Albert laid claim to the eight-game regular season series, going 6-1-1-0. The two rivals closed out the regular season with a home-and-home series that saw the Raiders earn back-to-back 4-0 victories March 20 and 21.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2026 NHL Draft-eligible skaters Daxon Rudolph and Riley Boychuk finished the season series with eight points (2G-6A) each to lead the Raiders in scoring against the Blades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For Saskatoon, captain Calvert led the scoring parade, registering six points (2G-4A) in seven games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In net, both Michal Orsulak and Steele Bass saw action in three games, with Orsulak going a perfect 3-0-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner took to the crease for six games, going 1-3-0-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .922 SV%.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">You don\u2019t have to look too far to find the last playoff meeting between the Raiders and Blades. In 2024, the two Saskatchewan rivals met during the first round of the post-season with Saskatoon emerging after a five-game battle. The Blades went on to advance to Game 7 of the WHL\u2019s Eastern Conference Championship before falling to the eventual WHL Champion Moose Jaw Warriors.<\/p>\n<table style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\"><strong><br \/>\nGame<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"127\"><strong>Visitor<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"127\"><strong>Home<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"112\"><strong>Day<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"96\"><strong>Date<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\"><strong>Time<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Friday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 10<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Saturday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Tuesday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 14<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Wednesday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 15<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">5*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Friday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 17<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">6*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Sunday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 19<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">4pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"76\">7*<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">@<\/td>\n<td width=\"127\">Prince\u00a0Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Tuesday<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">April 21<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><em><strong>* = if necessary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It just might be the fiercest rivalry in the WHL \u2013 and now, the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien will be graced by a second-round, best-of-seven battle between the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2300,"name":"2026 WHL 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upset Oil Kings in overtime in Game 7 to advance to second round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THAT&#8217;S PLAYOFF HOCKEY.<\/p>\n<p>The sixth-seed Saskatoon Blades have shaken up the 2026 WHL Playoffs with a 3-2 overtime win to oust the third-seed Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 7 of their first-round series.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton Oilers prospect David Lewandowski dished the opening blow with a powerplay marker early in the second period.<\/p>\n<p>In another match with minimal room for error, the Oil Kings clawed back to a tie with a precision tip off a faceoff win before captain Gavin Hodnett gave the home side their first lead of the night with his first goal of the series.<\/p>\n<p>But the Blades wouldn&#8217;t go quietly into the night as 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Cooper Williams nailed the equalizer 33 seconds later to force extras.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s where alternate captain Rowan Calvert blasted a powerplay goal through traffic to seal the series for the Blades.<\/p>\n<p>Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner made 29 stops in the clinching win.<\/p>\n<p>Three of the games in the first-round series required overtime.<\/p>\n<p>Saskatoon seized a narrow 3-2 win in the series-opener thanks to a third-period strike from Hayden Harsanyi, but Oil Kings alternate captain Ethan MacKenzie put things on level ground with a slick overtime goal in Game 2.<\/p>\n<p>The Blades scored three unanswered goals to go back on top with a 4-3 result in Game 3, capped off with a blast from defenceman Tristen Doyle.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton battled back again with a dominant 5-2 showing in Game 4, thanks to a hat trick from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Miroslav Holinka, but Harsanyi came back in Game 5 with his second game-winner of the series to set the stage for Game 6.<\/p>\n<p>Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing and Lewandowski paced the Blades with eight points (3G-5A) in seven games.<\/p>\n<p>Saskatoon put up a 34-27-5-2 record in 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p>The Blades haven&#8217;t missed the postseason since 2018 and are on the hunt for their first WHL Championship.<\/p>\n<p>To continue the journey, they&#8217;ll now have to get past their greatest rivals- the East Division champion Prince Albert Raiders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THAT&#8217;S PLAYOFF HOCKEY. The sixth-seed Saskatoon Blades have shaken up the 2026 WHL Playoffs with a 3-2 overtime win to oust the third-seed Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 7 of their first-round series. Edmonton Oilers prospect David Lewandowski dished the opening blow with a powerplay marker early in the second period. In another match with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2300,"name":"2026 WHL Playoffs","slug":"2026-whl-playoffs","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2300,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":139,"filter":"raw","term_order":"25"},{"term_id":38,"name":"saskatoon blades","slug":"saskatoon-blades","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":300,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1119,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1899"}],"class_list":["post-267248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-saskatoon-blades","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/05165711\/260405_SAS_Advanced-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267276,"date":"2026-04-06T14:02:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267276"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:02:31","slug":"los-angeles-kings-prospect-cihar-named-sandman-whl-rookie-of-the-week-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/los-angeles-kings-prospect-cihar-named-sandman-whl-rookie-of-the-week-2","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Kings prospect Cihar named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Los Angeles Kings prospect and Kelowna Rockets forward <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30418\/\">Vojtech Cihar<\/a> has been named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 5.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Cihar, a 19-year-old product of Chomutov, Czechia, recorded six points (3G-3A) and a plus-5 rating in two games, helping the Rockets complete a four-game sweep of the Kamloops Blazers in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 6-foot, 181-pound left winger collected four points (1G-3A) in Game 3 against the Blazers on Tuesday, March 31, fuelling Kelowna to a 7-4 victory. The first-year WHL forward secured assists on two goals from Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla and another from defenceman and Nate Corbet, before finding the back of the net himself. Cihar\u2019s fourth goal of the WHL Playoffs came 2:49 into the third period and gave Kelowna a 5-2 advantage. It went on to stand as the game-winning tally and Cihar was named second star of the game.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In Game 4 on Wednesday, April 1, Cihar registered a two-goal performance as the Rockets cruised by the Blazers 6-2 to complete the four-game sweep. After Kamloops staked out a 1-0 lead early in the first period, the Czech forward knotted the affair 1-1 with his fifth goal of the post-season late in the period. He then capped a run of five unanswered goals from the Rockets, notching his sixth goal of the playoffs 6:47 into the third period to put Kelowna out front by a commanding 5-1 margin. Cihar was named first star of the game for his effort in the series-clinching victory.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">With 10 points (6G-4A) in four games, Cihar is tied for third in WHL Playoff scoring, while leading all rookie skaters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Cihar has made an immediate impact since joining the Rockets following the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. In 31 regular season outings, the 2007-born winger secured 31 points (12G-19A) to help the Rockets claim fourth place in the WHL\u2019s Western Conference.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Originally selected by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first round (38th overall) of the 2024 CHL Import Draft, Cihar was acquired by the Rockets as part of the return for Caden Price ahead of the 2025 WHL Trade Deadline. Cihar signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with Kelowna on December 12, 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Los Angeles Kings selected Cihar in the second round (59th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The road to the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota will see Cihar and the Rockets face the WHL\u2019s regular season champion Everett Silvertips in the second round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien. Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series go Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, respectively, at Angel of the Winds Arena in downtown Everett. The series returns to the Okanagan and Prospera Place for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15, respectively. Watch the 2026 WHL Playoffs <a href=\"https:\/\/victoryplus.com\/hub\/WHL?source=sidebar\">FREE on Victory+.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">September 22, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nSeptember 29, 2025: Chase Surkan, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nOctober 6, 2025: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nOctober 14, 2025: Carter Casey, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nOctober 20, 2025: Andrei Molgachev, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nOctober 27, 2025: Chase Surkan, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nNovember 3, 2025: Dylan Dean, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nNovember 10, 2025: Kale Dach, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nNovember 17, 2024: Brock England, Seattle Thunderbirds<br \/>\nNovember 24, 2025: Colt Carter, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\nDecember 1, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nDecember 8, 2025: Boston Tait, Wenatchee Wild<br \/>\nDecember 15, 2025: Tyson Moss, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nDecember 22, 2025: Ludovic Perreault, Victoria Royals<br \/>\nDecember 29, 2025: Mason Kraft, Wenatchee Wild<br \/>\nJanuary 5, 2026: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nJanuary 12, 2026: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nJanuary 19, 2026: Prab Bhathal, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nJanuary 26, 2026: Andrei Molgachev, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nFebruary 2, 2026: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nFebruary 9, 2026: Kale Dach, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nFebruary 16, 2026: Jonah Sivertson, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nFebruary 23, 2026: Vojtech Cihar, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\nMarch 2, 2026: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nMarch 9, 2026: Easton Daneault, Lethbridge Hurricanes<br \/>\nMarch 16, 2026: Ben Harvey, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nMarch 23, 2026: Poul Andersen, Red Deer Rebels<br \/>\nMarch 30, 2026: Brock Cripps, Prince Albert Raiders<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cihar, a 19-year-old product of Chomutov, Czechia, recorded six points (3G-3A) and a plus-5 rating in two games, helping the Rockets complete a four-game sweep of the Kamloops Blazers in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":2218,"name":"Vojtech Cihar","slug":"vojtech-cihar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2218,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"92"},{"term_id":1564,"name":"WHL Weekly Awards","slug":"whl-weekly-awards","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1564,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":186,"filter":"raw","term_order":"721"},{"term_id":1163,"name":"WHL Rookie of the Week","slug":"whl-rookie-of-the-week","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1163,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":86,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1087"},{"term_id":33,"name":"kelowna rockets","slug":"kelowna-rockets","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":166,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1082,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1613"}],"class_list":["post-267276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-vojtech-cihar","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-whl-rookie-of-the-week","tag-kelowna-rockets","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/06140109\/260406_ROW_Cihar-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2553241","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2553241.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2553241.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2553241.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2553241.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2553241\/2553241.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2553241.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267277,"date":"2026-04-06T14:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267277"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:02:01","slug":"hitmen-netminder-tu-named-mary-browns-chicken-whl-goaltender-of-the-week-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/hitmen-netminder-tu-named-mary-browns-chicken-whl-goaltender-of-the-week-3","title":{"rendered":"Hitmen netminder Tu named Mary Brown&#8217;s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Calgary Hitmen netminder Eric Tu has been named Mary Brown\u2019s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 5.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Tu, a 17-year-old product of White Rock, B.C., went 2-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .955 save percentage this past week, helping the Hitmen complete a four-game sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Tuesday, March 31, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound puckstopper was solid, turning aside 35 of 36 shots as the Hitmen cut down the Wheat Kings by a 3-1 margin. Tu\u2019s work included a perfect 16-save effort in the third period as Brandon pressed for the equalizer. The rookie netminder was named second star of the game for his performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">With an opportunity to sweep through the first round, Tu was once again at his best. Thursday, April 2, in Virden, Man., the Calgary netminder made 28 saves on 30 shots as the Hitmen doubled up the Wheat Kings by a 4-2 score, completing the four-game sweep. After Brandon built a 2-0 lead in the first period, Tu steadied the ship, allowing the Hitmen to score four answered goals to stun the Wheat Kings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Through four games, Tu is 4-0 with a 1.63 GAA, .945 SV%, and one shutout. He is among the WHL\u2019s goaltending leaders in GAA (second), SV% (second), wins (T-1st), and shutouts (T-1st).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Over the course of the 2025-26 WHL regular season, Tu went 25-14-6-0 with a 2.79 GAA, .898 SV%, and two shutouts. Originally selected by the Hitmen in the second round (31st overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, he owns a career record of 32-19-8-1 with a 2.97 GAA, .893 SV%, and three shutouts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Having advanced to the second round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, Tu and the Hitmen await the completion of the first round to learn their next opponent. Watch the 2026 WHL Playoffs <a href=\"https:\/\/victoryplus.com\/hub\/WHL?source=sidebar\">FREE on Victory+.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>Mary Brown\u2019s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">September 22, 2025: Ethan Eskit, Victoria Royals<br \/>\nSeptember 29, 2025: Logan Edmonstone, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nOctober 6, 2025: Parker Snell, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nOctober 14, 2025: Evan Gardner, Saskatoon Blades<br \/>\nOctober 20, 2025: Burke Hood, Vancouver Giants<br \/>\nOctober 27, 2025: Andrew Reyelts, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nNovember 3, 2025: Eric Tu, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nNovember 10, 2025: Michal Orsulak, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nNovember 17, 2025: Anders Miller, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nNovember 24, 2025: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\nDecember 1, 2025: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars<br \/>\nDecember 8, 2025: Matthew Hutchison, Regina Pats<br \/>\nDecember 15, 2025: Eric Tu, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nDecember 22, 2025: Marek Sklenicka, Seattle Thunderbirds<br \/>\nDecember 29, 2025: Filip Ruzicka, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nJanuary 5, 2026: Xavier Wendt, Tri-City Americans<br \/>\nJanuary 12, 2026: Ethan Eskit, Victoria Royals<br \/>\nJanuary 19, 2026: Carter Esler, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\nJanuary 26, 2026: Ethan McCallum, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nFebruary 2, 2026: Jayden Kraus, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nFebruary 9, 2026: Logan Edmonstone, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nFebruary 16, 2026: Grayson Malinoski, Seattle Thunderbirds<br \/>\nFebruary 23, 2026: Filip Ruzicka, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nMarch 2, 2026: Parker Snell, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nMarch 9, 2026: Andrew Reyelts, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nMarch 16, 2026: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\nMarch 23, 2026: Ethan McCallum, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nMarch 30, 2026: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tu, a 17-year-old product of White Rock, B.C., went 2-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .955 save percentage this past week, helping the Hitmen complete a four-game sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":1645,"name":"Eric Tu","slug":"eric-tu","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1645,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"642"},{"term_id":1564,"name":"WHL Weekly Awards","slug":"whl-weekly-awards","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1564,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":186,"filter":"raw","term_order":"721"},{"term_id":23,"name":"calgary hitmen","slug":"calgary-hitmen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":75,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1054,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1255"},{"term_id":489,"name":"WHL Goaltender of the Week","slug":"whl-goaltender-of-the-week","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":514,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":288,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2070"}],"class_list":["post-267277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-eric-tu","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-calgary-hitmen","tag-whl-goaltender-of-the-week","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/06140115\/260406_GOW_Tu-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2553244","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2553244.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2553244.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2553244.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2553244.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2553244\/2553244.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2553244.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267275,"date":"2026-04-06T14:01:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267275"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:02:50","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-prospect-holinka-named-tempo-whl-player-of-the-week-fuelled-by-co-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/toronto-maple-leafs-prospect-holinka-named-tempo-whl-player-of-the-week-fuelled-by-co-op","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Holinka named Tempo WHL Player of the Week, Fuelled by Co-op"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Toronto Maple Leafs prospect and Edmonton Oil Kings forward <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29709\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miroslav Holinka<\/a> has been named Tempo WHL Player of the Week, Fuelled by Co-op, for the week ending Sunday, April 5.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Holinka, a 20-year-old product of Zlin, Czechia, recorded eight points (6G-2A) in four games this past week as the Oil Kings head for a decisive Game 7 in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 6-foot-2, 185-pound centre started the week by recording one goal and was named second star in Game 3 on Tuesday, March 31, as the Oil Kings dropped a 4-3 decision to the Blades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The following night, Holinka exploded for three goals in Game 4, boosting the Oil Kings to a 5-2 victory and drawing the series even at two games apiece. The Czech forward opened the scoring 7:34 into the first period. After Saskatoon knotted the game, it was Holinka who converted on a late first-period power play to put the visiting Oil Kings back in front by a 2-1 score. The Maple Leafs prospect completed his hat-trick effort with 22 seconds to go in the second period, registering his fifth goal of the post-season to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes of play. He was named first star of the game for his impressive performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Back in Edmonton for Game 5 on Friday, April 3, Holinka contributed a goal and an assist as the Oil Kings dropped a 4-2 decision to the Blades, falling behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Despite the outcome, Holinka was named second star of the game.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">On Sunday, April 5, in a win-or-go-home Game 6, Holinka was once again pivotal, collecting a goal and an assist, including the game-winning marker, as the Oil Kings staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory in double overtime to force a winner-take-all Game 7. With 5:55 to go in the second overtime period, Holinka hammered a one-time shot from the left point, which found the back of the net to send the series back to Edmonton for Game 7 on Monday night. Holinka\u2019s multipoint effort earned him third star honours.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">With 11 points (7G-4A) in six games to start the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, Holinka sits tied atop the WHL scoring charts with Brock Souch of the Prince George Cougars. Holinka\u2019s hot start to the post-season follows on the heels of a regular season that saw him finish second in scoring on the Oil Kings with 80 points (37G-43A) in 59 games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Holinka was named to the WHL Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team for 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Originally selected by the Oil Kings in the first round (14th overall) of the 2024 CHL Import Draft, Holinka has tallied 125 points (56G-69A) in 106 career WHL regular season games. He has appeared in 13 career WHL Playoff games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Holinka was selected by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round (151st overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on July 15, 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs culminates Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. MT, when Holinka and the Oil Kings host the Blades at Rogers Place. Watch the epic conclusion to this first-round series <a href=\"https:\/\/victoryplus.com\/player\/2026_WHL_Playoffs\/19911?categorySlug=LIVE_UPCOMING_HOME_FEEDS\">FREE on Victory+.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>Tempo WHL Player of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">September 22, 2025: Ethan Semeniuk, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\nSeptember 29, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nOctober 6, 2025: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nOctober 14, 2025: Noah Kosick, Swift Current Broncos<br \/>\nOctober 20, 2025: Kooper Gizowski, Prince George Cougars<br \/>\nOctober 27, 2025: Caden Brown, Regina Pats<br \/>\nNovember 3, 2025: Max Curran, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nNovember 10, 2025: Luke Mistelbacher, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nNovember 17, 2025: Liam Ruck, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nNovember 24, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nDecember 1, 2025: Tarin Smith, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nDecember 8, 2025: Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nDecember 15, 2025: Joby Baumuller, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nDecember 22, 2025: Mathis Preston, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\nDecember 29, 2025: Jonas Woo, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nJanuary 5, 2026: Lukas Sawchyn, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nJanuary 12, 2026: Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nJanuary 19, 2026: Daxon Rudolph, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nJanuary 26, 2026: Brandon Gorzynski, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nFebruary 2, 2026: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\nFebruary 9, 2026: Carter Sotheran, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\nFebruary 16, 2026: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nFebruary 23, 2026: Owen Martin, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\nMarch 2, 2026: Julius Miettinen, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nMarch 9, 2026: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\nMarch 16, 2026: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nMarch 23, 2026: Cameron Schmidt, Seattle Thunderbirds<br \/>\nMarch 30, 2026: Julien Maze, Calgary Hitmen<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holinka, a 20-year-old product of Zlin, Czechia, recorded eight points (6G-2A) in four games this past week as the Oil Kings head for a decisive Game 7 in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":1577,"name":"Miroslav Holinka","slug":"miroslav-holinka","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1577,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"707"},{"term_id":1564,"name":"WHL Weekly Awards","slug":"whl-weekly-awards","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1564,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":186,"filter":"raw","term_order":"721"},{"term_id":22,"name":"edmonton oil kings","slug":"edmonton-oil-kings","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":207,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1251,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1419"},{"term_id":284,"name":"whl player of the week","slug":"whl-player-of-the-week","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":307,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":328,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2105"}],"class_list":["post-267275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-miroslav-holinka","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-edmonton-oil-kings","tag-whl-player-of-the-week","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/06140122\/260406_POW_Holinka-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2553245","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2553245.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2553245.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2553245.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2553245.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2553245\/2553245.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2553245.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]