[{"id":267365,"date":"2026-04-11T10:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267365"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:27:10","slug":"whl-morning-skate-april-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/whl-morning-skate-april-11","title":{"rendered":"WHL Morning Skate: April 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEED TO KNOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

– With a goal and two assists in Game 1 against Saskatoon, Prince Albert’s Daxon Rudolph leads all defencemen in postseason points with 10 (4G-6A) in six games<\/p>\n

– Sixteen-year-old Defenceman of the Year finalist Landon DuPont made a highlight-reel pass to spring Seattle Kraken pick Julius Miettinen for a breakaway beauty to take a 1-0 series lead on Kelowna<\/p>\n

– After scoring 45 goals in the regular season, Medicine Hat captain Bryce Pickford scored twice, including the OT winner, to down Calgary<\/p>\n

– Hitmen alternate captain Ethan Moore is the only active skater to score in every game these playoffs<\/p>\n

– Washington Capitals first-rounder Terik Parascak struck twice to lift Prince George to a 4-1 win over the B.C. Division champion Penticton Vees<\/p>\n

TOP PERFORMER<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The accolades and goals just keep piling up for Nokia, Finland’s Matias Vanhanen. The 18-year-old scored twice, including the game-winner, to lift the regular-season champion Silvertips to a 1-0 lead over the Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. Vanhanen, who is ranked 76th among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, broke a second-period stalemate by ramming a Brek Liske rebound past Rockets goaltender Harrison Boettiger in the third period. He nabbed a secondary assist on his fellow Finn Julius Miettinen’s beautiful breakaway insurance marker before putting a cherry on the night with an empty-net goal. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound winger leads Everett in postseason scoring with nine points (5G-4A) in five games. He’s registered at least one point in every game, has two game-winning goals, and has only failed to score once. Vanhanen is a finalist for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for WHL Rookie of the Year and the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy for WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player.<\/p>\n

RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/b>Kelowna 1,\u00a0Everett 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

EVT leads 1-0<\/p>\n

The Silvertips enjoyed a long break after sweeping Portland in Round One, but they didn’t miss a step as they handed the Kelowna Rockets a 4-1 loss to open the second round. The Tips combined for an all-NHL prospect goal for the first strike of the series, with Florida Panthers pick Shea Busch hammering a powerplay one-timer from Seattle Kraken pick Julius Miettinen and 2025 Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Carter Bear. Ty Halaburda, who will close his WHL career with 315 games played, levelled the match just 23 seconds into the second period as the Rockets pressured off the opening faceoff. But Kelowna wouldn’t get closer than that, as Vanhanen buried his first goal of the evening four minutes later. 2027 NHL Draft-eligible Landon DuPont made an incredible stretch pass from deep in his own zone to spring Miettinen for a breakaway and insurance marker before Vanhanen closed it up with an empty-netter. Everett held Kelowna to 22 shots and no powerplay goals, despite having five opportunities on the man-advantage.<\/p>\n

THREE STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Julius Miettinen, EVT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 1G-1A<\/p>\n

2- Matias Vanhanen, EVT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 2G-1A<\/p>\n

3- Shea Busch, EVT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 1G<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Saskatoon 1,\u00a0Prince Albert 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

PA leads 1-0<\/p>\n

The East Division champs bagged three goals in the first period and never looked back. Prince Albert’s potent attack saw alternate captain Aiden Oiring twist and turn to evade his check and wrist the game-opener home less than four minutes into Game 1. Projected 2026 NHL first-round pick Daxon Rudolph (NHL CSS: 6) doubled the lead as the young defenceman jumped up into the slot to snap his fourth goal of the postseason past Evan Gardner. The onslaugh continued as Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes blocked a Saskatoon breakout pass to jump up and feed Alisher Sarkenov on a two-on-one rush. Dallas Stars pick Brandon Gorzynski, who scored the series-clincher in overtime against Red Deer in Round One, picked up the lone goal of the second period off another odd-man rush. From there, it was all gravy as Oiring and captain Justice Christensen converted on third-period powerplays just over a minute apart. Draft-eligible Zach Olsen (NHL CSS: 43) spoiled Michal Orsulak’s (NHL CSS: 2) shutout bid with a clean redirection on the powerplay.<\/p>\n

THREE STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Aiden Oiring, PA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 2G<\/p>\n

2- Daxon Rudolph, PA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 1G-2A<\/p>\n

3- Justice Christensen, PA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 3A<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Prince George 4<\/strong>, Penticton 1<\/p>\n

PG leads 1-0<\/p>\n

For the first time in club history, the Penticton Vees trail in a WHL Playoff series. The Cougars took a bite out of their opponents with a gritty effort at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Jett Lajoie drew first blood after Kooper Gizowski prevented a clearing pass and sent Lajoie streaking to the Vees’ net for a quick move. 2024 Washington Capitals first-round pick Terik Parascak made it 2-0 by tipping a Gizowski pass high on the powerplay. The Prince George powerplay is clicking at 55.6% in the playoffs to lead the entire WHL. Lee Shurgot kept the goals flowing in the third by snapping a rebound into a wide-open net after an Aiden Foster between-the-legs attempt. Parascak tallied his second of the night with an empty-netter, but Noah Milford ensured the Vees would get on the board by lighting the lamp with 1:02 left in regulation.<\/p>\n

THREE STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Terik Parascak, PG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 2G-1A<\/p>\n

2- Joshua Ravensbergen, PG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 34 saves, .971 save percentage<\/p>\n

3- Lee Shurgot, PG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 1G-1A<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Calgary 2,\u00a0Medicine Hat 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH leads 1-0<\/p>\n

The goals came in fits and spurts, but Calgary and Medicine Hat delivered a banger in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Kade Stengrim put the Tabbies up first after driving the net to rip a pass off the end boards from Jonas Woo home. The celebration was short-lived as Kale Dach tipped a Hunter Aura point shot past Carter Casey less than a minute later. WHL Player of the Year finalist and Montreal Canadiens prospect Bryce Pickford restored the lead by strolling through the high slot and threading a wrister through traffic. But as the clock ticked down, clutch Calgary alternate captain Ethan Moore ensured they’d play on by wheeling around the back of the net and ripping a high shot from a bad angle. Moore scored all four game-winning goals for the Hitmen in their first-round series against Brandon. But in the extra frame, captain Pickford reminded the crowd what a defender who scores like a forward can do. The two-time WHL champ called game after picking up a loose puck in the slot in a mad scramble to fire it glove side. Seventeen-year-old Eric Tu was sensational for Calgary, steering aside 40 shots to sit third among all goaltenders in saves (178) despite playing fewer games than the tenders ahead of him.<\/p>\n

THREE STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Bryce Pickford, MH<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 2G<\/p>\n

2- Carter Casey, MH<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 27 saves, .931 save percentage<\/p>\n

3- Eric Tu, CGY<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 40 saves, .930 save percentage<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ON TAP<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Prince George Cougars at Penticton Vees – Game 1 | 2026 WHL Playoff Highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prince George Cougars at Penticton Vees – Game 1 | 2026 WHL Playoff Highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":267359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":151,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"},{"term_id":1911,"name":"Penticton Vees","slug":"penticton-vees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1911,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":132,"filter":"raw","term_order":"383"},{"term_id":1161,"name":"whl highlights","slug":"whl-highlights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1161,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2087,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1092"},{"term_id":28,"name":"prince george cougars","slug":"prince-george-cougars","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":162,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1080,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1817"}],"class_list":["post-267358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-penticton-vees","tag-whl-highlights","tag-prince-george-cougars","video-channels-2026-whl-playoffs","video-channels-highlights","video-channels-penticton-vees","video-channels-prince-george-cougars","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/11000022\/PENvsPG_Highlights-Thumbnails_WHL-Playoffs-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2557880","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2557880.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2557880.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2557880.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2557880.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2557880\/2557880.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2557880.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267358","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\/605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267356,"date":"2026-04-10T23:53:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T05:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267356"},"modified":"2026-04-10T23:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T05:53:01","slug":"calgary-hitmen-at-medicine-hat-tigers-game-1-2026-whl-playoff-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/calgary-hitmen-at-medicine-hat-tigers-game-1-2026-whl-playoff-highlights","title":{"rendered":"Calgary Hitmen at Medicine Hat Tigers – Game 1 | 2026 WHL Playoff Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary Hitmen at Medicine Hat Tigers – Game 1 | 2026 WHL Playoff Highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calgary Hitmen at Medicine Hat Tigers – Game 1 | 2026 WHL Playoff Highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":267357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":151,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"},{"term_id":1161,"name":"whl highlights","slug":"whl-highlights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1161,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2087,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1092"},{"term_id":23,"name":"calgary hitmen","slug":"calgary-hitmen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":75,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1060,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1259"},{"term_id":30,"name":"medicine hat 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Canadian Superstore Save of the Night: April 10, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Canadian Superstore Save of the Night: April 10, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real Canadian Superstore Save of the Night: April 10, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":604,"featured_media":267354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":151,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"},{"term_id":2093,"name":"Michal Orsulak","slug":"michal-orsulak","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2093,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"206"},{"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":1124,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1815"},{"term_id":16,"name":"SAVE OF THE NIGHT","slug":"save-of-the-night","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1056,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":827,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1904"}],"class_list":["post-267355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-michal-orsulak","tag-prince-albert-raiders","tag-save-of-the-night","video-channels-2026-whl-playoffs","video-channels-save-of-the-night","video-channels-prince-albert-raiders","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/10233120\/SoN-1920-2.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2557875","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2557875.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2557875.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2557875.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2557875.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2557875\/2557875.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2557875.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267355","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\/604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267333,"date":"2026-04-10T15:56:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267333"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:56:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:56:47","slug":"series-preview-saskatoon-blades-vs-prince-albert-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/series-preview-saskatoon-blades-vs-prince-albert-raiders","title":{"rendered":"SERIES PREVIEW: Saskatoon Blades vs. Prince Albert Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Saskatchewan hockey fans, the only three words sweeter than ‘Game 7, overtime’ might be ‘Raiders versus Blades’.<\/p>\n

Of course, Game 7 overtime is how the underdogs from Saskatoon have set the stage for a second-round tilt against their bitter foes from Hockeytown North.<\/p>\n

Saskatoon, which entered the postseason as the sixth seed in the East, took out Edmonton on the road thanks to a timely snipe from veteran Rowan Calvert, while the Eastern Conference-leading Raiders only needed five games to dispatch the Red Deer Rebels- albeit also in overtime, thanks to Dallas Stars prospect Brandon Gorzynski.<\/p>\n

Prince Albert cruised to a 6-1-1-0 record against the Blades in the regular season, including back-to-back 4-0 shutout wins to close out the campaign.<\/p>\n

But the playoffs are a whole new game, and the Blades have already shown they’re capable of late comebacks and pulling off an upset.<\/p>\n

The Raiders and Blades both scored 21 goals in Round One.<\/p>\n

Projected 2026 NHL first-round draft pick Daxon Dudolph and rookie blueliner Brock Cripps paced PA with eight points each- including one game-winner each.<\/p>\n

Hulking Calgary Flames pick Hunter Laing and 2025 Edmonton Oilers selection David Lewandowski have also netted eight points, with both skaters burying three goals and five assists.<\/p>\n

The series also boasts a top goaltending matchup, with Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner taking on Michal Orsulak, who is ranked second among all North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting ahead of this year’s NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Gardner is battle-tested with three overtime games under his belt, plenty of playoff experience, and the most saves of any goaltender in the 2026 WHL Playoffs (217).<\/p>\n

Orsulak has only lost one match in regulation time dating back to January 10, 2026, and ranks third among all WHL goaltenders in playoff goals-against average with 1.99. He even got the primary assist on Cripps’ game-winner in Game 2.<\/p>\n

On the awards front, Prince Albert has finalists in nearly every category, highlighted by top NHL Draft prospects Rudolph and Orsulak, who are up for Defenceman and Goaltender of the Year, respectively, while making the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team.<\/p>\n

Cootes is in the running for the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy for Most Sportsmanlike Player, Cripps is in the mix for Rookie of the Year, and on the staff front, General Manager Curtis Hunt and Ryan McDonald are finalists for Executive and Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n

Saskatoon’s Gardner has been named a finalist for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as WHL Humanitarian of the year for a third-straight campaign.<\/p>\n

The last time these teams tangled in the postseason, Saskatoon was fresh off a 50-win campaign and the 2024 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular-season champs.<\/p>\n

While the Raiders proved to be a handful, the Blades moved on in five and eventually reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship.<\/p>\n

The next chapter in this historic rivalry begins on Friday, April 10, at 7:00 p.m. ST at the Art Hauser Centre, before shifting over to the SaskTel Centre for Game 3 on Tuesday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. ST.<\/p>\n

STAT PACK<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nSaskatoon Blades<\/strong><\/td>\nPrince Albert Raiders<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record<\/strong><\/td>\n34-27-5-2 (3rd East)<\/td>\n52-10-5-1 (First East)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Playoff Leaders<\/strong><\/td>\nHunter Laing (3G-5A, 8 pts)<\/p>\n

David Lewandowski (3G-5A, 8 pts)<\/p>\n

Rowan Calvert (3G-5A, 8 pts)<\/td>\n

Brock Cripps (3G-5A, 8 pts)<\/p>\n

Daxon Rudolph (3G-4A, 7 pts)<\/p>\n

Brayden Dube (2G-5A, 7 pts)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Season Leaders<\/b><\/td>\nDavid Lewandowski (17G-48A, 65 pts)<\/p>\n

Cooper Williams (23G-34A, 57 pts)<\/p>\n

Hunter Laing (24G-31A, 55 pts)<\/td>\n

Daxon Rudolph (28G-50A, 78 pts)<\/p>\n

Aiden Oiring (28G-41A, 69 pts)<\/p>\n

Brandon Gorzynski (27G-42A, 69 pts)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Leading Goaltender (Playoffs)<\/strong><\/td>\nEvan Gardner (4-1-2, 2.53 GAA, .916 save percentage)<\/td>\nMichal Orsulak (4-1-0, 1.99 GAA, .891 save percentage)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power<\/strong>\u00a0Play (Playoffs)<\/strong><\/td>\n18.5% (11th)<\/td>\n25% (8th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Penalty Kill (Playoffs)<\/strong><\/td>\n66.7% (15th)<\/td>\n69.2% (14th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
First Round<\/strong><\/td>\nDef. Edmonton (4-3)<\/td>\nDef. Red Deer (4-1)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Last WHL Championship<\/strong><\/td>\n–<\/td>\n2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

2025-26 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
\n<\/strong>Prince Albert leads 6-1-1-0<\/p>\n

September 19, 2025- Saskatoon 2, Prince Albert 4<\/strong>
\nSeptember 20, 2025- Prince Albert 2, Saskatoon 3<\/strong> (OT)
\nDecember 14, 2025- Prince Albert 5<\/strong>, Saskatoon 4
\nJanuary 31, 2026- Saskatoon 4<\/strong>, Prince Albert 0
\nFebruary 1, 2026- Prince Albert 3<\/strong>, Saskatoon 1
\nFebruary 14, 2026- Saskatoon 4, Prince Albert 5<\/strong> (SO)
\nMarch 20, 2026- Saskatoon 0, Prince Albert 4<\/strong>
\nMarch 21, 2026- Prince Albert 4<\/strong>, Saskatoon 0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

GAME BREAKERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saskatoon:\u00a0<\/strong>Six-foot-6 Hunter Laing and stalwart veteran Brayden Dube both enter Game 1 on five-game point streaks. Laing is coming off a second-straight 20-plus goal season and looks to find his scoring touch against the rough-and-tumble Raiders. The Calgary, Alta. product kicked off a second-period outburst against Prince Albert on February 14 to salvage a point in a 5-4 shootout loss.<\/p>\n

Prince Albert: <\/strong>Twenty-year-old Brayden Dube is in his final run with the team he’s played more than 230 regular-season games for. He’s netted seven points (2G-5A) in the postseason, including primary assists on two game-winners. The 5-foot-10, 184-pound winger was the top scorer on both teams in the regular season series with five goals in five games- including a two-goal outing in the season finale on March 21.<\/p>\n

GOALTENDING<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Saskatoon:\u00a0<\/strong>The ‘Gard’ of the goal brings plenty of spice to go along with his stellar goaltending. The 6-foot-1, 181-pound Gardner knocked out Prince Albert in Round 1 of the 2024 WHL Playoffs as a rookie, and while the wins haven’t been there in 2025-26, his numbers have still been solid. The 20-year-old is 1-3-0-0 against the Raiders with a 3.14 GAA and a 9.22 save percentage. However, he’s also iced a 36-save shutout against the rival team and had four games in which he surpassed 30 stops, including a 47-save effort in a 3-1 loss.<\/p>\n

Prince Albert:\u00a0<\/strong>He may be a WHL rookie, but Michal Orsulak has seen his fair share of high-stakes games. The 19-year-old backstopped Czechia to a silver medal at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship (yep, he’s the goalie who eliminated Canada in the semifinals). Orsulak hasn’t seen much of Saskatoon, appearing in just three games against the Blades, but he’s done well when called upon. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound netminder is 3-0-0-0 against the Blades with a 1.95 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage, and a 16-save shutout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

X-FACTOR<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Saskatoon:\u00a0<\/strong>Captain Tyler Pass and ‘A’ Rowan Calvert are two of the longest-serving Blades in modern franchise history. Both were a part of the powerhouse 2024 team that knocked out the Raiders and came just shy of the Championship Series. Can they climb the mountain in their final playoff run? Calvert came in clutch with the Game 7 overtime winner to eliminate Edmonton, while Parr registered the game-tying goal in Game 5- and dropped the mitts in a heavyweight bout the same night. Calvert led the Blades with seven points (2G-5A) against Prince Albert in the regular season, and Parr added another lamp-lighter.<\/p>\n

Prince Albert:\u00a0<\/strong>Rookie Brock Cripps has been playing with the poise of someone much older than his 16 years. Since the end of the regular season, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound defenceman has gotten a nod as a Rookie of the Year finalist and erupted to tie for the team lead in playoff points. Cripps has logged a goal and an assist in eight games against the Blades, but will try to build on his burgeoning game to send Prince Albert to the Eastern Conference Championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

SERIES SCHEDULE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\nGame<\/strong><\/td>\n		Visitor<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHome<\/strong><\/td>\nDay<\/strong><\/td>\nDate<\/strong><\/td>\nTime<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\nApril 10<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\nSaturday<\/td>\nApril 11<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\nTuesday<\/td>\nApril 14<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\nWednesday<\/td>\nApril 15<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5*<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\nApril 17<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6*<\/td>\nPrince Albert<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\nSunday<\/td>\nApril 19<\/td>\n4pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7*<\/td>\nSaskatoon<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPrince\u00a0Albert<\/td>\nTuesday<\/td>\nApril 21<\/td>\n7pm ST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

* = if necessary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Saskatchewan hockey fans, the only three words sweeter than ‘Game 7, overtime’ might be ‘Raiders versus Blades’. Of course, Game 7 overtime is how the underdogs from Saskatoon have set the stage for a second-round tilt against their bitter foes from Hockeytown North. Saskatoon, which entered the postseason as the sixth seed in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267351,"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":151,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"},{"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":1124,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1815"},{"term_id":38,"name":"saskatoon blades","slug":"saskatoon-blades","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":300,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1122,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1903"}],"class_list":["post-267333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-prince-albert-raiders","tag-saskatoon-blades","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/10155637\/PAvsSAS_Series-Matchup-1920_DRAFT-SHOW-2.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\/267333","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=267333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267347,"date":"2026-04-10T13:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267347"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:07:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:07:04","slug":"four-whl-coaches-named-to-canadas-staff-for-2026-iihf-u18-mens-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/four-whl-coaches-named-to-canadas-staff-for-2026-iihf-u18-mens-world-championship","title":{"rendered":"Four WHL coaches named to Canada’s staff for 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013 Four members of Western Hockey League coaching staffs have been named to Canada\u2019s staff for the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship.<\/p>\n

Friday morning, Hockey Canada announced its staff for the U18 championship, including Lethbridge Hurricanes Head Coach Matt Anholt (Prince Albert, Sask.), Moose Jaw Warriors Head Coach Mark O\u2019Leary (Owen Sound, Ont.) Kamloops Blazers Goaltending Coach Dan De Palma (Kamloops, B.C.) and Lethbridge Hurricanes Assistant Coach Ryan Aasman (Medicine Hat, Alta.).<\/p>\n

Anholt and O\u2019Leary will serve as assistant coaches alongside Head Coach Drew Bannister (Belleville, Ont.), while De Palma will assume the role of Goaltending Coach and Aasman serves as Video Coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to announce the coaching staff that is tasked with leading Team Canada at the IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship with the goal of winning a third-straight gold medal,\u201d Millar said. \u201cWith Drew\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 as a head coach in the National Hockey League, he is poised to be a great leader for our team, and Matt and Mark bring many years of experience in the Canadian Hockey League, as well as in international competition. We are confident in this group\u2019s ability to proudly represent Canada in Slovakia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anholt\u00a0recently completed his first season as Head Coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes after being named Associate Coach in 2025. He has also served as an assistant coach with Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary\u00a0is entering his sixth season as Head Coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors after serving as an assistant coach since the 2012-13 season, winning the WHL Championship for the first time in franchise history in 2024. Internationally, he was Head Coach of Canada Black at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was an assistant coach for Canada Red at the 2018 edition of the tournament.<\/p>\n

The support staff that will work with Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s Under-18 Team at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship includes:<\/p>\n