[{"id":267525,"date":"2026-04-20T13:55:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267525"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:55:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:29","slug":"2026-nhl-draft-eligible-prospect-liam-ruck-named-tempo-whl-player-of-the-week-fuelled-by-co-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/2026-nhl-draft-eligible-prospect-liam-ruck-named-tempo-whl-player-of-the-week-fuelled-by-co-op","title":{"rendered":"2026 NHL Draft-eligible prospect Liam Ruck named Tempo WHL Player of the Week, Fuelled by Co-op"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today 2026 NHL Draft-eligible prospect Liam Ruck of the Medicine Hat Tigers has been named Tempo WHL Player of the Week, Fuelled by Co-op, for the week ending Sunday, April 19.<\/p>\n

Ruck, an 18-year-old product of Osoyoos, B.C., recorded five points (3G-2A) and a plus-4 rating in two games this past week as the Tigers secured a four-game sweep of the Calgary Hitmen to advance to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship presented by Nutrien for the second consecutive season.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot, 175-pound right winger, who was listed 20th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft, put forward a four-point performance (3G-1A) Monday, April 13, as the Tigers secured a 5-2 victory over the Hitmen in Game 3 of their second-round series. After falling behind 1-0 only 64 seconds into the first period, Ruck provided a quick response for the visiting Tigers, tying the game 15 seconds later. Once again trailing in the second period, it was a shorthanded effort from Ruck that evened the score 2-2. He then set up his twin brother, Markus, for what went into the books as the eventual game winner, giving Medicine Hat a 3-2 advantage 11:51 into the second period. Liam then completed the hat trick with an empty-net marker late in the third period.<\/p>\n

In Game 4 against the Hitmen, Ruck tallied one helper as the Tigers once again emerged victorious by a 5-2 score. Ruck\u2019s assist came with 5:04 to go in the second period, setting up Jonas Woo on the power play for what went into the books as the game-winning and series-clinching goal<\/p>\n

Ruck has collected nine points (5G-4A) in nine games to start the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien. He is tied for third in scoring among all Tigers.<\/p>\n

With 104 points (45G-59A) in 68 games, Ruck finished second in scoring among all players during the 2025-26 WHL regular season and was named to the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team. His performance also saw him named a finalist for the WHL\u2019s Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL\u2019s Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

Originally selected by the Tigers in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Ruck has notched 147 points (71G-76A) in 132 career WHL regular season games. A member of the 2025 WHL Champion Tigers, he has collected another 19 points (11G-8A) in 28 career post-season outings.<\/p>\n

Ruck and the Tigers continue their defense of the Ed Chynoweth Cup when they take on the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2026 WHL Eastern Conference Championship presented by Nutrien, beginning Friday, April 24 (7 p.m. MT), at Art Hauser Centre. Stream all the action FREE on Victory+.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tempo WHL Player of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

September 22, 2025: Ethan Semeniuk, Moose Jaw Warriors
\nSeptember 29, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
\nOctober 6, 2025: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips
\nOctober 14, 2025: Noah Kosick, Swift Current Broncos
\nOctober 20, 2025: Kooper Gizowski, Prince George Cougars
\nOctober 27, 2025: Caden Brown, Regina Pats
\nNovember 3, 2025: Max Curran, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nNovember 10, 2025: Luke Mistelbacher, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nNovember 17, 2025: Liam Ruck, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nNovember 24, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
\nDecember 1, 2025: Tarin Smith, Everett Silvertips
\nDecember 8, 2025: Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nDecember 15, 2025: Joby Baumuller, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nDecember 22, 2025: Mathis Preston, Spokane Chiefs
\nDecember 29, 2025: Jonas Woo, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nJanuary 5, 2026: Lukas Sawchyn, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nJanuary 12, 2026: Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nJanuary 19, 2026: Daxon Rudolph, Prince Albert Raiders
\nJanuary 26, 2026: Brandon Gorzynski, Prince Albert Raiders
\nFebruary 2, 2026: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets
\nFebruary 9, 2026: Carter Sotheran, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nFebruary 16, 2026: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips
\nFebruary 23, 2026: Owen Martin, Spokane Chiefs
\nMarch 2, 2026: Julius Miettinen, Everett Silvertips
\nMarch 9, 2026: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets
\nMarch 16, 2026: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips
\nMarch 23, 2026: Cameron Schmidt, Seattle Thunderbirds
\nMarch 30, 2026: Julien Maze, Calgary Hitmen
\nApril 6, 2026: Miroslav Holinka, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nApril 13, 2026: Terik Parascak, Prince George Cougars<\/p>\n

About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n

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":"

Ruck, an 18-year-old product of Osoyoos, B.C., recorded five points (3G-2A) and a plus-4 rating in two games this past week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"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":192,"filter":"raw","term_order":"731"},{"term_id":1478,"name":"Liam Ruck","slug":"liam-ruck","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1478,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":34,"filter":"raw","term_order":"805"},{"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":1205,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1722"},{"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":330,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2115"}],"class_list":["post-267525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-liam-ruck","tag-medicine-hat-tigers","tag-whl-player-of-the-week","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/20135041\/260420_POW_Ruck-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2567309","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2567309.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2567309.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2567309.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2567309.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2567309\/2567309.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2567309.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267525","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=267525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267526,"date":"2026-04-20T13:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267526"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:21","slug":"new-york-islanders-prospect-kvasnicka-named-sandman-whl-rookie-of-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/new-york-islanders-prospect-kvasnicka-named-sandman-whl-rookie-of-the-week","title":{"rendered":"New York Islanders prospect Kvasnicka named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka of the Penticton Vees has been named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 19.<\/p>\n

Kvasnicka, an 18-year-old product of Burnsville, Minn., recorded four points (2G-2A) and a plus-2 rating in four games as the Vees completed a six-game triumph over the Prince George Cougars to advance to the WHL Western Conference Championship presented by Nutrien.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound right winger tallied the insurance goal Tuesday, April 14, in Game 3, as the Vees posted a 5-3 win at Prince George. The win was Penticton\u2019s first after falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n

The following night \u2013 Wednesday, April 15 \u2013 Kvasnicka registered two assists as the Vees scored a 5-2 triumph to even the series 2-2. Kvasnicka\u2019s first assist came on a power play with 4:16 remaining in regulation, as he set up captain Nolan Stevenson for went onto the scoresheet as the game-winning goal.\u00a0 Kvasnicka added another primary power-play assist on a goal by Brady Birnie with 51 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

After being held off the scoresheet in Game 5, Kvasnicka made his mark when it mattered most Sunday, April 19, in Game 6. Back in the CN Centre in Prince George, Kvasnicka scored the game-winning and series-clinching goal 2:16 into overtime, helping the Vees advance to the WHL Western Conference Championship as an expansion team. Earlier in the contest, Kvasnicka survived a thundering check from Cougars defenceman Corbin Vaughan, who levelled the WHL rookie at the blueline. The heavy hit didn\u2019t slow Kvasnicka, who returned and pounced on a rebound in overtime to send the Vees to the WHL\u2019s final four.<\/p>\n

With 13 points (7G-6A) in 11 games, Kvasnicka is tied for fifth in scoring among all players in the 2026 WHL Playoffs. His seven goals are good enough to be tied for third across the WHL. Kvasnicka\u2019s three insurance markers are tied for first in the WHL Playoffs.<\/p>\n

Kvasnicka\u2019s first tour in the WHL has been a success. The U.S.-born winger led the Vees in regular season scoring with 85 points (35G-50A) and was named to the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team for his performance. He is also a finalist for the WHL\u2019s Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL\u2019s Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n

Selected by the New York Islanders in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft, Kvasnicka signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Vees in September 2025. The Vees acquired Kvasnicka\u2019s rights from the Wenatchee Wild in June 2025, sending a package that included forward Aidan Grossklaus, a first-round pick in the 2025 CHL Import Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft to Wenatchee.<\/p>\n

Kvasnicka and the Vees continue their inaugural WHL season Thursday, April 23 (7:05 p.m. PT), when they take on the Everett Silvertips in Game 1 of the WHL Western Conference Championship Series. Stream the entire best-of-seven series FREE on Victory+.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

September 22, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
\nSeptember 29, 2025: Chase Surkan, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nOctober 6, 2025: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees
\nOctober 14, 2025: Carter Casey, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nOctober 20, 2025: Andrei Molgachev, Calgary Hitmen
\nOctober 27, 2025: Chase Surkan, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nNovember 3, 2025: Dylan Dean, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nNovember 10, 2025: Kale Dach, Calgary Hitmen
\nNovember 17, 2024: Brock England, Seattle Thunderbirds
\nNovember 24, 2025: Colt Carter, Moose Jaw Warriors
\nDecember 1, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
\nDecember 8, 2025: Boston Tait, Wenatchee Wild
\nDecember 15, 2025: Tyson Moss, Medicine Hat Tigers
\nDecember 22, 2025: Ludovic Perreault, Victoria Royals
\nDecember 29, 2025: Mason Kraft, Wenatchee Wild
\nJanuary 5, 2026: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees
\nJanuary 12, 2026: Jacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees
\nJanuary 19, 2026: Prab Bhathal, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nJanuary 26, 2026: Andrei Molgachev, Calgary Hitmen
\nFebruary 2, 2026: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips
\nFebruary 9, 2026: Kale Dach, Calgary Hitmen
\nFebruary 16, 2026: Jonah Sivertson, Prince Albert Raiders
\nFebruary 23, 2026: Vojtech Cihar, Kelowna Rockets
\nMarch 2, 2026: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips
\nMarch 9, 2026: Easton Daneault, Lethbridge Hurricanes
\nMarch 16, 2026: Ben Harvey, Prince Albert Raiders
\nMarch 23, 2026: Poul Andersen, Red Deer Rebels
\nMarch 30, 2026: Brock Cripps, Prince Albert Raiders
\nApril 6, 2026: Vojtech Cihar, Kelowna Rockets
\nApril 13, 2026: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<\/p>\n

About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n

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":"

Kvasnicka, an 18-year-old product of Burnsville, Minn., recorded four points (2G-2A) and a plus-2 rating in four games as the Vees completed a six-game triumph over the Prince George Cougars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":2014,"name":"Jacob Kvasnicka","slug":"jacob-kvasnicka","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2014,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"292"},{"term_id":1911,"name":"Penticton Vees","slug":"penticton-vees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1911,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":143,"filter":"raw","term_order":"389"},{"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":192,"filter":"raw","term_order":"731"},{"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":88,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1097"}],"class_list":["post-267526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-jacob-kvasnicka","tag-penticton-vees","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-whl-rookie-of-the-week","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/20133607\/260420_ROW_Kvasnicka-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2567304","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2567304.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2567304.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2567304.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2567304.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2567304\/2567304.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2567304.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267526","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=267526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267528,"date":"2026-04-20T13:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267528"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:55:14","slug":"rockets-netminder-banini-named-mary-browns-chicken-whl-goaltender-of-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/rockets-netminder-banini-named-mary-browns-chicken-whl-goaltender-of-the-week","title":{"rendered":"Rockets netminder Banini named Mary Brown’s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Kelowna Rockets netminder Josh Banini has been named Mary Brown\u2019s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 19.<\/p>\n

Banini, a 20-year-old product of Edmonton, Alta., went 1-0-0-1 with a 1.12 goals-against average and .976 save percentage this past week.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound puckstopper made his first appearance of the 2026 WHL Playoffs during Game 4 of the Rockets second-round series with the Everett Silvertips, entering in relief on Wednesday, April 15. With the Rockets trailing the series 3-0 and having fallen behind 3-0 in the first period of Game 4, Banini took to the blue paint looking to keep his squad\u2019s hopes alive. He did just that, turning in a spectacular performance, making 29 saves on 29 shots to backstop the Rockets to a 4-3 overtime victory. Thanks to Banini\u2019s efforts, the Rockets registered three third-period goals to force overtime, before Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla scored the game winner 2:30 into the extra period. Banini was named first star of the game for his outstanding performance.<\/p>\n

Game 5 back in Everett gave Banini the opportunity to make his first start of the 2026 WHL Playoffs and he was excellent once again, making 53 saves on 55 shots. Unfortunately for the 2026 Memorial Cup hosts, it wasn\u2019t enough to extend their WHL Playoff run as Everett scored a 2-1 overtime triumph to advance to the WHL Western Conference Championship presented by Nutrien. Banini was recognized with third-star honours for his impressive night.<\/p>\n

For Banini and the Rockets, their season doesn\u2019t end. They will begin preparations for the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota, which gets underway from Prospera Place in Kelowna starting Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n

In his first season with the Rockets, Banini went 12-11-2-2 with a 3.35 GAA and .890 SV% in 29 regular season outings. Kelowna added the veteran netminder via trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors, sending a pair of conditional draft picks to Moose Jaw on September 17.<\/p>\n

Originally selected by the Warriors in the eighth round (160th overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, Banini owns a career record of 15-28-2-3 with a 3.68 GAA and .894 SV%.<\/p>\n

Mary Brown\u2019s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

September 22, 2025: Ethan Eskit, Victoria Royals
\nSeptember 29, 2025: Logan Edmonstone, Kamloops Blazers
\nOctober 6, 2025: Parker Snell, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nOctober 14, 2025: Evan Gardner, Saskatoon Blades
\nOctober 20, 2025: Burke Hood, Vancouver Giants
\nOctober 27, 2025: Andrew Reyelts, Penticton Vees
\nNovember 3, 2025: Eric Tu, Calgary Hitmen
\nNovember 10, 2025: Michal Orsulak, Prince Albert Raiders
\nNovember 17, 2025: Anders Miller, Everett Silvertips
\nNovember 24, 2025: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets
\nDecember 1, 2025: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars
\nDecember 8, 2025: Matthew Hutchison, Regina Pats
\nDecember 15, 2025: Eric Tu, Calgary Hitmen
\nDecember 22, 2025: Marek Sklenicka, Seattle Thunderbirds
\nDecember 29, 2025: Filip Ruzicka, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nJanuary 5, 2026: Xavier Wendt, Tri-City Americans
\nJanuary 12, 2026: Ethan Eskit, Victoria Royals
\nJanuary 19, 2026: Carter Esler, Spokane Chiefs
\nJanuary 26, 2026: Ethan McCallum, Penticton Vees
\nFebruary 2, 2026: Jayden Kraus, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nFebruary 9, 2026: Logan Edmonstone, Kamloops Blazers
\nFebruary 16, 2026: Grayson Malinoski, Seattle Thunderbirds
\nFebruary 23, 2026: Filip Ruzicka, Brandon Wheat Kings
\nMarch 2, 2026: Parker Snell, Edmonton Oil Kings
\nMarch 9, 2026: Andrew Reyelts, Penticton Vees
\nMarch 16, 2026: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets
\nMarch 23, 2026: Ethan McCallum, Penticton Vees
\nMarch 30, 2026: Harrison Boettiger, Kelowna Rockets
\nApril 6, 2026: Eric Tu, Calgary Hitmen
\nApril 13, 2026: Michal Orsulak, Prince Albert Raiders<\/p>\n

About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n

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":"

Banini, a 20-year-old product of Edmonton, Alta., went 1-0-0-1 with a 1.12 goals-against average and .976 save percentage this past week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":1641,"name":"Josh Banini","slug":"josh-banini","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1641,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"656"},{"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":192,"filter":"raw","term_order":"731"},{"term_id":33,"name":"kelowna rockets","slug":"kelowna-rockets","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":166,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1095,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1623"},{"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":290,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2080"}],"class_list":["post-267528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-josh-banini","tag-whl-weekly-awards","tag-kelowna-rockets","tag-whl-goaltender-of-the-week","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/20133127\/260420_GOW_Banini-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2567303","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2567303.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2567303.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2567303.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2567303.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2567303\/2567303.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2567303.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267528","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=267528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267522,"date":"2026-04-20T10:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267522"},"modified":"2026-04-20T10:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:58:49","slug":"silvertips-and-vees-to-battle-in-2026-whl-western-conference-championship-presented-by-nutrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/silvertips-and-vees-to-battle-in-2026-whl-western-conference-championship-presented-by-nutrien","title":{"rendered":"Silvertips and Vees to battle in 2026 WHL Western Conference Championship presented by Nutrien"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 WHL Western Conference Championship presented by Nutrien will feature the top two teams in the Western Conference, as the No. 1 seed Everett Silvertips take on the No. 2 seed Penticton Vees.<\/p>\n

Everett will host Games 1 and 2 on Thursday, April 23, and Saturday, April 25, respectively, before the series shifts to Penticton for Game 3 on Monday, April 27.<\/p>\n

The Silvertips took care of the 2026 Memorial Cup-host Kelowna Rockets in five games to advance, while the Vees needed six games to push past the Prince George Cougars.<\/p>\n

Everett\u2019s five-game set with the Rockets included a pair of overtime games to wrap things up, as Kelowna fought off the sweep win a Game 4 OT win. Phenom Landon DuPont ended things for the Rockets in overtime of Game 5, sending the Silvertips to the Conference Championship for the first time since 2018.<\/p>\n

Penticton\u2019s six-game dance with the Cougars was nothing short of dramatic. After dropping the first two games at the South Okanagan Events Centre, the Vees rattled off four straight victories to stun Prince George. Sunday\u2019s Game 6 triumph came in overtime, with New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka delivering the dagger.<\/p>\n

Everett laid claim to the season series between the Silvertips and Vees, going 3-1-0-0, with one win coming in overtime. Penticton\u2019s lone victory came October 25 \u2013 a 7-0 win at Everett. The Silvertips won the final two tilts between the two Western Clubs, defeating Penticton by scores of 6-3 and 4-3 (OT) on March 13 and 14, respectively.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned DuPont led the Silvertips in scoring against the Vees during the season series, registering six points (1G-5A) in three outings.<\/p>\n

For Penticton, the aforementioned Kvasnicka was productive, leading the Vees in scoring against the Silvertips with seven points (1G-6A) in four games.<\/p>\n

In net, Raiden LeGall went 2-0-0-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .895 save percentage for Everett. Anders Miller saw action in two games, going 1-1-0-0.<\/p>\n

Andrew Reyelts saw the bulk of time in the Penticton crease, going 1-1-1-0 with a 2.29 GAA and .929 SV%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Game<\/strong><\/td>\nVisitor<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHome<\/strong><\/td>\nDay<\/strong><\/td>\nDate<\/strong><\/td>\nTime<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\nThursday<\/td>\nApril 23<\/td>\n7:05pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\nSaturday<\/td>\nApril 25<\/td>\n6:30pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\nMonday<\/td>\nApril 27<\/td>\n7:05pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\nTuesday<\/td>\nApril 28<\/td>\n7:05pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5*<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\nMay 1<\/td>\n7pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6*<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\nSunday<\/td>\nMay 3<\/td>\n6:05pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7*<\/td>\nPenticton<\/td>\n@<\/td>\nEverett<\/td>\nTuesday<\/td>\nMay 5<\/td>\n7:05pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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

Everett will host Games 1 and 2 on Thursday, April 23, and Saturday, April 25, respectively, before the series shifts to Penticton for Game 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267527,"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":181,"filter":"raw","term_order":"35"},{"term_id":1911,"name":"Penticton Vees","slug":"penticton-vees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1911,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":143,"filter":"raw","term_order":"389"},{"term_id":36,"name":"everett silvertips","slug":"everett-silvertips","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":180,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1165,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1445"}],"class_list":["post-267522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-penticton-vees","tag-everett-silvertips","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/20104620\/EVTvsPEN_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\/267522","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=267522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267519,"date":"2026-04-20T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267519"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:57:07","slug":"whl-morning-skate-april-20-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/whl-morning-skate-april-20-2","title":{"rendered":"WHL Morning Skate: April 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

– Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka scored in overtime to eliminate the Prince George Cougars<\/p>\n

– Penticton won four straight games after initially trailing their second-round series 2-0<\/p>\n

– Penticton will face the regular-season champion Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference Championship<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/p>\n

It may not have been the final result he wanted, but top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Carson Carels was a wrecking ball in the final game of his WHL season. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound defenceman split the Vees’ defenders before rifling a shot top corner to open the scoring and had the primary assist on Lee Shurgot’s powerplay one-timer. Carels closes out his second trip to the WHL Playoffs with 10 points (1G-9A) in 10 games. The Cypress River, Man. product is ranked third among all North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/p>\n

Prince George 2, Penticton 3 (OT)<\/strong><\/p>\n

PEN wins 4-2<\/p>\n

It took another comeback, but the Vees’ magical inaugural season will continue. The B.C. Division champions were trailing 2-0 after Carels and centreman Lee Shurgot rocketed the Cougars to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, but Diego Johnson kickstarted the comeback by scoring 1:58 into the third period. Doogan Pederson found the equalizer as Louis Wehmann teed him up for a one-timer in the slot in the late goings. Finally, in the extra frame, Kvasnicka played hero as he buried a rebound to send his team to the Conference Championship.<\/p>\n

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

1- Bauer Dumanski, PG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 5 shots<\/p>\n

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

\u2013 22 saves, .880 save percentage<\/p>\n

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

\u2013 1A<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEED TO KNOW – Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka scored in overtime to eliminate the Prince George Cougars – Penticton won four straight games after initially trailing their second-round series 2-0 – Penticton will face the regular-season champion Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference Championship TOP PERFORMER It may not have been the final result he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267521,"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":181,"filter":"raw","term_order":"35"},{"term_id":1234,"name":"WHL Morning 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win four straight to tame Cougars, advance to Western Conference Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penticton earned its wins the hard way in Round Two.<\/p>\n

The B.C. Division Champions earned a 3-2 overtime win to eliminate the Prince George Cougars in Game 6 of their second-round series on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka delivered the series-clinching goal on the road.<\/p>\n

2026 NHL Draft-eligible Carson Carels and centreman Lee Shurgot opened the scoring for the home side, but Penticton clawed its way back in the third period.<\/p>\n

Diego Johnson scored his first goal of the playoffs just over a minute into the final frame, and Doogan Pederson found the equalizer with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.<\/p>\n

Penticton collected four straight victories after falling behind 2-0 after the first two tilts in the Okanagan.<\/p>\n

The Cats routed the Vees 4-1 in Game 1 and 6-2 the following night.<\/p>\n

It looked like more of the same results were on tap in Game 3 as Prince George jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but alternate captain Brady Birnie scored twice, including a late game-winning goal, for a 5-3 victory.<\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken prospect Ryden Evers notched a goal and two assists as the Vees came out on top in a 5-2 penalty-filled affair in Game 4 to bring the series to even ground.<\/p>\n

In front of a passionate crowd at the South Okanagan Events Centre, the WHL newcomers took their first lead of the series in a narrow 1-0 victory that saw Andrew Reyelts deny 25 shots for his first postseason shutout.<\/p>\n

Penticton went 44-14-6-4 in its first WHL season to claim the B.C. Division title and set WHL and CHL records for most wins by an expansion team in its inaugural season.<\/p>\n

Now, they’ll face the very team whose record they broke- the Everett Silvertips.<\/p>\n

The mighty ‘Tips claimed the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular-season champions with a franchise-best 57-8-2-1 record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penticton earned its wins the hard way in Round Two. The B.C. Division Champions earned a 3-2 overtime win to eliminate the Prince George Cougars in Game 6 of their second-round series on Sunday night. New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka delivered the series-clinching goal on the road. 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Carson Carels and centreman…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267512,"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":181,"filter":"raw","term_order":"35"},{"term_id":1911,"name":"Penticton Vees","slug":"penticton-vees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1911,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":143,"filter":"raw","term_order":"389"}],"class_list":["post-267511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-whl-playoffs","tag-penticton-vees","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/19223703\/PEN_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\/267511","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=267511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267509,"date":"2026-04-19T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267509"},"modified":"2026-04-19T11:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:00:48","slug":"vp-sports-entertainment-presents-wheat-kings-alumnus-mcqueen-inks-deal-with-anaheim-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/vp-sports-entertainment-presents-wheat-kings-alumnus-mcqueen-inks-deal-with-anaheim-ducks","title":{"rendered":"VP Sports & Entertainment presents: Wheat Kings alumnus McQueen inks deal with Anaheim Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roger McQueen has officially joined the flock.<\/p>\n

The former Brandon Wheat Kings centreman has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Anaheim Ducks, the NHL club announced Saturday.<\/p>\n

McQueen’s contract is set to take effect in the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

Anaheim selected the 6-foot-6, 198-pound forward with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old recently made his professional debut with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, scoring a goal and adding two assists in seven appearances.<\/p>\n

McQueen was originally drafted by the Wheat Kings fourth overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

He went on to pot 86 points (35G-51A) in 127 regular-season contests over parts of four seasons, highlighted by a 21-goal campaign in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

The Saskatoon, Sask. product was poised for a breakout year the following season after burying four goals in the season-opener, but saw his year limited by injury.<\/p>\n

He managed to return for the home stretch of the regular season and playoffs.<\/p>\n

McQueen posted another six points (5G-1A) in seven games in two trips to the postseason.<\/p>\n

He played the 2025-26 season with Providence College, where he netted 27 points (11G-16A) in 36 games, while earning Hockey East Rookie of the Year honours.<\/p>\n

Of the nine players developed in the WHL who were selected in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, McQueen is the sixth skater to sign their entry-level contract, joining Radim Mrtka (Buffalo), Ben Kindel (Pittsburgh Penguins), Carter Bear (Detroit), Braeden Cootes (Vancouver), and Lynden Lakovic (Washington).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roger McQueen has officially joined the flock. The former Brandon Wheat Kings centreman has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Anaheim Ducks, the NHL club announced Saturday. McQueen’s contract is set to take effect in the 2026-27 season. Anaheim selected the 6-foot-6, 198-pound forward with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":1528,"name":"WHL to NHL","slug":"whl-to-nhl","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1528,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":114,"filter":"raw","term_order":"767"},{"term_id":1302,"name":"Roger McQueen","slug":"roger-mcqueen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1302,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"965"},{"term_id":1205,"name":"Entry-Level Contract","slug":"entry-level-contract","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1060"},{"term_id":25,"name":"brandon wheat kings","slug":"brandon-wheat-kings","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":165,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1046,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1227"}],"class_list":["post-267509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-whl-to-nhl","tag-roger-mcqueen","tag-entry-level-contract","tag-brandon-wheat-kings","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/19110040\/McQueen_NHL-Signings-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\/267509","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=267509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]