[{"id":267547,"date":"2026-04-23T12:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267547"},"modified":"2026-04-23T12:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:59:34","slug":"regina-pats-awarded-jim-donlevy-memorial-trophy-as-whl-scholastic-team-of-the-year-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/regina-pats-awarded-jim-donlevy-memorial-trophy-as-whl-scholastic-team-of-the-year-for-2025-26","title":{"rendered":"Regina Pats awarded Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as WHL Scholastic Team of the Year for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today the Regina Pats have been awarded the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as WHL Scholastic Team of the Year for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">This marks the first time in franchise history the Regina Pats have been recognized as WHL Scholastic Team of the Year. The award was first presented at the conclusion of the 1999-00 WHL season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Thanks to the efforts of Dwayne Hinger and Karen Fedor Klapatiuk, Education Advisors for the Regina Pats, the Club continues to be a leader in the WHL in providing and guaranteeing academic potential for all players.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Hinger and Fedor Klapatiuk bring a collective 70 years of experience in education, providing year-round assistance to players and families when it comes to making strong short- and long-term educational decisions. This includes support during the academic year, off-season, and even after players have graduated from the WHL \u2013 Hinger and Fedor Klapatiuk often assist alumni as they utilize their WHL Scholarship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For three hours each day during the season, Hinger and Fedor Klapatiuk facilitate what is affectionately referred to as \u201cPats School\u201d at the Brandt Centre. During \u201cPats School,\u201d players are monitored continuously and consistently to ensure progress in course work. Pats players receive one-on-one tutoring to help support academic success.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">During the 2025-26 season, the Pats high-school aged players successfully maintained an average of 91.23 per cent during the first semester of the academic year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In addition to the high-school aged players, the 2025-26 season featured 10 post-high school students registered in university classes and two others enrolled in Flight Training School.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL Scholastic Team of the Year Award was renamed in honour of Jim Donlevy, longtime WHL Director, Education Services, who passed away in August 2019 following a courageous battle with cancer. This marks the sixth occasion on which the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy will be presented to a WHL Club since its dedication.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: Regina Pats<br \/>\n2024-25: Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\n2023-24: Red Deer Rebels<br \/>\n2022-23: Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2021-22: Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\n2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19<br \/>\n2019-20: Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2018-19: Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2017-18: Saskatoon Blades<br \/>\n2016-17: Victoria Royals<br \/>\n2015-16: Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\n2014-15: Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2013-14: Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\n2012-13: Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2011-12: Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2010-11: Swift Current Broncos<br \/>\n2009-10: Tri-City Americans<\/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>This marks the first time in franchise history the Regina Pats have been recognized as WHL Scholastic Team of the Year. The award was first presented at the conclusion of the 1999-00 WHL season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":1937,"name":"WHL Scholastic Team of the Year","slug":"whl-scholastic-team-of-the-year","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1937,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"371"},{"term_id":42,"name":"regina pats","slug":"regina-pats","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":186,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1241,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1863"}],"class_list":["post-267547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-whl-scholastic-team-of-the-year","tag-regina-pats","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/23123039\/260423_Scholastic-Team_Regina-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2570773","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2570773.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2570773.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2570773.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2570773.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2570773\/2570773.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2570773.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267547","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=267547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267548,"date":"2026-04-23T11:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267548"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:59:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:59:43","slug":"chiefs-esler-bags-a-shutout-canada-routs-latvia-for-first-win-of-2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/chiefs-esler-bags-a-shutout-canada-routs-latvia-for-first-win-of-2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs&#8217; Esler bags a shutout, Canada routs Latvia for first win of 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Trencin, Slovakia-\u00a0<\/strong>Canada has earned its first win of the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship with a 6-0 rout of Latvia on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>2027 NHL Draft-eligible netminder Carter Esler (Okotoks, Alta. \/ Spokane Chiefs) earned a 19-save shutout in the win.<\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs star led the WHL with five shutouts in 2025-26 and was also a finalist for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy for Humanitarian of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Vandenerg (Ottawa 67s \/ OHL) gave the Canadians their first lead of the tournament just 52 seconds into the game and Tynan Lawrence doubled the advantage before the first period was out.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Valentini danced around his check for a beautiful solo effort as the reigning gold medalists slowly built their lead.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Canada erupted for three more goals in the third period to close the night out.<\/p>\n<p>Vancouver Giants star Ryan Lin (Richmond, B.C.), who is ranked 16th among all North American Skaters in NHL Central Scouting&#8217;s final player list for the 2026 NHL Draft, picked up his first point of the tournament with a secondary assist on a Dima Zhilkin (Saginaw Spirit \/ OHL) powerplay goal as Canada flexed its cycle game.<\/p>\n<p>Kohyn Eshkawkogan (Ottawa 67s \/ OHL) tacked on a fifth goal with a strike from the point before Zach Olsen (Calgary, Alta. \/ Saskatoon Blades) fired the puck top shelf in the final minute for his first international goal.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Zach Olsen goes top shelf to cap off a dominant 6-0 victory for Canada over Latvia in their 2nd game of the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/U18MensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#U18MensWorlds<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4JvS4yr1eV\">pic.twitter.com\/4JvS4yr1eV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Sports\/status\/2047322277268635930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Canada (1-0-0-1) will look to build momentum when it faces Norway (0-0-0-1) on Saturday, April 25 at 6:00 a.m. MT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2026 NHL Draft-eligible Jakub Vanecek scored the game-winning goal to lift Czechia to a 2-1 win over Sweden&#8230; The Tri-City Americans standout is ranked 31st among all North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting&#8217;s final rankings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trencin, Slovakia-\u00a0Canada has earned its first win of the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship with a 6-0 rout of Latvia on Thursday. 2027 NHL Draft-eligible netminder Carter Esler (Okotoks, Alta. \/ Spokane Chiefs) earned a 19-save shutout in the win. The Chiefs star led the WHL with five shutouts in 2025-26 and was also a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2343,"name":"2026 IIHF U18 World Championship","slug":"2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2343,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":2084,"name":"Jakub Vanecek","slug":"jakub-vanecek","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2084,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"227"},{"term_id":1636,"name":"Carter Esler","slug":"carter-esler","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1636,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"663"},{"term_id":1502,"name":"Zach Olsen","slug":"zach-olsen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1502,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"791"}],"class_list":["post-267548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","tag-jakub-vanecek","tag-carter-esler","tag-zach-olsen","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/23115853\/2026-WJC-Scores-1920-copy.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\/267548","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=267548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267551,"date":"2026-04-23T10:57:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267551"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:17:25","slug":"four-whl-alumni-among-those-ranked-no-30-through-no-21-on-chl-top-50-players-of-the-last-50-years-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/four-whl-alumni-among-those-ranked-no-30-through-no-21-on-chl-top-50-players-of-the-last-50-years-list","title":{"rendered":"Four WHL Alumni among those ranked No. 30 through No. 21 on CHL Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years list"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><i>The Top 50 players were selected through an initial media vote, with the final order determined by a weighted combination of media and fan voting. After unveiling players ranked No. 50 through No. 31 over the past two weeks, the CHL continues the countdown today, with full player bios available at <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/chl.ca\/chl50\"><i>chl.ca\/chl50<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to unveil the players ranked No. 30 through No. 21 on its Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years list (<em><strong>see below<\/strong><\/em>), a marquee initiative of the CHL\u2019s 50th anniversary season. The countdown recognizes the greatest players from the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) since 1975-76, celebrating the stars who have defined major junior hockey over the past five decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Four WHL Alumni find themselves ranked from 30 to 21 on the CHL&#8217;s Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years, including Connor Bedard (30), Mike Modano (28), Grant Fuhr (27), and Carey Price (22).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As part of the initiative, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/article\/canadian-hockey-league-announces-top-50-players-of-the-last-50-years\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a panel of media members first selected the Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years (since 1975-76)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The final ranking order was then determined using a weighted formula that combined media and fan voting to rank the players from No. 1 through No. 50. Over the last two weeks, the CHL has revealed the players ranked No. 50 through No. 31, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/article\/chl-unveils-players-ranked-no-50-through-no-41-on-top-50-players-of-the-last-50-years-list\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">beginning with No. 50 through No. 41<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/article\/chl-unveils-players-ranked-no-40-through-no-31-on-top-50-players-of-the-last-50-years-list\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">continuing with No. 40 through No. 31<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Today, the countdown moves on with the next group of players.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/hgkvddabdwsy4lassv6jm\/CHL-Top-50-Players-Player-Profiles-Media-Notes.pdf?rlkey=hoffzjn3qlpy5ivzb8yknr78i&amp;e=1&amp;st=89uf98mo&amp;dl=0\"><b>KEY FACTS &amp; MEDIA NOTES: CHL TOP 50 PLAYERS<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fo\/wf5yptws6qjihlxy2rvrt\/AKgb82sKWY631mB_D48hk84?rlkey=ulvr5e1xk8qzrdgab5f9f51ev&amp;e=1&amp;st=ht822wuq&amp;dl=0\"><b>MEDIA RESOURCES (PHOTOS, LOGOS, VIDEOS &amp; MORE)<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>30. Connor Bedard, Forward | WHL | Regina Pats (2020-23) | Chicago Blackhawks (2023-Present): <\/b>Granted exceptional status in 2020, Bedard became the WHL\u2019s first exceptional player and totaled 271 points in 134 games over three seasons with Regina. He capped his junior career with a CHL-best 143 points in 57 games in 2022-23, sweeping CHL Top Draft Prospect, CHL Top Scorer, and CHL David Branch Player of the Year honours \u2014 becoming the first player ever to win all three in one season. Selected first overall in 2023, Bedard made an immediate impact in the NHL by winning the Calder Trophy in 2024. Internationally, he won back-to-back World Juniors gold medals and was named tournament MVP in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><b>29. Denis Savard, Forward | QMJHL | Montreal Juniors (1977-80) | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens &amp; Tampa Bay Lightning (1980-97): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Savard was a dynamic star with the Montreal Juniors, recording 455 points in 214 games and posting three straight 100-point seasons. He won QMJHL Rookie of the Year in 1977-78 and QMJHL MVP in 1979-80 after a dominant 181-point campaign. Drafted third overall in 1980, Savard became one of the NHL\u2019s elite offensive talents, topping 100 points five times, winning the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993, and finishing with 1,338 career points on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>28. Mike Modano, Forward | WHL | Prince Albert Raiders (1986-89) | Minnesota North Stars \/ Dallas Stars &amp; Detroit Red Wings (1988-2011): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Modano totaled 294 points in 176 games across three WHL seasons with Prince Albert and earned WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team honours in 1988-89. Selected first overall in 1988, he became the first American from the CHL taken No. 1 in the NHL Draft. Modano went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and finishing with 561 goals and 1,374 points, long recognized as one of the greatest U.S.-born players in NHL history. Internationally, he won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and earned Olympic silver in 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>27. Grant Fuhr, Goaltender | WHL | Victoria Cougars (1979-81) | Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues &amp; Calgary Flames (1981-2000): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fuhr won 78 games in just two WHL seasons with Victoria, earning WHL Rookie of the Year in 1979-80 and WHL Goaltender of the Year in 1980-81 while helping the Cougars capture a WHL Championship title in 1981. Chosen eighth overall in 1981, Fuhr became the backbone of the Oilers dynasty, winning five Stanley Cups and the Vezina Trophy. A Hall of Famer, he finished with 403 NHL wins and remains one of the most accomplished goaltenders in NHL history. Internationally, Fuhr also won Canada Cup gold in 1984 and 1987.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>26. Luc Robitaille, Forward | QMJHL | Hull Olympiques (1983-86) | Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers &amp; Detroit Red Wings (1986-2006):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Robitaille amassed 424 points in 197 games with Hull and was named CHL Player of the Year in 1985-86 after a brilliant 191-point season. He also led the Olympiques to a QMJHL title and starred at the Memorial Cup, confirming his status as one of junior hockey\u2019s premier scorers. Drafted by Los Angeles in 1984, Robitaille became one of the NHL\u2019s top goal scorers, winning the Calder Trophy, producing eight straight 40-goal seasons, capturing the Stanley Cup with Detroit, and finishing with 668 goals and 1,394 points en route to the Hall of Fame. Internationally, he won gold at both the Canada Cup and World Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>25. Marc-Andr\u00e9 Fleury, Goaltender | QMJHL | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (2000-04) | Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks &amp; Minnesota Wild (2003-25): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fleury developed into one of the QMJHL\u2019s premier goaltenders in Cape Breton, earning the QMJHL\u2019s Defensive Player of the Year and Top Prospect (Michael-Bossy Trophy) honours in 2002-03. Selected first overall in 2003, he remains the only CHL goaltender ever taken No. 1 in the NHL Draft. Fleury went on to build a remarkable NHL career, winning three Stanley Cups, capturing the Vezina Trophy, playing more than 1,000 games, and finishing among the winningest goaltenders in league history. Internationally, he won Olympic gold with Canada and twice claimed World Juniors silver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>24. Corey Perry, Forward | OHL | London Knights (2001-05) | Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers &amp; Los Angeles Kings (2005-Present): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Perry set a London Knights franchise record with 380 points in 253 games and won OHL MVP (Red Tilson Trophy) in 2004-05 after a 130-point season. He then led London to its first Memorial Cup championship, earning both OHL Playoff (Wayne Gretzky 99 Award) and Memorial Cup MVP (Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy) honours along the way and capping one of the finest careers in Knights franchise history. Perry carried that winning pedigree into the NHL, capturing the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007, winning the Hart and Rocket Richard trophies in 2010-11, and building one of hockey\u2019s most decorated professional and international r\u00e9sum\u00e9s. Internationally, he is one of only two players ever to win all six major titles: the Memorial Cup, Stanley Cup, World Juniors, Olympics, World Championship, and World Cup of Hockey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>23. Doug Gilmour, Forward | OHL &amp; QMJHL | Cornwall Royals (1980-83) | St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres &amp; Montreal Canadiens (1983-2003): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gilmour helped Cornwall win the 1981 Memorial Cup, scoring the championship-winning goal, then exploded after the franchise moved to the OHL. In 1982-83, he led the OHL in goals, assists, and points with 177, winning both the Eddie Powers (OHL Top Scorer) and Red Tilson (OHL MVP) trophies while cementing himself as one of junior hockey\u2019s premier stars. A seventh-round NHL pick in 1982, Gilmour went on to a Hall of Fame career, winning the Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989 and finishing with 1,414 points in 1,474 NHL games. Internationally, he also won Canada Cup gold in 1987.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>22. Carey Price, Goaltender | WHL | Tri-City Americans (2002-07) | Montreal Canadiens (2007-22): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Price starred over four seasons in Tri-City, earning WHL and CHL Goaltender of the Year honours in 2006-07 and finishing with franchise records for career shutouts and shutouts in a season. His junior r\u00e9sum\u00e9 established him as one of the top goaltending prospects of his generation. Chosen fifth overall by Montreall at the 2005 NHL Draft, he became the winningest goaltender in Canadiens history. Price\u2019s peak in the NHL came in 2014-15, when he won the Hart, Vezina, Ted Lindsay, and Jennings trophies, cementing his place among the defining goaltenders of his era. Internationally, he won gold at the World Juniors, Olympics, and World Cup of Hockey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>21. Patrick Kane, Forward | OHL | London Knights (2006-07) | Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers &amp; Detroit Red Wings (2007-Present):<\/b> Kane delivered one of the greatest rookie seasons in CHL history in 2006-07, recording 145 points in 58 games with London while capturing the OHL and CHL scoring titles, along with CHL Rookie of the Year honours.<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> His lone season in junior instantly secured his place among the game\u2019s elite talents. Selected first overall in 2007, Kane became one of the NHL\u2019s most decorated stars, winning three Stanley Cups along with the Conn Smythe, Calder, Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Art Ross trophies, and later becoming the all-time leading scorer among U.S.-born players. Internationally, he won Olympic silver and was MVP of the 2018 World Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Further rankings from the Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years list will be revealed in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>CHL Top 50 Evaluation Criteria and Eligibility<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The CHL\u2019s Top 50 Players were selected by a panel of more than 40 media members who submitted ranked 1\u201350 ballots guided by a weighted evaluation framework designed to ensure consistency across eras. Panelists considered a player\u2019s impact beyond the CHL \u2014 including NHL and international success, major awards and championships, and Hall of Fame recognition \u2014 alongside on-ice achievement in the Member Leagues, reflecting what players accomplished during their time in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL through production, individual honours, team success, and sustained dominance. Selections also accounted for historical significance, recognizing milestones, era-defining influence, generational impact, and lasting contributions to CHL history.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To be eligible, players must have competed in at least one full season in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL during the CHL\u2019s 50-year history beginning in 1975\u201376; for players who competed in 1975\u201376 and also played prior to that season, their entire CHL career was considered when evaluating on-ice accomplishments.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CHL is proud to reveal the players ranked No. 30 through No. 21 on its Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2344,"name":"Mike Modano","slug":"mike-modano","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2344,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":1843,"name":"Grant Fuhr","slug":"grant-fuhr","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1843,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"459"},{"term_id":1531,"name":"Connor Bedard","slug":"connor-bedard","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1531,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"767"},{"term_id":436,"name":"Carey Price","slug":"carey-price","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":461,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1282"},{"term_id":11,"name":"WHL ALUMNI","slug":"whl-alumni","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":105,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":578,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2056"}],"class_list":["post-267551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mike-modano","tag-grant-fuhr","tag-connor-bedard","tag-carey-price","tag-whl-alumni","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/23105647\/260423_Top-30-21.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\/267551","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=267551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267546,"date":"2026-04-23T10:57:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267546"},"modified":"2026-04-23T10:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:57:07","slug":"blazers-forward-hurlbert-awarded-jim-piggott-memorial-trophy-as-whl-rookie-of-the-year-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/blazers-forward-hurlbert-awarded-jim-piggott-memorial-trophy-as-whl-rookie-of-the-year-for-2025-26","title":{"rendered":"Blazers forward Hurlbert awarded Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL Rookie of the Year for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Kamloops Blazers forward JP Hurlbert has been awarded the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL Rookie of the Year for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>WHL Rookie of the Year Finalists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Brock Cripps, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nKale Dach, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nJP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\nJacob Kvasnicka, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nBen MacBeath, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nMatias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, Hurlbert is the top-ranked U.S. born skater in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings, identified as the No. 12 skater in North America. He is the third player in Kamloops Blazers history to win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, following Scottie Upshall (2000-01) and Ron Shudra (1985-96). Hailing from Allen, Texas, Hurlbert is also only the second Texas-born player to be named WHL Rookie of the Year, with Arlington\u2019s Seth Jones having won the award as a member of the Portland Winterhawks in 2012-13.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 18-year-old Hurlbert was a relentless force all season long for the Blazers, registering 97 points (42G-55A) in 68 games to finish fourth in WHL scoring. His 97 points were tops among all WHL rookies and tied for first across the entire Canadian Hockey League with Nikita Klepov of the Ontario Hockey League\u2019s Saginaw Spirit (37G-60A).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Hulbert was named to the WHL\u2019s Western Conference First All-Star Team and is a finalist for the WHL\u2019s Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL Player of the Year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Hurlbert\u2019s 97 points go into the history books as the most productive rookie campaign in Kamloops Blazers history, besting the likes of Upshall, who recorded 87 points in 2000-01. Only three rookies have ever surpassed the 40-goal plateau in Kamloops Blazers history \u2013 Hurlbert, Latvian forward Rudolfs Balcers (40, 2016-17), and Upshall (42, 2000-01).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Serving as an alternate captain for the Blazers, the 6-foot, 182-pound Hurlbert finished among the WHL leaders in numerous offensive categories, including points (fourth), goals (T-4th), first goals (T-2nd), and assists (T-8th).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Of his 42 goals, Hurlbert scored 32 at even strength (76.2 per cent), with nine coming on the power play and one shorthanded. Of the WHL players to reach the 40-goal plateau, only Brandon Wheat Kings forward Luke Mistelbacher recorded a higher percentage of his goals at even strength, registering 36 of his 42 tallies at five-on-five (85.7 per cent).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Over the course of the campaign, Hurlbert logged three hat tricks on home ice, including September 20 versus Spokane, January 16 versus Prince George, and March 20 versus Vancouver. He also secured six four-point outings throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In November, Hurlbert was selected to represent Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alta. In February, he was named to the leadership group for Team West at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass, which was hosted in Langley, B.C.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Originally selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the first round (20th overall) of the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft, Hurlbert signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement on August 26, 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the player whose performance in their first season is deemed to be the most outstanding among all rookies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">A former owner of the Saskatoon Blades, Jim Piggott was a driving force in the formation of the Western Canadian Hockey League, now known as the WHL.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Along with Del Wilson, Piggott played a critical role in the unification of all three Major Junior leagues across Canada into what is now known as the Canadian Hockey League.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL Rookie of the Year Award is voted upon by WHL General Managers and members of the media.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2024-25: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips*<br \/>\n2023-24: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers*<br \/>\n2022-23: Ryder Ritchie, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\n2021-22: Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw Warriors*<br \/>\n2020-21: Connor Bedard, Regina Pats<br \/>\n2019-20: Dylan Guenther, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2018-19: Brayden Tracey, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\n2017-18: Dylan Cozens, Lethbridge Hurricanes<br \/>\n2016-17: Aleksi Heponiemi, Swift Current Broncos<br \/>\n2015-16: Matthew Phillips, Victoria Royals<br \/>\n2014-15: Nolan Patrick, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\n2013-14: Nick Merkley, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\n2012-13: Seth Jones, Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2011-12: Sam Reinhart, Kootenay ICE<br \/>\n2010-11: Mathew Dumba, Red Deer Rebels<br \/>\n2009-10: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer Rebels<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">* = also selected as CHL Rookie of the Year<\/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>Hailing from Allen, Texas, Hurlbert is only the second Texas-born player to be named WHL Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":2164,"name":"JP Hurlbert","slug":"jp-hurlbert","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2164,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","term_order":"150"},{"term_id":1935,"name":"WHL Rookie of the Year","slug":"whl-rookie-of-the-year","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1935,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"372"},{"term_id":40,"name":"kamloops blazers","slug":"kamloops-blazers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":82,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1183,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1618"}],"class_list":["post-267546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-jp-hurlbert","tag-whl-rookie-of-the-year","tag-kamloops-blazers","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/23094722\/260423_ROTY_Hurlbert-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2570638","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2570638.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2570638.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2570638.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2570638.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2570638\/2570638.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2570638.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267546","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=267546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267538,"date":"2026-04-22T12:55:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267538"},"modified":"2026-04-22T12:55:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:55:37","slug":"raiders-forward-cootes-awarded-brad-hornung-memorial-trophy-as-whl-most-sportsmanlike-player-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/raiders-forward-cootes-awarded-brad-hornung-memorial-trophy-as-whl-most-sportsmanlike-player-for-2025-26","title":{"rendered":"Raiders forward Cootes awarded Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Prince Albert Raiders forward and Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes has been awarded the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player Finalists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Braeden Cootes, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\nRyden Evers, Penticton Vees<br \/>\nJordan Gavin, Brandon Wheat Kings<br \/>\nMarkus Ruck, Medicine Hat Tigers<br \/>\nMatias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nAlex Weiermair, Portland Winterhawks<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Cootes is the first player in Prince Albert Raiders history to be named WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player. The WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player Award was first presented to Morris Stefaniw of the Estevan Bruins in 1966-67 and the Prince Albert Raiders played their first WHL season in 1982-83.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Hailing from Sherwood Park, Alta., the 19-year-old Cootes matched a career high with 63 points this season, accomplishing the mark in only 45 games split between the Raiders and Seattle Thunderbirds. In 2024-25, the 6-foot, 183-pound Cootes recorded 63 points in 60 games with the Thunderbirds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">During his impressive 2025-26 campaign, Cootes secured his 63 points (24G-39A) alongside a plus-27 rating and a mere eight penalty minutes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Acquired by the Raiders on January 6, 2026, Cootes served as captain of the Thunderbirds for two seasons prior to the trade.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 2025-26 season was full of milestones for Cootes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">After being selected by the Canucks in the first round (15th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Club on July 8, 2025. He then made his NHL debut with the Canucks in October 2025, appearing in three games and averaging 10:47 time on ice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Cootes returned to the WHL where he was once again a steady, two-way presence for the Thunderbirds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">He then represented Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording two goals in seven games, helping his nation to a bronze-medal finish.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Following his trade to Prince Albert, Cootes saw his offensive production increase, climbing from 1.35 points per game to 1.43 points per game in Hockey Town North. In total, Cootes collected 40 points (14G-26A) in 28 regular season games with the Raiders.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">During the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, Cootes has been a driving force for the Raiders, firing home 11 points (5G-6A) in nine games. The Raiders are set to continue their pursuit of the Ed Chynoweth Cup when they face the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship presented by Nutrien beginning Friday, April 24.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Originally selected by the Thunderbirds in the first round (10th overall) of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Cootes has appeared in 176 career WHL regular season outings, securing 162 points (64G-98A) along the way. Over three complete seasons, he has amassed a mere 42 minutes in penalties.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Noted for his talent, desire, and sportsmanlike attitude, Brad Hornung was revered in Western Canadian hockey circles. The Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy for the WHL\u2019s Most Sportsmanlike Player is awarded annually to the player who best combines those attributes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The trophy was rededicated as the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy in 2022 following his passing at the age of 52.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">A rising star for the Regina Pats, Hornung\u2019s career was cut short after the forward was paralyzed from the waist down following a hit in a game on March 1, 1987.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Since then, Hornung\u2019s courageous attitude and inspirational message of perseverance kept his connection with the game of hockey strong. A former amateur scout for the Chicago Blackhawks, Hornung was a staple in hockey rinks throughout Saskatchewan and a mainstay at past WHL Awards events. His No. 8 jersey has been retired by the Regina Pats.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player Award is voted upon by WHL General Managers and members of the media.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: Braeden Cootes, Prince Albert Raiders<br \/>\n2024-25: Berkly Catton, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\n2023-24: Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw Warriors*<br \/>\n2022-23: Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19<br \/>\n2019-20: Seth Jarvis, Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2018-19: Justin Almeida, Moose Jaw Warriors*<br \/>\n2017-18: Aleksi Heponiemi, Swift Current Broncos*<br \/>\n2016-17: Tyler Steenbergen, Swift Current Broncos<br \/>\n2015-16: Tyler Soy, Victoria Royals<br \/>\n2014-15: Rourke Chartier, Kelowna Rockets*<br \/>\n2013-14: Sam Reinhart, Kootenay ICE<br \/>\n2012-13: Dylan Wruck, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2011-12: Mark Stone, Brandon Wheat Kings*<br \/>\n2010-11: Tyler Johnson, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\n2009-10: Jason Bast, Moose Jaw Warriors*<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">* = also selected as CHL Sportsman of the Year<\/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>Cootes is the first player in Prince Albert Raiders history to be named WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":1663,"name":"Braeden Cootes","slug":"braeden-cootes","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1663,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":34,"filter":"raw","term_order":"639"},{"term_id":1240,"name":"Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy","slug":"brad-hornung-memorial-trophy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1240,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1030"},{"term_id":1241,"name":"WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player","slug":"whl-most-sportsmanlike-player","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1241,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1031"},{"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":1133,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1825"}],"class_list":["post-267538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-braeden-cootes","tag-brad-hornung-memorial-trophy","tag-whl-most-sportsmanlike-player","tag-prince-albert-raiders","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/22105114\/260421_Sportsmanlike_Cootes-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2569436","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2569436.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2569436.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2569436.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2569436.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2569436\/2569436.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2569436.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267538","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=267538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267542,"date":"2026-04-22T12:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267542"},"modified":"2026-04-22T12:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:50:16","slug":"giants-preston-scores-canadas-lone-goal-t-birds-goaltender-sklenicka-earns-massive-win-in-pair-of-iihf-u18-world-championship-upsets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/giants-preston-scores-canadas-lone-goal-t-birds-goaltender-sklenicka-earns-massive-win-in-pair-of-iihf-u18-world-championship-upsets","title":{"rendered":"Giants&#8217; Preston scores Canada&#8217;s lone goal, T-Birds goaltender Sklenicka earns massive win in pair of IIHF U18 World Championship upsets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Trencin, Slovakia-\u00a0<\/strong>A sellout crowd of more than 6,000 fans cheered Slovakia on to a 2-1 win over Canada on opening day at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship.<\/p>\n<p>The host team&#8217;s hard-fought victory marked the second of a pair of major upsets on day one, with Czechia also downing the United States 3-2 in overtime.<\/p>\n<p>Slovak hockey greats Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa, a WHL and Memorial Cup Champion who reigns as one of the Portland Winterhawks&#8217; top players of all time, were on hand to congratulate each country&#8217;s Player of the Game, goaltender Denis Celko and forward Tynan Lawrence.<\/p>\n<p>The Slovaks took advantage of home ice by jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the second period, but Vancouver Giants star Mathis Preston (Penticton, B.C. \/ Vancouver Giants) levelled the match with a powerplay one-timer off a backdoor feed from Adam Valentini.<\/p>\n<p>Preston is ranked 32nd among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and logged 44 points (18G-26A) in a shortened campaign with the G-Men and Spokane Chiefs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Giants forward Mathis Preston scores Canada\u2019s first of the tournament at the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/U18MensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#U18MensWorlds<\/a>!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HockeyCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HockeyCanada<\/a> is tied 1-1 with Slovakia late in the 2nd period.<\/p>\n<p>Tune in now on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TSN_Sports<\/a> 4! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c29asrmpPb\">pic.twitter.com\/c29asrmpPb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2047005188356186601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Top 2027 NHL Draft-eligible goaltender Carter Esler (Okotoks, Alta. \/ Spokane Chiefs) came on in relief in the third period after starter Gavin Betts (Kingston Frontenacs \/ OHL) went down with a lower-body injury early in the frame.<\/p>\n<p>The WHL Humanitarian of the Year finalist stopped two shots in the home stretch and was only solved by a penalty shot from Timothy Kazda.<\/p>\n<p>Canada (0-1-0) returns to the ice to battle Latvia (0-0-0) on Thursday, April 23, at 6:00 a.m. MST.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Marek Sklenicka (NHL CSS: 6) made 28 saves for Czechia to shock the United States 3-2 in overtime, while Red Deer Rebels defenceman Jiri Kamas (NHL CSS: 134) picked up a secondary assist on Michal Hartl&#8217;s game-opening goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trencin, Slovakia-\u00a0A sellout crowd of more than 6,000 fans cheered Slovakia on to a 2-1 win over Canada on opening day at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship. The host team&#8217;s hard-fought victory marked the second of a pair of major upsets on day one, with Czechia also downing the United States 3-2 in overtime.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":267543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2343,"name":"2026 IIHF U18 World Championship","slug":"2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2343,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":1522,"name":"Mathis Preston","slug":"mathis-preston","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1522,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":41,"filter":"raw","term_order":"777"}],"class_list":["post-267542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-iihf-u18-world-championship","tag-mathis-preston","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/22124948\/260422_2026-U18s.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\/267542","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=267542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267537,"date":"2026-04-22T10:36:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267537"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:59:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:59:04","slug":"rockets-forward-smith-awarded-doug-wickenheiser-memorial-trophy-as-whl-humanitarian-of-the-year-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/rockets-forward-smith-awarded-doug-wickenheiser-memorial-trophy-as-whl-humanitarian-of-the-year-for-2025-26","title":{"rendered":"Rockets forward Smith awarded Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as WHL Humanitarian of the Year for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Kelowna Rockets forward Shane Smith has been awarded the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as WHL Humanitarian of the Year for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>WHL Humanitarian of the Year Finalists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Carter Esler, Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\nEvan Gardner, Saskatoon Blades<br \/>\nAxel Hurtig, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\nRaiden LeGall, Everett Silvertips<br \/>\nBrady Ness &amp; Ethan Semeniuk, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\nShane Smith, Kelowna Rockets<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Smith is the second Rocket in franchise history to be named WHL Humanitarian of the Year, following Ty Hurley, who took home the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy in 2023-24.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">This marks the third consecutive season in which Smith was a finalist for WHL Humanitarian of the Year. He was previously recognized while a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers (2024) and Lethbridge Hurricanes (2025).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Hailing from Cessford, Alta., the 21-year-old Smith has served as a leader on and off the ice since joining the Kelowna Rockets earlier this season. Regarded for setting a standard of professionalism, accountability, and community involvement, Smith has been an active participant in numerous team-led community initiatives, including school visits, fan engagement events, and sponsor appearances. Regardless of the scenario, Smith has shown a genuine commitment to making a positive impact beyond the game of hockey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">A program that got its start when he was a member of the Hurricanes, \u201cShane Scores for Maia\u201d saw Smith donate $25 for each point he scored to the Canadian CMV Foundation, in honour of his niece, Maia, who was diagnosed with congenital CMV at birth. In total, Smith donated $1,700, and in the process raised awareness of congenital CMV \u2013 a common viral infection that can pass from mother to baby during pregnancy. CMV can cause health problems in some babies, which is why awareness, prevention, and early detection are important. CMV impacts one in 200 newborns in Canada.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 2025-26 season represented the second \u201cShane Scores for Maia\u201d campaign that Smith undertook.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">On the ice, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound Smith enjoyed a career season, recording 68 points (33G-35A) in 61 games split between the Rockets and Hurricanes. He was acquired by Kelowna from Lethbridge in November 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Originally selected by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the third round (51st overall) of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft, Smith has collected 183 points (93G-90A).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Smith and the Rockets will host the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota beginning Friday, May 22, in Kelowna, B.C.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy recognizes the work players do to help enhance the community in which they play. In May 2001, the WHL Humanitarian of the Year Trophy was named in honour of former Regina Pats forward Doug Wickenheiser for his contributions on and off the ice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Wickenheiser was a star with the Pats from 1977-78 through 1979-80, recording 352 points, including 158 goals, in 207 regular season games. During the 1979-80 season, he was named WHL Player of the Year and finished as the WHL\u2019s Top Scorer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL Humanitarian of the Year Award is voted upon by WHL General Managers and members of the media.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: Shane Smith, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\n2024-25: Kyle McDonough, Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2023-24: Ty Hurley, Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\n2022-23: Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2021-22: Luke Prokop, Edmonton Oil Kings*<br \/>\n2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19<br \/>\n2019-20: Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\n2018-19: Will Warm, Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2017-18: Ty Ronning, Vancouver Giants<br \/>\n2016-17: Tyler Wong, Lethbridge Hurricanes*<br \/>\n2015-16: Tyler Wong, Lethbridge Hurricanes<br \/>\n2014-15: Taylor Vickerman, Tri-City Americans<br \/>\n2013-14: Sam Fioretti, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\n2012-13: Cody Sylvester, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\n2011-12: Taylor Vause, Swift Current Broncos<br \/>\n2010-11: Spencer Edwards, Moose Jaw Warriors*<br \/>\n2009-10: Matt Fraser, Kootenay ICE*<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">* = also selected as CHL Humanitarian of the Year<\/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>Smith is the second Rocket in franchise history to be named WHL Humanitarian of the Year, following Ty Hurley, who took home the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy in 2023-24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":2342,"name":"WHL Humanitarian of the Year","slug":"whl-humanitarian-of-the-year","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2342,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":1918,"name":"Shane Smith","slug":"shane-smith","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1918,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw","term_order":"386"},{"term_id":1239,"name":"Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy","slug":"doug-wickenheiser-memorial-trophy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1239,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1032"},{"term_id":33,"name":"kelowna rockets","slug":"kelowna-rockets","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":166,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1096,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1627"}],"class_list":["post-267537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-whl-humanitarian-of-the-year","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-shane-smith","tag-doug-wickenheiser-memorial-trophy","tag-kelowna-rockets","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/22103625\/260421_HOTY_Smith-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2569431","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2569431.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2569431.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2569431.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2569431.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2569431\/2569431.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2569431.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267537","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=267537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267536,"date":"2026-04-22T10:19:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267536"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:19:54","slug":"eight-whl-players-named-to-canadas-roster-for-start-of-2026-iihf-u18-mens-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/eight-whl-players-named-to-canadas-roster-for-start-of-2026-iihf-u18-mens-world-championship","title":{"rendered":"Eight WHL players named to Canada&#8217;s roster for start of 2026 IIHF U18 Men&#8217;s World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> Eight Western Hockey League players have been named to the roster for Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s U18 Team to start the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL will be represented by one goaltender, three defencemen, and four forwards on Canada\u2019s roster to start the tournament. In total, Hockey Canada named three goaltenders, eight defencemen, and 14 forwards to the roster, which was selected by General Manager Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.) and Head Scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.), with support from Director of Hockey Operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), and Coordinator of Hockey Operations Jared Power (Calgary, Alta.).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Seven WHL Clubs will be represented on Canada\u2019s roster, with the Vancouver Giants boasting two players. Also represented are the Calgary Hitmen, Red Deer Rebels, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Spokane Chiefs, and Victoria Royals<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s U-18 Team \u2013 WHL Players<\/strong><\/p>\n<table style=\"font-weight: 400\" width=\"688\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\"><strong>Last Name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"87\"><strong>First Name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"180\"><strong>WHL Club<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"179\"><strong>Hometown<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\"><strong>Ht<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>Wt<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"46\"><strong>Pos<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Esler<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Carter<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Spokane Chiefs<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Okotoks, Alta.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">5-11<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">165<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">G<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Lin<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Ryan<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Vancouver Giants<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Richmond, B.C.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">5-11<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">176<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Verhoeff<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Keaton<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Victoria Royals (2024-25)<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">6-4<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">212<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">MacBeath<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Ben<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Calgary Hitmen<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Calgary, Alta.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">6-2<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">181<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Olsen<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Zach<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Saskatoon Blades<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Calgary, Alta.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">6-1<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">196<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Preston<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Mathis<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Vancouver Giants<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Penticton, B.C.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">5-11<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">176<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Jacobson<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Jaxon<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Brandon Wheat Kings<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Brandon, Man.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">5-10<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">183<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"105\">Hamilton<\/td>\n<td width=\"87\">Beckett<\/td>\n<td width=\"180\">Red Deer Rebels<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Saskatoon, Sask.<\/td>\n<td width=\"51\">5-11<\/td>\n<td width=\"40\">172<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In his second season with the Chiefs, <strong>Esler<\/strong> went 24-18-1-0 with a 2.80 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and five shutouts in 44 appearances. Internationally, he most recently helped Canada to a bronze medal at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was named a finalist for the WHL\u2019s Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL\u2019s Humanitarian of the Year. Esler is eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Lin<\/strong> enjoyed a second consecutive campaign with 50+ points on the Giants blueline, registering 57 points (14G-43A) in 53 games. He represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and was also named to the roster for Team West at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass, but was unable to compete due to injury. Internationally, Lin most recently helped Canada claim bronze at the 20225 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was also a member of Canada\u2019s gold-medal winning team at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship. Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, Lin is listed 16th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Verhoeff<\/strong> spent the 2025-26 campaign with the University of North Dakota following 75 games over two seasons with the Victoria Royals. From 2023-24 through 2024-25, the 6-foot-4, 212-pound right-shot defenceman tallied 47 points (21G-26A) as a member of the Royals. Most recently, he patrolled the blueline for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, bringing home a bronze medal. Verhoeff is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, listed fourth among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">With 51 points (7G-44A) in 67 games, <strong>MacBeath<\/strong> finished second in scoring among rookie blueliners this past season. The Hitmen rearguard represented Team East at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass. Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, he is listed 22nd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Olsen<\/strong> posted a career-high 34 points (18G-16A) in 57 games with the Blades this season. The right winger represented Team East at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass. Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, Olsen is listed 36th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Preston<\/strong> registered 44 points (18G-26A) in 46 games split between the Giants and Spokane Chiefs this past season. He represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and was named to the roster for Team West at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass, but was unable to compete due to injury. Preston was a member of Canada\u2019s bronze-medal squad at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, he is listed 32nd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In his second WHL season, <strong>Jacobson<\/strong> excelled with the Wheat Kings, posting 85 points (25G-60A) in 63 games, earning a place on the WHL\u2019s Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team. Internationally, Jacobson earned a silver medal with Canada Red at the 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge. Originally selected by the Wheat Kings in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Jacobson is considered a top prospect eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Recently named captain of the Rebels, <strong>Hamilton<\/strong> emerged with 62 points (24G-38A) in 67 games this past season. He represented Team East at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass. Originally selected by the Rebels in the first round (18th overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Hamilton is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, listed 33rd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s final rankings. He has yet to represent Canada on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship begins Wednesday, April 22, with Canada taking on Slovakia at 9 a.m. PT \/ 10 a.m. MT. Canada will also play Latvia, Norway, and Finland in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with medal games May 2.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For more information on the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iihf.com\/en\/events\/2026\/wm18\">IIHF.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s U-18 Team, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockeycanada.ca\/en-ca\/team-canada\/men\/under-18\/2025-26\">HockeyCanada.ca<\/a>.<\/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 will be represented by one goaltender, three defencemen, and four forwards on Canada\u2019s roster to start the tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":1958,"name":"Ben MacBeath","slug":"ben-macbeath","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1958,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"349"},{"term_id":1636,"name":"Carter Esler","slug":"carter-esler","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1636,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"663"},{"term_id":1522,"name":"Mathis Preston","slug":"mathis-preston","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1522,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":41,"filter":"raw","term_order":"777"},{"term_id":1518,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1518,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":29,"filter":"raw","term_order":"780"},{"term_id":1517,"name":"Keaton Verhoeff","slug":"keaton-verhoeff","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1517,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","term_order":"782"},{"term_id":1502,"name":"Zach Olsen","slug":"zach-olsen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1502,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"791"},{"term_id":1496,"name":"Beckett Hamilton","slug":"beckett-hamilton","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1496,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"795"},{"term_id":1461,"name":"Jaxon 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Winterhawks named winner of WHL Business Award for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today the Portland Winterhawks as the winner of the WHL Business Award for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">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<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Winterhawks were last recognized with the WHL Business Award in 1993-94. This marks only the second time in franchise history the Winterhawks have been named winner of the WHL Business Award.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Winterhawks celebrated their 50th anniversary season in the Western Hockey League by increasing ticket sales revenue by six per cent and surpassing 5,100 in average attendance, while expanding premium seating offerings, growing merchandising revenues, themed promotional nights, and community-driven initiatives.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For the Winterhawks 50th anniversary, six unique promotional nights were built out to celebrate the Top 50 Winterhawks Players in franchise history. This culminated with the unveiling of the top 10 players March 7, which included the surprise retirement of the jersey of the No. 1 player of all-time \u2013 Ken Yaremchuk.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Aside from the Club\u2019s 50th anniversary celebrations, the Winterhawks executed a number of Cultural Celebration theme nights, including Hispanic Heritage Night, Pacific Islander Night, Chinese Lunar New Year Night, and Pride Night.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The addition of LED rinkboards provided an improved game experience for fans, unlocking new game presentation elements, and also created new opportunities for sponsorship revenues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Prior to the start of the Winterhawks home schedule, the Club worked with the City of Portland and Rip City Management to execute $50 million in upgrades to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Digitally, the Winterhawks ranked among the WHL leaders in social media reach and streaming engagement, supported by strategic content and paid campaigns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The WHL Business Award is voted upon by WHL Heads of Business.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the WHL Business Award (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: Portland Winterhawks<br \/>\n2024-25: Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\n2023-24: Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2022-23: Spokane Chiefs<br \/>\n2021-22: Everett Silvertips<br \/>\n2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19<br \/>\n2019-20: Lethbridge Hurricanes<br \/>\n2018-19: Everett Silvertips<br \/>\n2017-18: Edmonton Oil Kings<br \/>\n2016-17: Regina Pats<br \/>\n2015-16: Victoria Royals<br \/>\n2014-15: Kelowna Rockets<br \/>\n2013-14: Seattle Thunderbirds<br \/>\n2012-13: Dave Chyzowski, Kamloops Blazers<br \/>\n2011-12: Corey Nyhagen, Moose Jaw Warriors<br \/>\n2010-11: Mike Moore, Calgary Hitmen<br \/>\n2009-10: Zoran Rajcic, Everett Silvertips<\/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 Winterhawks were last recognized with the WHL Business Award in 1993-94. This marks only the second time in franchise history the Winterhawks have been named winner of the WHL Business Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":2341,"name":"WHL Business Award","slug":"whl-business-award","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2341,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"4"},{"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":32,"name":"portland winterhawks","slug":"portland-winterhawks","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":181,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1185,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1822"}],"class_list":["post-267533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-whl-business-award","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-portland-winterhawks","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/21103822\/260420_WHL-Business-Award_1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2568315","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2568315.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2568315.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2568315.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2568315.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2568315\/2568315.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2568315.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267533","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=267533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":267532,"date":"2026-04-21T10:55:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=267532"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:55:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:55:55","slug":"campbell-awarded-allen-paradice-memorial-trophy-as-whl-official-of-the-year-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/campbell-awarded-allen-paradice-memorial-trophy-as-whl-official-of-the-year-for-2025-26","title":{"rendered":"Campbell awarded Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as WHL Official of the Year for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today Mike Campbell has been awarded the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as WHL Official of the Year for the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">This is Campbell\u2019s first time being recognized as WHL Official of the Year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Campbell, who hails from Surrey, B.C., recently completed his 15th season as a WHL Official, having first skated on a full-time basis during the 2011-12 season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 36-year-old Campbell has officiated over 600 WHL Regular Season games and nearly 100 WHL Playoff games over his career. Earlier this season, he was selected by the International Ice Hockey Federation as part of the officiating roster for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. He finished the tournament being named to the officiating team for the men\u2019s ice hockey bronze medal game between Slovakia and Finland on February 21.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Campbell has served as a steady presence within the WHL Officiating team, having worked through WHL Conference Championships for five consecutive seasons, including the 2026 WHL Playoffs. In 2022, he was assigned to the WHL Championship Series and Memorial Cup in Saint John, N.B. He was also a member of the WHL Officiating team for the 2018 and 2019 WHL Championship Series.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Outside of his time on WHL ice, Campbell has enjoyed great success at other levels of the game. In 2025, he was assigned to the IIHF Men\u2019s World Championship and World Junior Championship. In total, he has worked two Men\u2019s World Championships (2024, 2025) and four World Junior Championships (2020, 2021, 2023, 2025).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Named in honour of former WHL Referee Allen Paradice, the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy recognizes the WHL\u2019s top on-ice official and is voted upon by WHL General Managers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In addition to his many years of service at the WHL, Paradice refereed several large events in Canadian Major Junior hockey, including the 1977 Memorial Cup in Vancouver, B.C. During the 1980s, Paradice served as the WHL\u2019s Western Conference Officiating Supervisor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Winners of the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (since 2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">2025-26: Mike Campbell<br \/>\n2024-25: Mike Langin<br \/>\n2023-24: Jeff Ingram<br \/>\n2022-23: Chris Crich<br \/>\n2021-22: Chris Crich<br \/>\n2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19<br \/>\n2019-20: Jeff Ingram<br \/>\n2018-19: Brett Iverson<br \/>\n2017-18: Brett Iverson<br \/>\n2016-17: Brett Iverson<br \/>\n2015-16: Chris Schlenker<br \/>\n2014-15: Reagan Vetter<br \/>\n2013-14: Nathan Wieler<br \/>\n2012-13: Nathan Wieler<br \/>\n2011-12: Pat Smith<br \/>\n2010-11: Matt Kirk<br \/>\n2009-10: Chris Savage<\/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>Campbell, who hails from Surrey, B.C., recently completed his 15th season as a WHL Official, having first skated on a full-time basis during the 2011-12 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":267534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"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":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"24"},{"term_id":1311,"name":"WHL Official of the Year","slug":"whl-official-of-the-year","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1311,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"960"}],"class_list":["post-267532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-2026-whl-awards","tag-whl-official-of-the-year","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/04\/21102940\/260420_Official-of-the-Year_1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2568209","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2568209.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2568209.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2568209.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2568209.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2568209\/2568209.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2568209.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267532","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=267532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]