Things are starting to shape up in the Western Hockey League, and the cream seems to have risen to the top of the standings. The dust has settled from the IIHF World Junior Championship, and the WHL trade deadline has come and gone. We recap the day of the deadline and the outlooks of the U.S. Division teams going down the stretch.
Trade deadline recap
Portland Winterhawks
Portland is firing on all cylinders. Winners of 10 of their last 12 games, the first-place Winterhawks made one of the final and arguably biggest splashes of the day by trading for Brandon Wheat Kings captain and Detroit Red Wings No. 9 overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Nate Danielson, in exchange for forward Nicholas Johnson (’05), defenseman Rhett Ravndahl (’05), and three future bantam draft selections, including first-round picks in 2025 and 2027.
With Danielson’s recent return from the WJC with three points in five games for Canada, the Winterhawks get yet another impact forward to group with Gabe Klassen and James Stefan as they hit the stretch run of the season.
Danielson, a 6-foot-2 center from Red Deer, Alberta, has 12 goals and 14 assists in 26 games played in the WHL this season.
Everett Silvertips
The Silvertips stayed quiet throughout deadline day, relying on the return of some key players to make an impact down the stretch.
Everett welcomed back to the lineup Dominik Rymon from World Juniors, where he played for team Czechia. Rymon promptly put up two goals and two assists in his first game back with the Silvertips, helping them pick up an 8-2 win up in Kamloops.
Bringing it back to my talk with Ben Hemmerling last Sunday, “Once we get our team healthier and continue to build off of these games, it’ll all come around.”
Seattle and Wenatchee
The Thunderbirds and Wild kept each other company through the ensuing madness around the league by swapping forwards, with Wenatchee receiving Cru Hanas (’05), and Seattle grabbing rookie Oscar Lovsin (’06). Lovsin notably potted the first goal in Wild franchise history and has nine points in 31 games played this season, while Hanas had four assists in his brief 20-game stay with the T-Birds.
Seattle Thunderbirds
Seattle sits at the bottom of the division standings, a far cry from where it was just a year ago when it took home the league championship. The Thunderbirds continued to sell at the deadline.
The T-Birds sent defenseman Braeden Wynne (’04) to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a seventh-rounder in 2024. The 6-foot-1, 19-year-old had just eight assists in 43 games with the T-Birds this year.
Seattle did take down Portland on Friday night with a gutsy 5-4 overtime victory, thanks to Coster Dunn’s monstrous game with four points, including the overtime winner.
Is it enough to claw back into playoff contention? While consistent goaltending and solid wins like Friday’s are positive signs, being last in the division might be too big of a hole to climb out of.
Tri-City Americans
The Americans added forward Mason Finley (’04) from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a 2026 eighth-rounder. Finley has three assists in 36 games this year.
The Americans finished off their day trading away defenseman Pasha Bocharov (’04) to the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for a fifth-round selection. With only 20 points in 184 WHL games, this was likely a corresponding move to free up roster space for Finley.
Spokane Chiefs
Spokane sits on the bubble of a playoff spot, and if they plan on making a run towards the postseason, they needed to make some changes with their forward lines.
The Chiefs needed better depth scoring, and they got it by trading for Kamloops Blazers forward Shea Van Olm (’04) in exchange for forward Cole Wadsworth, a 2026 second-rounder and a 2025 third. Van Olm had 17 goals and 38 points in his 89 career games with the Blazers. He’ll join up with Berkly Catton and Connor Roulette atop Spokane’s lineup. Wadsworth has only 11 points in his 71-game WHL career.
Kraken CHL spotlight
This was already a pro-Kitchener Rangers media outlet with Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf lighting it up in the OHL, but we just became even more pro-Rangers with that team acquiring Kraken 2023 first-round selection Eduard Sale from the Barrie Colts.
Sale had seven goals and 20 points in the 25 games played in Barrie, and he returned from the World Juniors after a point-per-game showing in seven games for Team Czechia. Sale joins a Kitchener team currently atop the OHL in total points.
I’ll be taking a break from WHL Weekly this next week to regather from the madness that was, but I will be back the week after to catch up on everything you need to know about from the U.S. Division.