It’s been nearly two months since the Everett Silvertips started looking to backfill its head coach and general manager positions, and yeaahh this is definitely taking longer than it’s needed to.
The organization is showing signs of making these critical decisions, though, as well as a decision regarding their highly touted defensive prospect very shortly.
They’ve made it known they will go with two separate candidates to fill two positions instead of just having one person wear both hats like it was for three years under the recently departed Dennis Williams. Signs are pointing to the positions potentially being filled from within, too.
General manager
There have been plenty of candidates that have been on the Silvertips’ radar, according to Rajcic, but judging by the timing of what he’s said, and looking at some of the moves being made by the organization, it’s becoming apparent that these decisions (at least on the GM role) might have been made a while ago.
Mike Fraser has been the acting GM since Williams’ departure, and it’s worth noting that the organization has allowed him to take charge at the draft, in transactions and signings, such as 2024 first-rounder Mirco Dufour and second-rounder Jaxon Pisani, in his time as the interim GM.
Fraser has been a part of the Silvertips organization for six seasons now, initially hired on as the team’s head scout before the 2018-19 season. He later transitioned to the front office as the assistant GM before 2022-23.
While it’s entirely possible they go with an outside hire, the familiarity and already existing rapport Fraser has with the team and its operations might be enough for him to be considered the favorite to land the position.
Head coach
It’s not often a position of this caliber becomes available, as this is just the second time in 11 seasons a head coaching change has been made in Everett. The Silvertips have shown in taking their time that they are committed to making sure they get the hire right.
An internal hire would make sense here as well, with both assistants in Mike Field and Dean DeSilva having various experience levels throughout each of their respective coaching careers that warrant consideration.
Field notably was the associate head coach at Arizona State University for eight seasons before being brought under Williams at the beginning of last season.
Meanwhile, DeSilva has been an assistant coach in the WHL since 2018-19, but has never been a full-time head coach at any level. Much like Fraser, they might look favorably at his familiarity with the organization and his pre-existing relationships with players on the current roster.
And that brings on another point with just how important this hire is for Everett, with how much talent the current defensive-minded group features. And that’s not to mention that the next coach will likely coach exceptional defense prospect Landon DuPont during his impending Silvertips tenure. Getting a defensive-oriented mind at the helm can help alleviate the struggles the Silvertips had in these past playoffs with clogging the middle of the ice, and it could make the group even stronger than it already is.
Everett is one of just two WHL teams remaining with a vacancy at head coach, with division rival Spokane being the other.
Landon DuPont, Silvertips nearing a deal
While DuPont is the last 2024 first-rounder left unsigned to his WHL club, it’s becoming more and more evident an agreement between the Silvertips and him is imminent.
The indication is that the exceptional status defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, has enjoyed what he’s experienced from his time spent with the Silvertips organization thus far and is looking forward to the prospect of joining the club as soon as possible.
What’s the hold up? As far as is known, the decision for DuPont has nothing to do with the organization itself, but seemingly, according to Rajcic, is an issue of negotiations between his family and the WHL itself.
A player of DuPont’s caliber is more than worth the wait, and he is still expected to start the 2024-25 season with the Silvertips.
Other notable moves
With all this going on, the Silvertips have rather quietly been rebuilding with some newfound structural pieces.
It’s unlikely that Ben Hemmerling or Austin Roest make returns to the organization, as they each signed respective entry-level NHL contracts. Additionally, players like Tyler Palmer, Teague Patton, Dexter Whittle, Cade Zaplitny are leaving either due to graduating out of the WHL or signing elsewhere.
To compensate for the losses, Everett has made some quality acquisitions. This included during the draft, where the Silvertips took advantage of an offloading Medicine Hat and acquired Tigers forward and captain Tyler MacKenzie, who played in all 68 games in 2023-24, tallying 16 goals and 31 assists.
He adds a sense of leadership and experience that the organization will be looking to replenish with the losses of the aforementioned Hemmerling and Roest. He will likely be one of the three overagers to crack the Silvertips lineup come opening night.
In addition to MacKenzie, the Silvertips made a couple other trades, as they added to the forward group again this week by acquiring ’06-born forward Raiden Zacharias from Regina.
They also bolstered their goaltending by acquiring ’06-born netminder Jesse Sanche from Kamloops.
Replacing the likes of Hemmerling, Roest, and the rest of the moving-on overagers is never an easy task to accomplish. But if the Silvertips have proven anything across their history of never missing the playoffs, it’s that they know exactly how to replenish and reload, and they will continue to do so throughout the rest of this offseason.
Sound Of Hockey will have more on these topics as news breaks.
Header photo: Landon DuPont poses in WHL gear. (Jenn Pierce/WHL)
The Moose Jaw Warriors are headed to the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history, and one of the Seattle Kraken’s highly touted prospects is going with them. Moose Jaw took down the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series 4-2 on Wednesday night, sweeping aside the Winterhawks in four games. Junior phenom Jagger Firkus helped the Warriors to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup on home ice.
Firkus, with an assist on the opening goal in Game 4, continued to be on his game during the finals, finishing with two goals and three assists. His single-game high of the series was a two-goal, three-point night during Game 2 in Portland.
The second-round pick of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft concluded his dominant run during the WHL playoffs with 14 goals and 18 assists, averaging out to 1.60 points per game. In addition, this week he was named the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Player of the Year during the regular season, as he led the CHL with 126 points in 63 regular-season games.
Firkus will become the third current Kraken prospect to play in the Memorial Cup, joining Ryan Winterton in 2022 and Tucker Robertson in 2023. He will look to become the first to win it all.
Don’t be fooled by the sweep, the Winterhawks skated stride for stride with the Warriors for much of the series, as shown by three of the four games ending with the teams within two goals of each other. The Warriors just had more of a will to finish, taking the series while backed by some outstanding defensive efforts, as well as timely goaltending performances.
Warriors netminder Jackson Unger finished the series with an astounding .938 save percentage, only allowing eight goals to squeak by him all series. The series was a microcosm of his overall WHL-leading 15 wins during the playoffs, in which he posted an overall save percentage of .910 and a goals-against average at 2.91.
While Firkus was a huge contributor, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Denton Mateychuk was named the WHL’s Most Valuable Player during the playoffs. The nimble first-round defender finished second behind Firkus for total points with 30, leading the league in assists at 19.
All the while, forward Brayden Schuurman was arguably the most clutch player for Moose Jaw this series, as he had the game-winning goals in both Games 3 and 4.
Fellow Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth had just one assist during the finals for the Winterhawks.
Memorial Cup
Firkus and the Warriors will now head to Saginaw, Mich., for the Memorial Cup, where they will match up with the OHL champion London Knights, QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs, and the host team, the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.
It’s safe to say this tournament is getting the best of the best teams from across the CHL, as for the first time in CHL history all three league title winners won their respective championship series by sweeping their opponents.
The Memorial Cup is set for May 24-June 2 at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. Moose Jaw will open the tournament against the host Spirit on Friday, May 24.
In a past life, when I was a full-time sportswriter going to games and not just spewing nonsense into a Google Doc from my couch, I once had a moral quandary that I still think about to this day. During my tenure covering the Everett Silvertips and the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the Daily Herald in Everett, there was a time when, due to injuries, a local goalie prospect was asked to fill in for the Silvertips for a game on an emergency basis.
The player’s name wasn’t made public. As a journalist, that immediately caused alarm bells to go off in my head, but when I asked then Silvertips general manager Garry Davidson why that was the case, he said it was because that kid might want to retain his NCAA eligibility. Even suiting up in a WHL game could jeopardize it.
That rationale made perfect sense, and in the interest of not torpedoing a player’s career, I decided not to disclose his name.
But I was conflicted, and I know I wasn’t the only WHL writer in that situation. Rumblings about this topic could one day eliminate awkward conundrums like this one.
On the 32 Thoughts Podcast on Feb. 5, Sportsnet’s Eliotte Friedman said the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and NCAA are contemplating an agreement to allow CHL players to play in the NCAA.
“I think we are getting there, I really do,” Friedman said.
NCAA players could always pivot to the CHL – Exhibit A: Kiefer Bellows, who left Boston University after one season and joined the Portland Winterhawks for the 2017-18 season. Exhibit B: Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth left the Wisconsin Badgers earlier this season and also joined the Winterhawks. It doesn’t happen often, but that’s an option for players.
Due to NCAA amateurism rules, though, CHL players can’t do the reverse (outside of a few random, mysterious exceptions that seemingly slipped through the cracks, like Austin Swankler). Once players sign a contract with a CHL team, their NCAA eligibility is gone because they receive per diems and play against players who have signed professional contracts.
The agreement between the CHL and NCAA is far from a done deal, and it may be an uphill battle to get this over the line. According to a tweet from Jimmy Connelly of USCHO.com, NCAA coaches have little support for letting CHL players play college hockey.
According to a source familiar with the discussions, the potential @NCAA legislation that would allow @CHLHockey players to play @collegehockey after playing Major Juniors does not have strong support among NCAA D1 coaches and athletic directors. Likely a dead issue. @USCHO
However, with name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules offering monetary options, most notably with college football and college basketball, it’s hard to see this issue dying immediately.
Here’s what something like this would mean for the hockey world if an agreement was enacted.
Who benefits more: NCAA or CHL?
There are multiple trains of thought on this subject.
The consensus seems that this wouldn’t be good for NCAA programs because they are already getting the top American players, and the level of play is already high.
In other words, they don’t need the CHL’s player pool, and it might make recruiting more complicated than it is now. Although there are exceptions to this rule, generally, the top Americans play college hockey, and the top Canadians play in the CHL (I wrote a story for the Herald years back about how complex recruiting American players is for WHL teams like the Silvertips, and it’s one I’m really proud of!).
Now, you would think that NCAA programs would love a second chance at landing top American players like former Everett Silvertips goalie and California native Dustin Wolf, because, under the current rules, once he plays in a CHL game, he’s ineligible to play in an NCAA game.
However, the upside of stealing a CHL player once they can enroll in college doesn’t outweigh the risk of top Americans eventually staying in the CHL.
Maybe it’s paranoia, but perhaps there’s some truth to it. Good friend of the Sound Of HockeyPodcast Chris Peters mentioned on his podcast, Talking Hockey Sense, that a benefit to drafting CHL prospects is that NHL teams can sign them and keep them in junior hockey. NCAA athletes can’t sign professional contracts and maintain eligibility. Peters cited Shane Wright as an example, as Seattle signed him and gave him a chance to make the NHL roster before eventually sending him back to junior hockey.
For CHL teams, this is less complicated.
Yes, losing a top player to college hockey as soon as they’re drafted would sting – could you imagine Mathew Barzal leaving the Seattle Thunderbirds for the University of Denver right after being drafted by the Islanders? But getting players like Macklin Celebrini to play their 16- and 17-year-old seasons for the Thunderbirds – Seattle drafted him in the 2021 U.S. WHL prospects draft – before heading to college at 18 would likely outweigh those downsides for CHL teams.
Could this help NCAA hockey expand to the West Coast?
Perhaps. With the player pool expanding, thus creating more pathways to compose competitive rosters, it could create a push for some schools to make the leap and add men’s hockey.
What happens to other junior leagues like the BCHL?
Unfortunately, the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and other junior leagues like the United States Hockey League (USHL) will be collateral damage if this agreement is ever implemented.
Since the BCHL and USHL don’t allow players with professional contracts, several college-bound players gravitate toward these leagues as stepping stones from youth hockey to college hockey. Currently, players typically have a two-to-three-year window from when they are 16-to-18 years old to play in these leagues.
Without current restrictions in place, the talent of these leagues will dip quite a bit, as the CHL is viewed as a more advanced and prestigious league.
The agreement would also hurt teams in “U Sports,” Canada’s collegiate athletics governing body, whose teams typically receive the CHL players who either aren’t good enough for professional hockey or aren’t interested in it. With any agreement, CHL players have more options post-playing career.
Who would this agreement benefit the most?
Such an agreement would benefit the players, and that’s what makes this nearly a no-brainer in my mind.
Overall, I am intrigued by the potential benefits for players, who would no longer need to decide and commit to a path by the time they are 16. They can keep their options open while putting themselves in the best position possible.
You’ve seen a “player empowerment” movement in college sports, allowing athletes to earn what they’re worth through NIL deals and more freedom on where to play with the “transfer portal.” These new standards have created some consternation, though, particularly for head coaches in college football and basketball having to navigate a new reality.
NCAA coaches won’t like this. BCHL and USHL programs will take a significant hit. Some CHL franchises will hate seeing their players plucked by NCAA teams. “U Sports” won’t have the same CHL pipeline it’s used to seeing.
But ultimately, player development wins from all of this. That’s all that should matter.
Header photo by Brian Liesse. Photo courtesy of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
For veteran WHL players like Spokane Chiefs forward Shea Van Olm, playoff experience he has already garnered needs to rub off on the teammates around him. Harnessing confidence could be the difference between winning and losing in an upcoming playoff series.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play in two Memorial Cups now,” Van Olm, who played in the previous two Memorial Cups with the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Kamloops Blazers, said. “I’m trying to bring the experience I have and bring my advice and knowledge into our locker room now that shows what it takes to go on a deep playoff run.”
For Van Olm and other 20-year-old players set to graduate out of the WHL, the regular season has flown by too fast. He and others will look to extend their respective seasons for as long as possible.
Deep playoff runs are in the plans for every team qualified in the U.S. Division, especially the top two.
Portland Winterhawks: 46-15-3-1–96pts
Back on top of the standings are the Portland Winterhawks, winning their first U.S. Division championship since the canceled 2019-20 season. They will compete as the top U.S. seed in the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15, back when current Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand was on the team.
It’s been yet another week in the CHL Top 10 rankings for them too, checking in at No. 4, after statement victories against the Tri-City Americans and Wenatchee Wild. The Winterhawks pummeled the Americans on Friday night, 11-1. Forward Nate Danielson caught fire yet again, with two goals and two assists in that game, but so did the Winterhawks social media team with this laugh-out-loud tweet in response to the Kelowna Rockets.
At 7-0-1-0 in the month of March, they’ve outscored opponents 44 to 20. Their plus-123 goal differential for the season is still among the best across the entire CHL.
The Winterhawks are guaranteed to finish as either the first or second seed in the Western Conference and are sitting a point behind the Prince George Cougars for first place. They face three games in three days to round out the regular season this weekend, with a road trip to Tri-City on Thursday and then a home-and-home series with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday and Sunday.
With these upcoming games against eliminated opponents, as well as having an extra game in hand on Prince George, the weekend presents a good opportunity for the Winterhawks to catch and surpass the Cougars and snatch the top spot in the conference. Portland will face either Kelowna, Victoria, or Spokane in the first round.
Everett Silvertips: 43-18-2-3–91pts
The Silvertips are officially locked into the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs and are on a five-game winning streak. They will look to stretch the ice to continue to create offense in the playoffs.
“The biggest thing is staying strong and making sure we’re playing to our identity,” Silvertips defenseman Kaden Hammell said. “It’s been really good going into [this time of year] so far, and hopefully that means we can go into the playoffs feeling really good, too.”
Everett will stick to its foundations of rolling all four lines and finding the depth contributions from everyone on the ice.
The Silvertips will have home-ice advantage in Round 1 at Angel of the Winds Arena, with possible opponents being Wenatchee, Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, and Spokane.
Wenatchee Wild: 33-29-4-0–70pts
The final push for the Wild has felt like more of a nudge. There’s no real leadership presence on the forward side to drive the play themselves, and the defensive side looks bleaker by the game.
Outside of Graham Sward, their defensemen looked lethargic against the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday, leading to a 6-1 defeat.
A lack of physicality and no answers for dynamic players are a few of the causes for concern, especially when the Wild go to the penalty kill. The Wild have killed just 74.1 percent of their penalties on the season, sixth worst in the league.
The Wild wrap up their inaugural WHL regular season with road games on Friday in Victoria and Saturday in Everett. They are currently occupying the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but only three points separate them from the current sixth-seeded Kelowna Rockets, making them eligible for seeds four through six. With their likely playoff opponent being either Vancouver or Kelowna, just one point on the weekend clinches them home-ice advantage in the first round.
Spokane Chiefs: 29-31-5-1–64pts
What an awesome way to clinch a playoff spot. With the game looking destined for overtime, thanks to a tying goal from Chiefs phenom Berkly Catton with 2:10 left, Will McIsaac finished off found a winner with 13.6 seconds remaining in regulation. McIsaac claimed to have “blacked out” after from the high emotions.
🍀 | Where there’s a Will there’s a way (to the playoffs)!
With 13 seconds left in regulation, Will McIsaac punched our ticket to the post-season with his 6th goal of the year! Berkly Catton and Conner Roulette earned assists on the play.#GoChiefsGo | @walotterypic.twitter.com/bckzPD1eBd
Spokane coach Ryan Smith wants the focus to remain one game at a time, not worrying about playoffs until the official end of the season.
“We’ve got to worry about next weekend first,” Smith said. “We don’t know who we’re going to play, but it’ll be a tough matchup whoever it is. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’re focused on getting ourselves healthy and going the right way.”
The Chiefs finish up the year with road games in Seattle and Tri-City and have the possibility of finishing as high as the sixth seed. Spokane will likely face either Prince George or Portland in the first round, and due to strenuous travel to and from both cities, the series would be formatted in a two home, three road, two home format instead of a more traditional two-two-one-one-one.
The WHL playoffs are set to begin Friday, March 29. Series previews to come next week.
Header photo taken by Brian Liesse, courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds.
The final leg of the WHL regular season is on. Clinching scenarios, positioning battles, and many different teams making last-ditch efforts to make the dance have been just some of the storylines to come out of the league during the second half. With just two weeks until the season concludes, the time to push is now.
Portland Winterhawks: 43-15-2-1 — 89 points
A favorite throughout the year to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup has been the Portland Winterhawks, and for good reason. The Winterhawks have been one of the most well-rounded teams in not just the WHL, but the CHL as a whole. They rank second among all CHL teams in goals scored at 300 and eighth in goals allowed at 184.
The CHL itself agrees with the sentiment of Portland being among the best nationally, as the Winterhawks have been included in 19 out of the 22 CHL Top 10 lists put out bi-weekly throughout the season. With two weeks to go before the regular season concludes, Portland is exactly where it expected to be.
Winterhawks defenseman and Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth was on the CHL TopX Show this week, stating the importance of clinching home-ice advantage in the playoffs and being only a point behind Prince George for the Western Conference lead. “To secure that top spot is gonna be huge,” Jugnauth said. “It’s talked about in the room… it’s more important to us to win each game every night. [We] hope to be in first by the end of the season and hope to be in the Memorial Cup.”
Jugnauth has seven goals and 25 assists in 31 games since joining the Winterhawks in November. He made it a point to mention his team’s balanced attack being about as good as it gets in the league, which is spot on for what this group has accomplished. Nine total players on the roster have 15 or more goals on the season, and there are 12 players with over 30 total points, both of which rank among the best in the league.
“We’re a really consistent team,” Jugnauth said. “We play with skill and [have] poise with the puck every single night. I think the biggest thing is it’s hard for teams to handle the depth… We have four good lines, six good defensemen, and two good goalies… Over the course of 60 minutes, that just wears different teams down.”
Highlighted by Gabe Klassen who recently hit the 100-point mark on the season, James Stefan with 46 goals, top five in the WHL, and San Jose Sharks prospect Lucas Cagnoni leading all defensemen in assists (63) and tied for points with Wenatchee’s Graham Sward (76), this roster already had plenty of depth before the trade deadline.
Even with all the firepower the Winterhawks already had, general manager and head coach Mike Johnston felt they needed another forward piece to push them over the top. And that’s what he did when Portland acquired Detroit Red Wings first-round pick Nate Danielson from the Brandon Wheat Kings at the WHL trade deadline. Danielson has nine goals and 21 assists in 23 games played with the Winterhawks, and the team has benefited from the added production, going 19-4-0-0 since Danielson entered the lineup on Jan. 17.
So, what could do Portland in? Despite having a gargantuan 35-13-1-1 record against teams currently in playoff positioning, the thorn in the Winterhawks’ side throughout the year has been a team they might face in the first round of the playoffs. Portland has one more meeting with the Spokane Chiefs before the end of the season, having gone 4-2-0-0 against the Chiefs through their first six meetings, with Spokane winning two out of three of the games played in the Rose City this season. An upset could be in the works if the Winterhawks don’t get off to a fast start in the first few games in a potential series between the two.
The Winterhawks were semifinalists in last year’s playoffs, taking out the Everett Silvertips in five games in Round 1 before being swept by the Memorial Cup hosts Kamloops Blazers in round two.
With Memorial Cups in 1982-83 and 1997-98, as well as a WHL championship under Johnston in 2012-13, the current version of this Portland team is about as good as it gets in the league this season, and it is poised to make a run at a fourth Memorial Cup appearance.
Everett Silvertips: 41-18-2-3 — 87 points
Another team that’s been electrifying on home ice this season has been the Everett Silvertips. The environment in Everett is about as good as you can find in the Western Hockey League, and there’s no exception come playoff time. The cowbells will be in full effect when they ring in the first round at Angel of the Winds Arena at the end of March.
The Silvertips hold the third-best winning percentage in the WHL on home ice, having lost just twice since the calendar flipped to 2024, and they haven’t lost back-to-back games at home all season. Defenseman and Kraken prospect Kaden Hammell knows how the benefits of home ice will aid his team.
“Holding home-ice advantage is very big,”Hammell said. “Having your own fans behind you for the first two games is huge. I think every win matters at this point of the year for that exact reason.”
— x – Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 2, 2024
Top goal scorers in Austin Roest and Dominik Rymon continue the charge for the Silvertips going into the playoffs, and Everett is getting contributions from all four of its forward lines. The roster may not be as deep with talent like the aforementioned Winterhawks, but the Tips can still come at teams in waves and stay in games even when it seems like they’re out of it.
Just last week hosting the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Silvertips clawed back from two separate two-goal deficits to force overtime, gathering the point that would clinch them home-ice advantage in the first round. While they wound up losing in a shootout, they showed they’re a group that gets invigorated by the home crowd.
“Getting to play the extra home game in a series in front of your fans is as important as ever,” Roest said following the game. “In front of these fans, it’s the best place to play regardless. But especially come playoff time.”
The troubling part for this team might just be leaving the friendly confines of Angel of the Winds Arena, as the Silvertips are more mediocre on the road at 18-13-0-0. Also recalling the fact they haven’t won a game against top-seeded Portland at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in over two calendar years, it could mark some trouble if they wind up meeting in the later rounds.
The Silvertips have made the playoffs in every season since their franchise began play in 2003, but they’ve only made the finals twice throughout their 21-year history, losing in the inaugural 2003-04 season to the Medicine Hat Tigers in four games, and again in 2017-18 to the Swift Current Broncos in six games. They had trouble in the first round of last year’s playoffs, struggling to find success down in Portland yet again, and losing in five games.
As of now, Everett would play host to the Victoria Royals in the first round. The Silvertips went 4-0-0-0 against the Royals in the regular season, including taking both games from the Royals in a home-and-home this weekend, winning 4-1 on Friday in Everett, and 6-2 on Saturday in Victoria.
Wenatchee Wild: 32-26-4-0 –68 points
It’s been a tale of two halves for the Wenatchee Wild in their inaugural season in the WHL. Despite trading away Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie in January, the Wild maintained a steady pace in the Western Conference playoff picture, clinching their first ever appearance in the WHL playoffs.
There’s no true gamebreakers on this roster right now, though, and it could be a fatal flaw when they begin the first round. They have capable scoring pieces, like the team’s lone 30-goal scorer Kenta Isogai, and a pair of near-25-goal scorers in Briley Wood and Evan Friesen. But they now lack the elite talent that Geekie and Savoie brought in the first half of the season.
This is a team with some serious playoff experience, however. The Wild, when they were known as the Winnipeg Ice, made the WHL Finals last season, falling in five games to the Seattle Thunderbirds. The franchise has one Memorial Cup win in 2001-02, as well as three WHL championships in 1999-00, 2001-02, and 2010-11 from their days in Cranbrook, B.C., as the Kootenay Ice.
Seeing them be more careful with the puck in their own zone would help their goaltending, but it’s difficult to see how they will generate enough offense, especially against a clamp-down defensive opponent like the Kelowna Rockets.
Spokane Chiefs: 27-29-5-1 — 60 points
While they haven’t officially clinched a playoff spot as of now, being 10 points ahead of the Tri-City Americans with fewer than eight games left in the regular season makes it safe to assume the Chiefs will be the last team to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.
While they will likely be the eight seed, Spokane is not a team to fool around with. It’s hard to ask for much else from a top-line combination of leading scorer Berkly Catton (106 points), Conner Roulette (97), and Shea Van Olm leading the way, but they will need those guys to have huge performances, as well as timely goaltending performances from Dawson Cowan to survive past Round 1.
Catton became the fourth player in the WHL to surpass the 100-point mark, as well as the third to surpass 50 goals. His week was highlighted by a gorgeous move to get around two Victoria Royals defenders on the way to putting it in the back of the net.
BERKLY CATTON CANNOT BE STOPPED 🚨🚨
His 47th goal of the season and 4th point of the night gives the Chiefs a two-goal cushion at 1:40 of the third. Assist to Parrsy.#GoChiefsGopic.twitter.com/h8n4IuNt25
Assuming they clinch their spot, the Chiefs will return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus from postseason play, last making it in 2021-22 when they were swept by the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1. The Chiefs have two WHL championships and two Memorial Cup championships in franchise history, winning in both 1990-91 and 2007-08.
On the outside looking in: Seattle Thunderbirds (50 points) and Tri-City Americans (47)
There’s not much to write home about for either of these squads this season. The Thunderbirds have felt like a shell of their former championship-level selves all season, with many of their players graduating out of hte WHL and many of their returning players suffering long-term injuries at various stages of the season. And for the Americans, what looked like it was about to be a strong season from their quick start in October quickly got away from them. Both teams have solid foundational pieces that they will look to nurture for better results next season.
Neither team is officially eliminated, but the playoffs are becoming less likely by the day for these clubs.
Entry-level contracts signed
Austin Roest has been one of the more consistent players on the Silvertips this season, as he’s above a point-per-game pace at 32 goals and 31 assists in 56 games. The Nashville Predators drafted Roest in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, and last Friday, he signed his entry-level contract with the organization. Roest was focused on getting a deal done as soon as possible.
Austin Roest has signed an entry-level contract with the #Preds!
“It’s been talked about for the last month or so, so to finally sign it and make it official is an unbelievable feeling,” Roest said. “Ever since I was little, it’s been the goal and the dream [to make the NHL]. To get one step [closer] is an amazing feeling and tough to describe how it feels.”
Nashville did quite the business within the U.S. division this week. On Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche signed Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Jeremy Hanzel to an entry-level contract, then promptly dealt him to Nashville as part of the Yakov Trenin trade. In return, the Avalanche received Wenatchee Wild defenseman Graham Sward, along with a 2025 third-round pick.
The first round of the WHL playoffs are set to begin on March 29. Header photo by Brian Liesse, courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds.
This is Part II of a two-part series looking at the best players at each position group for every team in the WHL’s U.S. Division. Part I looked at the goalies. In Part II, we are coupling forwards and defensemen, as teams gear up for playoff pushes.
This is not a ranking of players, nor how they project as NHLers, rather which players are helping to lead their respective teams this season. We’ve listed them in order of their team’s place in the standings simply to point out which individuals you should keep an eye on down the stretch.
Forwards
Portland Winterhawks: Gabe Klassen
55 GP: 31 G – 61 A — 91 PTS, 1.67 PTS/G
Portland is stacked at almost every position, especially in the forward corps, which is lush with players who have the knack to score almost at will. But this season, Gabe Klassen has shown that he is the most seasoned of the bunch. Klassen, at 61 assists, is second among all overagers, but he can also shoot from almost anywhere in the attacking zone. And frequently, his shots find twine, as he sports an above-average 14.0 shooting percentage.
Honorable mention: James Stefan
Everett Silvertips: Ben Hemmerling
57 GP: 26 G – 52 A — 78 PTS, 1.37 PTS/G
The Everett Silvertips are no strangers to finding goals this year themselves, being are tied for second for total goals scored at 254 on the year. Contributing to over 30 percent of their goals this season has been center Ben Hemmerling.
Vegas was lucky to grab Hemmerling in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, a player with as much skill in open ice as any player in the Western Hockey League. Despite only having 26 goals on the year, he shoots like crazy, leading the entire WHL in shots on goal with 283. Hemmerling signed an entry-level contract with Vegas early this season.
HM: Dominik Rymon
Wenatchee Wild: Kenta Isogai
52 GP: 25 G – 49 A — 74 PTS, 1.42 PTS/G
With Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie gone (traded at the WHL trade deadline), Kenta Isogai is left to help pick up the pieces and carry the Wild towards the playoffs. He groups together speed, quick hands, and shot accuracy to make up for his size (5-foot-10, 158 pounds). He has taken games into his own hands with his offensive prowess and currently leads Wenatchee forwards in goals, assists, and points.
A larger feature on Berkly Catton was done last week, but to sum it up, he’s been sensational for the Chiefs this season. Catton will be eligible for selection at the 2024 NHL Draft.
HM: Connor Roulette
Tri-City Americans: Jordan Gavin
56 GP: 21 G – 35 A — 56 PTS, 1.00 PTS/G
Jordan Gavin has solid awareness of his surroundings and creates space by using his quick feet, and more often than not makes the correct decision on whether to pass or shoot. At just 17 years old, Gavin leads all Tri-City forwards with 36 assists on the year. He will be NHL Draft eligible in the summer of 2025.
HM: Jake Sloan (24-32–56)
Seattle Thunderbirds: Eric Alarie
51 GP: 16 G – 21 A — 37 PTS, 0.73 PTS/G
There aren’t too many currently outstanding forwards to choose from, given the status of the rebuilding Thunderbirds. So we’ll go with 20-year-old Eric Alarie here, who despite the slowed offensive production from his team all around, has put together a solid season to cap off his time in the WHL. Alarie, acquired from Moose Jaw in a trade on Oct. 4, 2023, leads T-Birds forwards in goals, assists, and points.
Defensemen
Portland: Lucas Cagnoni (SJS)
58 GP: 13 G – 58 A — 71 PTS, 1.34 PTS/G
Lucas Cagnoni is an excellent defender that can be an assist machine on the blue line for the Winterhawks, and he leads all WHL defensemen in helpers with 58. He leads all D-men in points, as well, with 71. Cagnoni makes the right reads at the right times and finds guys open in high-danger areas of the ice. Cagnoni was selected in the fourth round by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Everett: Parker Berge
58 GP: 12 G – 43 A — 55 PTS, 0.95 PTS/G
Acquired before the trade deadline from the Regina Pats, Parker Berge helped to beef up the Silvertips on the back end. As much as the Silvertips were getting scoring from their forwards, they needed more scoring from their defensemen, and adding a veteran leader like Berge was too good of a fit to pass up. Playing a disciplined game at only 18 penalty minutes on the season, the overager already leads the Silvertips in points by a defenseman at 56.
Wenatchee: Graham Sward (NSH)
54 GP: 13 G – 53 A — 66 PTS, 1.22 PTS/G
Graham Sward has been a consistent force within the Wild organization for the past few seasons. Captaining the Wild in their inaugural campaign, Sward serves as a role model for some of the younger guys on Wenatchee currently. He uses his size to his advantage, as Sward, over his 239-game WHL career, has collected 168 points. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Spokane: Saige Weinstein (COL)
51 GP: 8 G – 14 A — 22 PTS, 0.43 PTS/G
This might be more of a projection pick as opposed to current production, but Saige Weinstein could be ready to take the next step into becoming a really solid No. 1 D-man next season. Despite being smaller in size for defensemen at 6-foot-0, 190lbs, 18-year-old Weinstein makes up for it with his defensive positioning and isn’t afraid of the dirtier areas of the ice. It would not surprise me if Spokane eventually names him captain.
Weinstein shared with me what he does to make up for his smaller stature at a defenseman. “I don’t really let my size bring me down,” Weinstein, who has 231 penalty minutes across 173 career WHL games, said. “I play like I’m 6-foot-4. I’m pretty physical, and that’s just my game that I look to bring to the table every night for this team.”
Weinstein signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche in October, 2023.
Tri-City: Lukas Dragicevic (SEA)
53 GP: 12 G – 29 A — 41 PTS, 0.77 PTS/G
We’ve already said quite a bit about Lukas Dragicevic and what he could mean for the Seattle Kraken one day, selected in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft. But right now, he means a lot to the blue line of the Americans, as they vie for one of the final wild card spots in the Western Conference.
Dragicevic has elite offensive awareness that he uses to his advantage when the Americans go on the man advantage. He is in the top 10 in power-play assists by league defensemen with 16. We will have more on him in the weeks ahead.
Seattle: Jeremy Hanzel (COL)
52 GP: 11 G – 36 A — 47 PTS, 0.90 PTS/G
Jeremy Hanzel has arguably been the Thunderbirds’ best skater during this campaign, a returning member of the team that won the WHL championship in 2022-23 and made it all the way to the Memorial Cup Finals. Hanzel learned from graduated T-Birds on what it takes to succeed at this level. With 47 points currently, he will soon pass his 48-point total from last season. This is quite impressive considering the Thunderbirds offense ranks last in the entire WHL in goals for at 144 on the year. Hanzel was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche.
Header photo: Kenta Isogai battles for a puck with Jordan Gustafson. (Photo/Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds).
