It goes without saying that the Brandon Wheat Kings are the top team in the WHL’s Eastern Conference this season. That being said, the early results in the East seem to indicate that we are going to be in for some tight races.
This past weekend saw Calgary and Red Deer face off in a home-and-home in what was most likely a preview of what the Central Division race is going to look like. Calgary got the upper hand , beating Red Deer at home on Friday and then picking up a point Saturday in a shootout loss. Speaking of which, how terrifying must it be to try and kill off a Hitmen power play when they have Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean patrolling the offensive blueline? The two combined for four points with the man advantage on Friday and Bean added two more goals Saturday. Free advice: Stay out of the box when playing the Hitmen.
Brandon hasn’t had Tim McGauley, who is nursing an injury, but that hasn’t stopped the Wheat Kings from lighting up the scoreboard. They are scoring at a crisp 5.3 goals per game so far—a total boosted by a 13-1 pasting of the Kootenay Ice on Friday.
Surprisingly, the Wheat Kings are not alone at the top of the standings at the moment, which brings us to our weekly WHL musings.
Break up the Moose Jaw Warriors
During the summer, it seemed inevitable that Moose Jaw’s Brayden Point was going to be the top player on the trade block. It made sense of course: The Warriors missed the playoffs last season and it didn’t seem that their prospects this year were going to get any better so why not move your best player and stock up?
Well, the Warriors don’t seem to be in the trading mood. They’ve burst out of the gates with a 4-0-1-1 record and are the only WHL team yet to lose in regulation. Oh, and Point? All he has done is score six goals and 12 points in four games since being returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It hasn’t just been Point though, the best forward in the league according to our pre-season CHL coaches poll. Sixteen-year-old rookie import Nikita Popugaev has adapted well, potting five goals already. Dryden Hunt is off to a strong start and rookie Noah Gregor has given Moose Jaw some depth early on. Last year, the Warriors allowed the fourth most goals in the league but they are playing stout defensively early on and goalie Zach Sawchenko has raised his save percentage by .025 so far.
The line of Duke-Hawryluk-Shmyr combine for 10 points to up end the Kootenay Ice 13-1 at Westman Place! #GoldRush pic.twitter.com/itARxJyfp7
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) October 10, 2015
If the Warriors keep this up, teams dreaming of landing Point will have to look elsewhere.
Hurricane watch
To say things have been bad in Lethbridge over the past three or four seasons would be an understatement. Poor performances on the ice and player defections put the franchise’s future in jeopardy. Last year they brought Peter Anholt in as head coach mid-way through the season to stabilize things. Anholt moved up into the general manager’s role this season and the Hurricanes are coming to life.
Anholt has some solid young pieces in place that could keep the Hurricanes in the playoff hunt this year and beyond. Goalie Stuart Skinner is as good as they come and this season marked the debut of 16-year-old Jordy Bellerive. With those two leading the way, the Hurricanes won’t be the push overs they were in recent years, and in fact, just might be a playoff team this season—just ask WHL coaches.
Everett finding a way
The Everett Silvertips did not have a good summer. Leading scorer Nikita Scherbak is now a pro, they traded Ivan Nikolishin and lost out on wunderkind Auston Matthews to Swiss gold. Well, Matthews probably isn’t getting paid in gold but the thought of pro hockey overseas was more of a draw to the 2016 top prospect than playing in the WHL. Add all of that with first-round draft pick Tyson Jost preferring to stay in the BCHL to pursue the NCAA route and things were looking bleak.
But the Silvertips have not let those losses affect them, yet. They are the early leaders in the U.S. Division with a 4-1-0-0 record with head coach Kevin Constantine squeezing everything he can out his roster, as per usual. Everett has a good goalie in Carter Hart and is always strong defensively, led this year by Montreal Canadiens top pick Noah Juulsen. That has been enough early on for the Silvertips.
Can Everett keep it up? They will have some strong challenges from Seattle and Portland but so far, they are the top dogs.
WHL Player of the Week
Jon Martin, RW, Swift Current Broncos
Martin started the year with Kootenay, but the Ice had too many overagers so he was sent to Swift Current. What a deal this has been for the Broncos. Martin’s first three games in his new home were all last week and he potted six goals. He added a couple of assists as well for a nice eight-point week.
2016 NHL Draft-eligible of the Week
Jake Bean, D, Calgary Hitmen
The Hitmen blueliner was on fire, scoring four times and adding a couple of helpers as Calgary took three big points from the Red Deer Rebels. Bean now has five goals on the season which has already equaled his total from last year. He’s manning the point on the Calgary power play along with Travis Sanheim and it’s hard to find a better combination in the league. Look for Bean’s numbers to grow even more.