The East Division has belonged to the Brandon Wheat Kings for most of the year. They turned it on in the second half and have scored a ton of goals. Can anyone unseat them? Well, there’s a lot of talent in this division which makes all these games worth watching.
Full previews of the other divisions can be found here:
U.S. Division
B.C. Division
Central Division
Here is a breakdown of the first round with some help from our friends at WHLstats.ca.
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Brandon Wheat Kings (48-18-4-2, 1st place East Div.)
Edmonton Oil Kings (29-36-6-1, 2nd Wild Card)
Head to head Edmonton 3-1
Power Play BDN 23.4% (4th), EDM 22.4% (9th)
Penalty Kill BDN 81.4% (5th), EDM 77.1 % (17th)
EstFC BDN 58.6%, EDM 54.1%
PDO BDN 101.46, EDM 96.45
Key Players
Brandon Jayce Hawryluk, C (47-59-106), Nolan Patrick, C (41-61-102), Ivan Provorov, D (21-52-73), Jordan Papirny, G (2.61 GAA, .910)
Edmonton Brett Pollock, LW (30-48-78), Dysin Mayo, D (6-37-43), Aaron Irving ,D, (9-31-40)
The Wheat Kings find themselves in the same place as last season: The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with an opening-round match-up against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
With depth all up and down the lineup, two 100-point scorers and a puck-moving defenceman who can score with the best of them, Brandon is the WHL’s most explosive team. Provorov and Kale Clague get the engine going and get the puck to any of their three lines of scoring forwards. They have the experience, the depth and Papirny has held down the fort. Last year ended in the final with a sweep, but you have to think that has only made them hungrier this year.
With 1.552, Hawryluk was second in primary points per game according to Prospect-Stats.com. (Larry MacDougal/CP)
The Oil Kings had to beat Medicine Hat on Tuesday to qualify for the playoffs, despite having fewer wins than the Tigers. They’re here now and their reward is Brandon. To make their task more daunting they will be without starting goalie Patrick Dea, who is out with an injury. Former Vancouver Giant Peyton Lee will step in, which is much easier said than done. They have a couple of scorers in Pollock, Lane Bauer and Brandon Baddock but can’t come close to matching what’s lining up against them.
Prediction
This one will be over quickly. Despite Edmonton beating them three times in the regular season, Brandon will overwhelm the Oil Kings. Wheaties in four.
Prince Albert Raiders (38-26-7-1, 2nd place East Div.)
Moose Jaw Warriors (36-27-7-2, 3rd place East Div.)
Head to head Moose Jaw 6-2
Power Play PA 18% (19th), MJ 22.5% (8th)
Penalty Kill PA 78.4% (14th), MJ 79.8% (7th)
EstFC PA 49.5%, MJ 45.3%
PDO PA 100.08 MJ 102.21
Key Players
Prince Albert Reid Gardiner, RW (43-49-92), Jesse Lees, D (23-35-58), Jordan Tkatch, C (24-41-65), Rylan Parenteau, G (2.82 GAA .913)
Moose Jaw Brayden Point, C (35-53-88), Dryden Hunt, LW (58-58-116), Noah Gregor, C (28-45-73), Zach Sawchenko, G (3.04 GAA, .916)
Another match up that has the potential to be a highly entertaining affair. The Raiders have been holding down second place in the East Division for the majority of the season despite a late push from the Warriors. Gardiner has been great for Prince Albert and Lees has helped start the Prince Albert offence on the back end. They have two strong goaltenders and if for any reason Parenteau can’t get it done, rookie Ian Scott has shown some promise this year.
The Raiders penalty kill has struggled at times this year, which could pose some issues against a strong Moose Jaw power play. Prince Albert will need to stay out of the box as much as possible and find a way to exploit a leaky Moose Jaw defence.
Point was second in WHL points per game at 1.813. (Derek Leung/Getty)
The Warriors can’t be a fun team to prepare for. Head coach Tim Hunter has one of the best players in the CHL in Point who plays on a line with 58-goal scorer Hunt. Moose Jaw also has young scorers like Gregor and Brett Howden who can score. The Warriors problem this year has been allowing too many good scoring chances and they will have to cut down on that to prevail here. Sawchenko is a good goalie but will be making his post-season debut. Experience could play a role here as the Warriors young guns don’t have much, if any of it in the post season.
Prediction
Moose Jaw took six of the eight regular-season games these two played and that may give them a boost of confidence going into this one. The Warriors advantage on the power play will be the key here. Warriors in seven.