Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun once said to me he finds the WHL so much more enjoyable to watch when there’s parity in the league, when it feels like anyone can win on any given night. On this matter, Perry and I agree.
Well, the two of us ought to be having a ball this season. The final week of the regular season is upon us, no team has more than four games remaining (and only one team, the Victoria Royals, has even that many) and we’re still no closer to deciding any first round playoff matchups. And most of the matchups to be determined seem likely to come down to the very last day of the regular season.
Take the Brandon Wheat Kings, for example. The east’s eight playoff teams are set, and as of now the Wheat Kings could face literally any one of them in a first round playoff matchup. No team has yet been eliminated as a potential opponent. In fact, the Wheat Kings don’t even know yet if they’re going to have home ice advantage in the first round.
Their next game against the Saskatoon Blades will go a long way towards determining that. If Wednesday night’s contest ends up feeling like a playoff game, no one should be surprise.
- The last meeting between the Wheat Kings and Blades, one week ago, was the first meeting between the two teams where the home team won since the second week of the regular season. It was also the first time the Blades had seen anything resembling a healthy Wheat Kings’ squad. On more than one occasion this year, the Wheat Kings have been missing three or four regulars up front against the Blades. I liked the way the Wheat Kings handled that critical game, despite a rough start. Teams typically push as hard as they can when they enter the third period trailing, as the Blades did in that contest, and the Wheat Kings not only withstood that push, they outdid it, outshooting and outscoring the Blades in the third period. Now the trick is to do it all again in an even more important game.
- I said at the start of the season that the season series between the Wheat Kings and Prince Albert Raiders could very well decide the division. It still could, with the Raiders only one point back of the Wheat Kings and Blades for the top spot in the division (which could change in a real hurry; the Raiders host the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and could vault into first with a win). The good news is, the Wheat Kings hold the season series on the Raiders, having gone 4-1-1 in their six contests. What I didn’t count on at the start of the season is just how well the Saskatoon Blades would keep pace. I’ll admit, I had thought the sheer volume of departures would be too much to overcome for them. Their young players have answered the challenge wonderfully, and their older guys have stepped up in a huge way as well. Looking at the cast of 2007 and 2008-born players contributing in a big way for them already, it’s apparent the Blades aren’t headed for the kind of nosedive that sometimes follows a load-up season like they had last year.
- While we’re giving shoutouts to the Wheat Kings’ opponents, I should give another to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a hard-fought weekend and for playing exactly the way you’d want a team to play and with exactly the attitude you’d want them to approach what they know will be the final games of their season. It would be all too easy to settle into the woe-is-us doldrums. Moose Jaw did not. They pressed hard, and gave the Wheat Kings a heck of a scare on Saturday night in particular. Hopefully the Warriors bring that same approach tonight in Prince Albert.
- One more side note from this past weekend of games: it was quite something to watch Roger McQueen and Lynden Lakovic go head-to-head, with each guy coming up with a big performance. A veritable army of scouts followed the two sizeable forwards around, and if the NHL draft were held today there’s an excellent chance they would be the first two guys taken from the WHL (though not a guarantee; this is going to be a good draft for the ‘dub). One thing Marty Murray and I chatted about on the postgame show was how much more comfortable Roger has looked every game since he’s been back. It makes sense; you don’t reasonably expect a guy to shrug off five months of inactivity and jump back in at the same speed he came out. But every game, Roger has looked more and more like a go-to-guy, like a game-changer, and if he’s going to keep getting better like this… let’s put it this way, Roger was a goal-per-game player in the playoffs last season on an underdog Wheat Kings’ squad. What will he have in store for this year’s post season?
- I mentioned the Blades saw the Wheat Kings “resembling” healthy last week. The missing piece up front at that time was Jaxon Jacobson, who was skating in a regular sweater and taking rotations with consistent linemates today. Great to see him back on the ice. His vision and puck skills instantly boost the power play, and give the Wheat Kings incredible centre depth. Despite being a rookie, Jacobson has been well over 50 percent in the dot for most of the season, so he’s been pulling his weight in that department as well. I mentioned in my last blog (apologies for the layover in between) that with Dominik Petr, Roger McQueen, Jaxon Jacobson, and Nolan Flamand as their centres, the Wheat Kings have unparalleled depth up the middle. Honorable mention to Matteo Michels, who has filled in so well during the absence of, well, three of the first four of those guys at various times this season. Hopefully this week and beyond we get to see what that depth looks like in full.
- The least experienced position for the Wheat Kings going into the playoffs is on defense, and unfortunately, with Merrek Arpin not yet skating, the defense isn’t going to get an infusion of experience too soon. So while Quinn Mantei and Luke Shipley will continue to lead the way, it will fall to the younger guys to continue punching above their weight class. I’ve already written this season about how well one of the youngest defense groups in the Eastern Conference is doing. The playoffs are going to be a real trial by fire for this group, but they’ve done nothing but answer challenges all season long to this point. And it’s especially important for the youngest guys to get into action now because there are almost certainly going to be many more playoff runs in their future.
- Speaking of young defensemen, congratulations to Wheat Kings’ defenseman Cameron Allard on winning the Adam Herold Memorial Award for the Saskatchewan U18 AAA league’s best defensive defenseman. He finished the season (most likely the last of his AAA career) with 36 points in 44 games, so the 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman isn’t a one-dimensional player either. As an 8th round pick in 2023, Allard is shaping up to be both a good story and a good player for the Wheat Kings, and I know Brandon’s scouts are excited about his potential. Allard’s Estevan Bears were eliminated after a nail-biting series against the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors, so he’s been with the team ever since and will almost certainly be a full-timer on the back end next season.
The regular season is almost over, and it hasn’t been an easy one. Just looking at the team’s injuries throughout the season, you can see the uphill struggle they’ve dealt with. Yet, in spite of that, the Wheat Kings are still in control of their own destiny and fully capable of winning the division. If they beat the Saskatoon Blades, they might not even need to win out in order to claim the East Division. On the other hand, if they do win their remaining three games, they win the East no matter what else happens. And really, if you’re going to play, you might as well win.
Then it’s on to the playoffs. And the most important season begins.
