As each Western Hockey League team hits the 18-game mark, they pass the quarter pole of the season. DUBnetwork took a look at the Central Division with a 25 per cent of the season in the books.
The Central Division was expected to be wide open this year with the top teams from a season ago losing many of their key players. It was not expected, that there would be only one team through the first quarter of the season with a winning record. As it stands now, the bottom three teams in the Central are the bottom three teams in the entire Eastern Conference and are three of the four worst teams in the WHL.
Let’s start off with the lone team with a winning record, the Medicine Hat Tigers. They were expected to struggle to find scoring this year, but the 11-6 Tigers have had no trouble finding the back of the net, ranking third in the East with 74 goals. Shaun Clouston’s squad has a solid duo in net with Michael Bullion and Jordan Hollett and have a five-point lead on the next team in the division, despite playing three fewer games.
The Kootenay ICE (8-11-1-0) sit in a tie for second in the Central and are mired in a three-game losing skid. Despite being well positioned for a playoff seed in a down year for the Central, the ICE have jumped the trade market by trading away their top defenseman Cale Fleury and a veteran forward in Barrett Sheen Monday afternoon. They have made a flurry of deals since training camp and seem to be moving in the direction of being a younger team built around 16-year-old Peyton Krebs and 15-year-old Connor McClennon, among others.
The Red Deer Rebels have not quite lived up to expectations to as they are tied for second with the ICE. They sport an 8-11-1-0 record and have struggled to find the net with only 62 goals over 20 games (3.1 a game). The Rebels have dropped six straight and still have three tough games left on their seven-game road trip.
Also on a six-game losing streak are the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The 7-10-1-0 ‘Canes have really struggled at killing penalties as their penalty kill unit rates 19th in the league at 71.2 per cent. Another poor sign for Lethbridge is that their third-leading scorer at the forward position is 16-year-old Dylan Cozens. Unless things turn around for Lethbridge, they could end up dealing away some of their older players and build around a younger core in Calen Addison and Cozens.
The 6-11-2-0 Calgary Hitmen sit five points out of a playoff spot already and have only one player (Matteo Gennaro) in the top 79 in scoring. Overage netminder Nick Schneider has not been the solution, so far, that they thought he would be when they brought him in from Medicine Hat in the offseason. He has a 3.22 GAA and 0.898 save percentage in 16 games played.
Bringing up the rear is the Edmonton Oil Kings (5-12-2-0). Their 12 points has them drafting first overall in the Bantam Draft come May. Travis Child is 29th in the league in GAA at 4.48. The Oil Kings have been in a couple of 1980’s like shootouts, including their 8-7 loss to Vancouver on Sunday, but they seem to keep coming up just a little short.
(Into written by Brandon Rivers)
Top Forward: Mark Rassell – Medicine Hat Tigers
Draft history:
WHL Bantam Draft – Undrafted
NHL Draft – Undrafted
-Mark Rassell has been the best scorer in the Central Division through 18 games with 17 goals, nine assists and 26 points. He is also responsible in the defensive end, as he carries a plus-4 rating. He might not have the highest percentage of team goals created (34.21 per cent), but he is tied for the most game-winning goals in the league, with four.
(Honorable mentions: Giorgio Estephan-Lethbridge, Matteo Gennaro-Calgary, Trey Fix-Wolansky-Edmonton, Jordy Bellerive-Lethbridge)
Top Defenseman: David Quenneville – Medicine Hat Tigers
Draft history:
2013 WHL Bantam Draft – First round (10th overall)
2016 NHL Draft – Seventh round (200th overall)
-Quenneville put up 59 points in 49 games a season ago and despite the Tigers many losses on the offensive front, he has put up 24 points in 17 games so far this year. This is good for second among all d-men in the WHL. He is a big reason that the Tigers have been able to take such a strong lead in the division so far, as he gets the puck up the ice in a hurry and creates a lot of their offense.
(Honorable mentions: Calen Adddison-Lethbridge, Jake Bean-Calgary, Conner McDonald-Edmonton)
Top Goaltender: Nick Schneider – Calgary Hitmen
Draft history:
WHL Bantam Draft – undrafted
NHL Draft – signed with Calgary Flames as a free agent.
-Nick Schneider’s first season with the Calgary Hitmen hasn’t gone as smoothly as he hoped for. After a slow start, he has posted some solid numbers, as his team continues to struggle in front of him. Schneider has been the busiest goalie in the division, having played 950 minutes. He has faced the second-most shots of any goalie in the division, with 449. He has the best goals against average (3.22) and save percentage (.898) of any starter in the division. The only thing he lacks is a shiny record. Poor third period play and lack of scoring depth have stuck the 20-year-old with a 7-8-1-0 record.
(Honorable mentions: Michael Bullion-Medicine Hat, Stuart Skinner-Lethbridge)
Top Rookie (16-year-old): Peyton Krebs – Kootenay ICE
Draft history:
2016 WHL Bantam Draft – Kootenay ICE, 1st overall 2016
-Peyton Krebs has not dissapointed in his first 15 games with the ICE. The former No. 1 overall pick is tied for 16-year-old scoring with Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but where he separates himself from Cozens, is during even-strength play. 76.92 per cent of Krebs’ points have come during five-on-five play, while Cozens five-on-five play only sits at 53.85 per cent. Krebs also leads the 16-year-old class with a pair of game winners.
(Honorable mention: Dylan Cozens-Lethbridge)
Top Import: Vladislav Yeryomenko – Calgary Hitmen
Draft history:
2016 CHL Import Draft –46th overall
-Yeryomenko took a while to get comfortable in the WHL last year, but showed signs of being a creative play-maker from the blue line. He has built off that this year and has put up 16 points in 19 games so far. The 1999-born d-man from Belarus has really taken off since being paired with Jake Bean Oct. 11 in the Hitmen’s 4-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers.
(Honorable mentions: Kristian Reichel-Red Deer, Kristians Rubins-Medicine Hat,Tomas Soustal-Edmonton)
Top 20-Year-Old: Mark Rassell – Medicine Hat Tigers
(Honorable mentions: Giorgio Estephan-Lethbridge, Giorgio Estephan-Lethbridge, Matteo Gennaro-Calgary, Grayson Pawlenchuk-Red Deer)
Draft Eligible players to watch:
Calen Addison (Defenseman), Lethbridge Hurricanes
5’11”, 178 pounds
4-14–18 points. Minus-9 in 18 games
Draft history: 2015 WHL Bantam Draft – Lethbridge, Round 1 (#2)
NHL Central Scouting: “B” rated
Alexander Alexeyev (Defenseman), Red Deer Rebels
6’3″, 200 pounds
1-8–9 points. Minus-2 in 11 games
Draft history: 2016 CHL Import Draft – Red Deer, Round 1 (#49)
NHL Central Scouting: “B” rated
