It’s that time of year again folks. The 2017-18 regular season has concluded and our team at DubNetwork.ca has watched a ton of games.
I reached out to our beat writers and those associated with the site and had them votes on a variety of categories, just like we did a season ago.
A huge effort was put in to make sure that each position the player was categorized into was the one that they played the majority of the season at.
In some cases this was pretty close, but whichever percentage was higher, was the one they were placed into.
Today we reveal our first, second and third all star teams for both conferences. We started with with the Eastern Conference.
Now we move on to the Western Conference.
Western Conference First Team:
Left Wing: Kieffer Bellows – Portland Winterhawks
-Portland made big news when they announced the signing of New York Islanders first round draft pick Bellows over the summer. The expectations were set pretty high for the 19-year-old, but he still found a way to exceed them. Despite missing 16 games – most of which were because he was at the 2018 World Junior Championships setting the all-time record for goals scored for the United States – Bellows piled up 41 goals and added 33 assists for 74 points.
Bellows set the record for most goals scored by a first-year player. If he was eligible for the rookie of the year award, there is little doubt that the American-born sniper would have won it.
Bellows played on a line with Skyler McKenzie and Cody Glass and they formed one of the best units in the entire WHL. Bellows piled up 274 shots on goal, which was 11th in the WHL. That’s impressive considering all 10 players listed above him each played at least 10 more games than him.
Center: Cody Glass – Portland Winterhawks
-The Vegas Golden Knights used their first draft pick ever on Glass last June and his 2017-18 season in the WHL has them dreaming about his future with them in the NHL. Glass scored 37 times and added 65 assists for 102 points in 64 games. He was the first Winterhawks player since Oliver Bjorkstrand in 2014-15 to eclipse the 100-point plateau.
Glass used his excellent vision and creativity to set up his linemates Bellows and McKenzie countless times. His 65 helpers ranked him fifth in the WHL and are the most any Portland player has had since Nic Petan had 74 in 2014-15.
Right Wing: Matthew Phillips – Victoria Royals
-Phillips and his his linemate Tyler Soy assaulted the Royals all-time records. Soy and Phillps are now numbers one and two in franchise history in points and goals. Phillips’ 112 point season is by far the best a Victoria player has compiled in one campaign. Prior to this year, Alex Forsberg’s 91 in 2015-16 was the best a Royal had put up.
The Calgary Flames prospect had 48 goals and 54 assists and fired 273 shots on goal in 71 games. He also tied for second in shorthanded goals with five, using he speed to wreck havoc on careless power plays.
Defensemen: Juuso Valimaki – Tri-City Americans and Cal Foote – Kelowna Rockets
-The fact that Valimaki made it into our top blue line duo out west tells you all you need to know, considering he missed 29 games due to injury and the World Junior Championships. The Finnish d-man scored 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points in 43 games. His 1.05 points-per-game ranked him seventh overall in the WHL.
He also had three game-winning-goals, was a plus-15 and had 11 power play assists. He had 170 shots, meaning he fired nearly four shots-on-goal each game. Defensively, the Calgary Flames prospect was a stalwart for the Americans, helping them get back into the playoffs, despite facing a barrage of injuries and absences from many of their star players.
Foote notched 19 goals and added 51 assists for 70 points with the Rockets. He was also a plus-31 and had 29 power play assists, while skating countless minutes on the blue line for Kelowna.
The right handed blue line prospect for the Tampa Bay Lightning saw many of his fellow d-men leave the Rockets after last year and he took the captaincy and all those added responsibilities in stride. Kelowna won yet another B.C. Division title, with Foote playing a key role.
Goalie: Carter Hart – Everett Silvertips
-As if it would be anyone else. Hart destroyed the franchise record books this year and placed his name atop a WHL record as well. He earned his 26th career shutout this year, tying the all-time record set by former Vancouver Giant Tyson Sexsmith. He also crushed the franchise wins record held by Leland Irving and made sure his name will remain on the top of most categories for goalies in Everett.
Hart was twice named WHL Goalie of the Year and looks to be well on his way to that again this year with a league-high 1.60 GAA and 0.947 save percentage. He also led Everett to another U.S. Division title with a 31-6-1-3 record. His all-time regular seaosn record is now 116-46-10-12.
Western Conference Second Team:
LW: Carsen Twarynski – Kelowna Rockets
C: Dillon Dube – Kelowna Rockets
RW: Ty Ronning – Vancouver Giants
Defense: Henri Jokiharju – Portland Winterhawks and Ty Smith – Spokane Chiefs
Goalie: Griffen Outhouse – Victoria Royals
Western Conference Third Team:
LW: Jermaine Loewen – Kamloops Blazers
C: Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Spokane Chiefs
RW: Skyler McKenzie – Portland Winterhawks
Defense: Dennis Cholowski – Portland Winterhawks and Jake Bean – Tri-City Americans
Goalie: Dylan Ferguson – Kamloops Blazers
