Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: Giants advance to WHL Final, Raiders put Oil Kings on brink of elimination

Written by Ben Dooley on

Giants eliminate Chiefs, Raiders take 3-2 series lead against Oil Kings

The Vancouver Giants have eliminated the Spokane Chiefs with a 3-2 win in Game 5 of their WHL Western Conference Final Series to take the series 4-1. The Chiefs were without Luc Smith (20 goals, 14 assists in 42 regular season games) and Filip Kral (10 goals, 26 assists in 47 games) as they were both injured earlier in the series. Smith will not be back with the Chiefs next season as he is one of their graduating players. Kral is eligible to return for his overage season but may turn pro in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as they drafted him in the fifth round of last year’s NHL draft.

The Edmonton Oil Kings are facing elimination following a 4-0 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders at Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. The series now returns to Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sunday for game six.

Kordic resigns from Blazers organization

The Kamloops Blazers have announced that assistant coach Dan Kordic won’t be returning to the team for the 2019-20 season. Kordic was brought on from the University of Alberta to join Serge Lajoie’s staff for the 2018-19 season. Lajoie also parted ways with the Blazers earlier this month and is now the head coach of OHA Edmonton’s Midget Prep Team. Kordic is an alumnus of the WHL, having played 259 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the late 80’s and early 90’s scoring 14 goals and 35 assists. Kordic’s pro career lasted eight seasons and included time with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers before retiring in 1999.

Wheat Kings sign prospect Jaxon Dube

The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed prospect Jaxon Dube to a standard WHL player agreement. Dube was drafted by the Wheat Kings in the fifth round of the 2018 bantam draft. Dube spent this past season playing with the St. Albert Raiders Midget AAA and had five goals and seven assists in 30 games.

Weal re-signs with Canadiens

A day after re-signing fellow WHL alumni Nate Thompson, the Montreal Canadiens have re-signed Jordan Weal to a two-year contract. Weal played 282 games in the WHL with the Regina Pats, scoring 135 goals and adding 250 assists. Weal split last season between the Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens scoring a total of eight goals and adding 13 assists in 63 regular season games.

Gardiner heads to Germany

Reid Gardiner has signed with Dusseldorfer EG of the DEL for the 2019-20 season. Gardiner played 290 games in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and Kelowna Rockets and scored 124 goals and added 133 assists. Gardiner split last season between the Utica Comets of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. In a total of 57 regular season games, Gardiner had 28 goals and 28 assists.

Three Stars of the Night

First Star: Prince Albert’s Aliaksei Protas had a hat-trick and added an assist on Prince Albert’s other goal

Second Star: Prince Albert’s Ian Scott posted a 24-save shutout in the 4-0 win.

Third Star: Vancouver’s Bowen Byram had one goal and one assist on six shots.

Honourable Mentions:

The Spokane Chiefs graduating players: Riley Woods (230 games played, 75 goals, 105 assists with the Regina Pats and Spokane Chiefs), Luc Smith (312 GP, 67 G, 67 A with the Regina Pats, Kamloops Blazers, and Spokane Chiefs) and Nolan Reid (332 GP, 39 G, 105 A with the Saskatoon Blades and Spokane Chiefs).