Volume 4: Nice to see the puck drop in the East Division this past weekend in the Regina “hub”. All told, 12 teams have been able to play in this most unique Western Hockey League season. My fingers are crossed for the US Division (March 18) and BC Division (March 26) teams to get rolling on time this month.
1. The Medicine Hat Tigers won two of three games against the Calgary Hitmen this weekend, to run their record to 4-3. Medicine Hat won 6-2 in Calgary, won the return engagement in the Gas City by a 4-2 count, then dropped a 5-4 decision back in Calgary. Defenceman Cole Clayton continued his torrid scoring pace with four goals and three assists and he currently sits atop the WHL scoring derby with 13 points. For his efforts, Clayton was named the WHL Player of the Week. Also of note, the Tigers’ power play accounted for eight goals in the three games. Medicine Hat will take the coming weekend off and return to action March 26 at home against the Lethbridge in the first of a three-in-three set with the Hurricanes.
2. The victory on home ice in the newly minted Co-Op Place was special for Beckett Langkow. The rookie goaltender made his first WHL start, surrendered a goal 58 seconds in, then shut the door the rest of the way for his first career win. The 17-year-old made 31 saves, including 20 straight after the early Calgary goal. My game coverage piece for DUBNetwork is right here. Beckett is the son of Scott Langkow, who spent three full seasons between the pipes for the Portland Winterhawks. Garin Bjorklund started the first five games of the season and returned to the cage Sunday in Calgary.
3. Forward Lukas Svejkovsky did not play Saturday after taking a knock Friday in Calgary. Svejkovsky is a talented offensive contributor, selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. “It’s unfortunate,” said assistant coach Joe Frazer. “It does open up an opportunity on the first powerplay. It’s upper body, day-to-day, so we’ll keep monitoring him and see how he feels tomorrow (Sunday)”. Svejkovsky did not play in Calgary on Sunday.
4. A tip of the chapeau to Scott Roblin of CHAT News/Sports in Medicine Hat, as it was announced he will accompany Bob Ridley in the broadcast booth on Tigers broadcasts for the remainder of the season. Roblin has stepped in periodically in past years. I like the appointment, as I’ve enjoyed Roblin’s input on broadcasts with his energy and big voice. I suppose it’s also not going to hurt for Ridley and Roblin to share the driving duties while cruising the Alberta highways with the CHAT 94.5 logo splashed on the company rig when the Tigers are on the road. “Safety first” makes sense as there are plenty of miles to cover with the home-and-home nature of the weekend scheduling in the Central Division. The broadcasters are not riding on the team bus.
5. When the BC Division finally received the “go-ahead” from the provincial government, I reached out to Bruce Hamilton of the Kelowna Rockets. We’ve had a few off-season chats – and it’s been a long off-season – and I’m always intrigued by the man who has rolled up his sleeves for so many years in the WHL. “Well, the return to play has been huge and you know that’s credit to the Commissioner (Ron Robison). He’s been like a dog on a bone with this thing. Every health board has been different to deal with. You would think you’re getting ahead, and they come back with something, then it’s back and forth. But the great thing is that in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the governments there have jumped right in to help make sure the teams survive.” The teams in Manitoba, B.C., Washington, and Oregon continue to wait to see if there is any support forthcoming.
6. In British Columbia, the Rockets and Blazers will remain with their billet families, while Victoria, Prince George, and Vancouver will be in hotels. While Hamilton is eager to get going on the ice, he’s impressed with the progress league-wide. Regarding the Regina “hub”, an enormous project, Hamilton said, “The set up is just a giant, massive undertaking, to put seven teams into one spot. Just the logistics of all that. These are things you haven’t planned on. I mean, it’s a lot different than having a peewee tournament. With all the rules and regulations, you’re housing seven teams of 25 players in the building (Brandt Centre), and then in the accommodations and then feeding them all. So that’s been a huge undertaking.” The WHL announced title sponsorship last week in Regina for the SUBWAY Hub Centre. The details are right here.
7. I met head coach Dan Price of the Victoria Royals in Kelowna a couple of times before he began wearing the general manager’s hat. I think he’s tremendously well-spoken and it was no surprise I thoroughly enjoyed his appearance on the DUBNetwork Podcast last week. “Everyone’s mood and overall mental health is going to be very important,” Price said when asked his thoughts on keeping the players busy in the Kelowna “hub” for BC Division play. “We’ve been brainstorming about a lot of different types of things, and we need to make sure that we have approval in any given circumstance. Of course, there are things the players can do by staying connected virtually, potentially some fun team-building things online. I’m sure they’ll have some video game challenges, things like that.”
8. I mentioned last week the trio of Cole Sillinger, Dylan Guenther, and Logan Stankhoven with the 2021 NHL Draft in mind. A handful of other draft-eligible players are finally back at it and each will be vying for as much exposure as possible during this shortened season. Jayden Grubbe of the Red Deer Rebels checks in at 6’3, 200 pounds, and was named the Rebels team captain. (Unbeknownst to him, Grubbe was along for the ride during one of my most embarrassing moments on the media side in the WHL…a story I will gladly share at some point this season.) Unfortunately, word out of Red Deer is Grubbe might be out of the lineup for a while, a lower-body injury. Defenceman Carson Lambos of the Winnipeg Ice got started this past weekend. Both skaters participated at the 2019 IIHF World U17 Challenge, in fact, Lambos was named to the tournament all-star team. What a terrific crop of youngsters we’ll be able to watch this season and next!
9. By now, junior hockey supporters are likely aware that 15-year-old Connor Bedard made his WHL debut on the weekend, scoring two goals 47 seconds apart in the Regina Pats 6-3 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders. Bedard is the first player ever granted exceptional status by the WHL. According to the CHL, “exceptional player status is granted to a player whose qualities not only on the ice but as a person, deem the player deserving of the rare privilege of participating in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) at an early age. Consideration of such status is only granted to a player whose ongoing development is more likely to be significantly enhanced by playing in the CHL as a 15-year-old than by participating in his designated age division next season.” Statistics aficionado Lucas Punkari of the Prince Albert Daily Herald posted the scoring details below regarding the other youngsters granted exceptional status in the CHL over the years. (I added the note beside Bedard’s name and also the NHL games played details.)
Amount of time it took each CHL Exceptional Status player to record their first point
OHL – John Tavares: 17:48 First Game (NHL: 878 games played)
OHL – Aaron Ekblad: Seventh Game (NHL: 494)
OHL – Connor McDavid: Second Game (NHL: 397)
OHL – Sean Day: OT First Game (NHL: 0. Current Team – Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
QMJHL – Joe Veleno: Third Period First Game (NHL: 0. Current team – Malmo Redhawks, Sweden)
OHL – Shane Wright: Third Game (Current team – Kingston Frontenacs, OHL)
WHL – Connor Bedard: 25:01 First Game – Regina Pats
10. With the excitement coming out of the “306” after Bedard’s WHL debut, let’s note some other milestone accomplishments. Generally, 15-year-olds are limited to five appearances as affiliate players, other than those granted exceptional status. With the uniqueness of this shortened season, WHL rosters are including a significant number of youngsters. We’ll see plenty of 16-year-olds on the ice, likely in more meaningful roles as the schedule is also quite compact. These players are working diligently to earn their ice time and have also been among the prospects toiling away off-ice during the pandemic. I think they certainly deserve recognition. It’s also noteworthy in my view why it’s so disappointing to me that their parents will not be allowed in the buildings to share these exciting experiences.
Daniel Hauser (G) Winnipeg Ice: 1st career win (March 15: 6-4 over Swift Current)
Beckett Langkow (G) Medicine Hat Tigers: 1st career win (March 13: 4-2 over Calgary)
Zac Funk (F) Calgary Hitmen: 1st career goal (March 13 vs Medicine Hat)
Brandon Lisowsky (F) Saskatoon Blades: 1st two career goals (March 13 vs Swift Current)
Josh Davies (F) Swift Current Broncos: 1st career goal (March 13 vs Saskatoon)
Carter Anderson (F) Red Deer Rebels: 1st career goal (March 12 vs Lethbridge)
Tristan Zandee (F) Calgary Hitmen: 1st career goal (March 6 vs Red Deer)
Oasiz Wiesblatt (F) Medicine Hat Tigers: 1st career goal (Feb. 27 vs Red Deer)
Brayden Boehm (F) Medicine Hat Tigers: 1st career goal (Feb. 27 vs Red Deer)
(Glen Erickson is a long-time freelance writer with ties to the WHL over the past 35 years. He covered the WHL extensively in Kelowna between 2005 and 2019, in addition to four CHL Top Prospects Games and a pair of IIHF World Junior Championships. Erickson provided coverage of Rockets home games for the Kelowna Daily Courier during the 2018-19 season, before relocating to Medicine Hat.)
