It’s that time of year again! We at the DubNetwork always try to come up with a new order for previews each year and this season we are going with least recent to most recent Ed Chynoweth Cups for our order of previews. They will run 2-to-3 a day until September 20th. Then on September 21st – the day the season opens – we will have our predictions.
Six teams have not won a WHL title, so we went with least recent to most recent trips to the WHL final.
We are now at the Lethbridge Hurricanes!
The Hurricanes have been a Western Hockey League franchise since 1967, when they were known as the Winnipeg Jets. After a few name changes and moves, the team became known as the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1987.
The best season the team has ever had was back in 1989-90 when the team went 51-17-4 for 106 points. They lost in the WHL final that season. Lethbridge did win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 1996-97 which would make it the team’s most successful playoff year.
2017-18: The season was certainly looking like more of a down year. Lethbridge finished with a 33-33-6-0 record. The Central Division though was on a downward trend and this record was still good enough for the ‘Canes to land in second place in the division. In the first round they would breeze past Red Deer in five games and then got a surprise match-up with the Brandon Wheat Kings. They also handled the Wheat Kings in five games before playing the Conference Finals. They faced the eventual WHL champions Swift Current Broncos. It was be a hard fought six games but the Broncos would prove too powerful.
Off-season departures:
As is with every team in the WHL, it was time to say good-bye to the overage players at the outset of the season. This group had a player in each position and will dearly miss goaltender Logan Flodell. Flodell was a huge part of the Hurricanes run in the playoffs and helped the Hurricanes after dealing away their long time goaltender in Stuart Skinner just before the trade deadline last season. Also departing as an overage player were defenseman Tate Olsen and second leading point-getter Brad Morrison. A trade also saw Zane Franklin and a fourth round pick in 2020 sent to the Blazers for Jackson Shepard.
Newcomers:
The Hurricanes selected twice in the CHL Import draft. With the first pick they took a goaltender, which was now being allowed by the CHL after a hiatus on import goaltenders being brought in. Akira Schmid was selected from Langnau U20 in the Swiss Elite Junior A league after he was chosen in the fifth round by the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Draft. He is expected to join the Switzerland World Juniors team at the World Championships.
Their second pick is from Belarus – defenseman Danila Palivko. He played mostly with the Belarus U17 team, posting six goals to go with 20 assists in 40 games. In four preseason games he has had two assists.
Also brought in over the off season was Jackson Shepard from the Kamloops Blazers. The 2000-born forward spent two seasons with Blazers. With 115 games of WHL experience he brings 12 goals and 22 assists.
There could be as many as 12 rookies in the lineup for the Hurricanes this season. Two of them are imports mentioned above.
2002-born Noah Boyko has had the best preseason of the bunch, scoring twice in four contests. He has seen WHL regular season action, getting into three games last season as a 15-year-old.
The Hall twins will be looking to get into the line up to make life hell for the radio broadcast announcers. The 2001-born Justin and Adam have played well in the preseason and hope to stick with a team that has a lot of fire power in the lineup.
Rookie goaltender Carl Tetachuk will be looking to move ahead of Reece Klassen on the depth chart. The 2001-born netminder played in two preseason games going 1-1-0-0 with a .818 save percentage and a 5.29 goals against average.
Alex Cotton leads a strong contingent of 2001-born players trying to crack the roster on the blue line for the Hurricanes. The fifth round draft pick of the Hurricanes has shown well in the preseason and was called into action for five games during last season.
Overage situation:
There are currently four players in the 20-year-old age group vying for the coveted three roster positions. There are two forwards and two defensemen in the mix currently and defenseman Igor Merezkho complicates matters as he is a two-spotter as an import and an overage player. Taylor Ross supplied the most offense of the group last season, potting 19 goals to go a long with 19 assists. Jake Elmer was close behind with 18 goals and 19 assists. Matthew Stanley scored twice while Merezkho lit the lamp five times.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out, the Hurricanes also invited two more import players to the team via the draft and won’t have long to make a decision about who is staying and who will be sent elsewhere. Merezkho is eligible to be traded to another team with an open import spot.
Import situation:
Another interesting situation as the Hurricanes are one of only a couple of teams with three import players on the preseason roster. Igor Merezkho is the only player with WHL experience, he has played three seasons with the team, playing in 199 WHL games. In that time he has scored seven goals and added 58 assists.
Neither of Palivko or Schmid are eligible to be dealt until after December 1st, which means that Merezkho will need to be dealt or dropped if the plan to keep both of the new imports in the lineup. Schmid appears to have the inside track as he looks like the number one goaltender for the Hurricanes this season.
Returning scorers:
| Pts rank | Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
| 12 | Jordy Bellerive | 71 | 46 | 46 | 92 |
| 60 | Calen Addison | 68 | 11 | 54 | 65 |
| 89 | Dylan Cozens | 57 | 22 | 31 | 53 |
| 124 | Taylor Ross | 64 | 21 | 21 | 42 |
Returning goalies
| Player | GP | GAA | Sv % | Record |
| Reece Klassen | 23 | 3.62 | 0.887 | 5-8-3-0 |
Forwards:
There is a lot to be excited about in Lethbridge with this group. Once Jordy Bellerive returns from Penguins camp, the captain will once again be relied upon to put up points. He should have no problem putting up 100 points this year. It is entirely possible for him to lead the WHL in scoring, coming off of a 12th place finish last year with 92 points. While the team loses some exceptional players, returning Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage as well as the emergence of Keltie Jeri-Leon as a scoring threat and some of the youngsters joining this team, Lethbridge should be able to light the lamp with frequency this year.
There may only be three 19-year-olds on the forward corps heading into the regular season. If the team isn’t quite where general manager Peter Anholt expects it to be early on, expect him to make a move for a player in that age group who will score some goals and bolster the lineup.
All-in-all this team does have the makings of being one of the most potent offensive dynamos in the WHL.
Especially when you look at the defense…
Defense:
With one of the WHL’s premier defense prospects in Calen Addison patrolling the blue line for you, you can’t be too concerned about your back end.
Addison was recently drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins and may have been a steal as a late second round pick. He has the ability to change the game all on his own from his position. You name it, he can do it, penalty killing, power play quarterback, end-to-end rushes and of course, playing defense.
Beyond Addison, there are still a pile of talented players vying for spots. It is a little bit murky when you consider that Merezkho is still on the preseason roster, and he is taking up two spots. One of the recently picked imports is also a defenseman. He’s fighting for one of the regular season roster spots and it might come down to the final days before the overage deadline before we know the fate of those two players. Ty Prefontaine and Koletrane Wilson will certainly munch minutes on the back end while the team allows Cotton, Lowe and Jones time to develop, whether in the WHL or back in midget AAA.
Goalies:
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, after dealing away their fan favourite goalie in Stuart Skinner, Logan Flodell aged out of the league. If he was still able to compete, people in Lethbridge might be planning a parade for Mayor Magrath drive and rightfully so.
This is a season of change in the blue paint for the Hurricanes though. Gone are the stellar goaltenders of the past few seasons and the team will usher in an new era. Akira Schmid looks like a solid NHL prospect for the New Jersey Devils and will look to ply his trade as the starter for the ‘Canes. It is a good year to bring in an already drafted goaltender as the other two goalies in camp have not looked ready to take on the responsibilities just yet.
Reece Klassen and Carl Tetachuk will continue to vie for the backup goalie’s roll until the Hurricanes have settled their import/overage situation as well as made a decision on who is ready to start around 20 WHL games this year.
Outlook:
If this team had a true number one goaltender like we have seen in the past, we might be looking at the Eastern Conference Champion Lethbridge Hurricanes at minimum. This team has the firepower and defense to run with the best their division and conference has to offer.
We will see what this team is really made of when they make their two trips through the US Division. They split the trips this year and will head there in early December and late January.
The import and overage situations are interesting ones to keep an eye on early, Merezkho has played well through his three North American seasons and might be deserving based on that alone. Only time will tell what GM Anholt decides.
The Central Division is theirs to lose, only really finding their rivals, Medicine Hat as tough competition for them this year. Beyond that, it will be interesting for observers to see how they fair against the teams like Brandon, Saskatoon and Prince Albert from the East Division.
