The final weekend of the WHL regular season is upon us….every team in the Eastern conference has two games remaining, while in the west four teams have three-in-threes this weekend (Everett, Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver) while the other six teams have two games.
For six teams, this weekend’s games will be their last of the season, which means for 20 to 30 players on those six teams, their WHL careers are winding down this weekend after three, four, five years in the league….some are graduating overagers, some are 19 year olds who will be playing pro next year, some are 19 year olds who won’t make the cut as overagers next year, some are just depth players who will lose their spots to younger, better guys next year. Take a minute to thank, cheer, or tip your cap….
There’s also a few things to be settled this weekend – playoff seeds, obviously, which I’ll get to in a minute. But also the scoring title is still up in the air….Regina’s Jordan Eberle currently leads with 104 points, a 4 point lead over teammate Jordan Weal and Calgary’s Brandon Kozun, who both have 100 points. The Pats play both their remaining games against Brandon, while Kozun and the Hitmen face Edmonton and Red Deer. Can Kozun catch Eberle? Can Weal? Will Kozun even play against Red Deer on Sunday if the Hitmen clinch first overall tonight against Edmonton?
And the magic 50-goal mark is still within reach for four players – Eberle needs 2 goals, while Swift Current’s Cody Eakin and Chilliwack’s Ryan Howse need 4 goals in their last two games, and Brandon’s Matt Calvert needs 6 goals in his last two games. Eberle can obviously get two goals quite easily, although he is playing a tough opponent in Brandon. But he has never scored 50 goals, and the Pats aren’t going to make the playoffs so these are the last two games of his WHL career. I would expect his teammates to make every effort to get him the puck in order to get those two goals. Calvert needing six goals makes him a bit more of a longshot, but on the other hand, they’re playing Regina and the Wheaties have averaged almost six goals per game against the Pats this year. Calvert passed up a chance to play pro with Columbus this year in order to return to the Wheat Kings……they SHOULD be passing him the puck to get those six goals this weekend. I’m half-joking, of course….Brandon’s focus needs to be on catching Calgary for #1 overall, and if that can’t happen, then at least holding off Saskatoon for #1 in the East division. But if both of those issues are out of the way….
Howse is in tough, he needs four goals from two games against Everett and Portland, two teams still looking to put a lock on high playoff seeds. But he did have some success against those two teams this year – 2 goals in 3 games against Everett and 4 goals in 3 games against Portland. Not as good as he did against Prince George (13 goals in 8 games) but he might have a shot. As for Eakin, he has two games left against Moose Jaw, with both teams jockeying for #7/#8 in the conference yet. He has 8 goals in 6 games against the Warriors this year – so 4 more in 2 games is definitely do-able.
Couple other notes about tonight’s games specifically – first, tonight is the Vancouver Giants’ first game back in Pacific Coliseum since early January. Of course they were on an extended road trip (with a few “home” games in Langley thrown in) while the Olympics took over Pacific Coliseum for figure skating and short-track speed skating. Insert jokes here about how some players’ styles resemble one or the other of those two Olympic sports.
Also, tonight is the first matchup between Brandon and Regina since “Teubertgate” on February 19, when the Pats’ Colten Teubert put Brandon’s Mark Stone in the hospital with a concussion following a fight that Stone may not have really wanted to be in. The Wheat Kings were not happy with Teubert….tonight they’ll get their chance to discuss it with him in person. Just guessing, but I think Teubert should probably expect to see Jordan Hale lining up next to him on an early faceoff.
Now a couple outcomes tonight that could have big effects on playoff positioning:
– a win by the Hitmen over Edmonton will clinch #1 overall for the Hitmen. Failing that, anything less than a win by Brandon over Regina will clinch it for the Hitmen as well.
– one point by Brandon against Regina will clinch the East division title (and at least #2 seed in the East conference) for them over Saskatoon. Failing that, anything less than a win by the Blades against the Raiders will do it too.
– a win by Kootenay over Red Deer, coupled with a loss by Medicine Hat to Lethbridge, will clinch the #4 spot in the East for the Ice.
– A Tigers win over the Hurricanes, or a loss by Red Deer to the Ice will lock the Rebels into the #6 spot.
– a Tri-City win over Spokane, coupled with a regulation loss by Everett to Seattle, will clinch #1 in the Western conference for the Americans.
– one point by Spokane, or one lost point by Portland against Chilliwack, will clinch home ice for the Chiefs and will lock Portland into the #5 seed.
– a win by Kamloops and at least one point by Kelowna, plus a regulation loss by Chilliwack, will lock the Bruins into the #8 seed.
I believe those are the only seeds which can definitely be determined tonight….
