Larry Fisher
Registered User
Who's ready for the WHL playoffs? Here's some primer, complete with my predictions for the first round: http://thehockeywriters.com/whl-playoff-predictions-first-round-favours-higher-seeds/
WHL Playoff Predictions: First Round Favours Higher Seeds
- Thread starter Larry Fisher
- Start date
I disagree with your picking of Kelowna. Kamloops has the edge in goaltending, coaching and forward group.
Goaltending yes, experience in coaching yes, but I'll disagree about the forward group. Since Jan. 10, Kelowna's forwards have been as good as anybody in the league. Kelowna's top two lines are stacked and superior to Kamloops' top-six group. Kamloops might have a slight edge in the bottom-six but that is closer than Kelowna's advantage in the top-six IMO.
Merkley-Thurkauf-Reid Gardiner
Twarynski-Dube-Lind
Soustal-Southam-Nolan Foote
Erik Gardiner-Topping-Cowell/Mattson/Bruggen-Cate
vs.
Balcers, Sideroff, Shirley, Pilon, Bauer, Holowko, Chyzowski, Smith, Benjafield, Loewen and two others.
I prefer Kelowna's group for high-end skill and I would argue it's just as deep as Kamloops too.
That said, it's going to be a great series, two pretty evenly matched teams on paper aside from the goaltending. Like I said, Kelowna's offence versus Kamloops' goaltending. Time will tell.
Merkley-Thurkauf-Reid Gardiner
Twarynski-Dube-Lind
Soustal-Southam-Nolan Foote
Erik Gardiner-Topping-Cowell/Mattson/Bruggen-Cate
vs.
Balcers, Sideroff, Shirley, Pilon, Bauer, Holowko, Chyzowski, Smith, Benjafield, Loewen and two others.
I prefer Kelowna's group for high-end skill and I would argue it's just as deep as Kamloops too.
That said, it's going to be a great series, two pretty evenly matched teams on paper aside from the goaltending. Like I said, Kelowna's offence versus Kamloops' goaltending. Time will tell.
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Penguins23
Le Magnifique
Here's my 1st round predictions.
REG in 4
MED in 4
LET in 5
MJW in 6
EVE in 5
SEA in 6
POR in 7
KEL in 5
REG in 4
MED in 4
LET in 5
MJW in 6
EVE in 5
SEA in 6
POR in 7
KEL in 5
Regina over Calgary in 5
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 6
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 7
Prince George over Portland in 7
Kamloops over Kelowna in 7
Everett over Victoria in 4
Seattle over Tri-City in 4
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 6
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 7
Prince George over Portland in 7
Kamloops over Kelowna in 7
Everett over Victoria in 4
Seattle over Tri-City in 4
Kamloops top 6 outscored the Rockets top 6 424 to 379. They also outscored the Rockets 35-27 in the season series. So explain that one.
phillipsj89
Registered User
While I can't speak for him, Kelowna's offence was never quite healthy until late in the year (Which also coincides with their great run of play).
The big thing Kelowna does better than any other team is there odd man rushes, they can seemingly turn every 3 on 2 into a grade A scoring chance.
Rockets top 6 had 325 GP. Blazers top 6 of Sideroff, Balcers, Bauer, Pilon, Shirley, and Benjafield had 410 GP. Even if you sub in Loewen or Holowko they both had 66 GP, or Smith had 61 GP, so not a lot of difference, maybe 10 games max.
West
Prince George over Portland in 6 games. Probably not the best match up for the Cougars to draw in first round with the 2-2 seasonal series. Nonetheless, the Cougars are the better team and seem to be back to normal after that midseason slump with Guhle back in the lineup.
Kelowna over Kamloops in 7 games. One of two "coin flip" series in the first round. Kelowna's offence vs. Kamloops' defence. Kelowna also has one of the leagues best powerplays going up against one of the best penalty kills in Kamloops so that is another key matchup in this series.
Everett over Victoria in 5 games. Injured pieces on Victoria's blueline are going to give life to Everett's one question mark for me which is their offence. Too suffocating on D for the Royals to overcome.
Seattle over Tri-City in 5 games. Tri-City has been pretty streaky down the stretch. Without Rasmussen though I don't think they have what it takes to take more than 1 game vs. Seattle, which is already going to be tough enough for them.
East
Regina over Calgary in 4 games. Regina is too good offensively, and Calgary's defence and goaltending isn't exactly great. Pretty big mismatch, but so was Brandon vs. Edmonton last year and Edmonton pulled off a couple wins so we will see what happens in this series.
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 6 games. Another "coin flip" series for me. I gave it to MJ in 6 simply because I think that Moose Jaw is a bit more diverse offensively and that Sawchenko has a slight edge over Papirny in net. In reality, this series could go any which way.
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5 games. I thought getting rid of Papirny for the Child/Thompson combo wasn't the greatest move for Brandon's playoff hopes this season. Now going up against the 2nd most goals in the WHL this season, I don't think it bodes well for Brandon. I'll give them a game based on experience, but wouldn't be surprised if they took a pair.
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 4 games. Lethbridge too much for the ailing Rebels. Missing Adam Musil is a big hit for the Rebels who were going to need to rely on goals if they wanted to get through the Hurricanes.
Prince George over Portland in 6 games. Probably not the best match up for the Cougars to draw in first round with the 2-2 seasonal series. Nonetheless, the Cougars are the better team and seem to be back to normal after that midseason slump with Guhle back in the lineup.
Kelowna over Kamloops in 7 games. One of two "coin flip" series in the first round. Kelowna's offence vs. Kamloops' defence. Kelowna also has one of the leagues best powerplays going up against one of the best penalty kills in Kamloops so that is another key matchup in this series.
Everett over Victoria in 5 games. Injured pieces on Victoria's blueline are going to give life to Everett's one question mark for me which is their offence. Too suffocating on D for the Royals to overcome.
Seattle over Tri-City in 5 games. Tri-City has been pretty streaky down the stretch. Without Rasmussen though I don't think they have what it takes to take more than 1 game vs. Seattle, which is already going to be tough enough for them.
East
Regina over Calgary in 4 games. Regina is too good offensively, and Calgary's defence and goaltending isn't exactly great. Pretty big mismatch, but so was Brandon vs. Edmonton last year and Edmonton pulled off a couple wins so we will see what happens in this series.
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 6 games. Another "coin flip" series for me. I gave it to MJ in 6 simply because I think that Moose Jaw is a bit more diverse offensively and that Sawchenko has a slight edge over Papirny in net. In reality, this series could go any which way.
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5 games. I thought getting rid of Papirny for the Child/Thompson combo wasn't the greatest move for Brandon's playoff hopes this season. Now going up against the 2nd most goals in the WHL this season, I don't think it bodes well for Brandon. I'll give them a game based on experience, but wouldn't be surprised if they took a pair.
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 4 games. Lethbridge too much for the ailing Rebels. Missing Adam Musil is a big hit for the Rebels who were going to need to rely on goals if they wanted to get through the Hurricanes.
Predictions
Regina over Calgary in 5 games
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5 games
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 7 games
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 5 games
Everett over Victoria in 5 games
Prince George over Portland in 7 games
Kamloops over Kelowna in 7 games
Seattle over Tri-Cities in 6 games
Regina over Calgary in 5 games
Medicine Hat over Brandon in 5 games
Moose Jaw over Swift Current in 7 games
Lethbridge over Red Deer in 5 games
Everett over Victoria in 5 games
Prince George over Portland in 7 games
Kamloops over Kelowna in 7 games
Seattle over Tri-Cities in 6 games
Yeah, what "phillipsj89" said, the Rockets' top-six played way fewer games this season due to injuries and world juniors. Gardiner only showed up in January and was a consistent force down the stretch (points in 25 of 28 games). Twarynski was another deadline addition who didn't have the same calibre of linemates in Calgary thus has an inferior overall stat-line. Dube and Merkley were both hurt or recovering from injuries until Christmas. They really only started to turn it on after the trade deadline. I gave Kelowna a slight edge in my forward comparison as part of my series preview for the newspaper: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/sports/article_ade7a8f8-1043-11e7-8d55-f3590f71f6f1.html
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the KEL-KAM series. Open to debate and feedback is always welcome.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the KEL-KAM series. Open to debate and feedback is always welcome.
Well I guess we'll see. Kamloops closed last season on a 9 game win streak and lost in 7 so, that doesn't always mean transfer over to playoffs.
DudeWhereIsMakar
Bergevin sent me an offer sheet
West:
Portland in 5
Kelowna in 4
Everett in 6
Seattle in 4
East:
Regina in 4
Swift Current in 7
Brandon in 7
Red Deer in 6
Portland in 5
Kelowna in 4
Everett in 6
Seattle in 4
East:
Regina in 4
Swift Current in 7
Brandon in 7
Red Deer in 6
Bump...and I'm back with my second-round predictions: http://thehockeywriters.com/whl-playoff-predictions-ready-for-round-2/
Down to the final four in the WHL playoffs, here are my predictions for the third round — the conference finals between Seattle and Kelowna in the West, Regina and Lethbridge in the East: http://thehockeywriters.com/whl-playoff-predictions-conference-finals-feature-powerhouses/
Adam Brooks isn't back for the Pats. He dressed the last 3 elimination games and was on the bench but didn't step foot on the ice.
From the LeaderPost:
Pats captain Adam Brooks, who suffered a knee injury in Game 2 versus Swift Current, is questionable for the next series. “I don’t know for sure (if he could return),” said Paddock. “I’d like to say that I’m hopeful at some time in the series, but that’s me talking. That’s not really (trainer) Greg (Mayer) or the doctors telling me that.”
From the LeaderPost:
Pats captain Adam Brooks, who suffered a knee injury in Game 2 versus Swift Current, is questionable for the next series. “I don’t know for sure (if he could return),” said Paddock. “I’d like to say that I’m hopeful at some time in the series, but that’s me talking. That’s not really (trainer) Greg (Mayer) or the doctors telling me that.”
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