2018/19 WHL Regular Season

Status
Not open for further replies.

drivier

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
577
167
Vancouver
It's only one game but if the Centazzo, Stuart, and Franklin can maintain the magic from one game... i take back what I said above about a lack of forward depth. All four lines looked good tonight...

Add this thought: two 17 year old blueliners look like they've taken spots (Sillanpaa as a Finnish import and Schmiemann as last years Midget AAA top dman). That leaves Ludwar (19) and Harrison (18) as two WHL experienced on the outside looking in. Curious which teams in the league might need help on the blue line...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Juniorhockeyguru

Juniorhockeyguru

Registered User
Nov 18, 2012
1,095
509
It's only one game but if the Centazzo, Stuart, and Franklin can maintain the magic from one game... i take back what I said above about a lack of forward depth. All four lines looked good tonight...

Add this thought: two 17 year old blueliners look like they've taken spots (Sillanpaa as a Finnish import and Schmiemann as last years Midget AAA top dman). That leaves Ludwar (19) and Harrison (18) as two WHL experienced on the outside looking in. Curious which teams in the league might need help on the blue line...

I thought Schmiemann looked so calm and cool back there. Sillanpaa as well made a few nice plays, and if he continues could be a solid addition to the back end.

It's only 1 game, but that Centazzo-Franklin-Stuart line was unreal.

I'm quite surprised about the full building. The fans were great all night. You could really feel the energy in terms of it being a fresh start with the coaching staff, and the general excitement from the players as well.
 

Daximus

Wow, what a terrific audience.
Sponsor
Oct 11, 2014
38,856
24,729
Five Hills
Well the season starts tonight. As a Hurricanes fan I've got mixed feelings on the one hand we've got maybe the best core in the league with Bellerive, Cozens and Addison but after that the secondary scoring is questionable Barlage is only 17, Ross and Elmer are good but are they championship level 20s I don't know. I think Keltie Jeri-Leon will breakout though. Defence isn't great either. Hopefully Anholt has some magic in him especially with the new trading rules.

You guys look damn good. Don't you have Swifts 1st rounder as well?

Warriors are probably in for a disappointing year especially without a 1st round pick. Basically a development year for Tracy and Hunt. Brook will probably lead the team in scoring as a dman so there's that. Woo is already injured from Canucks camp. All the rest of the guys will be transition out at the end of the year. Woo probably gets traded to a Cup contender next season. Not much to be excited about as a Warrior fan.
 

n00bxQb

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
3,178
524
I went to Friday night's game between Victoria and Kamloops. Lots of speed and skill on the Victoria side, though obviously another small team. Off to a 4-0 start, which is great. I'm hoping Victoria picks up a decent backup to give Outhouse some rest.
 

Dust

Registered User
Sponsor
Apr 20, 2016
4,799
5,370
After watching some East Division preseason hockey, and seeing who's been returned so far, I've changed my order of finish prediction some...

1 - Prince Albert
2 - Brandon
3 - Saskatoon
4 - Regina
5 - Moose Jaw
6 - Swift Current

The top three are pretty interchangeable, and the bottom three same thing.

This seem like a safe prediction. Those bottom 3 have looked bad so far. Regina has a whole bunch of 20 year old stay at home D-men and very little offense.
 

Daximus

Wow, what a terrific audience.
Sponsor
Oct 11, 2014
38,856
24,729
Five Hills
Is Swift Current actually this bad this year?

Lost Gawdin, Heponiemi, Steenbergen, Sissons, Estephan, Malenstyn, Skinner and Gennaro. Minulin not playing. Traded Khaira and Elder.

I don't think there is a single team in the entire CHL that lost that much talent over the course of the summer. Add onto that they trade their 2019 1st to Prince George and their 2020 first to Lethbridge. Though they have Vancouvers 1st round pick. But their pick is likely going to have a good shot at snagging one of the more hyped players to come into the WHL in years in Matthew Savoie so... they're likely going to be screwed for some time.
 

Hockey Fan in PG

Registered User
Jul 6, 2018
87
14
Lost Gawdin, Heponiemi, Steenbergen, Sissons, Estephan, Malenstyn, Skinner and Gennaro. Minulin not playing. Traded Khaira and Elder.

I don't think there is a single team in the entire CHL that lost that much talent over the course of the summer. Add onto that they trade their 2019 1st to Prince George and their 2020 first to Lethbridge. Though they have Vancouvers 1st round pick. But their pick is likely going to have a good shot at snagging one of the more hyped players to come into the WHL in years in Matthew Savoie so... they're likely going to be screwed for some time.
If the Cougars land Savoie, Josh Anderson is the best thing to ever happen to this organization.
 

Daximus

Wow, what a terrific audience.
Sponsor
Oct 11, 2014
38,856
24,729
Five Hills
If the Cougars land Savoie, Josh Anderson is the best thing to ever happen to this organization.

Swift is 0 and 6 now and unlikely to get any better. They probably have the best shot at getting him right now. We'll see if he pulls off something to avoid going to PG though.
 

MeHateHe

Registered User
Dec 24, 2006
2,405
2,729
I went to Friday night's game between Victoria and Kamloops. Lots of speed and skill on the Victoria side, though obviously another small team. Off to a 4-0 start, which is great. I'm hoping Victoria picks up a decent backup to give Outhouse some rest.
Never thought this team would start 6-0. None of the teams the Royals have been world beaters, but making the playoffs and getting a good seed means beating teams in your own division.
 

BurnEmUp

Registered User
Feb 27, 2009
1,616
143
So, what the heck happened to Akira Schmid?

Got lit up for 7 goals in his first WHL start, and hasn't dressed since. You'd think he'd get more of a chance to prove himself, or was there some sort of blow up after the game? Anyone heard anything?
 

tv14

Cam Dadbot
Feb 12, 2008
5,946
138
Alberta
So, what the heck happened to Akira Schmid?

Got lit up for 7 goals in his first WHL start, and hasn't dressed since. You'd think he'd get more of a chance to prove himself, or was there some sort of blow up after the game? Anyone heard anything?

Hurricanes placed him on waivers last week.

Not really sure what that means entirely in the WHL, and if they still have his rights or what. They had 3 imports and I guess chose the other two over him.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BurnEmUp

Pip

Registered User
Feb 2, 2012
69,164
8,461
Granduland
Giants are a really exciting team to watch this year. This is the second time (at home) that they've mounted a really late comeback. Last night down by 2 with 1:30 left. Last 10 minutes of the game and overtime Byram rarely left the ice and he was the catalyst for the comeback. Byram is just a treat to watch. Worth the price of admission alone.
 

Juniorhockeyguru

Registered User
Nov 18, 2012
1,095
509
Giants are a really exciting team to watch this year. This is the second time (at home) that they've mounted a really late comeback. Last night down by 2 with 1:30 left. Last 10 minutes of the game and overtime Byram rarely left the ice and he was the catalyst for the comeback. Byram is just a treat to watch. Worth the price of admission alone.


Well Blazers have been pretty terrible to this point. Nothing you should beat your chest over.
 

n00bxQb

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
3,178
524
Well Blazers have been pretty terrible to this point. Nothing you should beat your chest over.
They pretty handily beat Victoria, who were 7-0 at the time, on Sunday (the 3-2 score was very flattering to Victoria; Vancouver dominated but Victoria had the superior goaltender).
 

Rocko604

Sports will break your heart.
Apr 29, 2009
8,562
273
Vancouver, BC
Second best first-10-games in Giants history, I believe. Great to see them off to such a great start but sad to see people aren't showing up to watch them. Hoping to get to their game vs Portland on Saturday.
 

Daximus

Wow, what a terrific audience.
Sponsor
Oct 11, 2014
38,856
24,729
Five Hills
Second best first-10-games in Giants history, I believe. Great to see them off to such a great start but sad to see people aren't showing up to watch them. Hoping to get to their game vs Portland on Saturday.

It's just so far from the city center. The team should be playing closer to a population center. Richmond, North Van, Burnaby, New West all seem like better areas for the team to be in. Their attendance figures have sharply dropped ever since relocating from the Pacific Coliseum to Langley.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VictoriaJetsFan

PCSPounder

Stadium Groupie
Apr 12, 2012
2,852
564
The Outskirts of Nutria Nanny
It's just so far from the city center. The team should be playing closer to a population center. Richmond, North Van, Burnaby, New West all seem like better areas for the team to be in. Their attendance figures have sharply dropped ever since relocating from the Pacific Coliseum to Langley.

Suites. Most assuredly less rent. Attendance not only isn't everything, it may well be secondary here.

Now, any progress reports on a Surrey arena?
 

Hockey Fan in PG

Registered User
Jul 6, 2018
87
14
Prior to last night Taylor Gauthier had stopped 77 of his last 78 shots against. Like this dude has the potential to carry this team once the kids mature a little more.
 

tuckfurrets

Registered User
Oct 13, 2018
13
16
Sorry if this has been discussed before, but can somebody give me info on Brett Leason? Dude's stats are out of the roof, especially when comparing to his career in the past. What kind of a player is he and what has made the difference in his stats this season?
 

The Nemesis

Semper Tyrannus
Apr 11, 2005
87,934
31,159
Langley, BC
There were rumors that he didn't mesh well with the much more structured offensive system implemented by new Giants coach Michael Dyck. He'd been sitting out the last couple weeks as well (I hadn't realized that at the time. I just saw his name in the scratches for games and figured he'd hurt himself)

Watching games, that seems to bear out. I often felt like Malm was really going off script and freelancing without really considering his teammates in the o-zone, and if the coaches want something that's a little more regimented and framed, that sort of behavior will probably not get you in the their good books. Maybe I should've figured it was a warning sign that he didn't get a letter when the Giants had to replace basically their entire captaincy structure in the wake losing every lettered guy off the 17-18 roster. If you can't get an "A" as one of the longest-tenured remaining players who's also a prominent scorer and a local kid in Langley, that might be a bit of a red flag.

Might be a little bit of bad news for the Giants as he was their leading scorer and the last couple games without him the offence has looked a bit stagnant (Milos Roman seems to be picking up, and Koch is sort of quietly doing alright, but it feels like they're waiting for Sourdif and Valenti to break out properly. The former is closer to doing so than the latter, but it hasn't happened yet for either). Nielsen doesn't seem like he's a good bet to replace that offence as even if he's a year younger than Malm, he doesn't have the track record of past success but I guess if he can just be a good soldier and not suck that'll be all they can ask for.
 

Artorius Horus T

sincerety
Nov 12, 2014
19,125
11,838
Suomi/Finland
Has any team started the WHL season as bad as the Broncos?
3 wins in 23 games, 1.8 goals for and 4.1 goals against per game.

They lost their entire top 10 coming for this season.
= 272 goals, 444 assists, 716 points.

Broncos best scorer this season, Max Patterson, was Broncos 11th best scorer last season with 9 goals, 15 assists in 72 games,
this season Max has 6 goals 10 assists so far in 23 games.

FYI. Broncos won the Ed Chynoweth Cup last season.
 

Hockey Fan in PG

Registered User
Jul 6, 2018
87
14
Has any team started the WHL season as bad as the Broncos?
3 wins in 23 games, 1.8 goals for and 4.1 goals against per game.

They lost their entire top 10 coming for this season.
= 272 goals, 444 assists, 716 points.

Broncos best scorer this season, Max Patterson, was Broncos 11th best scorer last season with 9 goals, 15 assists in 72 games,
this season Max has 6 goals 10 assists so far in 23 games.

FYI. Broncos won the Ed Chynoweth Cup last season.
And the Cougars have their 1st round pick which could very well turn out to be Matthew Savoie:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Artorius Horus T
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->