Over the past three seasons, the WHL’s Eastern Conference has been owned by the Edmonton Oil Kings. After three straight Eastern titles the Oil Kings’ reign culminated with their first Memorial Cup win.
Can Edmonton make it four in a row or will player turnover finally get the best of them? Will there be new challengers this year? Which players will shine the brightest in the East? Let’s break down the conference, point by point.
Who is going to win this thing?
Despite having one of the best junior goalies on the planet in Tristan Jarry and a stellar defence, Edmonton’s reign will end this season. The defending conference champs will still be solid, but they’ve lost too much up front and the dreaded junior-hockey cycle will catch up with them this season.
Stepping up to fight for the brass ring will be the Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings. Calgary is coming off a disappointing first-round playoff exit but returns a solid team that has scoring depth and should play good defence. Brandon upset Regina in the first round of the playoffs last season and is loaded with talented offensive players such as Eric Roy, and John and Peter Quenneville.
The Wheat Kings will be fun to watch this season but in the end the Hitmen have more experience and should edge them out in the playoffs. Calgary will be led by Jake Virtanen and Greg Chase and will be better than Brandon defensively, which will make the difference.
Who could surprise?
Brent Sutter’s Red Deer Rebels haven’t received as much pre-season attention as other teams in the East, but don’t be surprised if they end up in the mix. Red Deer is a tad younger than Calgary—which may make it tough for them to win the Central Division—but the Rebels ice quality top-end talent in Colorado first-round pick Connor Bleackley and Carolina first-rounder Hayden Fleury. Their goaltending is a little green as the two guys on the roster—Taz Burman and Rylan Toth—only have 17 WHL games under their belt. If those guys can step up, the Rebels will make some noise.
Which team could be in for a long year?
Just a year removed from several player defections, the Lethbridge Hurricanes started training camp with Reid Duke staying home asking for a trade. In the end the team was able to convince the Minnesota Wild prospect to come aboard and so far there is harmony, but they’re thin everywhere else and are staring at another last-place finish.
The Prince Albert Raiders, meanwhile, have their top two leading scorers from last season in camp with NHL teams. Both Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) and Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets) have the potential to stick, and losing either would hurt enough on its own.
Pre-season All-Conference Team
Braydon Point, C, Moose Jaw: The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect is on the small side but has a huge game. He led Moose Jaw in both goals and assists last year, and finished 13th in league scoring. Now a year older, look for him to climb.
Nikita Scherbak, RW, Saskatoon: Scherbak came onto the WHL scene out of nowhere—well, out of Moscow, anyway—and took everyone by surprise. He led WHL rookies with 78 points and was taken by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round.
Morgan Klimchuck, LW, Regina: The Calgary Flames 2013 draftee is coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons and led the Pats to a surprise second seed in the East. He’s got a good play-maker in Chandler Stephenson alongside him so there’s no reason to think he won’t hit the 30-goal mark again.
Josh Morrissey, D, Prince Albert: If the Jets release Morrissey, the high-scoring defenceman will again be a force in the WHL. He was the second-highest scoring blueliner (behind Seattle’s Shea Theodore) last season and represented Canada at the world juniors. There is no reason to think he won’t be wearing the red maple leaf again this year.
Haydn Fleury, D, Red Deer: While Fleury does not have the explosive offensive numbers other defencemen have, he is one of the most complete. He has size and plays a physical game, but he can also move the puck.
Tristan Jarry, G, Edmonton: WHL championship? Check. Memorial Cup? Check. Jarry has a .917 career save percentage and is one of the best goalies in the CHL as a whole.
New faces in new places
The coaches: The Eastern Conference boasts five new bench bosses: Steve Hamilton (Edmonton); Tim Hunter (Moose Jaw); Mark French (Calgary); Bob Woods (Saskatoon); and John Paddock (Regina). Of all of them, French and Hamilton step into the best situations. French inherits a Calgary team that is ready to win the East and should have an easy transition. Hamilton has been in the Oil Kings system, knows the players and while he will have to withstand some big losses, Edmonton is one of the best-run programs in the league.
The rookie: Regina has to be excited about rookie Sam Steel. The 2013 second-overall bantam pick not only has a name made for central casting, but he has a good-looking game to boot. So far in the pre-season Steel has opened a lot of eyes, potting six goals and 10 points in just four games.
The import: Brandon’s Ivan Provorov might not only be the top new European import in the East, he could end up being the highest-drafted Eastern Conference player in 2015. The native of Yaroslavl, Russia, has decent size and is one more reason that the Wheat Kings are going to be fighting for the conference title in the spring.
Five 2015 NHL Draft-eligible players to watch
Connor Hobbs, D, Medicine Hat: Hobbs appeared in 10 games with the Tigers last season and picked up three points. Before joining the Tigers the puck-moving D-man played in 33 games with the Saskatoon Blazers of the SMHL and scored 11 goals and 23 points.
Ryan Pilon, D, Brandon: Pilon is a late birthday so enters his draft year older, which could help him get drafted higher. He racked up 29 assists between Lethbridge and Brandon last year.
Adam Musil, C, Red Deer: The Delta, B.C., product had a good showing in his rookie year for the Rebels. At 16 years old, he managed 11 goals, and with his size he will be attractive to NHL scouts.
Matteo Gennaro, C, Prince Albert: At six-foot-two, Gennaro is a big centre who appeared in 60 games for the Raiders last year and notched 15 points.
Glenn Gadwin, C, Swift Current: Gadwin scored only 10 goals in his rookie season with the Broncos, but showed that he could be an explosive scorer in bantam. If he can show more of that he will hear his name called from the podium at the draft.