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Brandon and Kelowna square off in rubber match: WHL final preview
By Kelly Friesen and Scott Sepich
For the first time since 2011, the Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks won’t square off in the Western Hockey League’s championship series. The Brandon Wheat Kings and Kelowna Rockets fittingly knocked them out of the playoffs before capturing their conference titles.
As the clear-cut favourites in their conferences, it seemed inevitable that Brandon and Kelowna would meet up in the final. The two clubs separated themselves from the rest of the league because of their deep offenses and stacked back ends. Moreover, they showed there is nothing overrated about them in their conference final victories over the Calgary Hitmen and Winterhawks. Brandon only dropped one game against Calgary while Kelowna knocked off Portland in six matches.
It’s inevitable that this is going to be a high-scoring series. The two clubs not only have some of most talented scorers in the league in their lineups such as Edmonton Oilers prized pick Leon Draisaitl and Calgary Flames first-rounder Morgan Klimchuk, but they also combined for 645 goals in the regular-season.
The real question is who will score more goals? A star player having an off series or a depth player stepping up could be the difference in this tightly matched series.
(1) Brandon Wheat Kings (53-11-4-4, 114 pts) vs. (2) Kelowna Rockets (53-13-5-1, 112 pts)
Season series: Rockets 1-0-0-0. Final dynamic dozen rankings: Wheaties 4th, Rockets 8th. Predictions: Wheat Kings in 6 – KF, Wheat Kings in 7 – SS.
Series in a sentence: WHL’s two best teams square off for a championship banner.
Will anyone separate himself as Brandon’s top scorer? With an offense consisting of Klimchuk, Florida Panthers second-rounder Jayce Hawryluk, New Jersey Devils first-rounder John Quenneville, Columbus Blue Jackets pick Peter Quenneville and rookie sensation Nolan Patrick, there’s clearly no shortage of talented scorers in Brandon. This unmatched depth has given the Wheat Kings the rare privilege of not having to count on one or two forwards to lead their offense in the regular-season and playoffs.
Although John Quenneville (10G-9A, +11) has the edge in points, it seems Hawryluk (10G-8A, +8) is the most likely Wheat King to step up and lead the way. He was arguably Brandon’s top forward against Calgary because of his offensive production (5G-4A) and high-energy style. In addition, he made the biggest impact for his club in the deciding game with a four-point effort.
How will Jordan Papirny fare against Kelowna’s high-powered offense? Papirny has been sensational in Brandon’s blue paint in the second season. He’s won his goaltender battles while posting a 2.17 average, .932 save percentage and a 12-3-0-0 record.
That said, he’s yet to face an offense on the same level as the Rockets. The Oil Kings and Regina Pats lacked high-end talent up front and the Hitmen were without many of their top scorers at times such as Connor Rankin (injury), Chase Lang (injury) and Jake Virtanen (suspension).
Regardless of whether the Wheat Kings win or lose, this series could ultimately define where the Edmonton, Alta., stands among WHL goaltenders. He could solidify himself as one of the league’s top goaltenders if wins his club a game or two and plays well throughout the whole series. But on the flipside, an average showing could cement his future legacy as a good goalie on a great team.
How big of a role will Brandon’s overage advantage play? The impact that the Wheat Kings’ trio of 20-year-olds have made in the post-season shouldn’t be overlooked. Peter Quenneville (7G-9A, +7) has been one of their top offensive contributors. Eric Roy and Reid Gow are two key reasons why Brandon has one of the top bluelines in the league as they complement Ivan Provorov and Ryan Pilon nicely.
Kelowna, meanwhile, is without their top overage, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Tyrell Goulbourne, because of a laceration in his calf. Cole Martin and Chance Braid have been impact players, but they don’t stack up well as a pair against Brandon’s three overagers. – KF
Can Draisaitl assert his dominance? The Rockets had one thing in mind when acquiring the Deutschland Dangler in January in what amounted to a forced trade with the Prince Albert Raiders: winning the WHL title.
Through three games last round against Portland, Kelowna was a bit of a mess and Draisaitl had been just OK. But he flipped the switch as the Rockets won the last three games of the series, and he was without a doubt the best player on the ice for either team in Game 6, despite notching just one assist in an 8-4 win. His drive to the net created the winning goal in the third period, causing a scrambling Nic Petan to put the puck past his own goalie while trying to keep a centering pass away from Draisaitl on the doorstep.
The Rockets are deep up front, but if Rourke Chartier can’t play in some (or perhaps all) of the upcoming series, they’ll need Draisaitl — who leads Kelowna with 21 points in 15 playoff games — to take charge again. If he’s average, the Rockets may not be able to keep up with Brandon’s firepower.
What’s the situation in goal for the Rockets? There have been doubters all season that Kelowna would be able to get good enough goaltending from Jackson Whistle to win a WHL title. For the most part, though, Whistle has done his job as the Rockets led the league in team save percentage during the regular season (while also leading the WHL in shooting percentage).
The playoffs have been an up-and-down affair for the 19-year-old Whistle, though, as he’s been yanked four times in 15 games. Incredibly, three of those games turned into clinching wins for the Rockets, as backup Michael Herringer came on in relief to close out series against Tri-City, Victoria and Portland.
Rockets coach Dan Lambert clearly has confidence in Herringer, an 18-year-old who started as an affiliate player but joined the team full-time in midseason. Going to Herringer has served much more as a spark for the Rockets than as a white flag. And, when Whistle is going well, he can be a difference-maker. He was the No. 1 star in Games 4 and 5 versus the Winterhawks, stopping 83 of 86 shots.
Can the role players continue to excel for Kelowna? We know that the Rockets are going to get quality efforts from the likes of Tyson Baillie, Nick Merkley and Madison Bowey. Josh Morrissey appears to be less than 100 per cent but is gaining confidence.
But what about some of the Rockets’ depth forwards, who were tough for the Winterhawks to handle in the conference final?
Rookie Dillon Dube, a 16-year-old, was outstanding against Portland, and guys like Cole Linaker, Braid and Gage Quinney have also chipped in with big goals during the postseason run.
Defencemen Riley Stadel and Devante Stephens have moved up to play forward at times to fill in for injured teammates, and look confident and comfortable in that role. Stadel has spent most of his time on a line with Draisaitl. - SS
The Wheat Kings feature three lines that can score, so it’s important for Kelowna to be able to force Brandon’s talented forwards to spend time defending. The Rockets’ depth was able to help them dominate Portland territorially at times, which frustrated the offensive-minded Hawks.
