Kelowna and Everett aim to end Portland's historic run: WHL Western Conference playoff preview

The WHL went to a new playoff system for 2014-15 to mirror the NHL's format, meaning that division standings trumped conference placement this season. It led to three inter-divisional matchups and only one between B.C. and U.S. teams. All of the American teams qualified for the postseason, leaving B.C. clubs Kamloops and Vancouver as the odd teams out in the Western Conference. 

The new format created some intriguing matchups, but resulted in the fifth-place team in the conference (Victoria) playing the seventh-place team (Prince George). Seattle, which would've earned home ice under the previous system, instead opens on the road in a difficult series against Portland. 

Here's a look at each of the series in the West:

(1) Kelowna Rockets (53-13-5-1, 112 pts.) vs. (WC) Tri-City Americans (31-38-0-3, 65 pts.)

Season series: Rockets 3-1. Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Rockets eighth, Americans 47th. Prediction: Rockets in 5

Series in a sentence: Rockets look to regain their focus against the ailing Ams.

Kelowna would have been the prohibitive favourites in this series even if it didn’t make moves to load up at midseason. But it did, adding F Leon Draisaitl and D Josh Morrissey in a pair of hyped (and somewhat controversial) deals aimed at sending Kelowna to the Memorial Cup.

The Rockets have been inconsistent down the stretch as they’ve dealt with injuries to Morrissey, top goal-scorer Rourke Chartier (48 G in 58 GP) and G Jackson Whistle (2.55 GAA, .909 save pct.).

Morrissey won’t be in the lineup to start the series and may not play at all. Justin Kirkland should be back after missing time, and Chartier and Whistle returned before the end of the regular season.

Kelowna really should sweep the Ams, but the Rockets dropped a game last year when the teams met in the playoffs and might slip up again as they try to get refocused on playoff hockey after months of being locked into the division title (just ask Brandon how easy it is to snap right into postseason form).

With six players averaging at least a point a game, Kelowna has the major offensive edge. Even if you remove Chartier’s 48 goals and Tyson Baillie’s 37, the rest of the Rockets have outscored all of the Americans 220-190.

Tri-City did hand Kelowna its first loss of the season on Oct. 18 after the Rockets had started the season 10-0. The 5-2 result was a rather emphatic statement by the Ams, but in the three subsequent games the team played Tri-City was outscored 15-2.

Team Canada goalie Eric Comrie struggled with injuries over the second half of the season, but should be good to go as the Ams scored a couple of key wins over the last weekend of the regular season to capture the last playoff spot. He’s Tri-City’s best player, and capable of stealing a game or two. Stealing a series might be too much to ask.

Because they’ve been in survival mode for weeks, the Americans should be mentally prepared for postseason hockey, but they’re at a massive talent disadvantage, especially with top center Parker Bowles out for the season.

Overager Richard Nejezchleb is Tri-City’s top offensive threat, and they’ll need big contributions from guys like Beau McCue (26 goals) and Brian Williams, who fell to 17 goals this season after scoring 36 in 2013-14.

(2) Victoria Royals (39-29-3-1, 82 pts.) vs. (3) Prince George Cougars (31-36-2-3, 67 pts.)

Season series: Victoria 6-2 (2 OT wins). Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Royals 31st, Cougars 39th. Prediction: Royals in 6

Series in a sentence: Royals hoping to squash the rise of the New Ice Age.

Expectations were high this season for Victoria after a 100-point season in 2013-14, but the Royals got off to a slow start and never quite found a rhythm.

A lot of that had to do with an early-season suspension to captain Brandon Magee, who came back to put up 61 points in 50 games. The Royals added forward depth in Greg Chase and Alex Forsberg at midseason, giving them a balanced attack with seven guys who scored between 55 and 64 points. Austin Carroll led the team in both goals (38) and penalty minutes (124).

On the back line, diminutive Joe Hicketts and overager Travis Brown combined for 30 goals and 121 points.

Goaltending has been inconsistent for the Royals, but it appears as if Coleman Vollrath has reclaimed the No. 1 role from midseason acquisition Justin Paulic.

Overall, Victoria’s depth and experience should win out over the upstart Cougars.

It all comes down to defence for Prince George, which surrendered the most goals (295) of any playoff team. If the Cougars can cope with Victoria’s scoring depth and get good goaltending out of Ty Edmonds, they’ll have a fighting chance.

Prince George has a trio of dynamic offensive players in Jansen Harkins (79 points), Chase Witala (38 goals) and Zach Pochiro (42 points in 41 games), but secondary scoring from the like of Brad Morrison and Jari Ericsson will be important.

The Cougars were the most penalized team in the league during the regular season, and staying out of the box will be another key to success. They gave up 98 power play goals and were a league-worst 71.9 per cent on the kill.

Under new ownership this season, the Cougars are in the first stages of a rebuilding effort they’ve dubbed the “New Ice Age.” Attendance is up 68 per cent over last season. Things are heading the right direction, but this doesn’t look like the year they’ll get to round two.

(1) Everett Silvertips (43-20-3-6, 95 pts.) vs. (WC) Spokane Chiefs (34-34-3-1, 72 pts.)

Season series: Everett 5-3 (1 OT win). Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Silvertips 14th, Chiefs 36th. Prediction: Silvertips in 6

Series in a sentence: Silvertips seek respect and a first series win in eight years.

Everett won the U.S. Division over Portland despite not having a single player make the Western Conference all-star teams, so the Tips succeed without a load of NHL-drafted talent.

People have also been waiting for them to falter all season and surrender the division title to Portland. That didn’t happen, and yet the Tips are still fighting for respect. Everett hasn’t won a playoff series since 2007, and the team will be motivated to energize a fanbase that’s become accustomed to early exits.

Their top player, of course, is Nikita Scherbak, who had 27 goals and 82 points after coming over early in the season in a trade with Saskatoon. Beyond that, the Tips are comprised mostly of undrafted role players who compete well at both ends of the ice.

Overager Kohl Bauml finally had his breakout season, leading the team with 30 goals. Defensively, there’s no Mirco Mueller-type standout, but they have a steady group led by 20-year-old Ben Betker and draft prospect Noah Juulsen, who had 52 points.

The Silvertips were the least penalized team in the conference, which is typical for a Kevin Constantine club. Constantine also has his top three scorers split onto separate lines, making it difficult for opposing teams to match up.

Rookie Carter Hart got most of the starts in goal late in the season over veteran Austin Lotz, and it will be interesting to see who will be between the pipes when this series starts.

The Tips were one of two teams in the league to allow less than 200 goals (199), largely because they allow the second-fewest shots on goal (27.99 per game). They also generate the third-fewest shots offensively, so this series is likely to be a grind.

In December, the Chiefs were pushing the Silvertips at the top of the U.S. Division. Then injuries hit and Spokane went through a rough patch, including a three-game stretch in which the Chiefs didn’t score a goal. They started to get healthy again late, and played well before a season-ending five-game losing streak that came mostly after they knew their playoff fate.

Adam Helewka might be the must unknown star in the league, as he quietly scored 44 goals to lead the team. The Chiefs’ most important player, though, might be overager Calder Brooks, who missed almost two months that coincided with the team’s biggest funk. Fellow overager Liam Stewart scored a career-high 25 goals this season and 16-year-old phenom Kailer Yamamoto held up well over the long season, registering 57 points.

The Chiefs and Tips both have top-five power plays, but Everett ranks 20th on the penalty kill while Spokane is fourth. It’s a challenge to get the Silvertips to commit penalties, but the Chiefs could exploit a special teams advantage if they can generate as many power play opportunities as they allow.

(2) Portland Winterhawks (43-23-2-4, 92 pts.) vs. (3) Seattle Thunderbirds (38-25-4-5, 85 pts.)

Season series: Seattle 7-5 (2 OT wins, 1 OT loss). Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Winterhawks fifth, Thunderbirds 17th. Prediction: Winterhawks in 7

Series in a sentence: Portland’s biggest rival hopes to derail the Winterhawks’ drive for five.

Though they play 12 times a year in the regular season, the Hawks and T-Birds haven’t faced off much in the postseason. This is just their sixth playoff series since Seattle joined the WHL in 1977-78.

Seattle won the season series against Portland for the first time since 2008-09 and the Birds are confident they can end the Winterhawks’ run of four Western Conference titles.

Portland has the better forward talent, but Seattle features a stronger defensive unit. The goaltending battle is between 20-year-old Western Conference goalie of the year Taran Kozun and rookie phenom Adin Hill. This series feels like one in which the home team could win every game.

Top-to-bottom, the Hawks aren’t the team they’ve been during a run to four consecutive league finals. But the top is about as good as it gets in the WHL, with Danish powerhouse Oliver Bjorkstrand leading the way. Bjorkstrand led the league with 63 goals and 118 points despite playing only 59 games. Nic Petan, who has played in four straight championship series, scored only 15 times in 54 games but racked up 74 assists.

Those two should get their points, but that isn’t always the path to victory for the Hawks. Chase De Leo (39 goals), Paul Bittner (34 goals) and Miles Koules (27 goals) are also dangerous on the offensive end, but it will be defence that determines Portland’s fate.

The Winterhawks allow 34.5 shots per game — second most among playoff teams. They’ve gotten away with that because of the play of Hill, who led the league in save percentage (.921) during the regular season. If Hill can’t keep up that pace, Portland will have to get secondary scoring to keep pace.

Seattle did beat up on Portland’s NHL camp-depleted roster early in the season, but the T-Birds were also without key players like Mathew Barzal and Shea Theodore in several of the matchups. In fact, it wasn’t until late in the season that the two teams got a good look at each other at relatively full strength, and Seattle still fared pretty well.

Seattle’s top three players each only played about half the season, with Barzal (12G-45A-57P in 44 GP) and overager Roberts Lipsbergs (16-20-36 in 33 GP) coming in as the biggest offensive threats. Draft-eligible forward Ryan Gropp went on a late tear to get to a team-high 30 goals on the season, while deadline addition Cory Millette has been a revelation with 13 goals and 29 points in 32 games.

Theodore is the best offensive defenceman in the series (13-35-48) and posted a team-high plus-17 despite playing in just 43 games. The T-Birds also hope that physical defencemen like Jerret Smith, Jared Hauf and Evan Wardley can wear down and frustrate Portland’s explosive forwards.

If the T-Birds can get contributions from its high-end players to keep pace with Portland’s big guns, they’ll have a chance. At home, they’ll get to match a line led by shutdown centre Scott Eansor against Bjorkstrand and Petan, but they’ll need to find a way to win on the road without the luxury of last change.