WHL's first-time playoff format creating confusion, which is not entirely bad

At some point — likely around the time someone figures out how to stop all the ice from melting in Antarctica — all three major junior leagues will have a playoff format that's less prone to being affected by unintended consequences, instead of how teams actually performed in the regular season..

Granted, the shrewder among us would argue the best format is the one which gives the most teams hope, however faint, that their team is still in the hunt. Roughly 90 per cent of Canadian Hockey League fans pay attention almost wholly to their team, after all. Nevertheless, with regard to the WHL and its switch to the NHL-style format, only three of its 22 teams have been eliminated going into the final weekend of the regular season. That's a good thing. At the same time, there didn't seem to be much justification for the move beyond the WHL being a feeder league for the NHL and copying what the NHL does.

Needless to say, it's caused confusion for fans of teams who aren't sure whether to focus on their beloveds winning a divisional playoff berth or one of the wild cards available to the teams that finish fourth or fifth in their division. For the Kamloops Blazers, who could still conceivably quality through either route, it's the difference between possibly facing the U.S. Division champion and drawing B.C. Division runner-up Victoria, which has 10 fewer points.

From Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan)

There are other inconsistencies. If the old conference-based format were still in use, there could be a potential Battle of Alberta in the first round between seventh-seeded Edmonton and second-seeded Calgary (in the event the Hitmen won the Central Division). Instead, the wild-card Oil Kings draw the Brandon Wheat Kings under a format that was intended to reduce the travel and the strain on young players.

That being said, the format's not all bad if it fanned the flames of late-season interest in puck precincts such as Moose Jaw and Prince Albert. Both teams were/have been able to stay in the hunt for third in the East Division, instead of eighth in the conference. The former scenario probably sounds a lot more appealing to a fan, especially when it means drawing the Regina Pats in the first round instead of the conference-winning Wheat Kings.

Of course, that could be spun as an argument that condones mediocrity.

To the east, it's always seemed like a conundrum that the more geographically spread-out QMJHL, rather than the relatively compact OHL, uses the purists' straight 1-through-16, reseed-after-every-round format. Even though the Q is spread from Sydney, N.S., to Gatineau, Que., and from Val-d'Or, Que., to Saint John, N.B., everyone has signed off on a format that rewards a team's merit as much as its location.

Incidentally, the OHL standings offer a decent, albeit anecdotal argument for adopting the same setup. Thanks to the parity beyond the Sault. Ste. Marie-Erie-Oshawa axis of awesomeness, if a 1-through-16 format was adopted and the playoffs were beginning Friday, Ottawa would still be in line to face Niagara and Guelph would draw Owen Sound (the presumptive 4 vs. 5 matchups). With Southern Ontario gaining another team with the arrival of the Hamilton Bulldogs (neé Belleville Bulls, 1981-2015), that's one less travel problem in the post-season (through an OHL lens, Belleville, two hours east of Toronto, counts as outlying, really).

Ultimately, if a team is meant to win, it finds a way. Still, the debate is never-ending.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.