WHL’s U.S. Division loaded with good teams, talent

EVERETT — On Wednesday, the Canadian Hockey League revealed its initial top 10 rankings for the upcoming CHL season.

This poll from the CHL — the umbrella organization for the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — is purely symbolic. There is no crossover play until the Memorial Cup. Yet it gives a sense of where those in the hockey world think teams are at throughout the course of the season.

#CHL Announces Pre-Season Top-10 Rankings:

1-REG, 2-OS, 3-VIC, 4-MISS, 5-POR, 6-BLB, 7-LDN, 8-TC, 9-BAT, 10-SSM.

Honours: KEL, HAL, PBO pic.twitter.com/fYz0tzbeIe

— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) September 20, 2017

You don’t have to travel far down the list to see the WHL’s U.S. Division represented. The Portland Winterhawks are ranked fifth and the Tri-City Americans are ranked seventh, joining top-ranked Regina as the three WHL teams in the initial rankings.

Those two division rivals of the Everett Silvertips are expected to contend for the U.S. title after the Tips and Seattle Thunderbirds have claimed the past three banners.

The Americans finished 41-28-3-0 last season for third in the division and sixth in the conference. That led to a first-round playoff exit dealt to them by the T-birds. However, Tri-City has a fourth-year head coach in Mike Williamson and is loaded with young talent.

Forward Michael Rasmussen (Detroit) and defenseman Juuso Valimaki (Calgary) were each first-round picks in last year’s NHL draft. Forward Morgan Geekie (Carolina) was a third-round pick and forward Kyle Olson (Anaheim) was taken in the fourth round. They also have rookie forward Sasha Mutala who has been impressive in the preseason. The Americans were third in the Western Conference in scoring with 272 goals last season and there’s no reason not to expect that to continue.

Down I-5 in Portland, the Winterhawks finished 40-28-1-3 and fourth in the U.S. Division. They reached the second round of the playoffs following a first-round upset of Prince George and are looking to return to their former glory in Year 2 of Mike Johnston’s second go-around with the team.

Portland was second in the Western Conference with 278 goals last season and that will likely continue this year. The Winterhawks also have a pair of first-round draft picks in forward Cody Glass and defenseman Henri Jokiharju. Fellow defenseman Brendan De Jong was also taken in last May’s draft. Skyler McKenzie and Ryan Hughes are dynamic scorers and the Winterhawks will also get a boost from first-rounder Kieffer Bellows, who left Boston University after his freshman season to skate for Portland.

Spokane missed the playoffs last year as the Chiefs finished 27-33-8-4. They have a new head coach in Dan Lambert who replaced Don Nachbaur.

Kailer Yamamoto returns after he was taken in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in this year’s draft, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan is back after the L.A. Kings picked him in the second round. Both are prolific scorers, as is center Hudson Elynuik, a third-round pick in 2016 by Carolina. The Chiefs also boast defenseman Ty Smith, a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft.

The Seattle Thunderbirds are set for a rebuilding campaign after they went 46-20-4-2 and won the WHL title to advance to the Memorial Cup where they finished 0-3. Head coach Steve Konowalchuk is now an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks and Matt O’Dette takes over.

A number of last year’s stars have moved on to the professional ranks, so it’s up to players like forwards Donovan Neuls, Nolan Volcan and Sami Moilanen to lead the offense. Defenseman Jarret Tyszka was taken by Montreal in the fifth round in May, and fellow blueliner Turner Ottenbreit figures to be one of the overagers. Goaltender Carl Stankowski was incredible during last year’s run to the WHL title, but is out for at least a month with a lower body injury.

The Silvertips won division banners in 2014-15 and 2016-17, but have plenty of question marks of their own as new head coach Dennis Williams takes over for Kevin Constantine. But the Tips have arguably the CHL’s best goalie in Carter Hart, so they should be in every game he plays. While it’s probably not the recipe to win a division title this year, the Tips should be able to return to the playoffs for the 15th time in 15 seasons.

For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.