So it’ll be Vancouver and Medicine Hat in the WHL finals this season.
Surprise!
OK, maybe not. If you’d asked WHL insiders before the season for their prediction on who would meet in the finals, a large portion would have picked this very matchup. No big deal, right?
Except that it is. In a developmental league made up of 16-20-year-olds, how often do you figure the preseason favorites from both conferences reach the league finals? It certainly hasn’t happened since Everett joined the league. Last season when Vancouver and Moose Jaw met in the finals, Kelowna and Portland were the big preseason favorites out West and Medicine Hat was favored out East. In 2004-05 Kelowna reached the finals as a favorite, but Brandon wasn’t expected to be better than the likes of Medicine Hat and Calgary. And we all know about what happened in 2003-04 when a certain expansion team came out of nowhere to march to the finals. It’s just far more difficult to predict the future with players this age, when the development rate is so great and so varied from player to player. So kudos to both Vancouver and Medicine Hat for living up to the preseason hype. As Everett can attest, it ain’t easy.
Both Vancouver and Medicine Hat made quick work of their opponents to reach the finals, winning in five games. That’s been typical of these playoffs, which have been devoid of Game 7s. In 14 playoff series so far only two have reached a Game 7, and both of those came in the first round. Unfortunately that’s meant it hasn’t been the most exciting playoffs in league history. But taking a quick glance back it’s also not that unusual. Only two series went the distance last year, and the most there have been in one playoffs since the turn of the century is five.
Some other recent items to take note of:
– Everett had three players listed in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings for this year’s NHL draft http://hockeysfuture.com/nhl-css/07_final_naskaters_num.pdf. Center Zach Hamill, the WHL scoring champion, jumped back up in the ratings, finishing at No. 9 among North American skaters. Defenseman Taylor Ellington (39th) and left wing Lukas Vartovnik (180th) remained consistent with where they’ve been ranked all season. Interesting to note was the plummet of former Everett defenseman Eric Doyle, who went from a potential first-round ranking to 69th.
– The state legislature has approved funding for the Kent Events Center http://www.seattle-thunderbirds.com/news/news.php?id=405. That was the last obstacle for the T-birds’ move from Seattle to Kent in 2008. That’s great for the T-birds, who were playing in a facility (KeyArena) that just wasn’t suited to their needs. However, it means a longer commute for those eager to follow the Tips on the road.
– Prince Albert became the first team to part ways with its coach during the offseason when Peter Anholt’s contract wasn’t renewed http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=25377&sc=5. A tough end for a coach who moved into fourth on the WHL’s career list of games coached.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
