THE PIPELINE SHOW: A Division-by-Division Preview of the WHL Season
After a solid month of interviewing General Managers from around the Western Hockey League, it’s time to deliver an unbiased preview of the upcoming 2019-20 WHL season. Guy is joined by four pundits from Dub Network to go through each division and predict which teams will excel and which ones will miss the playoffs.
WHL East Division Preview
How quickly things change in junior hockey. The last two years saw the East Division as the power of the WHL’s Eastern Conference with several teams claiming contender status. Now, you could make a case that only half the clubs in the division will make the playoffs. At least that’s what my guest predicted during our conversation this week. Darnell Duff from Dub Network is our guide.
We took a healthy look at all six teams going in reverse order of Darnell’s predicted finish. I won’t spoil it for you here but we break each club down by position, which team is solid in net, who has the deepest blueline corps, which forwards will be counted on to fill the net and even which club has the best trio of 20-year-olds.
When will Peyton Krebs be back? Have we seen the last of Kirby Dach? Does Regina have enough depth upfront? How much should we expect from Matthew Savoie and Carson Lambos in Winnipeg? Is unproven goaltending going to be the downfall of the Prince Albert Raiders? Can Brayden Tracey carry Moose Jaw or are the Warriors in for a long season? Will the Wheat Kings rise to the top once again?
WHL Central Division Preview
It would appear that the Central division will consist of two groups of teams; those that are retooling and growing and those that are competitive and potentially in a position to contend in the conference.
Glen Erickson from Dub Network is my guest to go through the six teams that make up the division. He sees it very much the same way that I do in that a couple of clubs will be left behind by the four that compete with each other for playoff seeding.
Some of the questions that we cover include Willie Desjardins impact on his return to the league and if Mads Søgaard is the best goalie in the division? How do the Oil Kings replace the offence that left them from a season ago? Will a youth movement in Red Deer cost the Rebels a playoff spot? Does moving from the East to the Central division hurt the Broncos or is Swift Current locked into their fate regardless? Do the Hitmen and Hurricanes have the goaltending needed to be contenders or will Calgary and Lethbridge go shopping?
There will be great races in the division and that will make for an exciting year.
WHL US Division Preview
Competition should be fierce in the U.S. Division, according to my guest, Josh Critzer of Dub Network. The quality of play in the American loop will be high and when it’s all said and done, there might not be much separating some of the teams vying for playoff seeding.
The big question mark with Spokane is the availability of stud defenceman Ty Smith. The 19-year-old can’t play in the AHL so it’s New Jersey or back with the Chiefs. Either way, Spokane might still be the best team in the division considering their depth at all positions.
The other clubs all have their question marks too but one constant throughout the division: solid goaltending. The Chiefs have new import Lukas Parik, Portland has Joel Hofer while Seattle welcomes back Roddy Ross, Tri-City has Beck Warm and the Everett Silvertips boast Dustin Wolf and Keegan Karki.
But there are some differences between the teams and Critzer does a great job of breaking that out and how it will benefit each club.
WHL B.C. Division Preview
Last season was a weak year for the B.C. division, aside from the Vancouver Giants, but you can be sure that other teams will be much stronger including the Memorial Cup hosting Kelowna Rockets. Stephen Hawco from Dub Network helps preview the division for this week’s episode.
In Vancouver, the obvious question is whether or not Bowen Byram is returned by Colorado and assuming that will be the case when that will happen. Even without their marquee star, there are still a lot of weapons in the arsenal that makes the Giants one of the favourites once again.
Will it be another long year for Prince George or will Mark Lamb be able to work some magic? How about the Kamloops Blazers who had a perfect pre-season and are riding a wave of confidence into the opening weekend?
Then you have the consistent Victoria Royals who always seem to find a way, or will this be the year it catches up to them? Lastly, you know the Rockets are going to evolve over the course of the season towards the Memorial Cup but how much and in what ways?