Hitmen awards you didn't know about
The Hitmen held their annual awards banquet Tuesday night at the Coast Plaza Hotel and there were few surprises.
Two-time world junior champion defenceman Karl Alzner pulled off the hat-trick as player of the year and repeated as top defenceman and coaches award recipient. Ryan White, last year’s top player award winner, repeated as the fan favourite and three-star award winner.
T.J. ‘Slick’ Galiardi walked off with top rookie honours, Bostjan Golicic scooped the scholastic award, Dan Spence the humanitarian laurels and Kyle Bortis was judge most sportsmanlike, an award he also received last year with the Swift Current Broncos.
But there were, oh, so many awards that could have been doled out. Such as:
Biggest practical joker: tie between Carson McMillan and Brock Nixon.
Eddie Shack Award as most entertaining: Brandon Kozun.
Best-looking running shoes (outside dressing room door): Tie between Karl Alzner and Brandon Kozun.
Slickest dresser: Sorry Mr. Alzner, but GQ himself, Ryan Gillen, gets the nod.
Most likely to score first in a game: Ian Duval (he had eight first goals).
Rocky VII Award: Ian Schultz.
Worst smile: Bobby Paul Postma.
Slickest puck handler: T.J. Galiardi.
Ironman Award: T.J. and McMillan (only two to play all 72 games).
Unsung hero: Trainer Will McMillan.
Most eligible bachelor: Broadcaster Brad Curle.
Prettiest goal: Rookie Chase Schaber scoring his first goal in a shootout with a deke that will be shown on highlight reels for some time. Too bad it didn’t count.
Best prank: Alzner telling Golicic it would be okay to take a drink from the opposing Prince George goalie’s water bottle after it was knocked off the top of the net. Golicic got a 10-minute misconduct and the guys got a good laugh.
Best line at the banquet: Hitmen ‘big dog’ Ken King: “The guys are hoping they can play 16 more (playoff games) so they can get on a bus and go to Kitchener (for the Memorial Cup). That’ll take three or four movies.”
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Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2008 2:00 AM by jdown | 0 Comments
Filed under: T.J. Galiardi, ryan white, karl alzner, kyle bortis, ian schultz, Bostjan Golicic
playoff previews
Thanks to the WHL for doing some of the legwork on the first-round playoff matchups. We've intentionally eliminated the Calgary-Moose Jaw series for obvious reasons as we'll have much, much more to come.
2) Regina Pats vs (7) Swift Current Broncos
2007-08 regular-season record:
Regina: 44-22-4-2, 94pts
Swift Current: 41-24-1-6, 89pts
2007-08 head-to-head record:
Regina 2-1-2-1, 7pts
Swift Current 4-2-0-0, 8pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Regina:
Jordan Eberle 6gp-2g-3a-5pts
J.D. Watt 4gp-2g-3a-5pts
Swift Current:
Zack Smith 6gp-0g-7a-7pts
David Stieler 6gp-3g-2a-5pts
The Regina Pats and the Swift Current Broncos meet up in the opening round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Garrett Festerling’s Pats knocked off Kyle Moir’s Broncos four games to two in the first round of the 2007 post-season.
The Pats won their first East Division pennant in a decade, and posted their first 90-plus-point season since the 2001-02 campaign. Deep defense, led by Canadian World Junior Logan Pyett, will need to shut down a balanced Broncos’ attack. Home-ice advantage may help the Pats, who boasted the best home record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
The Broncos are in the post-season for the third consecutive season after posting their first 40-win campaign since the 2001-02 season. Offensive depth is a strength for the Broncos as seven different players topped the 20-goal mark and nine players bettered the 40-point mark this season. Top offensive defensemen Michael Wilson and Eric Doyle will help the Broncos’ power play versus a Pats’ penalty-killing unit that ranked fifth in the six-team East Division.
Series Schedule
#1 – Swift Current @ Regina; Friday, March 21 (7:00pm MST)
#2 – Swift Current @ Regina; Saturday, March 22 (7:00pm MST)
#3 – Regina @ Swift Current; Tuesday, March 25 (7:30pm MST)
#4 – Regina @ Swift Current; Wednesday, March 26 (7:30pm MST)
#5 – Swift Current @ Regina; Friday, March 28 (7:00pm MST) If Necessary
#6 – Regina @ Swift Current; Saturday, March 29 (7:30pm MST) If Necessary
#7 – Swift Current @ Regina; Tuesday, April 1 (7:00pm MST) If Necessary
(3) Lethbridge Hurricanes vs (6) Brandon Wheat Kings
2007-08 regular-season record:
Lethbridge: 45-21-2-4, 96pts
Brandon: 42-24-3-3, 90pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Letbhridge: 3-2-0-0, 6pts
Brandon: 2-3-0-0, 4pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Lethbridge:
Dwight King 5gp-3g-3a-6pts
Colton Sceviour 5gp-1g-4a-5pts
Brandon:
Andrew Clark 3gp-2g-6a-8pts
Tyler Dittmer 4gp-4g-2a-6pts
The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Brandon Wheat Kings meet up in the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Cory Cyrenne’s Wheat Kings defeated Shane Willis’ Hurricanes four games to none in the opening round of the 1998 playoffs.
The Hurricanes are back in the post-season after missing the playoffs last year. The Hurricanes’ explosive offense, led by Zach Boychuk, Mitch Fadden, Dwight King and Colton Sceviour, will need to find consistency. The ‘Canes’ fourth-best defense in the League needs to shut down the Wheaties’ young guns. One of goaltenders Michael Maniago and Juha Metsola will have to step up and take the reins in the ‘Canes’ cage.
The Wheat Kings are in the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The trio of super-rookies Matt Calvert, Brayden Schenn and Scott Glennie will need to produce in the playoffs the way they did during the regular season. Daryl Boyle, Colby Robak and the rest of the Wheat Kings blue line will need to find a way to neutralize the ‘Canes’ top guns. The Wheat Kings earned the second-fewest road points of any Eastern Conference playoff team this season.
Series Schedule
#1 – Brandon @ Lethbridge; Friday, March 21 (7:00pm MST)
#2 – Brandon @ Lethbridge; Saturday, March 22 (7:00pm MST)
#3 – Lethbridge @ Brandon; Tuesday, March 25 (7:00pm MST)
#4 – Lethbridge @ Brandon; Wednesday, March 26 (7:00pm MST)
#5 – Lethbridge @ Brandon; Friday, March 28 (7:30pm MST) If Necessary
#6 – Brandon @ Lethbridge; Sunday, March 30 (7:00pm MST) If Necessary
#7 – Brandon @ Lethbridge; Monday, March 31 (7:00pm MST) If Necessary
(4) Medicine Hat Tigers vs (5) Kootenay Ice
2007-08 regular-season record:
Medicine Hat: 43-22-5-2, 93pts
Kootenay: 42-22-5-3, 92pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Medicine Hat: 2-3-1-0, 5pts
Kootenay: 4-2-0-0, 8pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Medicine Hat:
Brennan Bosch 6gp-3g-4a-7pts
Tyler Ennis 6gp-3g-3a-6pts
Kootenay:
Steve DaSilva 6gp-4g-6a-10pts
Dustin Sylvester 6gp-2g-6a-8pts
The Medicine Hat Tigers and the Kootenay Ice meet up for their first-ever playoff series.
The Tigers are the defending WHL Champions, and are making their sixth consecutive playoff appearance. The quartet of Tyler Ennis, Brennan Bosch, Daine Todd and Yashar Farmanara combined for 113 of the Tigers 234 goals this season. Goaltenders Ryan Holfeld and Tomas Vosvrda will need to be sharp to shut down a powerful Ice offence. Home-ice may not be an advantage for Tigers versus the Ice, as Kootenay won two of three visits to The Hat this season.
The Ice are in the post-season for the 10th consecutive year after rebounding from a rough start to post their fourth straight campaign with 40 or more victories. Steve DaSilva, Andrew Bailey, Arnaud Jacquemet, Dustin Sylvester and Michael Stickland provide the majority of Kootenay’s offense, but more will be needed in the form of secondary scoring. Goaltender Kris Lazaruk can dominate, but needs to find consistency in his first playoff foray.
Series Schedule
#1 – Kootenay @ Medicine Hat; Friday, March 21 (7:30pm MST)
#2 – Kootenay @ Medicine Hat; Saturday, March 22 (7:30pm MST)
#3 – Medicine Hat @ Kootenay; Tuesday, March 25 (7:00pm MST)
#4 – Medicine Hat @ Kootenay; Wednesday, March 26 (7:00pm MST)
#5 – Kootenay @ Medicine Hat; Friday, March 28 (7:30pm MST) If Necessary
#6 – Medicine Hat @ Kootenay; Sunday, March 30 (6:00pm MST) If Necessary
#7 – Kootenay @ Medicine Hat; Tuesday, April 1 (7:00pm MST) If Necessary
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Tri-City Americans vs (8) Kamloops Blazers
2007-08 regular-season record:
Tri-City: 52-16-2-2, 108pts
Kamloops: 27-41-2-2, 58pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Tri-City: 3-1-0-0, 6pts
Kamloops: 1-3-0-0, 2pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Tri-City:
Jason Reese 4gp-3g-3a-6pts
Shaun Vey 4gp-2g-3a-5pts
Kamloops:
Kenton Dulle 4gp-2g-1a-3pts
Sasha Golin 4gp-1g-1a-2pts
The Tri-City Americans and the Kamloops Blazers meet up for their first playoff series since the 1998-99 season. Robyn Regehr’s Blazers swept Scott Gomez’ Americans four games to none in the 1999 Western Conference Final.
The Americans enter the playoffs on the back of their best regular-season campaign in franchise history that saw them win the U.S. Division title and the Scotty Munro trophy for finishing first overall. The Ams’ boast a deep and speedy group of forwards who helped the team to a WHL-best 262 goals this season. Special teams will benefit the Ams as they boasted the second-best power play and the best penalty killing in the WHL. Chet Pickard became only the sixth goalie in WHL history to post 46 wins.
The Blazers make their second straight post-season appearance, but enter the playoffs having won just one of their final 15 games. The Blazers will need to find a way to produce offense versus the Ams, as they managed just six goals in four meetings with Tri-City this season. Goaltender Justin Leclerc will need to be at his best to stop the Ams’ top-ranked offense. Kamloops has won just once in their last six visits to Kennewick, WA.
Series Schedule
#1 – Kamloops @ Tri-City; Friday, March 21 (7:05pm PST)
#2 – Kamloops @ Tri-City; Saturday, March 22 (7:05pm PST)
#3 – Tri-City @ Kamloops; Tuesday, March 25 (7:00pm PST)
#4 – Tri-City @ Kamloops; Wednesday, March 26 (7:00pm PST)
#5 – Kamloops @ Tri-City; Saturday, March 29 (7:05pm PST) If Necessary
#6 – Tri-City @ Kamloops; Monday, March 31 (7:00pm PST) If Necessary
#7 – Kamloops @ Tri-City; Wednesday, April 2 (7:05pm PST) If Necessary
(2) Vancouver Giants vs (7) Chilliwack Bruins
2007-08 regular-season record:
Vancouver: 49-15-2-6, 106pts
Chilliwack: 28-35-4-5, 65pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Vancouver: 8-0-1-1, 18pts
Chilliwack: 2-7-1-0, 5pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Vancouver:
Michal Repik 7gp-7g-5a-12pts
Spencer Machacek 9gp-4g-8a-12pts
Chilliwack:
Mark Santorelli 10gp-3g-5a-8pts
Brandon Campos 10gp-3g-3a-6pts
The Vancouver Giants and the Chilliwack Bruins meet up in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Cody Franson’s Giants defeated Josh Aspenlind’s Bruins four games to one in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
The Giants begin their quest to make a third consecutive appearance at the Memorial Cup Tournament after winning the CHL Championship trophy as the host team in 2007 and appearing as WHL Champs in the 2006 tournament in Moncton, NB. A combination of strong offense, a relentless forecheck, and rock-solid defense makes the Giants a very tough team to contend with. The Giants outscored the Bruins 38-18 in 10 meetings this season.
The Bruins are in the post-season for the second straight season after making the playoffs in their inaugural WHL campaign last year. The Bruins started the season strong, but have struggled in the season’s second half, winning just 10 times in their final 36 games. Mark Santorelli – the WHL scoring champ – Oscar Moller, Brandon Campos, Evan Pighin and Nick Holden combined for 146 of the Bruins’ 206 total goals this season, accounting for nearly 75 per cent of the team’s offensive production.
Series Schedule
#1 - Chilliwack @ Vancouver; Friday, March 21 (7:30 p.m., PT)
#2 - Chilliwack @ Vancouver; Saturday, March 22 (7:00 p.m., PT)
#3 - Vancouver @ Chilliwack; Tuesday, March 25 (7:00 p.m., PT)
#4 - Vancouver @ Chilliwack; Wednesday, March 26 (7:00 p.m., PT)
#5 - Chilliwack @ Vancouver; Friday, March 28 (7:30 p.m., PT) If Necessary
#6 - Vancouver @ Chilliwack; Saturday, March 29 (7:00 p.m., PT) If Necessary
#7 - Chilliwack @ Vancouver; Monday, March 31 (7:00 p.m., PT) If Necessary
(4) Seattle Thunderbirds vs (5) Kelowna Rockets
2007-08 regular-season record:
Seattle: 42-23-5-2, 91pts
Kelowna: 38-26-2-6, 84pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Seattle: 3-0-0-1, 7pts
Kelowna: 1-3-0-0, 2pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Seattle:
Jim O’Brien 4gp-2g-6a-8pts
Greg Scott 4gp-2g-5a-7pts
Kelowna:
Kyle St. Denis 4gp-3g-1a-4pts
Tyson Barrie 4gp-0g-3a-3pts
The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Kelowna Rockets meet up in the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Shea Weber’s Rockets beat Tyler Metcalfe’s Thunderbirds four games to three in the second round of the 2005 WHL playoffs.
The Thunderbirds are in the post-season for the fourth straight season after posting their best regular-season record since the 2004-05 season. Bud Holloway enters the post-season playing his best hockey of the year, having scored 11 goals and 16 points in nine games in March. The T-Birds’ boast eight players with 40 or more points this season. Goaltenders Jacob DeSerres and Riku Helenius have been one of the best netminding duos in the WHL. The T-Birds lost only six times in regulation on home ice all season.
The Rockets are back in the post-season after missing the playoffs last year for the first time in franchise history, but struggled down the stretch with only eight wins in their last 22 games. A healthy Jamie Benn will greatly help Kelowna’s offensive output, but more secondary scoring will be needed to break a strong T-Birds’ defense. The Rockets managed their only win versus the T-Birds in the four-game season series on the road in Seattle on October 6th.
Series Schedule
#1 – Kelowna @ Seattle; Friday, March 21 (7:35pm PST)
#2 – Kelowna @ Seattle; Saturday, March 22 (7:05pm PST)
#3 – Seattle @ Kelowna; Monday, March 24 (7:00pm PST)
#4 – Seattle @ Kelowna; Tuesday, March 25 (7:00pm PST)
#5 – Kelowna @ Seattle; Thursday, March 27 (7:05pm PST) If Necessary
#6 – Seattle @ Kelowna; Saturday, March 29 (7:00pm PST) If Necessary
#7 – Kelowna @ Seattle; Tuesday, April 1 (7:05pm PST) If Necessary
3) Spokane Chiefs vs (6) Everett Silvertips
2007-08 regular-season record:
Spokane: 50-15-1-6, 107pts
Everett: 39-30-0-3, 81pts
2007-08 Head-to-head record:
Spokane: 3-4-0-1, 8pts
Everett: 5-2-0-1, 11pts
2007-08 head-to-head top scorers:
Spokane:
Judd Blackwater 8gp-4g-2a-6pts
Chris Bruton 7gp-2g-3a-5pts
Everett:
Zach Hamill 8gp-5g-5a-10pts
Shane Harper 8gp-4g-3a-7pts
The Spokane Chiefs and the Everett Silvertips meet up in the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight season. Peter Mueller’s ‘Tips beat Michael Grabner’s Chiefs four games to two in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
The Chiefs posted their best regular-season record in franchise history with 107 points, but it still only got them the third seed in the Western Conference. The Chiefs possess a solid balance of strong offense, steady defense and great goaltending. Spokane boasted 11 players with 10 or more goals this season and eight players with 40 or more points. The goaltending duo of Dustin Tokarski and Kevin Armstrong each finished among the top five WHL netminders in goals-against average, and both posted save percentages of .915 or better.
The Silvertips qualified for the post-season for the fifth straight season since joining the League in 2003-04, but head into the playoffs on the back of five straight losses. The ‘Tips’ veteran forwards like Dan Gendur, Zach Hamill and Clayton Bauer will be charged with trying to generate offense versus an extremely stingy Chiefs’ defense. The Silvertips had success versus the Chiefs this season, winning five of eight meetings, including two of four in Spokane
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Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2008 6:34 PM by jdown | 0 Comments
Filed under: Eastern Conference, Western Conference playoff teams
Hitmen can win the East
All season long, the question most asked of your agent has been, ‘are the Hitmen good enough to go to the Memorial Cup?’
And all season long, we’ve given the same answer: You bet.
Now as the Western Hockey League playoffs prepare to open on all fronts this Good Friday, let us expand on that response.
Not only are the Hitmen good enough, but so are the Regina Pats, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Tri-City Americans, Vancouver Giants and Spokane Chiefs. Furthermore, there are no clear-cut favourites among this mob.
Throw in the often explosive Kelowna Rockets as the darkhorse.
In one of those rare seasons, there appears to be too many teams with the makings of the right stuff. Health, heart and goaltending probably will be the determining factors in deciding the eventual ticket-holders to Kitchener.
There are, however, many things to like about the Hitmen.
Most noticeable is the talent level that includes a league-high eight NHL draft picks, including first-rounders Karl Alzner (Washington) and Alex Plante (Edmonton) on the blueline. There’s two second-rounders in defenceman Keith Seabrook (Washington) and centre T.J. ‘Slick’ Galiardi (Colorado), a couple of third-rounders in centre Ryan White (Montreal) and centre/winger Brett Sonne (St. Louis) and two seventh-rounders in defenceman Paul Postma (Atlanta) and power forward Carson McMillan (Minnesota).
Don’t forget, also, that swift centre/winger Ian Duval and shifty winger Bostjan Golicic also attended NHL camps last fall on invitations. Or that burly rookie winger Ian Schultz, hard-shooting rearguard Michael Stone and Jones have all been ranked by Central Scouting for this summer's NHL draft.
The defence is a veteran corps outside of rookie Matt Mackenzie and has good size, all six feet or taller and all but Postma and Mackenzie tipping the scales at 200 pounds or more.
That leaves goaltending and therein lies the biggest argument. Most NHL scouts will tell you the Hitmen’s tandem of veteran Dan Spence and rapidly improving sophomore Martin Jones aren’t good enough to carry this team through thin times.
We say, phooey.
Spence has proven that when he pays attention to detail, he is better than average. But when the 19-year-old, well-spoken redhead tries to be too flashy, that’s when he looks awfully ordinary.
Jones also has shown that, while he is still learning many of the big shooters, he plays it simple and is rarely caught out of position.
Some observers feel the Hitmen also might be on the small side up front but they’ve proven that old adage of, you can’t hit what you can’t catch, to be true throughout the season.
There are intangibles to consider, such as an opposing goaltender getting stupid hot and stealing a series like Joey Perricone did for a talent-laden Warriors lineup two seasons ago against the Hitmen in the second round.
But I don’t think there’s a goalie out there, nor a team in the Eastern Conference, that can hold off the Hitmen when they bring their A-game. They are tight-knit, they have chemistry, they are well-coached and they have loads of skill and confidence.
So we’ll go so far to say they can prevail in the East if they stay healthy and stay focused. And if they can climb aboard momentum, they just might ride it past what is bound to be an imposing Western Conference champion.
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