Prospects Report #2

As is customary this time of year, WHL teams still in the running for a championship run are giving some of their young up-and-comers a tour around for a feel of what playoff hockey is all about. The players won't see the ice during the playoffs, but it's never a bad thing to give them a taste of the atmosphere around the rink.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are in the same boat, giving a few of their midget-aged players a bird's eye view as their own seasons have winded down. Which gives us the opportunity to profile how they have done.

READ MORE: Prospects Report #1

A couple of weeks ago, we did a little number-gazing at Nolan Jones, Jacob Boucher, Noah Boyko, Bryan Thomson and Jonah Regier. Here's another five prospects to keep your eyes on as they get ready for summer and do what's needed to get them into the Enmax Centre in the fall.

#1. Drew Englot
Talk about bringing some size to the table. At 15 years of age, he tips the scales at 6'3" and 181 pounds. He picked up six goals and seven assists in 40 games with the Notre Dame Midget AAA Hounds this season, adding another two assists in six playoff games. The Candiac, SK. native went scoreless in five games with Saskatchewan at the WHL Cup. The team is obviously excited about his size but also his passion for the game. The 2017 4th rounder is a late birthday though (November) so he has some time to fill out.

#2. Alex Cotton
Hurricanes fans got a sneak peek at this youngster during the season, as he played in five games on the blueline. The Langley, BC product didn't pick up any points, but he also didn't make any glaring mistakes either, with a plus/minus of zero. He spent the majority of his year with Yale Hockey Academy and lit it up. The 6', 168-pound blueliner netted 11 goals and 43 assists in 32 games. Those numbers and his size kind of put me to mind of a current Hurricanes defenseman: Calen Addison.

#3. Adam Hall and #4. Justin Hall
When a team goes out of its way to announce the signing of twin brothers, you kinda have to stand up and take notice. The Edmonton teenagers did enough this season with the CAC Edmonton Canadians to impress GM Peter Anholt. Adam had seven goals and 13 assists in 28 games, while Justin picked up 14 goals and ten assists in 34 games. Both taken in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, it will be interesting to see if they keep rising at the same pace and if they can play apart if called upon.

#5. Kirby Proctor
This one might be a wildcard in the grand scheme of things. There's no doubt he's talented, playing for the Pursuit of Excellence prep program and was invited to Canada's U17 Showcase last summer. But this season, the Okotoks product decided to play with Bonnyville in the AJHL, putting up five goals and 20 assists in 54 games for the Pontiacs. But he's not signed yet, so whether we see him in a Hurricanes jersey will all depend on what track he wants to take in the hockey world.

While the on-ice product is and should be focused on the task at hand, it's always fun to bring out the crystal ball.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Hurricanes vs. Rebels

It’s kind of like déjà vu all over again, only it’s not.

For the second year in a row, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels will renew their all-Alberta acquaintances in the first round of the WHL playoffs. But if you’re looking for comparisons between the two years, the only real similarity is that the two teams will be wearing the same jerseys.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Hurricanes look a whole lot different than they did a year ago. Gone are the overage captain and leader Tyler Wong, stalwarts Giorgio Estephan and Stewart Skinner, defenseman Brennan Menell and the injured Ryan Vandervlis, amongst a few others. They have been replaced by Brad Morrison, Logan Barlage, Matthew Stanley and Logan Flodell.

Those changes in particular make it tough to compare this Hurricanes team to the one that came back from being down 3-1 in the opening series against the Rebels last season to win the series in seven. New faces mean new identity and that new identity will be put to the test in this series, as the team tries to dig itself out of a few too many visits to the loss column recently.

Interestingly enough, five of the six meetings between the Hurricanes and Rebels this season happened after that blockbuster between Lethbridge and Swift Current right before the trade deadline. In fact, the night of the deal was the first of those battles, an emotional 5-4 shootout win for the Hurricanes. Just three nights later, they took the 6-4 win over the Rebels. The two teams met once more in January, with the Windy City Crew taking the 2-1 overtime victory, courtesy of Jordy Bellerive. The final two confrontations happened just a couple of weeks ago, and much like the rest of March, they weren’t kind to the Hurricanes, as they fell 4-1 and 5-2 in those outings.

ICYMI: #WHLCanes will begin the 2018 WHL Playoffs with home-ice advantage as they will host the @Rebelshockey in the first round which will begin on Friday, March 23rd at the @enmaxcentre! Tickets go on sale Monday at 9:00am! #CaneTrain #YQL

RELEASE: https://t.co/wFKLKeUU8k pic.twitter.com/pnIkyFJTFJ

— x-Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) March 17, 2018

So essentially, you can call this season series a wash. But the two teams are very familiar with one another. And there are a few things to keep an eye on during this series:

#1. Jordy Bellerive – Quite simply, where the captain goes, the team goes. In the first four meetings, Bellerive had three goals and five assists. In the last two games: goose-eggs. Bellerive will be looked upon to lead this team, much like his predecessor Wong did.

#2. Secondary scoring – We all know one player can’t make or break a series, so Bellerive won’t be able to do it himself. The Hurricanes got some timely points from guys like Alfaro, Zborosky and Baer last year. Now will be the time for guys like Jadon Joseph, Logan Barlage, Dylan Cozens and Zane Franklin to step up.

#3. Goaltending – Logan Flodell is capable of carrying a team. He has had some great moments in his short time in Lethbridge, following up his stints in Swift Current and Saskatoon. When you have a 20-year-old goaltender, he’s expected to take his game to the next level come playoff time. Let’s see what happens.

#4. Red Deer’s stars – The big three really feasted on the Hurricanes this year. Reese Johnson had five goals in five games, Kristian Reichel had three goals and six assists and Mason McCarty had four goals and five assists. If Lethbridge can keep them in check, they will have a chance.

#5. Discipline – Say what you will about a Brent Sutter-coached hockey team, but they get…grittier…during the playoffs. In the last two games of last year’s series, the Hurricanes won the special teams battle, simply taking fewer penalties. You can’t be chasing Rebels around the ice all night if things get chippy, or they’ll make you pay when you head to the sin bin. Coach Brent Kisio will have some psychological warfare on his hands against Sutter, and whoever can keep his players even-keel, will have a better chance of winning.

It should be a fantastic series and it all kicks off on Friday. Let the games begin, my friends!

Prospects Report #1

The Lethbridge Hurricanes gave their fans a little glimpse into the future over the weekend.

Despite the pair of losses to Red Deer and Regina, the club has a playoff spot in its hands, so it makes sense to give a couple of prospects a chance to play during the final ten days of the regular season. Not only does it give them some experience, but it also gives some of the veterans a little break as they wind up for a playoff run.

That all said, I thought it would be prudent to give you some background on a handful of Hurricane prospects and how they have been doing this season.

#1. Nolan Jones
Interestingly, we chatted with Jones almost a year ago to the day. The 16-year-old defenseman played in his fifth game with the Canes during the loss to Red Deer. The 6', 150 pound rear-guard hasn't been putting up massive numbers this season, with seven goals and 11 assists to go along with 64 PIM in 35 games for the Moose Jaw Generals. But he is shaping up to be a solid all-around d-man when he gets the full-time call with the Canes. He has an assist and is -1 in his five games in Lethbridge, so he's not making glaring mistakes, which will be a welcome sight for the brass.

#2. Jacob Boucher
Another kid who got back into the lineup this weekend. He suited up against Regina, his second game with the Hurricanes thus far this season. The 15-year-old forward was a ninth-round pick of the Hurricanes in the 2017 Bantam Draft and has had a solid campaign witht he Fort Saskatchewan Midget AAA Rangers. He has six goals and 15 assists in 35 games. At 5'7" and 150 pounds, he's not a big kid, but GM Peter Anholt has said he likes Boucher's speed and compete, and he's not afraid to get physical, which means offensive chances might come eventually.

#3. Noah Boyko
Boucher's teammate in Fort Saskatchewan is a top-ten point-getter in Midget AAA this year, picking up twenty goals and twenty assists in 30 games for the Rangers. He also played for Team Alberta in the WHL Cup, where he put up five points in five games. With the Hurricanes, he's played three games thus far, putting up no points. The 2017 first-round pick is being touted for his size (6'1", 172 pounds) who can play all three forward positions, but he's also smart, which will come in handy as he lines himself up to play with the likes of Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage.

#4. Bryan Thomson
One of two second-rounders in the last WHL Bantam Draft by the Hurricanes, Thomson has been playing with the Notre Dame Midget AAA Argos this season, getting in 28 games and putting up a 4.22 GAA in his first full season with the squad. He also saw four games of action with Saskatchewan at the WHL Cup. You gotta think Thomson, like many goaltenders, won't see a ton of action in the WHL over the next couple of seasons, but the 6'2", 160 pound netminder certainly fits the bill of the new style of puck-stopper, big and mobile.

#5. Jonah Regier
Taken right after Thomson in last year's draft, Regier will be familiar to Jones, as they were teammates with the Moose Jaw Generals. Regier's numbers won't make anyone stand up and take notice, as he put up six assists in 40 games. He just turned 16, so he has some time to grow and develop, but he's already 6'1" and 150 pounds. The left-hander is viewed as a strong puck-mover though, someone to be depended on in both ends, which could prove helpful with the stack of talent the Canes have on the back-end.

We'll take a gander at another five prospects in the coming weeks.

#TradeTree - The Butterfly Effect

Somehow, I think I've been able to link two of our trade trees in a weird, roundabout way and it will once again show the ripple effects of how one trade can set the wheels in motion for trips down interesting rabbit holes.

Let's start with our blog about the roadmap to Ryan Bowen. As you'll recall, we were able to do the six degrees of separation to get from Jesse Craige all the way to Bowen.

READ MORE: #TradeTree - Roadmap to Ryan Bowen

There was one trade in there that we didn't really dive deep into. It was the trade of Craige to Chilliwack for winger Cody Smuk and a third round pick. We learned then that pick turned into Sam McKechnie.

But it's Smuk that keeps our latest tree rolling. You see, the Hurricanes eventually sent him and a 2009 fifth round pick to Moose Jaw for goaltender Todd Mathews and a 2009 sixth round pick.

As we all know, Mathews didn't stick around very long, as he was quickly flipped to Kootenay in a deal involving draft picks. The Ice would get a seventh rounder in either 2009 or 2010, while the Hurricanes picked up a fifth rounder in either year.

As it turns out, the Ice went with the '09 pick, and used it on future long-termer Jonathan Martin, who ended up being sent to Swift Current, where he would be captain in his final year of junior. The Hurricanes also used their pick in 2009, and used it to select future captain Jamal Watson.


Here's where things got really dicey for me. Watson was later traded to Seattle for Cory Millette and a fifth round pick in 2016. Trying to track which pick that was turned into a bit of an adventure because Seattle actually had acquired fifth rounders from both Saskatoon and Swift Current, as well as they had their own. For the record, I tracked at least a dozen trades in the WHL involving fifth rounders, so this wasn't easy.

But I think I have figured out that it wasn't any of those picks. You see, back at the trade deadline in 2015, the Hurricanes sent their own fifth round pick to the Thunderbirds for Scott Allen. It looks to me like the Birds flipped that pick back to the Canes in the Watson deal.

That pick was traded one more time, and that's where the second old blog comes into play.

READ MORE: #TradeTree - Getting the Hall Twins

In May 2016, the Hurricanes sent Jayden Sittler and that pick to Spokane for the third and seventh round picks in that year's draft. As outlined previously, those picks turned into Kirby Proctor and Justin Hall.

We'll just call this all the WHL's version of the butterfly effect.