A collection of interesting stories that encompass the early stages of the Western Hockey League season.
With the WHL season officially kicking off of Friday, there are already some intriguing storylines that will end up playing out over the next six months.
Year of the Rookie
It's just been one game, but it appears to be a close race for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, awarded to the WHL's rookie of the year. Plenty of newcomers are off to strong starts, many of them being of the 2008 birth year variety; Prince Albert Raiders blueliner Daxon Rudolph scored his first WHL goal in a close 3-2 loss to the Regina Pats, and Victoria Royals forward Keaton Verhoeff notched two goals, one being the tying goal and the other was overtime winner that took down the Tri-City Americans.
Warriors' title defence off on wrong foot
Moose Jaw made the trek to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings to open their season, and it may not have gone as they had hoped. The Warriors did open the scoring, as Connor Schmidt ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle past Ethan Eskit, but Brandon would go on to score five of the next six goals (four being unanswered) to take the game by a score of 5-2. Jackson Unger made 41 saves in the loss, and was one of the bright spots for Moose Jaw.
2025 NHL Draft has some strong contenders
It was the 17 year olds' time to shine on Friday, as a handful of 2025 NHL Draft prospects showed up early and often. Brandon's Roger McQueen made headlines across the hockey world, putting up four (!) goals in his season opener against Moose Jaw. Out west, Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt potted two of his own in a 4-3 overtime win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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