Following Winterhawks and prospects in the WHL playoffs!

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by Samiz

http://video.flames.nhl.com/videocen...d=11&id=175127

Baertschi's goal last night. What a beauty!

Gotta love his patience with the puck. Instead of shooting it right away he went right around the goalie.

[getbak]

Brossoit wins Game 5, 4-1 (First Star again for the third time in the Series). No surprise that Brossoit was also the series MVP.


Bro vs Baer in the WHL Finals is a go! Games 1 & 2 go next Thursday and Friday from Rexall, all games on Shaw.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Two prospects in the WHL final, Abbotsford Heat heading into the second round of the AHL playoffs - who says playoff time is boring for a Flames fan?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Two prospects in the WHL final, Abbotsford Heat heading into the second round of the AHL playoffs - who says playoff time is boring for a Flames fan?

Three prospects in the WHL Final. Don't forget Tyler Wotherspoon.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised the see the Flames take either Reinhart or Pouliot in the Draft (both are likely to go around the middle of the first round), so it will be a good chance to scout them too.



To update a stat I posted earlier: So far in the playoffs, Brossoit's GAA is 1.62 and Baertschi's PPG is 1.67 (Rattie's is 1.93). Should be a great series.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by getbak

Three prospects in the WHL Final. Don't forget Tyler Wotherspoon.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised the see the Flames take either Reinhart or Pouliot in the Draft (both are likely to go around the middle of the first round), so it will be a good chance to scout them too.

To update a stat I posted earlier: So far in the playoffs, Brossoit's GAA is 1.62 and Baertschi's PPG is 1.67 (Rattie's is 1.93). Should be a great series.

Oops, forgot about Wotherspoon (maybe that's a good thing given the style he plays haha).

[getbak]

WHL Final Series Schedule:

#1 – Portland @ Edmonton; Thursday, May 3 (7:00pm MT)
#2 – Portland @ Edmonton; Friday, May 4 (7:00pm MT)
#3 – Edmonton @ Portland; Sunday, May 6 (7:00pm MT)
#4 – Edmonton @ Portland; Tuesday, May 8 (8:00pm MT)
#5 – Portland @ Edmonton; Thursday, May 10 (7:00pm MT)**
#6 – Edmonton @ Portland; Saturday, May 12 (TBD)**
#7 – Portland @ Edmonton; Sunday, May 13 (TBD)**


All games will be on Shaw (301 HD/10 SD).

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by Samiz

http://video.flames.nhl.com/videocen...d=11&id=175127

Baertschi's goal last night. What a beauty!

THE SWISS SVENSATION! beauty goal

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by getbak

Three prospects in the WHL Final. Don't forget Tyler Wotherspoon.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised the see the Flames take either Reinhart or Pouliot in the Draft (both are likely to go around the middle of the first round), so it will be a good chance to scout them too.



To update a stat I posted earlier: So far in the playoffs, Brossoit's GAA is 1.62 and Baertschi's PPG is 1.67 (Rattie's is 1.93). Should be a great series.

Talking to scouts on various teams, I could see Reinhart easily taken in the top 5 to 7 of the draft.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by getbak

Brossoit wins Game 5, 4-1 (First Star again for the third time in the Series). No surprise that Brossoit was also the series MVP.


Bro vs Baer in the WHL Finals is a go! Games 1 & 2 go next Thursday and Friday from Rexall, all games on Shaw.

I just so happen to be in Edmonton for business all next week. Guess I'm going to some hockey games.

[getbak]

The great thing (as a Flames fan) is that every time Sven gets a scoring chance in the Finals, it'll either be a great goal by a Flames prospect, or a great save by a Flames prospect.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

They have to travel by bus, right? Why is Game 6 and 7 back-to-back? That's going to be brutal.

2012 WHL Championship Series

Thursday, May 3 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Friday, May 4 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Sunday, May 6 – Edmonton at Portland – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rose Garden
Tuesday, May 8 – Edmonton at Portland – 8:00 p.m. MDT @ Rose Garden
Thursday, May 10 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Saturday, May 12 – Edmonton at Portland - TBD @ Rose Garden
Sunday, May 13 – Portland at Edmonton – TBD @ Rexall Place

[getbak]

I think they always fly for the Finals (Portland and Kootenay did last year).


Looking at Rexall Place's calendar (http://www.ticketmaster.ca/search?tm...q=Rexall+Place): Van Halen on May 11; The Black Keys on May 12; Stars on Ice on May 14; and Nickelback on May 15.

The Memorial Cup starts in Shawinigan, Quebec on May 17th, so, the 10th and 13th are the only available dates for Games 5 & 7.

[Lt.Spears]

Probably impossible to pull Rattie out of St.Louis now right? Kid is unbelievable.

I like Sven but Rattie is playing excellent.

[StrykerSteve]

Different kind of players. Sven has more natural skill IMO, at least from what I saw when I went to the games in Kelowna in round 1.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

They have to travel by bus, right? Why is Game 6 and 7 back-to-back? That's going to be brutal.

2012 WHL Championship Series

Thursday, May 3 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Friday, May 4 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Sunday, May 6 – Edmonton at Portland – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rose Garden
Tuesday, May 8 – Edmonton at Portland – 8:00 p.m. MDT @ Rose Garden
Thursday, May 10 – Portland at Edmonton – 7:00 p.m. MDT @ Rexall Place
Saturday, May 12 – Edmonton at Portland - TBD @ Rose Garden
Sunday, May 13 – Portland at Edmonton – TBD @ Rexall Place

Even two days to get from Edmonton to Portland on a bus is tough. At the minimimum, they'll fly to Vancouver or Abbotsford, and bus it the rest of the way I'd think.

[psyang]

My first glimpse of Sven was in the WHL finals last year. I was obviously watching for Max Reinhart, but I thought Sven was the most noticeable player for Portland.

If you had told me two years ago that we would have arguably the best player from each team in the finals two years running, I never would have believed you. Drafting Pouliot could be icing on the cake.

[Bonded]

I wish we had drafted Rattie as well with our second... Oh

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I wish we had drafted Rattie as well with our second... Oh

I always find responses like this oh so very helpful and hilarious, not to mention completely on topic as well.

[Miniac]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I wish we had drafted Rattie as well with our second... Oh

Can't win them all.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Even two days to get from Edmonton to Portland on a bus is tough. At the minimimum, they'll fly to Vancouver or Abbotsford, and bus it the rest of the way I'd think.

The WHL doesn't allow teams to travel by air. I'm not sure if that changes for the Finals but you'd almost think it has to.

EDIT: Looks like the finals are flight by charter but teams are forced to bus during the regular season and first three rounds.

It was situations like that which brought in the “no fly” rule to the Western Hockey League.

It’s a bus league until the league final when both teams are mandated to fly unless the bus trip is less than eight hours (or especially the two and a half hour run between Cranbrook and Spokane).

“It was a commitment all WHL clubs made to protect the business model we put in place,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison.

“We have significant discrepancies between size of markets with Swift Current, Prince Albert and Kootenay playing in a league with Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

“We needed to put in controls on major expense areas so there would be no competitive advantage in series between small market teams and big market teams.

“In the years before we put them in, we’d gone a few years when it was a gentleman’s agreement, but there was a need to institute hard and fast rules to force them to respect one another and be fair to the players.

“We agreed on bus travel for the first three rounds and to charter teams to the conference final and Memorial Cup,” he said of the agreement in 2002.

“We wanted both teams to fly to series games in our final so the winner would best be able to compete when they got to the Memorial Cup.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/03/3...oys-on-the-bus