2013-14 WHL Season

[Red John]

Nick Merkley is going to be a star. Actually going to say he looks more impresive at 16 years old than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did.

His offensive instincts remind me of Patrick Kane. He lacks Kane's shot but sees the ice well and has the confidence to pull off gutsy moves against older defensemen.

Then you have Rourke Chartier who is going to be drafted this coming year. Such an intelligent hockey player - his hockey sense and situational awareness are great.

Tyson Baillie has looked disappointing this year but may get his speed and edge still - not sure he's a 1st rounder yet but probably will be a 2nd.

15-year old Dillon Dube impressed in pre-season this year...too small a sample size on him yet but he seems to have potential.

Point being that the Rockets have always been known as a defenseman factory for the NHL but in the near future they are going to churn out some elite forwards.

[Flickered Flame]

Originally Posted by Red John

Kelowna Rockets made a statement this weekend that they might be the team to beat in the West, if not the entire league.

.

I would say they are the class of the league by a wide margin and that was expected.

[Flickered Flame]

Also interesting to note that the Hitmen had Kelly Kisio in Kelowna last night. I do know the teams had discussions during the preseason.

[Matty81]

That is interesting. Rockets have 8 defencemen on their roster and I think 7 could play in most team's top 4 right now. Mitch Wheaton (red wing draft pick) is just coming back from injury but I don't know who he's going to replace. Dalton Yorke has kind of taken his place as a big shutdown guy and he's younger at 17 and tougher.

That said I figured they'd just keep the depth and rotate them. If they have two needs they'd maybe be another scoring winger, A real sniper type, to round out their 3rd or 2nd line and a goon type, Goulbourne can fight but with such a young team another deterrent just for those types of games would be handy, Seattle took a lot of cheap shots last year in the playoffs and Victoria is a bit of a goon squad as well.

I figured they'd go after Klimchuk and a plug from Regina in a couple months. What would Calgary be shopping/looking for?

[Flickered Flame]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I figured they'd go after Klimchuk and a plug from Regina in a couple months. What would Calgary be shopping/looking for?

The Hitmen really need a solid puck moving dman who can play in the top 4. I could see the Hitmen interested in Klimchuk as well, I wonder if the Flames would get involved in that? The Hitmen did just pick up Penner.

[Matty81]

I don't think the Flames could, especially owning the Hitmen, it would be a huge conflict of interest. Regina is going to sell Stephenson off for sure but I don't know about Klimchuk yet since he seems likely to play for another full year. Although Regina will probably be bad for that year too, their roster is all 18-19-20 year olds and they will have a tough rebuild ahead if they continue to suck this bad.

It would surprise me if the Hitmen dealt with the Rockets especially as they'd have to part with something significant to land a defenceman from a team they might be fencing with at the top of the league in the Rockets. Makes more sense to go after Kulak or Thrower from Vancouver, the Giants are all kinds of suck and would probably take picks or prospects.

That said if they did deal, based on what you're saying it would have to be Jesse Lees from Kelowna. He's dropped behind Stadel on the depth chart and he could easily score 40-50 points with more ice, significantly underused, Kelowna's 1st rounder in the bantam draft a couple years ago (9th overall). Plus he's a Calgary boy which the organization seems to value lately.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't think the Flames could, especially owning the Hitmen, it would be a huge conflict of interest. Regina is going to sell Stephenson off for sure but I don't know about Klimchuk yet since he seems likely to play for another full year. Although Regina will probably be bad for that year too, their roster is all 18-19-20 year olds and they will have a tough rebuild ahead if they continue to suck this bad.

It would surprise me if the Hitmen dealt with the Rockets especially as they'd have to part with something significant to land a defenceman from a team they might be fencing with at the top of the league in the Rockets. Makes more sense to go after Kulak or Thrower from Vancouver, the Giants are all kinds of suck and would probably take picks or prospects.

That said if they did deal, based on what you're saying it would have to be Jesse Lees from Kelowna. He's dropped behind Stadel on the depth chart and he could easily score 40-50 points with more ice, significantly underused, Kelowna's 1st rounder in the bantam draft a couple years ago (9th overall). Plus he's a Calgary boy which the organization seems to value lately.

Im curious as to what the conflict would be. I mean i get it if the Flames had ties to the Regina club and trying to get him to come to an entity they own in the Hitmen...but really dont see where the problem is acting on behalf of their team.

Am i missing something?

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Im curious as to what the conflict would be. I mean i get it if the Flames had ties to the Regina club and trying to get him to come to an entity they own in the Hitmen...but really dont see where the problem is acting on behalf of their team.

Am i missing something?

Well Flickered might correct me, but he said he could see the Hitmen being interested in Klimchuk and wondered if the Flames would get involved in that and I understood that to mean would the Flames try to orchestrate a deal from the Pats to the Hitmen as they own the players NHL rights and could exert some influence on the Pats. They hold pretty considerable influence over his value as an asset as they will determine if he goes back to junior for his 19 and 20 year old seasons. I don't know how else the Flames would be involved in a WHL trade as they have no say over where a player plays in the WHL, only if they play there or not.

It's about as blatant a conflict of interest as there is if they try to use their power wielded by owning the player's rights with their NHL team to orchestrate a deal to a WHL team they own.

If that started happening around the league the WHL teams owned by NHL teams would have a huge and unfair advantage.

The Hitmen have every right to get involved and try to pick him up but the Flames should not be involved at all.

Now I know they have gotten involved in junior player movement in the past, with Backlund for instance (thanks for the 2009 WHL title Flames!) but they had no financial interest in the Rockets so there was no conflict.

[getbak]

I don't think the Flames/Hitmen have done it, but the Oil Kings have acquired players drafted by the Oilers before (David Musil is one that comes to mind, but I think there have been others).

There really isn't much force an NHL team can exert over a non-affiliated WHL team. If a player is under 20 and not NHL ready (which I don't think Klimchuk will be next year), the NHL team really doesn't have any choice but to send him back. Feaster isn't going to hold Klimchuk hostage next year and threaten to keep him with the Flames if the Pats don't trade him to the Hitmen.

Looking back, there would have been some logic in the Flames trying to orchestrate trades for Ferland last season, or Backlund when he came over, to bring them to the Hitmen so the Flames could keep an eye on them. The fact that they didn't do that in either situation, is a good indication that it's not an organizational strategy like it is in Edmonton.

[Matty81]

Feaster/Burke won't get involved. 18/19 year old season isn't as much in play except with the real star players but what they decide to do with the 20 year old kids is highly discretionary. I think most whl gms try to stay on good terms with their nhl counterparts.

It would be great to see Klimchuk move to a contender, Rockets, Hitmen or whoever anyway, he is wasted in Regina this season IMO (sorry pats fans).

[Resolute 14]

The only potential for conflict of interest would be if the Flames put their own wants above the Hitmen's needs. In this case, I doubt it could be argued that Klimchuk wouldn't make the team better.

[Red John]

Could be an early preview of the WHL final tomorrow night. Kelowna vs Calgary.

Looking forward to it.

[Resolute 14]

Hurricanes had a decent weekend. Beat Saskatoon, then gave a plucky effort in Calgary. And yet, their top two scorers from last year up and quit the team.

One has to wonder if it isn't in the WHL's best interest for the league to take over the Canes. That franchise is a complete mess.

[Matty81]

Anybody in other WHL cities see Klimchuk, Roy, Kulak, Gordon or Kazing yet this year? Have only been to a couple this year and haven't seen any of the flames picks.

[Resolute 14]

Went to buy tickets for the Teddy Bear Toss today, and man, pickings are slim. Looks like they are around 16,000 tickets sold, so expect the 300s to be opened up soon.

Also, I really like Ticketmaster's interactive map.

[Red John]

Bumping this at mid-season.

The Kelowna Rockets record now stands at 30-3-2. At this pace they will challenge the record for most wins in a season (60) and points (125). What's truly amazing is that they don't have any ringer forwards who are putting up 100+ points - it's a complete team effort playing a system.

Doubt that they beat either record as they've won a lot of miracle last-minute games and bounces will go against them at some point. But it sure is fun to watch.

The West is way stronger than the East. Six teams with over a .630 winning percentage, compared to only four in the east. That said it's unlikely any team beats Kelowna over a seven-game series although there's a ton of hockey to be played and injuries down the road can change a lot.

[Flickered Flame]

No real surprises, standings wise, so far in the league. Maybe PA being just an average team. I've seen most teams play 3 or 4 times now and I would agree that the better teams are in the West.

[Zach]

Portland will beat the Rockets in a 7 game series.

[Red John]

Originally Posted by Zach

Portland will beat the Rockets in a 7 game series.

Kelowna just hammered Portland 9-3...in Portland. Teams play again tonight.

Rockets were just named the No. 1 team in the country.

[Flickered Flame]

Originally Posted by Zach

Portland will beat the Rockets in a 7 game series.

I can't see it. No one is even in the same league as Kelowna this year.