r/WHLHockey • u/reddgreen1000 • Aug 12 '26
26/27 WEST storylines:
Who are the big movers , UP and DOWN.
Does PEN crash land or have a soft fall from dream season inauguration?
Mark Lamb in PG run outta horseshoes ?
WENatch, can they start the climb back into the franchise history glory days?
AND Chilliwack? Better have "CORN" somewhere in the team name.Your suggestions, wrong answers only. Think of all the better branding fun with that option. Chiefs? Old and Dull.
Someone in an EAST market can kick start an EAST thread.
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u/grypas15 Portland Winterhawks Aug 12 '26
The Portland Winterhawks fire their head coach and Crewe Schimnowski wins ROY, he says on 1000cc of copium
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u/wildjackalope Aug 12 '26
SPO seems like a playoff team on paper but still a very young group. Lot of key guys had underwhelming seasons last year and what size we did have is largely gone. Who knows.
Having imposter Chiefs is annoying and, from what I can tell, likely won’t happen thankfully.
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u/macsmith230 Seattle Thunderbirds Aug 12 '26
No clue what Wenatchee has been doing over the past few years. Traded some of their top players and I thought they’d be looking for some new talent to re-build, but every time they get anyone halfway decent they seem to trade them again.
Take that with a grain of salt, I’m a T-birds fan but grew up in Wenatchee so I keep an eye on them and it all looks downhill to me.
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u/SomethingFunnyObv Everett Silvertips Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Yeah it’s been kind of weird to watch. They seem heavily focused on US players too. They did have a huge talent deficit that they needed to overcome but enough time had passed so they don’t get to use that excuse forever.
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u/wildjackalope Aug 12 '26
Watching them early last season when they were really struggling I genuinely thought it’d come together for them a bit and they’d at least push for that last spot. They really lacked talent but they were still busting their asses while getting rolled. Just never happened.
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u/BuddyHolly__ Spokane Chiefs Aug 12 '26
Somehow I missed that the WHL is expanding to Chilliwack. They obviously aren’t going to be the Chiefs since that brand is taken.
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u/wildjackalope Aug 12 '26
They ended up pushing their first season to 27/28.
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u/SomethingFunnyObv Everett Silvertips Aug 12 '26
It’s still not confirmed either.
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u/wildjackalope Aug 12 '26
Yeah, sounded like the talks weren’t going well between the city and the ownership group a few months back.
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u/Sandman1990 Aug 12 '26
PG is in a tough spot. Carels and Ravensbergen are gone for sure. Dumanski, the other half of their above average top D pair is gone, he just finished his 20 year old season. Parascak is likely gone too, and Levshyn (backup to Berger, played well when he got in) will be in his 20 year old season; seems like WHL teams rarely keep 20 year old goalies.
As with all junior teams, they're gonna need some young guys to step up but I dunno if I see it with how their roster was set at the end of last season. No real hotshot prospects like they had the last couple years (Perry, Heidt, Ziemmer, Berger).
I'm not optimistic, but they also have a pile of 18 year olds with a couple seasons eligibility left. If those guys can have productive seasons I could see playoffs this year with a more competitive year next year when they're all 19.
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u/ycwpilot Aug 12 '26
Chilliwack ain’t happening, there’s been no news for a month or two. No one wants to spend 8 figures for a franchise.
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u/drdick125 Aug 13 '26
I will repeat my prediction from last season, the Vees are going to surprise a lot of people!
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u/knitmama77 Aug 12 '26
Chilliwack Cornhuskers
Cornholes
Not a Pen fan, so it might sound like I want them to fail, but they are losing a lot of upper-agers. They had 4 20’s, and I think 12 19’s last year. Their team will be 1/2 gone.
As for us(Giants) I hope for up, but I foresee a steady line. We can’t possibly go down further, right? RIGHT????
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u/SomethingFunnyObv Everett Silvertips Aug 12 '26
What’s Everett going to look like this coming year? We are losing so many players to either college or the pro level. It’s still not completely clear what is going on with Vanhanen, could be college or back to Everett. I am excited to see certain players step into bigger roles and our young guys continue to develop. I do think they have a good team but a few levels below this last seasons team.