WHL eager to showcase playoffs after 2-year gap

The Western Hockey League is delighted to be back running a playoff tournament after a twoyear hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like many businesses, the WHL took a big hit not being able to showcase its product the previous two seasons, having the 2020 playoffs cancelled and forced to run essentially an exhibition schedule season last year.

This season, the league was able to get in a 68-game schedule and full playoff tournament, which will come to an end with either the Edmonton Oil Kings or Seattle Thunderbirds crowned as champions.

The Oil Kings tied the best-ofseven series 1-1 with a 5-4 win in Game 2 at Rogers Place on Sunday.

“It is very exciting for everybody associated with the league to finally get in a position where we have championship series and four rounds of playoffs and, ultimately, the Memorial Cup,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison on Sunday. “It's been a difficult period of time, three years since we've had an ability to have a championship itself. We've had two disrupted seasons, and this year, to have a full regular season and a full playoffs, is exactly what we wanted to accomplish.”

There were still some challenges for the league this season as some games had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues, and teams played exclusively in their own conference.

The Thunderbirds and Oil Kings were facing off against each other for the first time since November 2019. Seattle took a 1-0 series lead with a 2-1 victory in Game 1 on Friday. The series shifts to Kent, Wash., for the next two games Tuesday and Wednesday.

“There are a lot of unique things in this series,” Robison said. “It's the first time the Seattle Thunderbirds have met the Edmonton Oil Kings in a WHL championship series. Then the fact we haven't had inter-conference play for three seasons is unique, as well.

“Seattle has been through five elimination games and the Oil Kings have been dominant on the other side, so as a result, it's a real good matchup for a championship series.”

Seattle was down 3-1 in its bestof-seven series against the Portland Winterhawks in the first round before storming back with three straight wins to advance. They then battled back from a 3-2 series deficit to the Kamloops Blazers to get to the final.

The winner of the championship series will represent the WHL at the Memorial Cup from June 20 to 29 in Saint John, N.B.

“You can really feel that excitement, it starts with the players and the teams involved,” Robison said. “Many of these players have never experienced playoffs, let alone championship series and ultimately a Memorial Cup, and you can really sense it that they're glad to be back.”

REBUILDING PHASE

The pandemic cancelled the 2020 WHL playoffs and kept fans out of buildings the following season, so this year was about trying to get back to the way things were before COVID-19.

Each team had different challenges when it came to attendance and it might take time for the league to get back to pre-pandemic numbers.

“There is a lot of work to do to get our teams back to levels that will allow them to sustain themselves in their markets,” Robison said. “It's going to take some time to rebuild their fan base and reconnect, but we're working really hard at that and, hopefully, get off to a strong start at the start of the next season.”

PROTECTING SMALL MARKETS

With the Winnipeg Ice relocating from Cranbrook, B.C., in 2019, the league continued its shift to bigger markets. Yet there is a conscious effort to protect the smaller markets in the league, which is the lifeline of junior hockey.

“One of the fascinating things about the Western Hockey League over the years is small markets coexisting with large markets if you will and then mainstream mid-size markets,” Robison said. “We have tremendous community support and our fans are very loyal, but we have to reconnect with them again and make sure they're excited about coming back to WHL hockey.”