Southwest skaters advance in WHL playoffs
A handful Southwest hockey players remained in the Western Hockey League playoffs after the opening round.
Swift Current’s Wyatt Wilson helped the top ranked Winnipeg Ice sweep the eighth-seeded Medicine Hat Tigers. Wilson had one assist and a plus-two rating while appearing in all four games. The 6’3’’ defenseman returned from injury to register five assists and a plus-eight rating in 16 games with Winnipeg after being acquired in a trade from the Victoria Royals.
The Ice will face either the Regina Pats or Moose Jaw Warriors in the second round of the playoffs.
Shaunavon’s Kalan Lind is an important piece for the Red Deer Rebels this postseason.
The 6’1’’ forward finished the season with 16 goals, 28 assists, and 80 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Rebels.
The Rebels defeated the Calgary Hitmen 4-1 in the opening round. Lind registered one goal and two assists in the series. The Rebels will now face the Saskatoon Blades or Moose Jaw Warriors in the second round.
Chase Coward returned from injury to appear four regular season games for the Red Deer Rebels. He is backing up Kyle Kelsey and did not
appeared in the opening round against the Calgary Hitmen.
Swift Current’s Ryan Mccleary helped the Portland Winterhawks advance with a 4-1 series win over the Everett Silvertips. The 6’3’’ blueliner had one assist and a plus-five rating in the series.
Mccleary finished the regular season with 13 goals, 18 assists, and 51 penalty minutes in 66
games. The Winterhawks finished third in the Western Conference with a 40-20-5-3 record in the regular season.
Swift Current’s Hudson Darby was also up with the Winterhawks but did not appear in the series.
Darby finished with 16 goals and 18 assists in 32 regular season games with the Swift Current Home Hardware U18 AAA Legionnaires this season.
The 2021 fifth round pick appeared in seven games for the Winterhawks late in 2022 during a call-up appearance.
Carter Herman played in the most competitive series of the opening round as a member of the Regina Pats. The sixth seeded Pats and Saskatoon Blades were headed for game seven on Monday. Results were unavailable at press time.
The Swift Current product appeared in 25 games on the Pats blueline during the regular season. Herman made his playoff debut on Saturday in a 5-3 win in game six on home ice.
Joe Arntsen helped the Lethbridge Hurricanes make a playoff appearance this season with a 36-26-3-3 record in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.
The 6’3’’ Dinsmore product finished the regular season with 11 goals, 24 assists, and 90 penalty minutes in 68 games. The Hurricanes were swept in four games by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the opening round.
Swift Current’s Anthony Wilson began the season with the Victoria Royals, posting three points in 18 games. He was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings and increased his production to five goals and eight assists in 40 games. The Wheat Kings missed the playoffs with a 26-331-3 record in 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Mac Gross concluded his WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs. The 6’2’’ defenseman from Swift Current set career highs with 10 goals and 22 assists while skating in all 68 games in his fourth WHL season. Grose appeared in 166 regular season games with 45 points and 48 penalty minutes in 166 games. Spokane missed the playoffs with a 15-43-4-6 record.