First Ticket Punched

The Memorial Cup picture looks one team clearer after last night, as the Halifax Mooseheads routed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-1 to take the series and the President Cup 4-1.  Jonathan Drouin took home the playoff MVP (Guy LaFleur Trophy) honors, scoring 35 points in the 17 games.  The win caps off a rather impressive playoffs for the Mooseheads, as their only loss was game three against the Drakkar.  The Mooseheads will play their first game of the Memorial Cup tournament next Saturday against the WHL champion.

Raider Rebranding

The Prince Albert Raiders are a team in transition.  They began the season well, but sputtered in the second half, which ended with a sweep at the hands of the Red Deer Rebels in the first round of the playoffs.  On April 30, the team announced that Steve Young (not the quarterback) would not be returning to the team as head coach, effectively meaning that the team was in search of a head coach and in all likelihood, will be looking for new personnel in the front office.  A week from today, the Raiders will be announcing something called the Green Movement, which means the Raiders will be looking different on the ice next season.  Logic says that with a name like the Green Movement, that change could mean the Raiders will be going with a green jersey in some capacity starting next season.  In case you're wondering what the Raiders have worn for the past few seasons, here it is:

As far as the Raiders going green, it was an original jersey color prior to the team's shift to black and the current logo.  An older look, as sported by Mike Modano:

Playoffs Update: All the Junior Leagues

I thought about doing a Winterhawks Weekly in this space today, but since the championships are closer to being determined, today will be about the updates for all the junior league championships going on this week.  First, the USHL, where the Dubuque Fighting Saints beat the Youngstown Phantoms in the Eastern Conference Final to advance to the Clark Cup Final.  They await the winner of the Sioux Falls Stampede/Fargo Force matchup, as that series is going to be decided next game.  The QMJHL sees the Halifax Mooseheads still without a loss in the playoff season, as they are currently up 2-0 over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar while the OHL finals has the Barrie Colts and London Knights tied 1-1, with game three tonight in Barrie.  The WHL finals sees the Portland Winterhawks tied with the Edmonton Oil Kings 1-1 as the series shifts to Edmonton for game three tomorrow.

WHL Finals Predictions

(1) Portland Winterhawks vs. (1) Edmonton Oil Kings

A rematch of last year's Ed Chynoweth Trophy Finals, this final features the two best teams in the league.  The Winterhawks have considerably more talent than last year's team that took Edmonton to seven games, and there is talent up and down both squads.  The highest scoring offense in the league, the Winterhawks are led by Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan, and Ty Rattie, who were also the three leading scorers in the league.  Seth Jones has been everything as advertised, and he has help in Troy Rutkowski and Derrick Pouliot, while Mac Carruth has solidified things in net.

The Oil Kings return much of last year's championship team and are led by Michael St. Croix.  The top ranked defense features Griffin Reinhart, Keegan Lowe, and mid-season acquisition David Musil, and don't forget about Laurent Brossoit in goal.

The key to victory will depend on how fast Edmonton can get out of the gate after a grueling seven game series against Calgary in the Conference finals and whether or not Portland will be rusty after a week off.

Prediction: Winterhawks in 7

WHL Award Winners

Yesterday was the day the award winners in the WHL were announced.

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year): Adam Lowry, Swift Current
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Seth Jones, Portland
Del Wilson Trophy (Goaltender of the Year): Patrik Bartosak, Red Deer
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (Defenseman of the Year): Brenden Kichton, Spokane
Brad Hornung Trophy (Sportsmanlike Player of the Year): Dylan Wruck, Edmonton
Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year): Josh Morrissey, Prince Albert
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year): Cody Sylvester, Calgary
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Ryan McGill, Kootenay
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy (Executive of the Year): Bob Green, Emdonton
WHL Marketing/Business Award: Kamloops Blazers
WHL Scholastic Team of the Year: Portland Winterhawks
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (Top Official): Nathan Wieler
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (Regular Season Champions): Portland Winterhawks
Bob Clarke Trophy (Leading Scorer): Brendan Leipsic and Nic Petan, Portland

Memorial Cup Spots on the Line

I will get to the Portland-Edmonton series on Friday, when I make my predictions.  However, there are two other spots on the line for the Memorial Cup tournament, and those will be taken by the champions in the OHL and the QMJHL.

OHL Championship (J. Ross Robertson Trophy)

(1) London Knights vs. (2) Barrie Colts

The Knights had little trouble getting to this point, sweeping Saginaw in the opening round, disposing of Kitchener in the following round, and beating Plymouth on the way to defending their championship.  The best team on offense and the third-ranked team on defense (only Owen Sound and Belleville posted better numbers), the Knights have some players, as Max Domi, Seth Griffin, and Chris Tierney lead the way up front while Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington lead a stout blue line.  Anthony Stolarz has shined in his first season with the Knights.  The Knights are coached by Dale Hunter, who briefly led the Washington Capitals to a playoff berth last year.

The Colts led the Eastern Conference in goals scored while being tied for fourth in the league in goals against.  Sweeps against Kingston and Oshawa were followed by a hard fought seven game series win against Belleville, and the Colts are lead by Mark Schiefele, Zach Hall,  and Mathias Niederberger.  Dale Hawerchuk is the head coach of the Colts.

QMJHL Championship (President Cup)

(1) Halifax Mooseheads vs. (2) Baie-Comeau Drakkar

The Mooseheads are the only team in all three leagues to not have lost a playoff game so far.  Sweeps against Saint John, Gatineau, and Rouyn-Noranda have led the Mooseheads to an almost certain spot in the Memorial Cup.  It's no secret that the Mooseheads are led by potential first overall picks in Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, as a whopping 347 goals in the regular season (13 more than the Winterhawks) will attest.  But don't sleep on the defense, as they led the league in that category, too, and Zachary Fucale, another 2013 NHL Draft prospect, is a major reason for that.  Dominique Ducharme is the head coach of the Mooseheads.

The Drakkar were tied for second in offense and were second in defense, and had a slightly harder time getting to this point.  Sherbrooke and Victoriaville were victims of sweeps before the Drakkar were taken to six games by Blainville-Boisbriand in the semifinals.  Zach O'Brien led the team in points while Philipe Cadorette helped backstop the team to victory.  Eric Veilleux is the head coach.

Rematch!

With the Edmonton Oil Kings finally putting away the Calgary Hitmen last night, that sets up a rematch of last year's WHL finals...only this time, the Winterhawks have home ice advantage.  The Oil Kings won that match-up 4-3 and represented the WHL in the Memorial Cup.  This year, the Winterhawks hope to change that, and with a high-scoring offense, this is the best of the three finals happening that will determine Memorial Cup spots.  The other match-ups are the London Knights vs. Barrie Colts in the OHL, and the Halifax Mooseheads vs. Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL, and Halifax is the only team to not have a loss in this year's playoffs.  Predictions will come Friday, as tomorrow will be a recap of the WHL awards that will be handed out tonight.