WHL 2016-2017 Predictions
The Western Hockey League starts its season in a little over a month. In May the WHL completed their annual Bantam draft with Peyton Krebs being selected by the Kootenay Ice. This year, players born in 2001 from eligible provinces and American states were able to be selected as WHL Clubs looked to add key pieces to their future. Full draft results can be found here. The WHL had 34 players selected in the NHL draft in June, and there are a lot of current NHLers who served time in the western league.
This should be another exciting year for the Western Hockey League as there are some great teams as well as some up and coming players to keep an eye on. Can the Brandon Wheat Kings reign supreme again?
In case you forgot here is how the teams performed last season. Here are our WHL predictions from last season.
2015-2016 Final WHL Standings
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||
| # | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | Streak | P10 | PIM |
| 1 | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 48 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 102 | 0.708 | 319 | 197 | 11-0-2-0 | 9-0-1-0 | 861 |
| 2 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 46 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 94 | 0.653 | 304 | 218 | 0-1-0-0 | 6-4-0-0 | 1028 |
| 3 | Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 45 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 93 | 0.646 | 260 | 205 | 2-0-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 | 892 |
| 4 | Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 42 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 88 | 0.611 | 246 | 219 | 3-0-0-0 | 7-3-0-0 | 1075 |
| 5 | Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 38 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 84 | 0.583 | 222 | 223 | 0-1-0-0 | 4-6-0-0 | 866 |
| 6 | Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 36 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 81 | 0.563 | 249 | 239 | 1-0-0-0 | 4-5-0-1 | 786 |
| 7 | Regina Pats | 72 | 36 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 80 | 0.556 | 243 | 253 | 0-1-0-0 | 6-3-0-1 | 1018 |
| 8 | Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 30 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 65 | 0.451 | 223 | 287 | 1-0-0-0 | 7-3-0-0 | 866 |
| 9 | Edmonton Oil Kings | 72 | 29 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 65 | 0.451 | 197 | 238 | 0-3-0-0 | 2-8-0-0 | 941 |
| 10 | Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 24 | 38 | 7 | 3 | 58 | 0.403 | 189 | 249 | 0-2-2-0 | 3-5-2-0 | 794 |
| 11 | Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 26 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 0.389 | 219 | 318 | 1-0-0-0 | 2-8-0-0 | 992 |
| 12 | Kootenay ICE | 72 | 12 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 0.215 | 155 | 320 | 0-1-0-1 | 2-7-0-1 | 813 |
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||
| # | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | Streak | P10 | PIM |
| 1 | Victoria Royals | 72 | 50 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 106 | 0.736 | 281 | 166 | 13-0-1-0 | 10-0-0-0 | 832 |
| 2 | Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 48 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 0.694 | 269 | 218 | 2-0-0-0 | 5-4-1-0 | 999 |
| 3 | Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 45 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 94 | 0.653 | 228 | 186 | 13-0-1-0 | 9-0-1-0 | 979 |
| 4 | Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 85 | 0.59 | 237 | 218 | 9-0-0-0 | 9-1-0-0 | 771 |
| 5 | Everett Silvertips | 72 | 38 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 84 | 0.583 | 182 | 172 | 0-2-1-0 | 3-5-1-1 | 604 |
| 6 | Portland Winterhawks | 72 | 34 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 75 | 0.521 | 228 | 227 | 0-2-2-1 | 3-4-2-1 | 897 |
| 7 | Prince George Cougars | 72 | 36 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 77 | 0.535 | 240 | 225 | 0-4-0-1 | 3-6-0-1 | 1292 |
| 8 | Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 33 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 75 | 0.521 | 223 | 245 | 0-1-0-0 | 4-6-0-0 | 843 |
| 9 | Tri-City Americans | 72 | 35 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 0.507 | 236 | 253 | 4-0-0-0 | 5-5-0-0 | 975 |
| 10 | Vancouver Giants | 72 | 23 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 55 | 0.382 | 199 | 273 | 0-9-0-2 | 0-8-0-2 | 850 |
So let’s take a look at our predictions for the 2016-2017 WHL season.
2016-2017 WHL Predictions
We actually think that we are going to see similar rankings in terms of the top performing teams and league cellar dwellers this season. Here is a look at our picks for the regular season standings for the Western Hockey League.
Eastern Conference
| # | Team |
| 1 | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| 2 | Red Deer Rebels |
| 3 | Prince Albert Raiders |
| 4 | Lethbridge Hurricanes |
| 5 | Regina Pats |
| 6 | Moose Jaw Warriors |
| 7 | Calgary Hitmen |
| 8 | Swift Current Broncos |
| 9 | Medicine Hat Tigers |
| 10 | Saskatoon Blades |
| 11 | Kootenay Ice |
| 12 | Edmonton Oil Kings |
Western Conference
| # | Team |
| 1 | Victoria Royals |
| 2 | Kelowna Rockets |
| 3 | Seattle Thunderbirds |
| 4 | Everett Silvertips |
| 5 | Portland Winterhawks |
| 6 | Kamloops Blazers |
| 7 | Prince George Cougars |
| 8 | Vancouver Giants |
| 9 | Spokane Chiefs |
| 10 | Tri-City Americans |
