Western Canada Cup primer: where the North Stars stand

Who are the teams in the North Stars’ way?

Here’s a preview to get you all set for the Western Canada Cup, starting with a refresher on your Battlefords North Stars.

Battlefords North Stars – SJHL Champion

The North Stars swept the entire playoffs, going 12-0 while scoring 63 goals and allowing just 25 against.

Their goaltending wasn’t quite as good in the playoffs as it was in the regular season, but when it drops from a .935 save percentage to .927, it doesn’t really make a difference.

Depth continued to be a strength, as 18 of 20 skaters who dressed for more than one game scored a goal.

Thirteen skaters recorded seven points or more in just 12 playoff games (or, in some cases, less).

Defence also took a slight drop, but let’s not forget this team set the standard in Canada this year for goals allowed with just 103 in 58 games. That 1.77 goals-against per-game was first in the country.

Up front, Coby Downs and Layne Young led the way in the playoffs with over 20 points each, but Keaton Holinaty, Connor Logan, and Ben Allen also each chipped in with double-digit point performances.

Another strength for Battlefords continued to be scoring first, as they scored the first goal of the game 11 of 12 times (and obviously won all 11 times). The only game they didn’t score first was in round one against Weyburn. There wasn’t a single intermission these playoffs for the North Stars when they were trailing. They were tied on a few occasions, but never had to play from behind.

Player to watch: Layne Young. The Frenchman-Butte native will surely draw lots of attention from scouts at the Western Canada Cup, but he also still has a year of eligibility left in junior hockey. His two-goal performance in game four of the finals against Flin Flon reminded fans how clutch he is.

Playoff Results: Bye in round one. Swept Weyburn 4-0 in round two. Swept Estevan 4-0 in round three. Swept Flin Flon 4-0 to win championship.

Strengths: Depth, defence, special teams, phyiscality

Weaknesses: Less skill top to bottom compared to competition, haven’t faced same level of competition as opposition

Special teams: Power play went 22.8 per cent in the regular season, which was second, and 24.5 per cent in the playoffs, which was first. Their penalty kill was rock-solid all year long, going 89.1 per cent in the regular season, which was first by a mile, and 90 per cent in the playoffs, which was second.

Brooks Bandits – AJHL Champion

Brooks is the favourite not only to finish first at the Western Canada Cup, but also to be crowned RBC champion. Last year, they went to the national tournament and fell in the semifinals 4-1 to West Kelowna, the eventual champions.

As good as the North Stars season was this year, Brooks’ was slightly better.

The Bandits went 51-5-4 in the regular season and then 12-1 in the playoffs. The only playoff game they lost was 3-2 in overtime in the second round, and although some may point to that single loss as a reason for why the North Stars have an edge, just look at the goal differentials Brooks put on the board. In the regular season, they scored 294 goals for and allowed just 107 against. That’s a differential of +174. In the playoffs, they scored 75 goals in just 13 games (5.77 per game) and allowed 16 against (1.23 per game).

They’re loaded from top to bottom. Ten players have NCAA Division-1 scholarships.

They had 10 different players notch at least 10 points in 13 playoff games. Eight players scored five goals or more in 13 playoff games.

In the regular season, seven different players had at least 50 points (North Stars had three) and two players topped 30 goals (whereas Coby Downs led the North Stars with 29).

In goal, Mitchel Benson is no slouch. He put up Kotchorek-like numbers in the regular season, with a 36-3-2 record, 1.73 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage. In the playoffs, he upped his game, posting a 1.21 goals-against-average and .949 save percentage, while adding four shutouts.

But what really puts the Bandits over the top is not a player up front. It’s slick, puck-moving defenceman Cale Makar, who will almost certainly be a top-10 pick in the NHL draft this June. The Calgary native is the top-ranked North American defenceman according to NHL Central Scouting and is 9th of all North American skaters. He won MVP and best defenceman at the RBC Cup last season, even though Brooks didn’t make it to the finals. He represented team Canada at the World Junior A Challenge in Bonnyville and was named the tournament’s best defenceman there as well.

Makar put up 75 points in the regular season in 54 games, which was the sixth-highest total of any player, regardless of position. The next highest total from a defenceman was teammate Dennis Cesana’s 52 points. They were the only two d-men to post 50-plus points from the blueline. In the playoffs, Makar added another 17 points in 13 games.

Player to watch: Cale Makar. Makar stayed in junior A so he could go the NCAA route and is committed to the University of Massachusetts for next season. If the North Stars are going to be successful against Brooks, they need to shut him down. Somehow.

Playoff Results: Bye in round one. Swept Olds Grizzlys 4-0 in round two. Defeated Okotoks 4-1 in round three. Swept Whitecourt 4-0 to win championship.

Strengths: Depth, game-changer in Makar, special teams

Weaknesses: Haven’t faced same level of competition as opposition

Special teams: Power play went 26.5 per cent in the regular season, which was ranked second, and 23.1 per cent in the playoffs, which was fourth. Their penalty kill was the AJHL’s best in the regular season and playoffs, at 87.9 and 89.1 per cent, respectively.

Portage Terriers – MJHL Champion

The Portage Terriers may not have had a season like Battlefords or Brooks, but they’ve just won the Manitoba title for the third straight year and seventh time in the last decade.

However, rosters that won championships five and 10 years ago don’t mean much at this tournament. The current edition of the Portage Terriers can score.

They may have only finished fifth in the regular season standings with a 37-19-4 record, but they put up 256 goals in 60 games, which is 4.3 per game. That was tops in the MJHL and better than the North Stars average of 3.84 goals per game in the regular season.

From top to bottom, they may not have the ability to roll lines like the North Stars and Bandits, but their top-end talent is elite.

Jeremey Leipsic, the younger brother of AHLer Brendan Leipsic (currently with the Toronto Marlies), potted 100 points in the regular season, while Chase Brakel and James McIsaac each had 30 goals and over 65 points. Ty Enns and Ryan Sokoloski also each had over 55 points in the regular season.

While the Terriers have lots of scoring threats, in goal the numbers aren’t great.

Rookie Borck Aiken got the majority of starts in the regular season and had a 27-14 record but posted a 3.01 goals-against-average and .897 save percentage. Kurtis Chapman got 16 regular season starts and posted a 2.94 goals-against-average and .905 save percentage. In the playoffs, Chapman upped his game and played more, including winning all four games in the finals against OCN to go along with a .931 save percentage.

But the team allowed 198 regular season goals and 46 goals in 18 playoff games. That’s not great.

Player to watch: Jeremey Leipsic. The Winnipeg native does not have an NCAA scholarship yet, but he still has another year of junior eligibility. There will surely be plenty of interest among scouts at the WCC for the 5’8″ winger. Being physical on him, just like Makar, will be a key for Battlefords.

Playoff Results: Defeated Selkirk 4-2 in round one. Defeated first-place Steinbach 4-2 in round two. Defeated OCN 4-2 to win championship.

Strengths: Scoring, PP, experience

Weaknesses: Goaltending, inconsistent, PK

Special teams: Power play went 23.1 per cent in the regular season, which was ranked second, and 18.5 per cent in the playoffs, which was third. Their penalty kill struggled. It was 79 per cent in the regular season, which was ninth out of 11 teams and 83.3 per cent in the playoffs, which was third. They did have 11 shorthanded goals in the regular season, by far tops in the league.

Penticton Vees – Host (BCHL)

No more Tyson Jost or Dante Fabbro for the Penticton Vees, as those two played their first years in college this season after being drafted to the NHL, but the Penticton Vees are clearly still a dangerous club.

They are currently battling it out with Chilliwack to see who brings home the BCHL title, but both will be present at the WCC no matter the result. The two BCHL teams are set to play a game seven for the league championship on Tuesday night in Chilliwack.

The Vees went 41-13-3-1 in the regular season, good enough for an Interior Division title and the third best record overall.

Their defence was stout, putting up a league-low 129 goals against, which is 2.22 per game. In the playoffs, however, that defenve has been touch and go, as they’ve given up 49 goals against in 19 games, for a team goals-against-average of 2.58. They’ve given up four or more goals five times in these playoffs.

Offensively, 20-year-old Nicholas Jones leads this team, as he had 62 points in the regular season but has exploded for 26 playoff points in his final year of junior hockey before he heads to the University of North Dakota next season.

Overall, Penticton has 19 players on their roster currently committed to NCAA Division-1 schools, including former NHLer Tony Amonte’s son Ty.

Goaltending has been a big reason for their success, as Toronto native Mathew Robson posted a 1.94 goals-against-average and .930 save percentage in the regular season to go along with 35-13-1 record. He played in a league-hgih 49 games. In the playoffs, he has posted a .918 save percentage so far while playing in every single game for the Vees.

Player to watch: Mathew Robson. The University of Minnesota commit was nominated for league MVP, and although he lost out to Wenatchee Wild forward Brendan Harris (who led the league with 98 point), Robson is an elite goaltender. Battlefords did not face an elite goaltender in the playoffs. We’ll see what happens.

Playoff Results: Bye in round one. Defeated Merritt 4-3 in round two. Defeated Vernon 4-3 in round three. Currently leading Chilliwack 3-2 in championship series.

Strengths: Goaltending, defence, experience

Weaknesses: PP, inconsistent, lack true offensive defenceman

Special teams: Power play went 17.5 per cent in the regular season, which was ranked 13th out of 17 teams, and 15.3 per cent in the playoffs, which was 12th out of 14 playoff teams. Their penalty kill went 81.8 per cent in the regular season, which was the fifth-best, and 80.4 per cent in the playoffs, which was fourth.

Chilliwack Chiefs – BCHL representative

The Wenatchee Wild scored a league-high 294 goals in the regular season and ran away with the first overall spot in the standings, yet when the playoffs rolled around, they were swept by the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Chiefs limited the high-scoring Wild to just six goals in four games.

Chilliwack swept Wenatchee but they also weren’t that far behind them in standings, as the Chiefs went 41-11-6 in the regular season and had a goal-differential of +78, the second best in the BCHL.

The Chiefs are led by Abbotsford, B.C. native Jordan Kawaguchi, who put up 85 points in 55 games in the regular season and also led the playoffs with an astounding 42 points in 22 playoff games. Kohen Olischefski is another player to watch, as the 6’2″ forward, also from Abbotsford, put up 76 point in the regular season and had 23 points in 22 playoff games as well.

Their power play has been a big strength, both in the regular season and in the playoffs, operating at well over 20 per cent in both. Six Chiefs had 10 power play points or more in the regular season.

The team defence was ordinary, allowing 2.85 goals-against per-game in the regular season.

In goal, 21-year-old Mark Sinclair has brought his A-game in the playoffs with a 2.27 goals-against-average and .919 save percentage after posting an ordinary 2.59 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage in 45 regular season games.

Ten Chiefs are currently committed to NCAA Division-1 schools.

Player to watch: Jordan Kawaguchi. The University of North Dakota is calling his name for next season and the 5’9″ forward will forgo his final year of junior hockey to head there. Similarly to Leipsic, being physical on the small forward is likely a key for the North Stars in shutting him down.

Playoff Results: Defeated Langley 4-2 in round one. Swept first-place Wenatchee 4-0 in round two. Defeated Victoria 4-2 in round three. Currently trailing Penticton 3-2 in championship series.

Strengths: Offence, PP, game-changer in Kawaguchi

Weaknesses: Defence, goaltending

Special teams: Power play went 24.2 per cent in the regular season, which was third, and 28.1 per cent in the playoffs, which was tied for third. Their penalty kill has improved in the playoffs, as it went 78.9 per cent in the regular season, which was the 11th, and then went 84.7 per cent in the playoffs, which was second.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Western Canada Cup primer: where the North Stars stand

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