Western Canadian Hockey League

Senate Approval Granted
 

It's been a big celebration in Ottawa already this year.
 
The dark days of the Ottawa Senators still cast a long shadow over the teams image, so one can't help but expect to see diehard fans of the long beleaguered club soaking up every ounce of excitement this season has brought.
 
"This is unbelieveable. It is simply amazing," said Peter Puffer, a season ticket holder since Season 1. "I wondered if I'd ever see this day."
 
What has the fans so excited is a season which has already guaranteed them to see one banner to be raised and hopes of another.
 
The club has already clinched their first ever Adams Division title, and second placed seeding in the playoffs. The hope is that this could be the precursor to a long playoff run.
 
Much longer than last year, when the Senators made the playoffs for the first time only to be destroyed in the opening round of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now the Senators are back for a much longer time at the dance.
 

The Senators don't want to repeat being on the losing end of the handshakes with the Penguins this season.
 
"Last year, we just wanted to get in," explained General Manager Noel Harrison. "We got in, but when we played Pittsburgh we learned a lot. We new that while we've improved, we have a lot farther to go."
 
And go farther the club did, including a shocking deal that sent franchise face Matt Duchene to the Carolina Hurricanes for a package of players.
 
"It was a hard deal, but one which has paid off for us so far," said Harrison.
 
The dealing kept up until the trade deadline, when the Senators landed power forward Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks. It's hoped a new start will do Ryan wonders.
 

Bobby Ryan could be a big piece of the puzzle for the Senators.
 
In the meantime, the Senators will be watching the standings to see who they play in the first round. While unlikely, it is possible that opponent could be the Penguins yet again.
 
"I'd welcome that, said forward Milan Michalek. "I love the idea of a rivalry and revenge and that would do both. We owe them one after what they did to us last year."
 

 
Milan Michalek wants to play Pittsburgh again.
 
The Senators will be expecting big games from leaders Ilya Kovalchuk and Dan Boyle, as well as netminder Mike Smith. As they go, so goes the team.
 
"We need them to be better than last year. But we also know they will be," said Harrison. "They are ready to show what they can do and show why they are prime players. It should be a great showing."
 
Barring a dramatic thrashing yet again, this season is already a success for Senators fans. No longer will the club be viewed as an alsoran, and for the first time in their history the Senators and WCHL Cup are being mentioned in the same sentence. That alone is banner worthy in itself.
 
"It's a good day to cheer for this team," said Harrison, "and there are more good days to come."

The Lone Rangers
 

It's been a season full of celebration so far for the Rangers
 
It's been several seasons of dominance for the New York Rangers, who have been rebuilt under General Manager Andrew Don. Once a cellar dweller, those days seem so long ago and the Rangers have had plenty of success in recent years. Included in that success is two appearances in the WCHL Cup finals, in Season 11 against the Calgary Flames and again last year against the Colorado Avalanche. Both times though, the Rangers have come up short.
 
"It's been mixed feelings," said Don. "Initially of course it hurts, getting that close to the Cup and falling short. But after a few days you look back at the season and say 'You know what, we had a great season.' And that's what we have to respect, we did have good seasons those years."
 
Another good season is unfolding now as well. After a struggle out of the gate at 12-8-3, the Rangers have ripped through the league, pulling way ahead of a pack of Eastern Conference teams who have been amongst the best ever in WCHL history, going 43-5-5 in that span. During those 53 games, The Rangers have had winning streaks of 11 and 13 games and had a streak of 16 straight games with at least one point.
 
Leading the charge as always is team captain Shane Doan. While never the team leading in scoring, Doan is the team leader is spirirt.
 
"We've got a great team here for sure," said Doan. "This might be the greatest team yet, and we've had some great teams."
 
As good as they have been this year, the Rangers haven't been afraid to tinker either. So far this year the club has added forwards Drew Stafford, Chris Higgins, Jamie McGinn and Derek Dorsett, along with defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Josh Gorges.
 

Chris Higgins is one of several players added this season to give the Rangers depth for the playoffs.
 
"We know that the other teams are trying to gear up and we're not going to fall behind," noted Don. "We want to stay ahead of the pace."
 
Surprisingly, the Rangers haven't locked up top spot in the WCHL yet, as the surprising New Jersey Devils are only five points back. Barring a collapse though, the Rangers will claim the Presidents Trophy in a few more games.
 
"It's a great prize, but it means nothing if we don't go all the way this year," said centre Anze Kopitar. "We want the claim the WCHL Cup this year, all other trophies mean little at this point.
 
To do that, the Rangers need only to keep things rolling as they are now. Most players are clicking at 100 per cent and, barring an injury to netminder Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers figure to be the top cup threat heading into the post-season.
 

As goes 'King' Henrik, so goes the Rangers. 
 
"That also means we'll have a bullseye on our back," said centre Stephen Weiss. "Other teams will be gunning for us so we need to stay sharp and go all out game one to seven of each series."
 
If teams are lucky enough to get to seven games against the Rangers. If things keep going as they are, the Rangers look good to finally claim top spot in the WCHL when it matters most.

Still Strong on the Island
 

The Islanders are once again shooting the lights out in New York.
 
After rushing all the way to the WCHL Finals two years ago, the Islanders took a slight step back last year, struggling against the cap and eventually struggling against the New York Rangers in the playoffs, getting ousted in the second round. Now, the Islanders are back, hanging in for a home ice berth in the first round and strong challange for another WCHL Finals run.
 
"We have a young team, but an experienced team in the same breath, and that youth and wisdom will benefit us greatly," explained seasoned veteran Ray Whitney, who has netted 57 points this season to sit third on the team in scoring.
 

The ageless Ray Whitney keeps piling up the points, now with the New York Islanders.
 
Unlike years past, the Islanders aren't blessed with a high powered offense, rather relying on the determination of netminder Carey Price and a solid defensive core to remain in contention in the Eastern Conference. It's been a sort of rebuild and retooling all at once in New York.
 
"We've had to change things up on the fly. The cap sort of forced that on us," said General Manager Jimmi Bornstrom from his hidden lair in Eastern Europe. "We are trying to rotate our core in a more youthful direction as a result."
 
In fact, the Islanders are the youngest team in the league, with an avergae age of 25.7. Only one other team, the Carolina Hurricanes, have an average age of under 26.
 
The youngest players on the roster are Taylor Hall and Oliver-Ekman Larsson, and that duo combined for 33 goals and 94 points so far this season to rank sixth and ninth respectively in team scoring.
 

Taylor Hall and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have both been boons to the New York Islanders.
 
"Hopefully we can continue to chip in," said Hall. "We know we need to kind of hit the ground running here, and we are doing so."
 
So, despite an offense without a big name hitter, the team sits third in goals per game and fourth on the powerplay. The offense will boost the team come the playoffs if it can continue at that pace.
 
The lone weakness for the Islanders is the penalty kill, which sits at 22nd in the league, but even that is mitigated by the fact the Islanders are the third least penalized team in the WCHL.
 
Looking towards the playoffs, the Islanders could still finish anywhere from third to seventh in the Eastern Conference in all likelihood. Interestingly, the only team the Islanders likely have no chance of facing in round one is the Ragners, who have all but locked up first place in the conference.
 
"We're ready for anyone, even them," said Bornstrom. "They are a great team, but we've beat them in the playoffs before and we'd love to play them again. Whatever it takes to win the cup, that's what we want to do."

The Devil Gets His Due
 

The Devils have been knocking teams around all year.
 
One season after declaring a retooling project for his squad, Trevor O'Neil finds himself sitting in a very lofty perch.
 
The long-time General Manager of the New Jersey Devils swung an early season deal for Jarome Iginla and Kari Lehtonen, and the team has been riding the momentum of that trade ever since.
 
"It's panned out for us big time," acknowledged O'Neil. "Jarome has brought a great deal of leadership to this team and Kari's been a backbone for our defense."
 
Lehtonen has been a rock in net for the Devils this year. posting 41 wins after coming over from the New York Islanders, Lehtonen has 45 wins already this year and is on pace for 57 wins, and has an outside shot at reaching 60 wins this year.
 

Without Kari Lehtonen, who knows where the Devils would be this season.
 
"If he can keep it up, this season could be legendary for him," said Iginla, who has seen Lehtonen ply his trade for years with the Islanders. "He's not just an all-star, he's arguably the best tender in the game these days."
 
Lehtonen sits third in wins and save pecentage and second in goals against average, making him a Vezina and Hart Trophy candidate. This play and helped vault New Jersey to a 46-14-5 record, good enough for third in the Eastern Conference, and their .746 winning percentage is second only to the New York Rangers in the entire WCHL.
 
Forget rebuild, focus on the WCHL Cup.
 
"We have a great netminder, some offensive depth and a solid defense. We have holes, but we have a pretty sturdy ship as is," said O'Neil.
 
That ship could sail through the Eastern Conference playoffs if they keep up their pace. And those playoffs are only a mere formality away, as the Devils maic number to clinch a playoff spot is just 11. Even going 5-11-1 would guarantee them a ticket to the dance.
 
In those playoffs, the Devils just need most players to keep doing what their doing, but if one player could pick it up, it would be Iginla. The power forward has netted just 19 goals in 59 games as a Devils and only 20 goals on the season. That's a far cry from the usual 30 to 50 goals he good for.
 

A few more goals from Jarome Iginla would help.
 
"I hope to see things improve soon. It's tough, but I got to keep working at it and it'll come together," said Iginla, who scored tonight.
 
If Iginla does get going, it'll just be another piece of firepower for a Devils team which is already potent enough as is. That could be all that's needed to get the Devils back to the WCHL Finals.

Happy Birthday Mike McFarland! Long live the Cornrow Kid!!!!!
 

 
Keep rocking that pimp ass bling bbboooooyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet Music City
 

There's actually been something to cheer about in Nashville this season.
 
Unbeknownst to Nashivlle Predators fans, there actually is hockey played after the regular season.
 
Fans are getting a 101 course on this information in the wake of news that their team may actually make the post-season. Until recently, the Predtoars fans were only left with 'wild rumours' of playoff action. The WCHL Cup was long thought to be a piece of fiction, a tale from long ago of a prized possession long since swallowed up by time in a similar fashion to how San Jose Sharks General Manager Kurt Fulmore swallows... er, nevermind.
 
"We can't believe it. There's actually more hockey? Since when," questioned long-time Predators fan Ima Not Egirl, herself a long-time puck bunny. Considering the Predators haven't exactly been lighting things up very often in their history in the WCHL, she's had her share of 'consoling' to do over the years.
 

Even the ice girls are getting into it this year.
 
But here the Predators are, making big moves and even bigger strides up the standings. One season after finishing second last in the WCHL, the Predators sit fifth in the Western Conference and a full eight points ahead of ninth seeded Vancouver Canucks, with two games in hand.
 
"We like where we are at, but we still have work to do," acknowledged General Manager Trent Allen in his second season on the job. "To steal a line from Patrick Matthews (Pittsburgh Penguins GM) I've got a few holes to fill."
 
While Allen wouldn't go into what those holes were, the likely goal is to add another centre to the mix who is capable of playing on the top two lines. Alexander Steen and Lars Eller are currently holding down those two spots and Allen has expressed his desire in the past to move Steen to the wing while trying to move Eller to the third line where there is less pressure.
 
"Much like Ottawa Senators GM Noel Harrison, we spent most of last year trying to shore up a backend that was getting scored on repeatedly. I think we have done a great job there, but now we have to work harder at finding ways to score. Maybe we'll ask (Philadelphia Flyers GM) Doug (Van Strephen) about that, he's always trying to figure out how to score."
 
Oddly enough, the Predators are sitting just 28th in the lague on the penalty kill, something which has been a big issue for the PRedators dating back to before Allen even arrived.
 
"That's been the one big issue we've had," noted Allen. "That's an area I pledged would be the first to improve and right now it's looking like the last place that needs improvement. It will get better."
 
Overall though, things are going great in Nashville considering where they were a year ago. Leading that charge has been a quartet of players brought in after last season ended.
 
"We have to credit Mike Green, Alexander Steen, Patric Hornqvist and Roberto Luongo a lot for our turn around," noted Allen.
 
 
Patric Hornqvist nd Mike Green are two big reasons for the turnaround of the Nashville Predators this season.
 
Indeed. Green sits second on the team in scoring with 45 points in 51 games, placing him fifth amongst WCHL blueliners. Steen and Hornqvist meanwhile, both acquired early in the season in a deal with the Boston Bruins, have combined for 35 goals and 77 points in 39 games being acquired, while Luongo has played all 40 games for Nashville since being picked up from the Carolina Hurricanes just prior to the Steen and Hornqvist deal, dramatically stabilizing things between the pipes for the Predators.
 
"We are sort of going through a rebuild or a retooling here with a focus on youth, but we needs veterans and leaders too and that's what these guys bring to us," noted Allen. "You can't just play with a bunch of young guys all the time. Ask Ryan (McClanahan, Colorado Avalanche GM).
 
Keeping it up in Nashville won't be easy, but so far, this season has been nothing but music to the ears of many fans. With nothing left to lose on a season already deemed a success, expect Nashville to be a darkhorse contender to at least make some noise come the playoffs, assuming they can hold on to make it that far.
 
"We'll do some damage. We'll show everyone that we can play with the big boys," said Luongo.

Long live Les Habitants
 

Is Montreal Cup bound, or will they have to wait until next year? The answer could come in the regular season oddly enough.
 
In a season filled with so much potential, the Montreal Canadians are fulfilling that potential - and yet they still might be watching the playoffs from their living rooms.
 
Such is the fate of Eastern Conference teams this year, where a pack of 15 teams was almost immediately reduced to nine, all fighting hard for a playoff spot.
 
Nine teams have a winning percentage of .620 or higher, including the Canadians, with eight of those teams actually at .660 or higher. Of note, only two teams in the Western Conference -the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames- even have winning percentages high enough to crack the top eight in the East.
 
So, while on one hand Montreal fans must be proud of their teams success, the other hand is to busy seeing its nails getting chewed down to nothing as this game of musical chairs will eventually end with one team sitting out the playoffs looking in.
 
Right now that one team is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who despite a record of 30-14-6, sit ninth in the conference. Montreal sits eighth, but is tied with Pittsburgh and in fact the only thing giving Montreal the edge right now is the fact they have one more regulation win than the Penguins.
 
Complicating matters are the Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both teams figured to be in tough to make the playoffs this year, yet not only is one of those teams virtually guaranteed a spot, theya re both hanging around with the powers of the Eastern Conference. At one point, the Lightning led the entire conference for a healthy stretch of time.
 
"With the way we've been playing, we shouldn't have to worry about making the playoffs, but here we are," said Canadians netminder Jonathan Quick. "We're working hard to stay with the pack, but it's tough when you win a game then look up at the scoreboard and see everyone else did too."
 

It's been the Jonathan Quick highlight reel show in Montreal this year.
 
This wouldn't be a problem in the Western Conference. If Montreal was in the West, they'd have a hold of third spot in the conference and a likely home playoff seed for the opening round.
 
Sitting seventh in goals for and second in goals against, the Canadiens have rattled off a strong resume for a playoff berth. Possessing the league's best penalty killing unit at 89.04 per cent isn't hurting matters either.
 
"There's still time to spereate ourselves a bit more here," noted forward Brenden Morrow, a mid-season acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche. "We have 32 games left on the schedule and if we keep winning, we'll be ok. But we have to keep winning."
 

Brenden Morrow hasn't been able to light it up the way Montreal had hoped after he came over from Colorado.
 
To do so, Montreal would benefit from a scoring boost from morrow. Brought in to help anchor the second line, Morrow has amassed just 11 points in 31 games so far as a Canadians player.
 
That seems to be the lone problem for Montreal though, and the all-star caliber netminding from Quick has made their games easier. Already sporting a 29-12-6 record, Quick also holds a .906 save percentage, third best in the league.
 
While Montreal may appear to not need any moves to be made, they are rumoured to be shopping defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, whose hefty $6.5 million salry makes him a large burden on the salary cap. Whether Montreal can find a taker is another issue.
 

Is Montreal really trying to move Christian Ehrhoff?
 
In the meantime, trades or not, Montreal is in great position to make a meaningful cup run in Le Belle Province for the first time in yeas. Only question left to answer is, can they make the playoffs in the first place?