WHL NOTEBOOK: Jacobson, Pantelas join U18 team

Welcome to the spring edition of the WHL Notebook.

The news around the Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League hasn’t let up recently, so here’s a look at what’s new.

UNDER-18 TEAM

Brandon Wheat Kings forward Jaxon Jacobson and defenceman Gio Pantelas are both with Canada’s under-18 squad participating in the world championship. The club invited three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards but remained open to adding more players as the second round of the CHL playoffs concluded.

The tournament begins in Slovakia on Wednesday, with Canada taking on the hosts on Tuesday, Latvia on Thursday, Norway on Saturday and Finland on Monday in the preliminary round. The quarterfinals and relegation games are on Wednesday, April 29, the semifinals are on Friday, May 1 and the medal games are on Saturday, May 2.

DRAFT RANKINGS

The final NHL draft rankings by Central Scouting are out, and the Wheat Kings are well represented.

Pantelas is the 46th ranked North American skater, while defenceman Cameron Allard is 130th and forward Joby Baumuller is 156th. Among North American goaltenders, Filip Ruzicka is fourth.

Four of the top five ranked North American skaters are products of the WHL, including Medicine Hat Tigers alumnus Gavin McKenna (first) and Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels (third), Victoria Royals alumnus Keaton Verhoeff (fourth) and Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Daxon Rudolph (fifth).

Five Manitobans are in that group, including Carels, defenceman Brek Liske of Beausejour (44th ranked, Everett Silvertips), forward Zachary Lansard of Ste. Anne (70th, Regina Pats), defenceman Jonas Woo of Winnipeg (179th, Medicine Hat Tigers) and forward Nathan Brown of Winnipeg (224th, Portland Winterhawks).

Overall, 80 WHL-developed players are included in the list of 224 skaters and 37 netminders, with 47 forwards, 24 defencemen and nine goalies.

WHL PLAYOFFS

The conference finals have been set after Penticton Vees forward Jacob Kvasnicka scored on a rebound 2:16 into overtime in a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Game 6 late Sunday to give his team a 4-2 series win.

Second-place Penticton (44-14-6-4, 98 points) will now face the Everett Silvertips (57-8-2-1, 117 points) in the Western Conference final, while in the Eastern Conference, the first-place Prince Albert Raiders (52-10-5-1, 100 points) will play the second-place Medicine Hat Tigers 50-10-5-3, 108 points).

In their respective interlocking series, the Raiders and Tigers split four games while the Silvertips beat the Vees in three of four games.

Through the 12 WHL series in the first two rounds, five were 4-0 sweeps, four were 4-1, two were 4-2 and one was 4-3.

TOP PLAYERS

The WHL’s player of the week is 18-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck of Osoyoos, B.C., who had three goals and two assists in two games as the Tigers swept the Calgary Hitmen.

He has nine points in nine playoff games so far.

The Wheat Kings to win the award this season were Luke Mistelbacher on Nov. 10 and Baumuller on Dec. 15.

The top rookie is 18-year-old Vees forward Kvasnicka of Burnsville, Minn., who had two goals and two assists in four games, including the series winner in overtime.

The Wheat Kings to win the award this season were Chase Surkan on Sept. 29 and Oct. 27, and Prabh Bhathal on Jan. 19.

The top goalie is 20-year-old Kelowna Rockets netminder Josh Banini of Edmonton, who went 1-0-0-1 with a 1.12 goals-against average and .976 save percentage this past week.

The Wheat Kings to win the award this season were Filip Ruzicka on Dec. 29 and Feb. 23, and Jayden Kraus on Feb. 2. In addition, Brandonite Burke Hood of the Vancouver Giants won it on Oct. 20 and Brandon’s Ethan McCallum of Penticton earned it on Jan. 26 and March 23. Former Wheat Kings goalie Ethan Eskit won it on Sept. 22 and Jan. 12.

McQUEEN SIGNS

Former Wheat Kings forward Roger McQueen has inked a three-year, entry-level deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

The 19-year-old, six-foot-six Saskatoon product played last season with Providence College, where he was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year after potting 11 goals and 16 assists in 36 games. He has already made his pro debut, with a goal and two assists in seven games with the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls.

In 134 regular season and playoff games in the WHL over three seasons, McQueen had 40 goals and 52 assists. The Ducks took him 10th overall in the 2025 NHL draft.

LUCKY LUKE

Wheat Kings forward Luke Mistelbacher was called up to the American Hockey League for the second year in a row, and skated in three games with the Belleville Senators without a point. He scored his first pro goal in two games with the Iowa Wild in 2025.

Belleville missed the playoffs so his season is now over.

PLAYOFF FEVER

There are 65 WHL alumni active in the NHL playoffs, including two former Wheat Kings, Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights) and Ridly Greig (Ottawa Senators). Strathclair’s Morgan Geekie (Boston Bruins), Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers) and Brandon’s Daemon Hunt (Minnesota Wild) are also playing.

CHL’s TOP 50

All-time player rankings are an irresistible topic with the CHL, and another Wheat King has shown up on them.

In the second set of rankings in the current countdown, former Wheat Kings forward Ray Ferraro was ranked 33rd. He had historic 108 goals and 192 points during the 1983-84 season in Brandon after a trade from Portland, and went on to play 18 seasons in the NHL with 408 goals and 490 assists. The format is two towns past goofy, with pro experience weighing in heavily this time.

The others named were: 31. Brad Richards (Rimouski Océanic, 1997-2000).

32. Joe Thornton (Soo Greyhounds, 1995-97).

34. Brendan Shanahan (London Knights, 1985-87).

35. Bobby Smith (Ottawa 67’s, 1975-78).

36. Shea Weber (Kelowna Rockets, 2001-05).

37. Roberto Luongo (Val-d’Or Foreurs and Acadie-Bathurst Titan, 1995-99).

38. Ron Francis (Soo Greyhounds, 1980-82).

39. Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm, 2005-08).

40. Vincent Lecavalier (Rimouski Océanic, 1996-98).

It’s worth noting former Wheat Kings star Brian Propp, who had 511 points in 213 regular-season WHL games and then 1,004 NHL points, was ranked 47th.

This seems like a lot of work to anoint Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as the best ever.

ANGRY FANS

As all hockey fans know, referees have the ability to bend all the rules of physics and logic and are simultaneously in the bag against every team you like.

That played out a little louder in Prince George on April 15 in a 5-2 loss to Penticton in Game 4.

The Vees took the first two penalties of the game, but fans were getting a little owly after Cougars forward Aiden Foster took a checking to the head major in the second period and Penticton later tied the game 2-2 after a fourth Prince George penalty in a row was called.

After the Vees took another minor, rugged defenceman Corbin Vaughan was assessed a checking to the head major and Cougars defenceman Arsenii Anisimov lifted a puck over the glass for a five-on-three.

Nolan Stevenson scored a power-play goal to put the visitors up 3-2 and some of the 5,283 fans began to pelt the ice with garbage — and Cougars forward Terik Parascak took a 10-minute misconduct — and the referees handed the hosts a delay-of-game penalty on which Pentiction scored again. They added their fourth power-play goal on eight chances with 51 seconds remaining.

Longtime WHL reporter Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen spoke to Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb after the game.

“It was just chaos and penalties and fans getting penalties, it was chaos,” Lamb told Clarke. “I didn’t know what the call was. They said we got warned a couple times (about the fans) and, yeah, a 5-on-3.

“They’re passionate, I love it, it’s all about emotion. They come to watch a real good hockey game, they don’t come to watch the referees.”

AROUND THE OHL

In the Eastern Conference, the first-place Kitchener Rangers (47-14-5-2, 101 points) are facing the second-place Windsor Spitfires (44-15-6-3, 97 points), while in the Western Conference, the first-place Brantford Bulldogs (48-18-8-2, 106 points) are meeting the third-place Barrie Colts (45-14-5-4, 99 points).

Kitchener won three of four games against Windsor in the regular season, while Brantford and Barrie split.

Through the 12 series in the first two rounds, seven were sweeps, four were 4-1 wins and only one went to six games.

AROUND THE QMJHL

The cross-over semifinals are set, and they also feature the top two teams from each conference.

The Western Conference’s first-place Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (40-17-5-2, 87 points) tangle with the Eastern Conference’s second-place Chicoutimi Saguenéens (49-10-3-2, 103 points), while the Eastern Conference’s first-place Moncton Wildcats (50-10-2-2, 104 points) meet the Western Conference’s second-place Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (40-18-5-1, 86 points).

The Wildcats outscored the Armada 10-2 in sweeping the season series, while the Saguenéens took two of three from the Huskies.

Through the 12 series in the first two rounds, six were 4-0, one was 4-1, two were 4-2 and three were 4-3.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

In The Brandon Sun in the next week, Penticton Vees prospect Talon Scinocca of Brandon talks about his recovery from a broken femur, and Ken Schneider discusses his retirement from the Regina Pats.

The WHL Notebook generally closes up shop after the Wheat Kings are eliminated, but if you would like to see more like this for the next month, drop me an email at pbergson@brandonsun.com

You’ll know the results when the next column is either in a week or September.