Bjarnason named a finalist for WHL’s top goalie

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This article was published 09/04/2025 (416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Carson Bjarnason of the Brandon Wheat Kings is among the nominees for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the Western Hockey League’s goaltender of the year.

The 19-year-old goaltender from Carberry, who is expected to make the jump into the Philadelphia Flyers organization next season, went 22-15-3-0 with a 2.93 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and one shutout in his third year as starter and fourth as a Wheat King.

The other Eastern Conference finalists are Max Hildebrand of the Prince Albert Raiders and Daniel Hauser of the Calgary Hitmen, along with the Western Conference’s Scott Ratzlaff of the Seattle Thunderbirds, Joshua Ravensbergen of the Prince George Cougars and Dawson Cowan of the Spokane Chiefs.

The finalists for the 2024-25 Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy for the WHL scholastic player of the year were unveiled and they include the Eastern Conference’s Daxon Rudolph of the Prince Albert Raiders and Luke Vlooswyk of the Red Deer Rebels, and the Western Conference’s Logan Edmonstone of the Kamloops Blazers and Max Curran of the Tri-City Americans.

DRAFT RULES

The league also announced Wednesday it’s revamping its draft format.

The first round of the main draft will be held on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. (CDT).

The U.S. priority draft will be held Thursday, May 8 starting at 10 a.m. with the rest of the WHL prospects draft to follow.

The 2025 draft lottery is being held today at 7 p.m., streaming free on Victory+. It will include the six non-playoff teams, the Red Deer Rebels, Wenatchee Wild, Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors, with a club able to move up a maximum of two spots.

The lottery uses a total of 21 balls. The Edmonton Oil Kings, who hold Moose Jaw’s pick after a deal last season, have six balls, Regina has five, Kelowna has four, the Everett Silvertips via Kamloops have three, Vancouver via Wenatchee has two and Red Deer has one.

The expansion Penticton Vees have been awarded the fourth pick in the first round, so if the fifth- or sixth-place team wins the lottery, Penticton will pick fifth.

Beginning in the second round, Penticton will receive the first pick. Brandon will select 15th in every round it has picks, based on the inverse order of the final regular season standings.

The U.S. priority draft lottery, which began in 2020, has its own set of rules.

The six non-playoff clubs and the eight teams that were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, including Brandon, will each receive one ball in the lottery.

The first ball drawn will determine the 15th pick and the final ball will represent the first overall pick in the first round. Penticton has been awarded the fourth overall pick in the first round.

The second stage of the lottery will determine the order of the eight teams that won their first-round series, with the first ball drawn for the 23rd pick and the final ball drawn representing the 16th pick.

The second round of the U.S. priority draft is conducted in inverse order to the first round.

Players not selected in the U.S. priority draft are eligible to be selected in the prospects draft.

FINAL EIGHT

The Prince Albert Raiders beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-0 in Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre late Tuesday evening to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Prince Albert now gets the unenviable task of facing the Medicine Hat Tigers, while the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Calgary Hitmen square off in the other series.

In the Western Conference, the Portland Winterhawks meet the Everett Silvertips and the Victoria Royals tangle with the Spokane Chiefs.

» The Brandon Sun