Question: Who‘s the hottest team in the WHL as of today?
Answer: It‘s not Kelowna, though only two teams are on a hotter roll than the Rockets, who have won three straight. It‘s the Spokane Chiefs, who, by comparison, are 10-0-0-1 in their last 11 games.
The Chiefs are on such a run, that their last regulation-time loss was way back on Oct. 8, 5-3 in Chilliwack to the Bruins. Since then, Spokane reeled off nine wins in a row, including 2-1 and 4-3 wins over Kelowna, then had its streak snapped on Friday with a 2-1 shootout loss to Vancouver.
On Saturday, the Chiefs picked up where they left off, scoring another win, 5-3 over Seattle. Lethbridge is the second hottest team at 6-0-0-1 in its past seven.
“At the end of last season, the organization took a big step forward,” said Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz, whose squad placed fourth in U.S. Division standings last season with a winning record of 36-28-4-4. In the postseason, Spokane was ousted by Everett (54-15-1-2) in the first round, albeit in six games.
This season, the Chiefs (13-2-1-2) sport the league‘s best record, best winning percentage (80.6 per cent) and goal differential (63 for, 37 against) at plus-26.
“Our leadership was very solid last season, and we thought we had some very good pieces in place for this season, like our captain, Chris Bruton,” continued Speltz. “Our No. 1 goalie (Kevin Armstrong) was injured at the end of last season and our backup (Dustin Tokarski) played a good series against Everett. So, even though we‘re now at the quarter-pole of this season, back then, the team began to understand what it took to win.”
In case you haven‘t seen the Chiefs this season, Spokane has speed to burn.
In fact, ask any WHL head coach and they‘ll tell you the same thing. And arguably the best of Spokane‘s bunch is winger Drayson Bowman, a six-foot-one, left-handed shot from Littleton, Colo., whose younger brother, Collin, plays defence for the Rockets.
Through 18 games this season, Bowman has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points, good for tops in team scoring, along with a plus-10 rating. Coincidentally, Spokane‘s plus-minus leader is defenceman Jared Spurgeon, who is the younger brother of former Rocket Tyler Spurgeon, at plus-14.
“The guys realize it‘s defence first with us,” said Speltz. “They understand that the less time they spend in their end and more time in the other end, they‘re going to have fun. Really, it‘s pretty simple; we‘re not trying to reinvent the wheel by any stretch.
“It‘s about guys buying into the defensive game, and I think we have a solid group, especially on defence. From one to seven, everyone of them can skate.”
As a result, Spokane not only has the WHL‘s best record, it also has the second-best record in the CHL, with only the OHL‘s Kitchener Rangers (15-2-0-0) sporting a better winning percentage (.882).
Naturally, expect the Chiefs to shoot up the CHL‘s weekly top-10 poll when it‘s announced later this week. Last week, Spokane cracked the list for the first time this season at No. 9. This week, WHL writers placed the Chiefs at No. 1 in their weekly league poll.
However, for most this decade, the Chiefs have struggled, as witnessed by their overall record of 212-223-45-25 plus back-to-back seasons from 2004-06 where they failed to make the playoffs.
But fresh off their first winning season since 2003-04 and most wins since 1999-2000, Spokane appears to have turned the corner, thanks to re-evaluating its model.
“Four years ago, we decided to redefine what we were looking for,” said Speltz, whose team has benefited thanks to those tough seasons with good selections at the WHL‘s annual bantam draft. From 2003 to 2006, the Chiefs‘ first pick was consistently in the top 10, with six-foot-five defenceman Jared Cowen taken first overall in ‘06.
“The game has changed now, and players have to be able to skate. So, we started putting more emphasis on guys who could skate, were smart and could move the puck,” continued Speltz.
“If nothing else, this shows that the inverse draft in the WHL works and it puts an emphasis on the cyclical nature (of hockey).” Top of Page
