The Edmonton Oil Kings and Spokane Chiefs had the two poorest records during this WHL regular season.
But that didn’t stop the fans from showing up.
The Oil Kings played their final regular-season home game on Saturday at 
Rogers Place before an announced crowd of 14,781, the largest gathering in Edmonton this season.
According to figures compiled by the WHL, that lifted the Oil Kings’ average attendance to 6,223, the highest in the 22-team league.
Yes, indeed, the Oil Kings may have been last in the standings — they won only nine of 68 games — but they were No. 1 at the gate.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, completed their home schedule on Saturday night 
before a sold-out crowd of 10,541. That increased their average attendance to 5,842 and allowed them to pass the Everett Silvertips (5,840) and move into the No. 2 slot.
The Chiefs finished 10th in the 10-team Western Conference, winning 15 games.
Last season, Everett was No. 1 in average attendance, at 5,341, with Edmonton (5,198) in second spot and Spokane (4,419) in fourth.
With one game left to be played this season — Edmonton is to visit the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon — the WHL’s average attendance is 3,872, up from 3,205 in 2021-22.
How much of that do you think is due to the presence of F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, especially after he returned from the World Junior Championship?
THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard scored his 71st goal of the season on Saturday night, but his Regina Pats dropped a 5-3 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,499. It was Regina’s sixth sellout of the season, all of them since Jan. 21. . . . Bedard won the WHL’s Triple Crown, leading in goals (71), assists (72) and points (143), all in 57 games. However, he finished with just one point, last night’s goal, over three games. . . . He won the points title by 36 over F Chase Wheatcroft of the Prince George Cougars, and finished 21 goals ahead of F Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Prince George F Riley Heidt was one assist behind Bedard, with D Ben Zloty of the Winnipeg Ice three behind.
If the WHL playoffs started today (x-locked in):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
x-Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)
x-Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)
x-Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)
x-Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
x-Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)
x-Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
x-Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)
x-Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)
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SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:
The Medicine Hat Tigers grabbed the WHL’s last available playoff spot with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Broncos grabbed a 2-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old — on goals from F Connor Hvidston (21) and F Josh Davies (20), the latter on a PP — but the Tigers stormed back with the next four goals. . . . F Tyler McKenzie (18) got them on the scoreboard 14 seconds into the second period, and F Oasiz Wiesblatt (26) tied it, on a PP, at 7:52, . . . F Dallon Melin (16), celebrating his 21st birthday, gave the Tigers their first lead, on a PP, at 15:35. . . . D Cayden Lindstrom (19) upped the lead to 4-2 at 6:00 of the third period. . . . F Josh Filmon pulled the Broncos to within a goal with his 47th at 10:26. . . . F Gavin McKenna drew two primary assists for the Tigers. The 15-year-old — he won’t turn 16 until Dec. 20 — finished with 17 points, 13 of them assists, in 16 games. He was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Medicine Hat (30-29-9) will face the Winnipeg Ice, who finished atop the overall standings, in the first round. . . . Swift Current (31-33-4) will miss the playoffs for the third time since winning the 2017-18 championship. They didn’t qualify in 2019 or 2022, and there weren’t any playoffs in 2020 or 2021. . . .
F Carter Yakemchuk scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . With the victory, the Hitmen locked themselves into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. That means a first-round meeting with the No. 2 Red Deer Rebels. . . . Yakemchuk, with 19 goals, gave Calgary a 2-1 edge at 6:39 of the third period, then broke a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 14:22. . . . The Hitmen lost D Keagan Slaney to a charging major and game misconduct at 9:05 of the third period. . . . Calgary (31-28-8) has won four straight games. It last met Red Deer in the playoffs in 2016, when the Rebels won in five games. . . . Edmonton (9-54-4) has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). The Oil Kings will set a dubious WHL record for the fewest victories by a defending champion. That record (11) had been held by the Swift Current Broncos, who won the 2017-18 WHL championship and then went 11-51-6 in 2018-19. . . . The Oil Kings and Hitmen will conclude the WHL’s regular season this afternoon in Calgary. . . .
F Conor Geekie scored three times and added two assists as the Winnipeg Ice beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-3. . . . Geekie finished with 35 goals, while F Connor McClennon, who scored the Ice’s other two goals, scored 46. . . . D Jonas Wood helped out with three assists for Winnipeg. . . . Winnipeg (57-10-1) finished atop the overall standings. . . . Brandon (26-33-9) went 18-17-7 after general manager Marty Murray replaced Don MacGillivray as head coach. . . . The Wheat Kings, the lone WHL team to make a coaching change during this season, finished 10th in the Eastern Conference. . . .
The Calvert brothers, who are from Moose Jaw, each scored as the Saskatoon Blades posted a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Rowan Calvert scored his fourth goal for the Blades and it proved the winner. His brother, Atley, had two goals and an assist for the Warriors, giving him 40 scores on the season. Their father, Jeff, played five seasons as a goaltender in the WHL, two with the Warriors and three with the Tacoma Rockets. . . . You can bet that Rowan and Atlee’s grandfather, the late Bob Calvert, a longtime member of the Warriors’ board, was looking down and grinning from ear to ear. . . . On Feb. 11, the WHL announced that four Warriors — G Connor Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — had been suspended pending an investigation into potential violations of WHL’s policies of conduct. Those players later were suspended for the duration of the regular season — they sat out 17 games — and now are eligible to return, assuming they completed personal conduct and respect training as requested by the league. . . . Saskatoon (48-15-5) enjoyed a 100-point season for the fifth time in franchise history, and the Blades have been in the league since the start (1966-67) . . . Moose Jaw (41-24-3) had won its previous two games. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels scored four second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . G Koen Cleaver made his debut with the Hurricanes, managing to keep the game scoreless through a first period in which they were outshot, 19-1. . . . By game’s end, the shot advantage was 39-12. . . . F Kalan Lind (16) and D Hunter Mayo (18) each had a goal and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (43-19-6) had lost its previous two games. . . . Lethbridge finished at 36-26-6. . . .
F Sloan Stanick scored three times to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-3 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Stanick (31) scored two second-period goals, the second one while shorthanded, as the Raiders took a 3-0 lead. . . . He completed his second career hat trick at 4:15 of the third period, giving the visitors a 4-1 edge. . . . Stanick, a 19-year-old from Rapid City, Man., ws acquired from the Pats early last season. He finished this season with 64 points in 67 games. . . . F Tanner Howe, who won’t turn 18 until Nov. 28, scored his 36th goal. He finished with 85 points in 67 games, and has 156 points in 139 career games. . . . Prince Albert (28-37-3) had lots its previous three games. . . . Regina (34-30-4) has lost two in a row. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Dylan Guenther (13) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 4:06 of the first period. . . . Portland got second-period goals from F Luke Schelter (8) and F Josh Zakreski (13) and a third-period empty-netter from D Ryan McCleary (13). . . . Portland (40-20-8) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Seattle (54-11-3) finished atop the Western Conference. . . .
F Koehn Ziemmer and F Chase Wheatcroft scored shootout goals to give the host Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Cougars D Hudson Thornton scored his 23rd goal, setting a franchise record for goals by a defenceman in one season. Dustin Byfuglien scored 22 times in 2004-05. . . . G Tyler Brennan stopped 43 shots as the Cougars were outshot, 45-17, including 6-0 in OT. . . . G Jesse Sanche, who turned 17 on March 19, made his WHL debut with the Blazers. He now lives in Kelowna, but grew up in Kamloops. Sanche was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Kamloops (48-13-7) has lost two in a row. . . . Prince George (37-24-7) goes into the playoffs having put up points in 11 straight (8-0-3). . . .
The Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s first four goals and then hung on for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . F Gabriel Szturc (24) scored twice for Kelowna, the second one, at 13:11 of the second period, providing that 4-0 lead. . . . A pair of goals 26 seconds apart from F Skyler Bruce (15) and F Ty Halaburda (21) got the Giants to within a goal, at 4-3, at 14:25 of the third period. . . . F Turner McMillen (9) restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead at 18:23, with D Colton Roberts (3) getting the Giants back to within a goal at 19:20. . . . Kelowna (27-37-4) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Vancouver (28-32-8) had won two in a row. . . .
D Lukas Dragicevic scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the Tri-City Americans a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . F Kooper Gizowski (11) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the first period. . . . F Parker Bell (25) got the Americans even at 16:39 of the second. . . . Tri-City (34-26-8) has points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . Spokane finished at 15-42-10. Its 40 points is the lowest in franchise history, beneath the 47 earned by the 1998-99 club. . . .
F Raphael Pelletier scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The Royals had erased 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force extra time on F Matthew Hodson’s 17th goal at 18:52 of the third period. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored his 48th goal, shorthanded, to set an Everett single-season franchise record. F Josh Winquist had scored 17 goals in 2013-14. . . . Everett (33-32-3) had lost its previous two games. . . . Victoria (17-43-8) finished with points in three straight (2-0-1).
It’s that time of year again. Yes, the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is almost upon us.
This year, we’re back to walking outdoors, and we’ll be hitting the trail at McDonald Park on June 4.
My wife, Dorothy, who in September will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient, is once again taking part. And, yes, she is fund-raising and would love for you to be part of her team.
If you are so inclined, you may make a donation right here. Thank you so much, in advance.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
Sunday’s craziness and with the WHL’s deadline now only hours away.
Mason Ward, 20, moving to the Broncos for Kayden Sadhra-Kang, 19. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired Ward from the Red Deer Rebels prior to the 2021-22 season. From Lloydminster, the 6-foot-5 Ward had four goals and six assists in 38 games with Brandon this season. . . . The 6-foot-4 Sakhra-Kang, from Richmond, B.C., was acquired by Swift Current from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early last season. In 90 games with the Broncos, he had four goals and 19 assists. . . . 
got D Ethan Peters, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2025 draft. From Moose Jaw, Peters was in his third season with Edmonton. He recorded 28 points, including 24 assists, in 119 regular-season games. . . . Following last season, he was presented with the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy as the WHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year. . . . 
one goal in five games with Finland at the WJC. . . . Seattle acquired his WHL rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30 for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the WHL’s 2023 draft, a conditional first-rounder in 2023 and a conditional second-rounder in 2024. . . . With Lambert having been assigned to Saskatoon, the Blades now are in possession of those two conditional draft picks. . . . Might the Blades spend some draft capital today before the trade deadline arrives?
assists in 12 games with the Moose. The Jets selected him with the 18th pick of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Portland grabbed his WHL rights in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he played at the U of Minnesota, putting up 19 points, including nine goals, in 24 games. . . . Last week, he helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the WJC. He finished with seven points, five of them goals, in as many games. He had three goals, including the OT winner, as the Americans beat Sweden, 8-7, in the third-place game.
visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday. . . . G Rhett Stoesser, a 17-year-old freshman from Carstairs, Alta., stopped 18 shots as he recorded his first WHL shutout in his fourth start. He is 4-0-0, 1.25, .938. . . . The Rebels have tied the WHL record for most victories to open a season. The 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos opened 12-0-0 before dropping a 2-1 decision to the Blades in Saskatoon on Oct. 30, 1988. . . . The Rebels are scheduled to visit the Edmonton Oil Kings (1-11-1) on Sunday. . . .
with a 5-4 victory over the Cougars. They’ll play there again tonight and resume the triple-dip in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday. . . . Last night, Seattle got two goals from each of Jared Davidson and Jordan Gustafson as they got out to a 5-2 lead. The Cougars scored twice in the game’s last two minutes.
on Friday with the Winnipeg Ice in town. According to the Wheat Kings, it also was equipment manager Scott Hlady’s 500th game with the organization. . . . According to Lucas Punkari of the Brandon Sun, it was the first crowd of more than 5,000 “since 5,621 fans were in the building for a 5-4 shootout win over Moose Jaw on March 17, 2018.” . . . The Ice skated home with a 4-1 victory, ending its season-opening road schedule with a 12-1 record. The same two teams will meet in Winnipeg tonight as the Ice stages its home-opener.
Gorgendiere, their 19-year-old captain, won’t play again this season. He will be undergoing surgery to repair an undisclosed injury. . . . “Aidan has been battling through an ailment for most of the season and, over the weekend, it finally reached a point where surgery was the only option for him,” Colin Priestner, the Blades’ president and general manager, said in a statement. “We will miss his leadership and it certainly is difficult news given how much he means to our team on and off the ice.” . . . De La Gorgendiere is the Blades’ highest-scoring defenceman, with 45 points, including 41 assists, in 54 games. His 45 points are the fourth-highest on the team. . . . F Tristen Robins, 20, wore the captain’s ‘C’ for the first time on Wednesday night as the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision to the Pats in Regina.
Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia, but those plans were scrubbed after the dictator chose to attack Ukraine. There have been reports that the IIHF has asked Canada to play host, even though the 2022 tournament is to be held in Edmonton in August. One option for Canada is for Ottawa and Quebec City to share hosting duties, while organizations in Regina and Saskatoon are preparing a joint bid. . . . From a press release issued by Tourism Regina and Tourism Saskatoon: “This is an exciting opportunity to host the IIHF World Junior Championships throughout Saskatchewan with potential games being played in municipalities like Humboldt, Swift Current, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.”
victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . D Ryker Evans’ 14th goal, on a PP at 1:31 of the third period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Blades had stopped Regina F Connor Bedard’s 21-game streak on Friday in Saskatoon and held him to one assist last night. . . . The Blades won the season series, 5-1-0. . . . The Pats (24-31-5) are five points from the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Blades (34-24-4) are fifth, three points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors, with each team having six games remaining. . . .
the Raiders to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings in Prince Albert. . . . Latimer, who has 16 goals, struck at 14:27 and 16:33. . . . C Charlie Elick, the third overall selection in the WHL’s December draft, scored his first goal for Brandon. . . . The Raiders, who got 34 saves from G Chaika Tikhon, had lost their previous four games. . . . Prince Albert (25-32-5) now are within three points of eighth place but have only six games left. . . . The Wheat Kings (30-25-5) appear headed to a sixth-place finish in the conference. . . .
empty-netter as the visiting Swift Current Broncos beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-4. . . . Pelletier, who also had an assist, now has 19 goals. He went into this season with six goals and nine assists in 69 career regular-season games. This season, he now has 46 points in 60 games. . . . The Broncos (26-31-7) are seventh, one point ahead of eighth-place Lethbridge (27-30-4), which is three points ahead of Prince Albert. . . .
to a 8-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers, who led 6-0 before the second period was four minutes old, clinched first place in the B.C. Division. . . . F Logan Stankoven led the Blazers with two goals, giving him 40, and two assists. . . . Stankoven, a Kamloopsian who turned 19 on Feb. 26, has 91 points in 53 games. He leads the WHL in points per game — 1.72. F Ridley Greig of the Brandon Wheat Kings is second, at 1.62. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer scored his 30th goal of the season for the Cougars. He is the first Prince George freshman to get there since F Brett Connolly (2008-09). . . . Kamloops has had its two largest announced crowds of the season for its last two games — 4,969 for a 6-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and 4,745 last night. . . . With two games left in the season series, the Blazers hold an 8-2-0 edge; the Cougars are 2-7-1. . . . Kamloops (45-15-2) is two points behind the Western Conference-leading Everett Silvertips (43-10-8), who hold a game in hand.
quickly as possible. I mean, shouldn’t the playoffs be the highlight of your season? Shouldn’t it all be about crowning the league’s best team? If it is, why not slow things down and let the players enjoy it?
Ronan Seeley on a week-to-week basis. Seeley, a 19-year-old in his fourth WHL season, suffered an apparent shoulder injury on Friday during a 5-3 loss to the host Vancouver Giants. F Adam Hall of the Giants was given a minor for boarding on the play and then was suspended for three games under supplemental discipline. . . . “The good news for Seeley and Everett,” Patterson wrote, “is that (GM/head coach Dennis) Williams said he’s fully confident Seeley will be back in time for the playoffs to start, which being around April 22.” . . . Seeley, with 41 points in 48 games, and Olen Zellweger, with 67 points, including 55 assists, in 48 games, gave the Silvertips two minute-eating veteran defencemen, who are a big reason why Everett sits atop the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers and five up on the Portland Winterhawks.
TAKING NOTE 