Hitmen emerging as surprise team in WHL

Oliver Tulk leads the Hitmen in scoring with 49 points.

“Shhhhhh. We want to sneak up on people. We are actually good.”

The Calgary Hitmen have flown in under the radar. At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, they were expected to contend for a position in the WHL Playoffs, but they weren’t penciled in to win any division, conference or league titles.

Last season, the Hitmen placed ninth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 28-31-8-1 mark finishing two standings points back of the Prince Albert Raiders (31-32-2-3) for eighth place and the conference’s final post-season berth. Calgary has failed to make the post-season in two of the last three WHL campaigns.

On November 11 of this season, the Hitmen dropped 6-5 overtime decision to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington. That result moved the Hitmen’s record to 7-7-3-1 after 18 games.

Since that time, the Hitmen have gone on a tear posting a 10-2 mark to improve to 17-9-3-1. They sit one standings point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) for top spot in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference.

Calgary is tied with the Saskatoon Blades (17-10-2-2) for second and third overall in the Eastern Conference with 38 standings points. The Blades hold the standings tiebreakers due to topping the WHL’s East Division and posting a win and an extra time setback in two head-to-head meetings with the Hitmen.

The Hitmen have been riding the heroics of returnees Oliver Tulk, Ben Kindel and Carter Yakemchuk. Tulk is in his fourth full season with the Hitmen. The 19-year-old right-winger leads Calgary in scoring with 49 points coming off 15 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-six rating in the plus-minus department.

Kindel is a 17-year-old sophomore centre who sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 46 points coming off 19 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-eight rating. He was listed as a B-ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

Carter Yakemchuk tops all Hitmen blue-liners with 29 points.

Carter Yakemchuk is a star 19-year-old offensive defenceman who is in his fourth season with the Hitmen. Yakemchuk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, tops the Hitmen in blue-line scoring with 29 points coming off 12 goals and 17 assists in 25 appearances this season.

The Hitmen haven’t been afraid to strengthen their roster via the trade route under the direction of general manager Garry Davidson, who served a strong run as general manager of the Everett Silvertips from 2012 to 2021. At age 73, Davidson is still as sharp as ever.

Just before the regular season started back on September 19, Davidson sent 19-year-old left-winger Connor Dale, a second round selection and a fourth round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Swift Current Broncos for 20-year-old centre Connor Hvidston. Hvidston sits third in Hitmen team scoring with 30 points coming off 11 goals and 19 assists.

Davidson proceeded to make two blockbuster moves in November. On November 17, the Hitmen sent the WHL rights to 15-year-old centre Nathan Gardiner, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and third and seventh round selections in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker.

Just four days later on November 21, the Hitmen acquired now 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe from the Regina Pats in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton, 18-year-old left-winger Keets Fawcett, a third round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

On November 19, the Hitmen signed 18-year-old netminder Anders Miller to a WHL scholarship and development agreement. The Anchorage, Alaska, product was playing junior A for the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Hockey League and immediately joined the Hitmen after signing with the Calgary side.

Calgary elected to go with highly touted 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu as their second netminder. Tu made the Hitmen out of training camp and was selected by Calgary in the second round and 31^st overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft.

Miller and Tu have come up with timely saves for the Hitmen. As they continue to get more comfortable playing in the WHL, you can expect both to continue to improve.

The Hitmen acquired Kalem Parker in a trade on November 17.

Veteran 39-year-old coach Paul McFarland has been able to bring the Hitmen together in his first year as the club’s head coach. He came to Calgary after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

The exploits of the Hitmen sometimes don’t get brought to the surface as they play in a saturated sports market in Calgary, which has seen major cuts to the sports media. Even with numerous high profile sports teams calling Calgary home, the Hitmen enjoyed great coverage through the 2000s and most of the 2010s from Scott Fisher until he was let go by the Calgary Sun. Fisher covered the Hitmen like an NHL club and was well respected for his work.

It would have been sweet to have Fisher covering the Hitmen in the current day, because they appear to be on a rocket rise. When the dust settles, they could very well top the Eastern Conference standings and be looking at the prospects of going on a long post-season run.

Saskatoon, PA feel at world juniors

Caden Price will play for Canada at world juniors.

A number of folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert will be paying extra attention to world juniors.

A total of six players have ties to one community or the other or both centres, when the annual hockey tournament hits the ice in Ottawa, Ont., on Thursday, December 26. Canada’s roster includes Saskatoon produces in defenceman Caden Price and centre Berkly Catton.

Price, who is 19-years-old, leads the Kelowna Rockets in defencemen scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 games. Catton, who is 18-years-old, sits second in Spokane Chiefs scoring with 47 points coming off 14 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 28 games.

Brayden Yager, who is a 19-year-old centre, started the campaign with the Moose Jaw Warriors before being traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He will also be skating for Canada, and he will be the squad’s captain. In 23 games played between the Warriors and Hurricanes, Yager has 34 points coming off 12 goals and 22 assists.

Brayden Yager is Canada’s captain at world juniors.

Yager resides in the Saskatoon area in the off-season, but he got his start playing hockey skating in Prince Albert’s minor hockey system. Due to having links to both cities, folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert have followed Yager’s career.

Tanner Howe, who is a 19-year-old left-winger, is a Prince Albert product who will suit up for Canada. Howe started the WHL campaign with the Regina Pats before being dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. In 16 games with both the Pats and Hitmen, has 16 points coming off nine goals and seven assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Saskatoon Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk will skate for Canada at world juniors. The 19-year-old Kamloops, B.C., product leads the Blades in defence scoring with 21 points coming off four goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-four rating in 21 games. Molendyk, who is one of Canada’s assistant captains, is a career member of the Blades skating in 210 career regular season with the Saskatoon side recording 26 goals, 108 assists and a plus-66 rating.

Blades 17-year-old import rookie centre David Lewandowski will play for Germany at world juniors. In 20 games with the Blades, Lewandowski has recorded seven goals, eight assists and a plus-13 rating.

Canada opens the tournament on December 26 taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN). Germany also opens play on December 26 facing the United States (2:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN).

Pats struggle with attendance, other notes

The Brandt Centre has a lot of empty seats for Pats games this season.

There was a day when it was believed the Regina Pats would still average over 4,000 spectators per game even in their down seasons.

After 16 home dates this season, the Pats are averaging 2,422 spectators per game at the Brandt Centre, which can hold 6,499 patrons for hockey. That total is the second lowest average attendance in the WHL.

Last season, the Pats averaged 3,219 spectators for their 34 home dates. In 2022-23 the final campaign with phenom centre Connor Bedard, the Pats averaged 4,501 spectators per game for 34 regular season home games and sold out all three home post-season outings.

When the Pats finished first overall in the WHL and advanced and fell in the WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2016-17, the Pats averaged 5,456 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all 12 home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators.

Back in the 2017-18 campaign when the Pats hosted the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion, the Pats averaged 6,076 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all three of their home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators. In the five games the Pats played at the Memorial Cup tournament, they skated in front of sellout crowds in their last three contests.

Since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2018, the Pats have only played in the post-season once. While the lack of playoffs appearances has hurt, numerous Pats fans have complained online about ticket prices and how they were increased before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, when the Pats still had Bedard.

Currently, single game tickets for Pats games ranges from $31.31 to $43.27. In most WHL markets, tickets hover around $25 to $27.

• On Friday, the Everett Silvertips home rink in the Angel of the Winds Arena topped a league survey of WHL players as the most difficult building to play in on the road. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 25.4 per cent of the players said the Angel of the Winds Arena was the most difficult building to play in. The Prince Albert Raiders home rink in the Art Hauser Centre came in second with 15.6 per cent of the votes, the Seattle Thunderbirds home building in the Accesso ShoWare Center came in third at 9.2 per cent, the Red Deer Rebels rink in the Peavey Mart Centrium was fourth at 7.6 per cent and the Swift Current Broncos home barn in the InnovationPlex was fifth at 7 per cent.
• On Friday, Calgary Hitmen star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk announced he was committing to the NCAA’s storied University of Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey Team for the 2025-26 campaign. In 227 career regular season games with the Hitmen played over four seasons, Tulk has collected 88 goals and 120 assists for 208 points. Tulk’s commitment with the Badgers means he wouldn’t be with the Hitmen for a potential 20-year-old season.
• On Saturday, Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont topped a league survey of WHL players on who they think will win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 38 per cent of the votes said DuPont would take rookie of the year honours for the circuit. DuPont was granted exceptional status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old for the current campaign, and he has been as good as advertised. He sits second in rookie scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games. Gavin Garland, who is an 18-year-old centre with the Tri-City Americans, was second on the survey taking 15.2 per cent of the votes. He leads the WHL in rookie scoring with 35 points coming off 18 goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games.

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