Hitmen still tops

LANGLEY, BC – The WHL season is off to a hot start, with a few teams making an early impact. Among the teams enjoying success in the first month of the 2009-10 hockey season are some perennial contenders, and some clubs that were due for a rebirth. In the latter category are the Portland Winterhawks. The ‘Hawks were the worst team in the Western Conference in 2008-09, but are out to a 7-3 start, placing them atop the U.S. Division. Portland will have to battle hard to keep up the pace, as the Western Conference looks like it will once again be the stronger of the two WHL conferences. The Vancouver Giants and the Kamloops Blazers are two of the teams proving that to be true. The Giants continue their typical winning ways with a 7-2-0-2 start, while the Blazers continue to improve season after season, and sit tied with the Giants for first in the B.C. Division. The Blazers rank #5 in the CHL this week, while Vancouver sits two spots back at #7. Not to be discounted are the Kelowna Rockets and the Tri-City Americans, who each have 6 wins and are nipping at the heels of their respective division leaders. On the other side of the “Dub”, the Eastern Conference has its powerhouses as well. One of those hot teams, the Moose Jaw Warriors, are experiencing a turn around nearly identical to the Winterhawks’. The Warriors finished last season dead last in the WHL, with just 19 wins in 72 games. In 10 games this year, Moose Jaw has 7 wins, and have scored a league-best 52 goals. If they can sustain their pace, they will have eclipsed last season’s total wins well before the halfway point of the ’09-10 season. In the Eastern Conference’s Central Division, the Calgary Hitmen continue last year’s dominance. The Hitmen finished first overall in the WHL in ’08-09, and are quickly establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with this season with 7 wins in their first 9 games. They are currently ranked #1 in the CHL. The rest of the Eastern Conference picture is a little murkier, with several teams clustered together in the standings. Among those teams, the Saskatoon Blades have put together a solid defensive effort so far, but they will need to generate more offense to challenge the top teams in the East. Of course, the season is still young and only a few points separate the teams at this point. There will likely be some shake-ups in the months ahead, but for now, the Hitmen look like the team to beat in the WHL. The Blazers and the Giants will also certainly be contenders, while Moose Jaw and Portland will have to prove themselves deeper in the schedule to convert skeptics. Contact the author at Happy.Kreter@prohockeynews.com