After the jump, the links to the audio plus the summary of our predictions as we go on permanent record.
In the first of 5 segments from TPS last night, the panel discussed at length the pros and cons of the Memorial Cup format as it currently stands and the prospect of altering it as recently discussed by Sportsnet.
We kicked off the breakdown of teams by division by looking at the U.S. Division and whether anyone could topple the Portland Winterhawks from their throne.
From there we moved on to the B.C. Division where the Kelowna Rockets are expected to have a stiff challenge from the Victoria Royals. But what about Vancouver, Prince George and Kamloops?
At the top of the second hour of the show we shifted eastward and to the Central Division. Can Edmonton be expected to contend once again or is this the year for the Calgary Hitmen to return to the top? Are the Red Deer Rebels far off and what about Kootenay and Medicine Hat? Can the Lethbridge Hurricanes get out of the basement?
Finally we wrapped it all up with our look at the East Division followed by our individual predictions for conference standings, playoffs and eventual league champions.
And for the record, here are our picks:
Western Conference Standings
Guy Flaming: (1) Portland, (2) Kelowna, (3) Victoria, (4) Seattle, (5) Vancouver, (6) Everett, (7) Tri-City, (8) Prince George, (9) Kamloops and (10) Spokane.
Dean Millard: (1) Portland, (2) Victoria, (3) Kelowna, (4) Seattle, (5) Tri-City, (6) Everett, (7) Vancouver, (8) Prince George, (9) Spokane and (10) Kamloops.
Corey Graham: (1) Kelowna, (2) Portland, (3) Victoria, (4) Seattle, (5) Vancouver, (6) Tri-City, (7) Prince George, (8) Everett, (9) Spokane and (10) Kamloops.
Cam Moon: (1) Portland, (2) Kelowna, (3) Victoria, (4) Seattle, (5) Prince George, (6) Vancouver, (7) Everett, (8) Tri-City, (9) Kamloops and (10) Spokane.
Eastern Conference Standings
Guy Flaming: (1) Brandon, (2) Calgary, (3) Edmonton, (4) Red Deer, (5) Swift Current, (6) Regina, (7) Moose Jaw, (8) Medicine Hat, (9) Prince Albert, (10) Saskatoon, (11) Kootenay and (12) Lethbridge.
Dean Millard: (1) Calgary, (2) Brandon, (3) Regina, (4) Edmonton, (5) Red Deer, (6) Swift Current, (7) Medicine Hat, (8) Saskatoon, (9) Prince Albert, (10) Moose Jaw, (11) Kootenay and (12) Lethbridge.
Corey Graham: (1) Calgary, (2) Brandon, (3) Edmonton, (4) Red Deer, (5) Swift Current, (6) Medicine Hat, (7) Regina, (8) Kootenay, (9) Prince Albert, (10) Moose Jaw, (11) Saskatoon and (12) Lethbridge.
Cam Moon: (1) Calgary, (2) Brandon, (3) Edmonton, (4) Red Deer, (5) Swift Current, (6) Medicine Hat, (7) Regina, (8) Kootenay, (9) Moose Jaw, (10) Prince Albert, (11) Saskatoon and (12) Lethbridge.
Conference Champs
Guy Flaming: Calgary and Kelowna
Dean Millard: Brandon and Victoria
Corey Graham: Calgary and Victoria
Cam Moon: Calgary and Kelowna
WHL Champion
Guy Flaming: Kelowna Rockets
Dean Millard: Victoria Royals
Corey Graham: Calgary Hitmen
Cam Moon: Kelowna Rockets
Feel free to tell us YOUR picks, especially if you're going to chirp ours!
2 comments:
I cannot understand why you think Honka will will not be back in Swift, from all accounts they say he is coming back unless he makes the stars which is unlikely. That being said they have the best defence in the conference and are a trade for a scorer away from becoming extremely legit contenders to win the conference. To me it looks pretty typical that the league does not exist outside of Calgary and Edmonton in your guys eyes. How is red deer even in the conversation. They will be in tough to make playoffs
According to Shawn Mullin, the voice of the Broncos, it's a pretty strong possibility.
Here is his segment on the show a couple weeks ago:
http://www.thepipelineshow.com/clips/season_10/Shawn_Mullin_Aug26.mp3
He would know more than we would so if HE says there's a good chance he's not back, I take that to be true.
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