WHL Final Should Be a Classic

The WHL Final begins tonight at Rexall Place in Edmonton and has the makings of a fantastic series. The two teams are similar in some ways but the amount of sidebar stories have added to the intrigue of the match up as fans await to see how things play out. 

We'll discuss a variety of those things after the jump.

Coming Down the Pipe Tonight

As we are now just 2 sleeps from the WHL championship and just over a week from knowing who will hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup, the Edmonton Oil Kings are the team that used to be the Oil Kings before flying off to Portland and becoming the Winter Hawks.

USA Tunes Up on Switzerland

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A night after being doubled up on by Russia, the United States rebounded to paste Switzerland 7-3 in 2012 WJC exhibition action in Camrose on Wednesday night. Brandon Saad's 5-point effort led the Americans to the convincing win on the eve before USA Hockey makes its final cuts in advance of the event beginning on Boxing Day.

The Pipeline Show was in attendance and spoke with several players and coach Blais after the contest.

Calgary Prospects on Fire

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Sure the NHL club is currently 14th place in the Western Conference but the big picture for Calgary fans might not be as dark and out of focus as it appears right now.

For years the media has pounded the Flames for not having anything in the system to look forward to but maybe... just maybe... that's starting to change.

The Class of 2011 on TPS (Dec - Jan)

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The midway point of the junior season is always exciting because of a major tournament, the CHL trade deadline and the CHL Top Prospect Game. December features the start of the U20 World Junior Championship and so obviously the camps of each nation beforehand as well. The event in Buffalo was the showcase for a few key players available in the draft later this month.

January 10th is the deadline for trades in both the OHL and the WHL and there were some huge moves this year. Plus, the Top Prospects game may have been the turning point for more than one player when it comes to their draft stock.

Here's what we had on the agenda in those two months.

Top 5 Tuesday: Scouts Buffet

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The World Junior Championship is largely considered a 19 year old tournament, but every year a number of high level youngsters who are in their draft year sneak into the event and their draft stock either rises or falls. Jack Campbell, Alex Burmistrov and Nino Niederrreiter were all guys who parlayed a strong tournament into a top 11 draft position.

Here now are 5 guys, not named Sean Couturier who could be ones to watch. I say could be as some countries haven't finalized their teams yet.

Tuesday Night on TPS: Team USA, A Swede not name Larsson in the top 3, and another Swiss star

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We kicked things off Tuesday night by running through the invitation list put out by USA Hockey for their World Junior camp. Both Guy and I were surprised that for a second straight year, the Americans aren't having any competition for who makes the team in net, and we discussed a few guys that didn't make the grade.

Top 5 Tuesdays: Surprises on 2011 Ranking

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It's the first release of the year from NHL Central Scouting and as such, the 3 CHL leagues are ranked separately as is the NCAA, USHL and European countries. Most scouts have limited viewings for players outside of their immediate areas so we often see a lot of movement from this listing to the Mid-terms.

Tonight on TPS we'll speak with E.J. McGuire, who admittedly has not seen the WHL yet, about the Central Scouting rankings.

Until then, here are 5 things that jumped out to Dean and I this morning...

Team World 2010 - WHL

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So the 2010 edition of the Annual CHL vs Russia Series, known these days as the Subway Super Series, has actually been competitive this year thanks to an older entry from the visitors. Russia swept the QMJHL portion of the 6-game event but dropped the next two against the OHL. Against the OHL, Russia was outshot 90-47 overall and were held to just 5 shots in the second half on Monday's meeting.

I've previously explain at length why I would prefer to see the Canadians taking on an opponent made up of American and Europeans playing in the CHL. Recently I revealed what that team would look like in the QMJHL and then again for the OHL. With the scene now shifting to Kamloops and Prince George, it's time for my World team for the WHL.

Saturday Morning Special: Nov 6

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Today we talked to a pair of WHL play-by-play guys from opposite ends of the league standings, chatted with one of our go-to NCAA contacts to recap a college night in the CCHA Bizarro World, our 2011 Prospect comes from the BCHL and of course we welcomed our weekly NHL Insider back as well.

Top 5 Tuesday: WHL Rookies

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When it comes to the top WHL rookies there are a number of young hot prospects, but you might be surprised that some of them aren't this list. Guys Like Martin Marincin of Prince George. The Oilers 2010 2nd round pick has 15 points in 13 games so far. Tyler Pitlick, also an Oiler draft pick who joined Medicine Hat after a year in the NCAA, won't be on it either. I don't think an NHL drafted player - or any player who is past their draft year - should be eligible for the Jim Piggott Memorial trophy for the loops top freshman. Instead here are some of the top players eligible for the 2011, 2012 or even 2013 NHL drafts learning their craft in the Western Hockey League.

This n' That - Mid October

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It's a great time of year. The CHL is now a month into the season, the new NCAA campaign has kicked off plus the AHL is underway and so there are lots of things to look at at various levels.

Who's hot and who's not? Which 2011 eligible players are rising or falling? Are there free agents worth keeping an eye on?

This could take a while, I'll try to be brief.