The Oil Kings stepped onto the ferry earlier this week riding the kind of momentum that makes a team feel a little taller on the deck. Six straight wins in their pocket, bags tossed below, and a few days carved out to breathe in the salt air before the first battle of the weekend. Victoria waits on the Island tonight, a club searching for footing after three straight losses and hoping the Strait brings Edmonton back down to earth. Tomorrow, the team will board another ferry and return to the mainland for a date with the Giants, who are dealing with a three-game skid of their own.
Edmonton arrives on the coast fresh off another six-goal outburst in Kamloops. The offense is stretching the gap on the rest of the league, now up to 96 goals in 21 games and on the cusp of cracking 100 before anyone else. The goal differential sits at +35, and the standings remain tight at the top as Edmonton and Everett continue to wrestle for the first seed while Prince Albert lurks just a point behind in the East.
The win in Kamloops didn’t come easy. The Blazers came out flying, and Edmonton spent much of the first period trying to catch up to the pace of their transition game. Down 3–1 after twenty minutes, the Oil Kings went back to the well that has worked all season. The second period turned into a clinic: four goals, five different scorers again, and contributions running down the entire lineup. Ethan Simcoe slammed the door through the final forty minutes, stopping all nineteen shots that came his way. Eleven different players now have five or more goals this season, and only Brady Craik is still looking for his first.
Kayden Stroeder and Assistant Coach Kyle Chipchura rejoined the group in Kamloops, though Stroeder wasn’t in the lineup. With wins coming steadily and no urgency to rush him, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets a chance this weekend. The team did get Cage Smith back, a welcome piece for the bottom six. The league’s injury report also confirmed what had been speculation. Dylan Dean joins the week-to-week list, while Parker Alcos and Rhys Pederson are day-to-day. Hodnett remains out week-to-week, and Luke Powell has unfortunately been downgraded to out indefinitely.
With two days on Vancouver Island to settle in, enjoy the scenery, and maybe get close enough to spot a whale or two off the bow, the Oil Kings step into a back-to-back that will ask for focus and discipline to preserve the streak.
On The Throne
Those players that are considered to be trending upwards, on a hot streak, or otherwise impressing will be seen as being On The Throne.
Landon Hanson - First Goal, Last Goal, any goal as long as he’s scoring. That’s what Landon Hanson has been doing of late. Tuesday in Kamloops, he got things started with a shorthanded breakaway beauty to cut the Blazers lead to 2-1. He then skated away with the puck off a faceoff late, and sealed the victory for Edmonton with the Empty-net goal to finish it. His point streak moves up to 6 games, with 10 points (7G, 3A) over that span. When I put up “Off the Throne” on October 29th, I knew he had it in him to go on a run, and his stats were not reflective of the effort he was putting in nightly. His play since then has firmly established him as a must-have “On the Throne” now and I don’t see any signs that he is going to slow down.
Lukas Sawchyn - Sawchyn keeps threading the needle with the kind of vision that makes teammates look wide open even when they’re not. He matched Hanson’s six-game point streak on Tuesday with a goal and two assists, including a cross-ice pass to Max Curran for the game winner that looked like it came off the stick of a seasoned NHL playmaker. Sawchyn has become the engine of this team. Whether he’s reminding fans of Gracyn or rewriting what they expect without him, he’s leading the club through this streak.
Joe Iginla - The younger Iginla brother is really finding his game recently, and has quietly taken over sole ownership of the goals lead for the Oil Kings this season. Landon Hanson is hot on his trail, but Iginla is still the only player on this team to break into double-digit goals. His play on the ice is constantly worth watching, as his confidence is growing and he’s realized that he can play consistently at this level. With a matchup looming next week against his brother Tij and the Kelowna Rockets, Joe has gotten hot at just the right time. Look for him to keep his streak going through the weekend.
Off The Throne
Players that are struggling through a rough patch, on a cold streak, or possibly battling the puck at times will be viewed as being Off The Throne.
Kanjyu Gojsic - Gojsic made his Oil Kings debut and had a rough go in his first game as he took 3 of Edmonton’s 5 penalties in the game. The first, while down 2-0 in the first; the second, at 2-1 while trying to pressure he killed the momentum and a powerplay goal with him in the box made it 3-1; and third, shortly after Edmonton scored to tie the game at 3-3. Penalties are never going to be a good thing, but all three of these while Edmonton is trying to complete a comeback put a damper on his debut. I’m sure we’ll see him again this weekend, and hopefully he’ll have a better showing in his second game.
At the Gate
Who is the man standing between the pipes, the soldier standing between the opponent’s hopes and dreams? The man in the mask, and heavy padding, is the man At the Gate. This is our section where we will look at the starting goaltenders.
Another Oil Kings win, and another stellar Simcoe performance, means Ethan Simcoe is now up to a 5 game personal winning streak as he has secured the Starter’s net for himself right now. A talented Victoria team means Simcoe likely gets the start again tonight, looking to extend both his personal and the team’s streaks. With 3 Goals on 12 shots in the first period Tuesday, it was a rough start for Simcoe, but he found his game and shut it down from there with 19 saves through the 2nd and 3rd periods to allow the Oil Kings to complete the comeback.
Parker Snell has been itching for an opportunity to get back into net, and he should finally get his chance on Saturday in Vancouver. Ethan has been putting in so much work, that the back half of a back-to-back is the perfect opportunity to give him a night off and let Snell try to grab back some confidence.
The Roil Ledger
How well do the Oil Kings match up with their opponents? How have they fared against them in recent seasons? Is there a lot of red in that ledger, or have the results been more positive? We’ll take a look at recent history and notable stats between the two teams.
Edmonton’s Pacific trip means the only games of the season versus each of Victoria and Vancouver. First up, the Royals in Victoria for the Oil Kings first trip to the Island since December 2023. Recent games between these 2 teams have been heavily favored towards the home team as Edmonton has won the last 2 at Rogers Place, and Victoria has won the last two in their home arena. Edmonton’s last victory in Victoria came over 7 years ago, in February 2018 which was back when East and West actually played more than once per year.
Overall Victoria holds the edge against Edmonton, as the Oil Kings are only 11-15-4 all-time against the Royals, and 4-7-2 on Vancouver Island. The game between these 2 last season in Edmonton say the Oil Kings as 5-1 winners on home ice. Adam Jecho, Joe iginla, and Luke Powell each had a goal, and Cole Miller added 2 for the home team in the victory.
Oil Kings history against the Vancouver Giants is unfortunately not much better, although Edmonton has won the last 2 in a row in this series. They are 11-18-1-1 all-time against the Giants, and 4-9-1 in Vancouver. The game in Edmonton last season saw 3 different lead changes and ended with a 5-4 Edmonton win, following 2 goals in 18 seconds of the 3rd period to flip a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Adam Jecho had 2 goals including the winner, and Fiddler, Hanson, and Holinka each had goals for the team.
The Threats Beyond the Wall
What awaits the Oil Kings on the other side of the ice? Who should they be keeping an eye on? How has the opponent stacked up around the league? We’ll be looking at the players to watch, those high on prospect draft boards, and the ones already drafted by NHL teams. The team’s place in the standings, win or loss streaks, and other important information to prime everyone to be ready for the opposition.
Victoria Royals
The Royals had the potential to be among the top teams this year, and their dreams were shaken by the exodus of players to the NCAA. Instead, they are among the teams who faced the biggest changes due to players making college commitments. Keaton Verhoeff was the biggest name to leave, as he was a very exciting rookie for the Royals and fans were excited to see a full season of the star defender. Cole Reschny went with Verhoeff to the University of North Dakota, and Teydon Trembicky and Justin Kipkie each made commitments to head south as well.
Instead of these big names, Victoria was forced to make changes and adapt to a new look team over the summer. The biggest of those changes was trading to acquire Roan Woodward from our Edmonton Oil Kings. Roan had 53 points last season in 68 games with the Oil Kings, and added 2 assists in the playoffs. He’s taken another step in his development this year as a 20-year-old in Victoria, as he leads the team with 13 goals and 23 points through 19 games.
Center Hayden Moore has proven to be a dangerous pairing with Woodward on the Royals powerplay, as he has 11 of his 22 points on that powerplay. Captain Reggie Newman is the fan-favorite of their team, but has been sidelined with injury since October 22nd. He is day-to-day and there is a possibility he could bring a spark to their team if he returns tonight.
Rookies Jacob Schwartz and Eli McKamey were teammates of Kayden Stroeder on Team Canada White in the recent U17 Championships, but this also means assistant coach Kyle Chipchura got a close-up look at their abilities on that team. Both made their returns to the Royals lineup earlier this week in Prince George.
On Defense, the Royals are being led by a trio of rookies who have been thrust into additional minutes due to a rash of injuries plaguing their blueline currently. Timofei Runtso leads the way with 15 points through 19 games, and the only defender on the team with a positive plus-minus rating (+2). Odin Vauhkonen is his D partner and a stingy one at that, with only a -1 to go with his 6 points through 18 games, and Vauhkonen has only taken a single 2 minute penalty this season. Defensively reliable, and responsible to stay out of the penalty box.
In net, Ethan Eskit is the undisputed guy for the Royals as he has played in 16 of 19 games so far and put up a 7-6-2-1 record. The older brother of Swift Current Broncos goalie Aiden Eskit, Ethan could be motivated to do to this Oil Kings team what his brother couldn’t. Aiden gave up 8 goals on 45 shots, how will Ethan fair against this same Edmonton team?
Lots of credit for the Royals performance this year should go to their coaching staff. Head Coach James Patrick has been able to adjust to the changes in his lineup quite admirably to start this year, and has Victoria among the top teams in the West. His coaching ability should not go unrecognized, and is a threat to consider going into this game.
Vancouver Giants
On the back end of this weekend set, Edmonton heads into Langley, BC to take on the Vancouver Giants. The Giants are in the logjam in the middle of the Western Conference, currently sitting among 6 teams that are all separated by only 2 points. Losers of 3 in a row they have seen their position slipping and are looking to right their ship before it sinks too far.
Vancouver holds one of the hottest draft prospects of the year, the always dangerous Ryan Lin leading their defense onto the ice. As a top pair defense, Lin has 22 points in 20 games and is a projected Top 10 NHL Prospect headed into next season. His role as an outlet passer, and in-zone quarterback provides him with plenty of opportunity to view the ice and find the open man for chances. His vision and hockey instincts set him apart as one of the best to do it, and his defensive capabilities mean he can play in all aspects of the game as he is a regular on the Giants penalty kill.
Up front, Dallas Stars draft pick Cameron Schmidt leads their team in goals (12) and points (26) this season. The 3rd Round pick has had a very promising summer lead into a strong start to the season, and is making a case that dropping to the 3rd round may have been a touch low for him in the NHL Draft. An elite shooter with blazing speed and a work-ethic to match, he’s been compared to Cole Caufield at the NHL Draft for a reason, and is showing it this year.
Last week, Vancouver unveiled their official leadership team this season and it was headlined by 5th year player Ty Halaburda being recognized as Team Captain. A veteran of over 260 WHL Games, he’s a leader with a hunger for success in his final year of WHL eligibility. If anyone on this team can inspire them to go on a deep run, it’s Halaburda. A veteran with back-to-back 60 point seasons, he’s no slouch in his skill and provides strong depth to their lineup.
Perhaps the weakest part of the Giants roster and the reason they have not seen more sustained success this season, has to be the inconsistent play of their goaltending duo. Burke Hood was a 6th round pick of the New York Islanders during the summer, but has taken a step backwards in his development this year. He went 19-13-6 with 3 shutouts last season, but has opened this season with a 7-6-0 record, no shutouts, and averaging nearly 4 goals against per game.
The G-Men acquired 20-year-old netminder Kelton Pyne in a mid-October trade from the Regina Pats, but his results with Vancouver haven’t been any better than Hood. He has a 1-3-0-1 record in 6 games since arriving, and only moderately better statistics overall. To his credit, he only gave up 1 goal in his last outing on Monday (a 2-0 loss), and could be in line for a second start on Saturday.
Friday night in Victoria is their “Hockey for All” night, a night dedicated to celebrating the love for sport in our community. Saturday against Vancouver will be a regular night of hockey, complete with one of the most exciting 17-year-olds in the WHL. You can watch both games for free on Victory+, or listen along on iHeartRadio. Puck Drop for both games is at 8pm local Edmonton time. After the weekend, the Oil Kings head to the Okanagan for their first-ever meeting with the Penticton Vees. Stay locked in with The Roil Line for all future Roil Briefings as the Oil Kings continue their push through B.C.