The Oil Kings got a well deserved victory in Regina on Wednesday night, and have spent the last few days in southern Saskatchewan awaiting today’s game. They are in Moose Jaw tonight for a heavyweight bout with the Warriors, who are still undefeated in this early season

Edmonton found themselves in a dominant position in Regina, up 2-0 early in the first period and generally controlling the play throughout the opening 20 minutes. In the early second they found themselves getting into some penalty trouble though and giving momentum to the Pats. The penalty kill held firm, and didn’t allow a single goal to the Regina PP unit on 7 attempts. In actuality, they did one better by producing a shorthanded marker for Holinka’s second of the game.

The Maple Leafs prospect made his season debut after returning from Toronto’s NHL Training camp, and was a welcome sight on the ice. He was all over the place, extremely noticeable, and driving the action every time he had the puck. His return, along with the debut of offseason addition Poul Andersen, shook up the forward lines and got everybody going. The first line I was critical of before the game got separated for this one, and each of them managed to contribute on a different goal. 

The Oil Kings have seen a struggle holding their effort and compete levels for a full 60 minutes to start the year, and will need to put the complete package together against an offensive powerhouse tonight in Moose Jaw. The Warriors have scored 21 goals through 3 games so far, and 10 of those goals came in the 3rd period. Edmonton, on the other hand, has appeared to take their foot off the gas at times in the 3rd period of each game so far, and will need to keep that pedal to the floor to hold the firepower of the Warriors at bay.

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. 

Miroslav Holinka - Welcome back Miro! The Czech star made sure to remind us all why he is good enough to be worth the Oil Kings keeping him as both an import and over-age player this year. It’s unfortunate for him that he didn’t land with the Marlies as I thought he might, but very lucky for those of us following the Oil Kings that we will have one more year of watching him score goals for our team. His first goal came 5 minutes into the game off a Regina turnover in their own zone, Holinka took a quick pass at the top of the faceoff dot and wired a wrister high glove side for the 1-0 lead. His second came shorthanded on a beauty breakaway midway through the 2nd period, restoring the 2 goal lead at 3-1. That breakaway was named the CHL Highlight of the Night for the game.

Max Curran - The Colorado Avalanche prospect may have been held off the score sheet, but he kept his streak of strong games alive with a powerful effort and a ton of high danger scoring opportunities. More importantly, he showed a glimpse of what he also did at Colorado’s training camp when he dropped the gloves with Regina’s Dayton Deschamps in the 3rd period. In a 4-3 game, Curran landed a hard hit on Deschamps behind the Pats net that the Reegina defender did not appreciate and responded to by dropping the gloves. Deschamps landed a few strong shots, but Curran got the last shot with a straight right to the chin of Deschamps that dropped him to the ice. The goals will come, but we love to see players that bring a level of passion and intensity to the ice as well.

The Penalty Kill - This goes to the entire team of penalty killers, because it took a team effort to kill off 7 different opposing power plays and still come out with the victory. The Oil Kings penalty kill has a whopping 90% kill rate right now, and has successfully killed off their last 16 consecutive penalties. It would be nice to see the team clean up some of the penalty trouble they’ve found themselves in, but it is encouraging that they have shown an ability to handle being short-handed. They did also finish last season with an 81% kill rate, good enough for 2nd best in the WHL.

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. 

Dylan Dean - The new addition found himself off to a hot start to the season, and was sitting On The Throne only a week ago, but things change fast in the WHL and especially when there’s a lot of moving pieces to start the season. Dean was on the perceived 2nd line through the first couple games. He was playing alongside Anderw O’Neill and Joe Iginla, getting lots of powerplay opportunities, and quality offensive minutes which he was capitalizing on. With the return of the big names from NHL camps, Dean has seen himself shifted down to a line with Cage Smith and Poul Andersen, has seen his overall minute share decreased, and has not been able to do as much with these more limited opportunities. Nothing against what Dean has been doing, as he has still been noticeable when he’s on the ice, that’s just how things go sometimes. Keep an eye out for him, because he’s still a candidate to explode offensively any time.

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. 

Regina tested the young Parker Snell more than any team so far in his young career. They got a lot of clean looks at the net, and took advantage when given the chance. Snell made the saves when it counts, and maintains his unbeaten streak to start his WHL Career as he moved to 4-0-0 with the victory. It appears that Jason Smith has set up a rotating cage to start the year which would suggest that Ethan Simcoe could get the call tonight against Moose Jaw.

Simcoe’s numbers to start the year are not fully reflective of what he is capable of, but a concerning thing to dwell on for too long. He needs a strong performance against a good team to really settle himself in for the season, and the threats on the Warriors team could be just the thing he needs to bring his game up a notch. Simcoe started 3 times against Moose Jaw last season, with 2 shutouts and only allowed 1 goal overall through those games. If there is any team that Simcoe has historically had his best success against, it is these very Moose Jaw Warriors.

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.

In the 2024-25 season these teams met 4 times, and the Oil Kings dominated the season series outscoring Moose Jaw 22-4 as they swept all 4 games. Simcoe took the Shutouts in both games played in Moose Jaw, winning 7-0 in the first and 4-0 in the second games to be played there. The games in Edmonton were wins of 5-1 and then 6-3 for the Oil Kings.

The season series is currently heavily leaned towards Edmonton, as they are 33-24-8-3 all time against Moose Jaw, though only 14-14-4-2 in the city of Moose Jaw. Could Ethan Simcoe keep his shutout streak alive in Moose Jaw tonight, and shutdown the offensive threats coming from the other side?

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.

The Moose Jaw Warriors finished the 2024-25 season 2 points behind the Regina Pats for the last position in the entire WHL. It was a very disappointing season for everybody in their franchise, but things are looking up to start the 2025-26 season. Moose Jaw has come into this season on fire, winning games 6-4, 9-7, and 6-1 so far. They’ve shown an ability to score at will (6 goal 3rd period leading to the 9-7 win), but also to win with a strong defense (6-1 victory against Swift Current). 

19-year old forward Casey Brown has come into this season with a vendetta for how his first season in Moose Jaw went. He finished last year with only 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points through 41 games. He has already passed that 3 goals with 4 through their first 3 games this year, and is currently carrying a 3 game goal-streak to start the year. The former Penticton Vee (the BCHL version, not the new WHL team) is poised for a breakout season leading a team on the rise. 

Given the number of goals being scored by the Warriors it should not be surprising that they have multiple players on 3 game point streaks to open the season. Pavel McKenzie, Ethan Semeniuk, and rookie Colt Carter have all opened the year on hot streaks and have been extremely disruptive to opposing teams. McKenzie and Semeniuk are lined up with Casey Brown, and shutting down this trio should be the #1 Priority if the Oil Kings hope to chalk another W on the schedule tonight.

Colt Carter has joined the Warriors defense this year as a 16 year old, and appears to have made a major impact in the early season. With 6 points (3G, 3A) through 3 games, the native of Drayton Valley, AB and former St. Albert AAA star is taking his game to the next level. At only 5’8 and listed around 150lbs, Carter may not be a prototypical defender but don’t let his size fool you. He’s a smooth skater, with strong gap coverage and plays a relatively error-free game. A definite flag for the Oil Kings to be aware of and planning around on the defensive end. 

Goaltender Matthew Hutchison is the guy for Moose Jaw, and one of the most important question marks if they are going to keep up this winning pace over the course of the season. Now in his 3rd full WHL season, Hutchison joined Moose Jaw from Vancouver in a midseason trade last year and helped turn the team in the right direction going 5-10-3 down the stretch to end the season. His performance to start this year has given a lot of hope to the fans of Moose Jaw as he holds all 3 victories, including one in relief as he came in down 5-3, immediately let in a goal to make it 6-3 at the start of the 3rd period, but held his team in it enough to allow the comeback and a 9-7 victory.

Head Coach Mark O’Leary has been with the team since the 2012-13 season, first as an assistant before being promoted to head coach midway through the 2019-20 season. In his time with the team he’s shown a level of consistency rarely seen in Canadian junior hockey (*with the benefit of a couple cancelled seasons), in that prior to last season the team had made the playoffs in every completed season since 2015. It appears he has worked a quick turnaround again, going from 2024 WHL Champions, to 2025 bottom of the league, to an extremely intimidating offense in only 1 year.

Edmonton had high expectations coming into this year, but Moose Jaw has been a surprise to see. The Oil Kings defenders and goaltenders may be leaned on heavily to stifle the attack of the Warriors and give the team the best chance to succeed. If Moose Jaw manages to crack that defensive barrier, then the Oil Kings offense will need to show off some of it’s own firepower to keep pace in this one. You can watch the game for free on Victory+, or listen along on iHeartRadio, or if you are reading this from Moose Jaw then I hope you will enjoy the game from the Temple Gardens Centre tonight. Puck Drop is at 7pm local time. The next game will be Tomorrow in Brandon, MB as the Oil Kings continue this road trip with a Saturday evening visit to those imposter Kings of Wheat. Power Saturday will be active against Brandon, so double check that you’ve got your predictions shared on The Roil Line social media post. Make sure you’re following us here at The Roil Line for all future Roil Briefings!