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2022 WHL Championship Series Preview: Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Seattle Thunderbirds

June 1, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


The Edmonton Oil Kings and Seattle Thunderbirds will meet in the 2022 WHL Championship Series following their Conference Championship wins over the Winnipeg ICE and Kamloops Blazers, respectively.

When the two teams drop the puck on the Championship Series on Friday night at Rogers Place, it will mark the first time the two franchises have met in the playoffs.

The WHL has not had inter-conference play since the 2019-20 season due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, with the last games between an Eastern Conference team and Western Conference team being played on March 7, 2020.

The Oil Kings finished the season with a 50-14-3-1 record, capturing a fourth consecutive Central Division title.. The Thunderbirds finished the season with a record of 44-18-4-2, just six points back of the Everett Silvertips for the best record in the entire Western Conference.

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game Visitor Home Date Time

1 Seattle @ Edmonton Friday, June 3 7:00PM

2 Seattle @ Edmonton Sunday, June 5 4:00PM

3 Edmonton @ Seattle Tuesday, June 7 8:05PM

4 Edmonton @ Seattle Wednesday, June 8 8:05PM

5 * Seattle @ Edmonton Saturday, June 11 7:00PM

6*^ Seattle @ Edmonton Monday, June 13 7:30PM

7* Seattle @ Edmonton Tuesday, June 14 7:00PM

*If necessary

^Seattle will serve as the home team

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Edmonton Oil Kings

The Oil Kings enter the WHL Championship Series after sweeping the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Round 1 and the Red Deer Rebels in Round 2 before capturing the Eastern Conference Championship with a five-game series win over the Winnipeg ICE.

The Oil Kings required overtime in their first two wins of the Eastern Conference Championship series and were provided the heroics from Tyler Horstmann in Game 1 and Justin Sourdif in Game 3. Following a 4-2 in Game 4 of the series, the Oil Kings emphatically closed out the series with 7-1 win over the ICE on Friday, May 27 with each of Carter Souch, Jake Neighbours and Kaiden Guhle recording multi-goal performances.

The Oil Kings have been led offensively by Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther in these playoffs, who for a third straight series, had at least a share of the team lead in points after putting up nine points (4G, 5A) in five games against the ICE. Through 13 games this post-season, he is sitting on 21 points (13G, 8A). His 13 goals are second most in the entire WHL Playoffs, trailing only Logan Stankoven (17) of the Kamloops Blazers. He has scored at least one goal in 11 of the 13 games he's played and at least a point in 12 of 13 games.

Supplementing Guenther has been veteran Carter Souch who sits second on the team in goals (9) and points (17) having etched his name on the scoresheet in 11 of the 13 games so far this post-season. His nine goals currently rank seventh amongst all WHL skaters. After being held pointless in game one of the Eastern Conference Championship series, he rattled off four goals and four assists in the final four games and enters the WHL Championship Series riding back-to-back multi-goal games.

Another veteran beginning to heat up at the right time for the Oil Kings is Josh Williams, who closed the third-round series with five assists in the final two games.

The Oil Kings have also seen excellent production from their backend all through the playoffs as the pairing of Kaiden Guhle, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, and Luke Prokop, a Nashville Predators prospects, have combined for eight goals, 24 points and a +32 plus/minus rating. Prokop leads the entire WHL in +/- with an individual rating of +18.

Of the Oil Kings top nine scorers this post-season, five are Edmonton-area products; Dylan Guenther (13G, 8A), Carter Souch (9G, 8A), Kaiden Guhle (6G, 8A), Logan Dowhaniuk (2G, 8A) and Luke Prokop (2G, 8A).

Between the pipes, Sebastian Cossa has been in the Oil Kings crease for every game having posted a 12-1 record to go along with a 1.97gaa, .909sv% and three shutouts. He ranks fourth amongst all WHL goaltenders (minimum 20 minutes played) this post-season in goals-against average and is first in shutouts, while also contributing two assists.

While those have been the statistical top performers for the Oil Kings in the playoffs, perhaps the biggest reason for the club facing just one game above the minimum through three rounds has been the depth. Through 13 games, 14 different players have registered at least two goals, and 17 different players have at least one point.

The Oil Kings specialty teams have continued to roll along nicely through three rounds having scored at least one power play goal in all but one game (13-for-55, 23.6%).

Through 796 minutes and 27 seconds of playoff hockey this spring, the Oil Kings have only trailed for 44:15 of it.

Dating back to the regular season, the Oil Kings have won 16 of their last 17 games.

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds enter the WHL Championship Series after defeating the Kelowna Rockets in round one in five games before capturing come-from-behind seven game series wins over each of the Portland Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers.

The T-Birds have stared down elimination from the 2022 WHL post-season on five separate occasions this spring and have come out on top each time.

Jared Davidson, and Edmonton, AB product, and Lukas Svejkovsky have been a dynamic one-two punch for the Thunderbirds having combined for 20 goals and 49 points through 19 games. The two forwards sit second and third in WHL Playoff scoring, respectively. Svejkovsky, a former Medicine Hat Tiger, enters the WHL Championship Series riding an 11-game point streak.

Svejkovsky isn't the only former Tiger doing damage this post-season for the Birds as veteran Henrik Rybinski has tallied 18 points (4G, 14A) in just 16 post-season matches.

Rounding out the top scorers up front for the Thunderbirds is another Edmonton-area player with Spruce Grove native Reid Schaefer enjoying a successful post-season run. After putting up 32 goals and 58 points during the regular season, he has 18 points (6G, 12A) in 19 playoff games and has seen his NHL Draft stock rise jumping from 85 to 31 in Central Scouting's final rankings, amongst North American skaters.

Speaking of 2022 NHL Draft Prospects, Seattle's offensive leader from the blueline has been Kevin Korchinski who is the seventh ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. In 19 games this post-season, he has 16 points (6G, 10A) after finishing fourth amongst all WHL defencemen and leading all rookie rearguards in scoring during the regular season with 65 points (4G, 61A) in 67 games.

Unquestionably the leader for the Thunderbirds is Tyrel Bauer. The Seattle captain sustained a major knee injury in December of this season but worked his way back from the once thought to be season-ending injury to get up and running in time for the playoffs and has been an emotional and physical leader for his squad from the blueline. The Winnipeg Jets prospect just recently signed his entry-level contract the club.

In net, Thomas Milic has been a rock for the Thunderbirds having played every minute in their crease this post-season. In the five games that Seattle has faced elimination, he has stopped 161 of 169 shots to go 5-0 with a 1.33gaa and a .953sv% in must-win games.

The Thunderbirds currently possess the third best power play in the WHL Playoffs having scored 17 times on 62 chances (27.4%), but have also given up 17 goals while shorthanded on a league-high 68 occasions (75.0%). During the regular-season though, the T-Birds had the second-best penalty-kill unit in the entire league at 83.4%, trailing only the Edmonton Oil Kings.

WHL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Edmonton Oil Kings

The Oil Kings are in the WHL Championship series for the fourth time in modern franchise history and the first time since winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup and Memorial Cup in 2014. The Oil Kings previously competed in the league final in 2012 when they won their first ever Ed Chynoweth Cup and again in 2013, falling to the Portland Winterhawks.

The Oil Kings have two players playing in the WHL Championship Series for the second time in their WHL careers as Kaiden Guhle and Justin Sourdif both took part in the 2019 Championship Series that saw Guhle's Prince Albert Raiders best Sourdif's Vancouver Giants in seven games.

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds are also competing in the WHL Championship Series for the fourth time in their franchise's history and for the third time since 2016. In 2016 they lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings, but a year later, captured their first Ed Chynoweth Cup with a win over the Regina Pats, thanks to an Alexander True overtime winner in Game 6 of that series. Prior to that, the Thunderbirds only previous trip to the league final came back in 1997 when they were swept by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Lukas Svejkovsky is lone Thunderbird with WHL Championship Series as he was a teammate of Sourdif's with the Vancouver Giants in 2019.

REGULAR SEASON TALE-OF-THE-TAPE

50-14-3-1 - 104pts Record 44-18-4-2 - 94pts

295 (3rd) GF 271 (6th)

182 (4th) GA 179 (3rd)

64-for-292 - 21.9% (10th) PP 66-for-283 - 23.3% (9th)

51-for-324 - 84.3% (1st) PK 37-for-222 - 83.3% (3rd)

15 SHG 10

7 SHGA 9

29-4-1-0 Home Record 21-8-3-2

36-for-158 - 22.8% (11th) Home PP 26-for-148 - 17.6% (17th)

29-for-158 - 81.7% (4th) Home PK 24-for-140 - 82.9% (3rd)

21-10-2-1 Away Record 23-10-1-0

28-for-134 - 20.9% (11th) Away PP 40-for-135 - 29.6% (1st)

22-for-166 - 86.7% (1st) Away PK 24-for-150 - 84.0% (3rd)

Dylan Guenther (45-46-91) Leading Scorer Jared Davidson (42-47-89)

Josh Williams (34-48-82) Second Leading Scorer Lukas Svejkovsky (35-41-76)

Carter Souch (22-49-71) Third Leading Scorer Conner Roulette (24-42-66)

Jakub Demek (20-34-54) Top Rookie Kevin Korchinski (4-61-65)

Sebastian Cossa

33-9-2-1 2.28gaa .913sv% 6SO Top Goaltender Thomas Milic

27-16-2-2 2.44gaa .912sv% 3SO

HOW THEY MATCHUP

The Oil Kings and Thunderbirds have never squared off in the WHL Playoffs and have only ever played each other 13 times in history during a WHL regular-season.

They last met on October 26, 2019, a span of 951 days when they drop the puck on Friday night, a game in which the Oil Kings won 6-2 thanks to a three-point (2G, 1A) night from Dylan Guenther and 28 saves by Sebastian Cossa.

Just seven Oil Kings (Guenther, Williams, Neighbours, Luypen, Dowhaniuk, Souch and Cossa) who dressed in that game are still on the current roster, while six Thunderbirds (Bauer, Rybinski, Gottfried, Davidson, Roulette and Ciona) are currently on theirs. Simon Kubicek, now an Oil King, skated in that game for the Thunderbirds.

The Oil Kings hold a 7-6-0-0 record all-time in the regular-season against Seattle.

Tickets for the WHL Championship Series are on-sale now! To purchase, click here.

The Oil Kings next home game is Friday, June 3 against the Seattle Thunderbirds for Game 1 of the WHL Championship Series.

Join the conversation on social media by using #ChaseTheCrown for all your social media posts during the Oil Kings 2022 post-season run!

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