Chiefs' HC Brad Lauer Named Finalist for 2024-25 WHL Coach of the Year

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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs' HC Brad Lauer Named Finalist for 2024-25 WHL Coach of the Year

April 8, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Spokane Chiefs Head Coach Brad Lauer has been named one of six finalists for the 2024-25 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy, as announced by the Western Hockey League Tuesday.

The esteemed award is presented annually to the WHL Coach of the Year.

WHL General Managers vote on the league's major awards. This represents a return to the WHL conference awards format, rather than divisional, for the first time since 2019-20.

Winners of the 2025 WHL Awards will be revealed from Tuesday, April 22, through Wednesday, May 7.

WHL Coach of the Year Nominees

Eastern Conference- Willie Desjardins- Medicine Hat Tigers

Eastern Conference- Dan DaSilva- Saskatoon Blades

Eastern Conference- Bill Peters- Lethbridge Hurricanes

Western Conference- James Patrick- Victoria Royals

Western Conference- Brad Lauer- Spokane Chiefs

Western Conference- Matt O'Dette- Seattle Thunderbirds

WHL Coach of the Year Biographies

Brad Lauer (Spokane Chiefs)

2020 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy winner Brad Lauer's first turn behind the Spokane Chiefs bench saw the club become one of the most formidable opponents in the Western Conference with a 45-20-1-2 record.

This marks the Chiefs' best season since 2010-11.

Spokane was the second-highest scoring team in the league with a whopping 292 goals for while finishing fifth in goals-against (202). The Chiefs also saw significant success on special teams with the league's top-ranked powerplay (28.9%) and third-best penalty kill (80.8%).

Lauer's crew was powered by the most potent line in the WHL, featuring Captain Berkly Catton, alternate captain Shea Van Olm (who Lauer previously coached and won a WHL Championship with in Edmonton) and 2025 WHL Trade Deadline acquisition Andrew Cristall. The trio combined for 67 goals and 108 assists after Cristall joined the team in January of 2025. Cristall, a Washington Capitals prospect, finished as the WHL's points leader with 132 (48G-84A), while Van Olm led all skaters in goals (49) and Catton became the fifth player in franchise history to post back-to-back 100-plus point seasons.

Lauer is sitting on 199 regular-season wins in five seasons as a WHL Head Coach and won a championship as the Oil Kings' bench boss in 2022.

Willie Desjardins (Medicine Hat Tigers)

2006 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy winner Willie Desjardins is a WHL Coach of the Year finalist for a third consecutive season.

The veteran bench boss led the Tigers to a monster 47-17-3-1 record to lead the Eastern Conference and pick up a 10th division title despite early-season injuries to star players.

The Tigers ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and enjoyed a statement U.S. Division road trip that saw the Tabbies go 5-0-0-1 south of the border.

Medicine Hat led the WHL in goals for (300) and allowed the third-fewest goals against (193).

Star forward Gavin McKenna and Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt both surpassed the 100-point mark, with McKenna finishing second in the WHL scoring race with 129 points (41G-88A) and setting a modern WHL record with a 40-game point streak.

With an 8-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels on January 10, 2025, Desjardins recorded his 500th career victory. He closed out the regular season with 523 wins to pass the great Pat Ginnell to sit 11th in all-time wins by a WHL coach. He coached the Tigers to two WHL Championship victories in 2004 and 2007.

Desjardins is also nominated for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy for WHL Executive of the Year.

Dan Da Silva (Saskatoon Blades)

Dan Da Silva's first season at the helm of the Saskatoon Blades saw the team post a fourth-straight 35-plus win season after capturing the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy in 2023-24.

Saskatoon defied expectations with a solid 37-23-4-4 record and was in the mix for the East Division title well into the final week of the regular season.

The Blades tied as the eighth-stingiest team in the league with 218 goals against and boasted the fifth-best powerplay (26.4%).

Saskatoon took a team-first approach with four skaters surpassing 20 goals, including 2025 WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Cooper Williams, who finished second on the team in points with 57 (21G-36A). Da Silva also successfully integrated 2025 WHL Trade Deadline acquisition Hunter Laing into the lineup to pace the team with 25 tallies.

On the blueline, Captain Ben Saunderson and veteran Grayden Siepmann posted career-best seasons, with Siepmann hitting 48 points (10G-38A) and Saunderson posting 36 points (4G-32A).

Star netminder Evan Gardner also impressed with an increased workload and earned an NHL contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Saskatoon was the league's least-penalized team with 550 PIMs in 68 games.

Da Silva is in his fourth season with the team after serving as an assistant coach from 2021-2023 and an associate coach for 2023-24.

Bill Peters (Lethbridge Hurricanes)

In his second season behind the Lethbridge bench, Bill Peters steered the Hurricanes to a 42-21-3-2 record and home-ice advantage in Round One of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien- no small feat in the red-hot Central Division.

The Hurricanes posted their best regular season since the 2016-17 season, which saw the club advance to the Eastern Conference Championship.

Lethbridge built its identity around a rigid defensive system that saw the group allow the fourth-fewest goals of any team (199) and ice the league's best penalty kill (82.2%).

The Central Division squad also went on a nine-game win streak in January, highlighted by a three-game sweep of a mini U.S. Division road trip.

Four Hurricanes skaters broke the 20-goal mark, highlighted by new acquisition and two-time WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player Brayden Yager, who paced the team with 82 points (25G-57A). Captain Noah Chadwick, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, led the defensive corps with 53 points (13G-40A), while alternate captain Logan Wormald tied for second in the WHL with nine game-winning goals.

Peters previously coached the Spokane Chiefs to a 2008 WHL Championship and Memorial Cup title.

James Patrick (Victoria Royals)

2022 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy winner James Patrick coached Victoria to its third-ever 40-win season to clinch the B.C. Division title for the second time in team history.

The Royals' 40-17-4-7 campaign was the class of the province.

Notably, Victoria strung together the league's second-best road record (23-8-2-1) while scoring the fourth-most goals (272) and icing the second-best powerplay at 28.6%.

Three Royals skaters- Teydon Trembecky, Brandon Lisowsky and Kenta Isogai- all breezed past 30 goals, with Trembecky finishing third in the WHL goals race with 46.

2025 NHL Draft-eligible centreman Cole Reschny embraced a growing two-way game to lead his team with 92 points (26G-66A) and upstart rookie rearguard Keaton Verhoeff tied for second among all defencemen in goals with 21.

Victoria was also the third least-penalized team in the league with 668 PIMs in 2024-25.

Patrick is in his first full season as the Royals' Head Coach after taking over the role on November 6, 2023.

Matt O'Dette (Seattle Thunderbirds)

Matt O'Dette guided the Seattle Thunderbirds to a monster second half of the season to return to the WHL Playoffs for the first time since winning it all in 2023.

The Thunderbirds sat in last place in the Western Conference on January 1, 2025, but went on a tremendous 19-11-2-0 tear to clinch a playoff berth and enter the postseason on a four-game win streak.

Captain and top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Braeden Cootes topped his team with 63 points (26G-37A), while veteran Nathan Pilling served as the team's goals leader with 34, highlighted by a four-goal night against the powerhouse Spokane Chiefs on March 1, 2025.

O'Dette helped towering import defenceman Radim Mrtka carve out a role as a powerplay quarterback and penalty kill stalwart in his first season of North American hockey.

With a 7-1 decision against the Vancouver Giants on January 22, 2025, O'Dette became the winningest coach in franchise history with a 239th victory. He's since grown his total to 254 wins.

O'Dette has lifted the Ed Chynoweth Cup twice with Seattle in the last 10 years.

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