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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wenatchee's Sward, Isogai Named to WHL U.S. Division First Team All-Star List

March 26, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild forward Kenta Isogai
Wenatchee Wild forward Kenta Isogai
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Gord Rufh)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - In their first season as a Western Hockey League club, the Wenatchee Wild have had their fans seeing stars. Tuesday, the WHL made it official: two Wild players are stars among their U.S. Division counterparts.

The Wild are pleased to announce that forward Kenta Isogai and defenseman Graham Sward have both been named to the league's U.S. Division First-Team All-Star list, earning two of the six available spots after leading the team to a 34-30-4-0 record and the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, which are set to begin this weekend.

Both players enjoyed breakout seasons this year, with Sward earning a WHL Tempo Player of the Week honor in mid-February after posting a career-high five points in a win at the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Wenatchee captain finished the year with 15 goals and 66 assists, with his 81-point total ranking second among WHL defensemen and tying a franchise single-season scoring record at the blue line. His 15-game point streak upon his return also set a season-best for the Wild, and his 16-game streak including the team's final regular-season game in Winnipeg set a new team mark for the longest point streak by a defenseman. He closes his WHL career with 250 career regular-season games and 180 career points, appearing in all 66 Wenatchee games after returning from Nashville Predators training camp in September.

Isogai came to the Wild after being selected in the first round of the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft last summer, and supercharged his game after playing the past three seasons with the United States Hockey League's Youngstown Phantoms. The native of Nagano, Japan scored 88 points this season to lead the team, with 31 goals and 57 assists. His 26 multi-point games were also a season-high for the Wild.

The two are set to lead the team into its inaugural playoff run as a WHL club, facing the fifth-seeded Kelowna Rockets in the opening round. Their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series begins Friday, with a 7 p.m. faceoff at Town Toyota Center.

Single-game playoff tickets are now on sale, and full playoff packages will remain available through the beginning of the series. 2024-25 season tickets also remain on sale - updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team's website and on the team's social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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Wenatchee Wild forward Kenta Isogai
Wenatchee Wild forward Kenta Isogai
(Gord Rufh)		   

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