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WHL Announces Weekly Award Winners

January 22, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Calgary, Alta. - The Western Hockey League announced today Luca Cagnoni of the Portland Winterhawks has been named Tempo WHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 21, 2024.

The defenceman led all WHLers in points with a goal and seven assists in four games as the Winterhawks went 3-1-0-0.

Cagnoni opened the week with a pair of assists in a 7-1 victory of the Kamloops Blazers. The Burnaby, B.C. product helped his side get on the board by holding the line on a powerplay and wiring a pass to Josh Davies for the game-opening goal. Late in the first period, a Cagnoni blast from the blue line would get tangled up in front of the net for Josh Zakreski to bury the rebound.

The 19-year-old served up another trio of beautiful assists the next game out against the Kelowna Rockets. Cagnoni connected with Nate Danielson down low for the Detroit Red Wings prospect's first goal in a Portland uniform. He added two more helpers before Danielson returned the favour by teeing Cagnoni up for a sensation one-timer goal on the powerplay. Cagnoni's ninth lamp-lighter of the year would stand as the game-winner as he earned first star of the night in a 5-4 Portland victory.

Cagnoni continued his hot streak up north as the Winterhawks traveled to Prince George for a back-to-back showdown between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Trailing 1-0, Cagnoni leveled the game by firing another powerplay shot on net, with Captain Gabe Klassen on the Cougars' doorstep to tap the puck home. The Winterhawks would fall 3-2, but reversed their fate the following night. Cagnoni would earn his seventh assist of the week as Nate Danielson buried a rebound to open the scoring in an eventual 2-1 victory.

The Winterhawks veteran is on a seven-game point streak that's seen him put up two goals and 10 assists. He's on pace for a career-best offensive season with nine goals, 45 assists and a plus-30 rating in 40 games, which has him sitting second in the defenceman points race.

Cagnoni was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round, 123rd overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Portland (28-11-2-1) is second in the U.S. Division and second in the WHL with a .702 win percentage.

The Winterhawks are back in action against Tri-City (17-23-2-1) on January 26 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash.

2023-24 Tempo WHL Player of the Week

January 15, 2024: Matthew Savoie, Moose Jaw Warriors (Buffalo Sabres)

January 8, 2024: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers

January 2, 2024: Chase Bertholet, Spokane Chiefs

December 18, 2023: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets

December 11, 2023: Dominik Rymon, Everett Silvertips

December 4, 2023: Conor Geekie, Wenatchee Wild (Arizona Coyotes)

November 27, 2023: Andrew Basha, Medicine Hat Tigers

November 20, 2023: Koehn Ziemmer, Prince George Cougars (Los Angeles Kings)

November 13, 2023: Gabe Klassen, Portland Winterhawks

November 6, 2023: Trevor Wong, Saskatoon Blades

October 30, 2023: Jagger Firkus, Moose Jaw Warriors (Seattle Kraken)

October 23, 2023: Andrew Cristall, Kelowna Rockets (Washington Capitals)

October 16, 2023: Ryder Ritchie, Prince Albert Raiders

October 10, 2023: Easton Armstrong, Wenatchee Wild

October 2, 2023: Jagger Firkus, Moose Jaw Warriors (Seattle Kraken)

September 25, 2023: Zac Funk, Prince George Cougars

2024 NHL Draft-eligible netminder Wutzke named WHL Goaltender of the Week

Calgary, Alta. - The Western Hockey League announced today that Red Deer Rebels rookie Chase Wutzke has been named WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending January 21, 2024.

It's the second week in a row the 2024 NHL Draft-eligible netminder has earned the honour and the third time this season.

Wutzke went 3-0-0-0 on the week, registering a 2.00 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.

The Rebels' week started with the daunting task of hosting the league-leading Saskatoon Blades. With Red Deer leading 5-4, Wutzke sealed off the Red Deer crease from a furious storm of shots from the high-powered Saskatoon offence. Alexander Suzdalev came within inches of finding the game-tying goal with a wrist shot from below the faceoff dot, but Wutzke stretched out to tip the puck off his glove and reign it in with his sprawling right leg. Wutzke's 31-save performance sealed the win for Red Deer and snapped Saskatoon's remarkable 18-game point streak.

The 17-year-old Debden, Sask. product is heating up in his first WHL season, posting a 13-2-1-2 record to go along with a 2.16 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

The challenges kept on coming as Wutzke was called upon two nights later to backstop the Rebels against the Medicine Hat Tigers- the highest-scoring team in the WHL. Despite being outshot once again, Wutzke stopped 30 of 31 shots to seal a 3-1 victory over the division rivals and earn third-star.

One night later, Wutzke was back in the net to kick off a three-game homestand against the Prince Albert Raiders. The netminder gave the fans at Peavey Mart Centrium a reason to cheer when he denied Brayden Dube on a slick shot in the slot. This time, Wutzke was called to the ice as the first star with a 26-save effort.

Wutzke has now won six straight matches for the streaking Rebels.

NHL Central Scouting has ranked Wutzke 13th among North American goalies in its midterm draft rankings. The 6-foot-2 netminder was originally selected by Red Deer in the second round, 40th overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.

The Rebels sit four points behind the Central Division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers with two games in hand. Red Deer is on a seven-game winning streak with an 8-0-1-1 record in its past ten outings.

Red Deer (25-13-1-4) continues its three-game homestand with matches against the Edmonton Oil Kings (15-25-1-1) on January 26 and the Brandon Wheat Kings (22-16-4-1) on January 27.

2023-24 WHL Goaltender of the Week

January 15, 2024: Chase Wutzke, Red Deer Rebels

January 8, 2024: Brett Mirwald, Vancouver Giants

January 2, 2024: Harrison Meneghin, Lethbridge Hurricanes

December 18, 2023: Brett Mirwald, Vancouver Giants

December 11, 2023: Chase Wutzke, Red Deer Rebels

December 4, 2023: Jackson Unger, Moose Jaw Warriors

November 27, 2023: Dawson Cowan, Spokane Chiefs

November 20, 2023: Rhett Stoesser, Red Deer Rebels

November 13, 2023: Evan May, Medicine Hat Tigers

November 6, 2023: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars

October 30, 2023: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars

October 23, 2023: Daniel Hauser, Wenatchee Wild

October 16, 2023: Jan Špunar, Portland Winterhawks

October 10, 2023: Kyle Kelsey, Red Deer Rebels

October 2, 2023: Ethan Chadwick, Everett Silvertips

September 25, 2023: Max Hildebrand, Prince Albert Raiders

2026 NHL Draft-eligible forward McKenna named Kal Tire WHL Player of the Week

Calgary, Alta. - The Western Hockey League announced today that Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers has been named Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week for the week ending January 21, 2024.

The 16-year-old was second among all WHL skaters in points this week with two goals, five assists and a plus-4 rating in four games as Medicine Hat went 2-1-1-0 on the week.

McKenna's generous side was on full display in a January 16 tilt against the Swift Current Broncos, where the Whitehorse, Y.T. product put up a goal and a pair of assists. McKenna slid a puck through the crease for Hunter St. Martin to tie the game at two in the second period. He followed it up with another helper on the powerplay- which would stand as the game-winning goal- before ripping home an insurance goal as the shorthanded Tigers won 5-2 with only nine forwards in the lineup. With three points on the night, McKenna reached the 50-point milestone and was named third star.

McKenna would net the lone goal for the Tigers with a powerplay blast through traffic against Red Deer on January 19, though the Rebels would snag a 2-1 victory.

The 6-foot, 165-pound left winger erupted again for three assists to wrap up the week with a 7-2 win against the Brandon Wheat Kings. McKenna earned second star of the night thanks to his helpers on goals by St. Martin, Tomas Mrsic and Oasiz Wiesblatt.

The 2026 NHL Entry Draft-eligible forward leads the WHL rookies with 38 assists and is second in points with 56. His 1.44 points-per-game average is first among all CHL first-year players.

McKenna has generated buzz across the hockey world even before he was selected by Medicine Hat first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, and it's only grown as he takes the league by storm.

He was named Tempo WHL Player of the Week on January 8, 2024, after scoring four goals and eight assists in a week and has represented Team Canada Red at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he tallied five goals and three assists in seven games.

Medicine Hat (28-14-3-0) is sitting first in the Central Division with points in seven of its last 10 games.

The Tigers travel to Moose Jaw (27-15-0-2) for a challenging test on January 26.

2023-24 WHL Rookie of the Week

January 15, 2024: Julius Miettinen, Everett Silvertips

January 8, 2024: Julius Miettinen, Everett Silvertips

January 2, 2024: Cole Reschny, Victoria Royals

December 18, 2023: Terik Parascak, Prince George Cougars

December 11, 2023: Max Curran, Tri-City Americans

December 4, 2023: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars

November 27, 2023: Ethan Eskit, Brandon Wheat Kings

November 20, 2023: Dakota MacIntosh, Moose Jaw Warriors

November 13, 2023: Ben Kindel, Calgary Hitmen

November 6, 2023: Ethan McCallum, Medicine Hat Tigers

October 30, 2023: Julius Miettinen, Everett Silvertips (NHL CSS: C)

October 23, 2023: Terik Parascak, Prince George Cougars (NHL CSS: B)

October 16, 2023: Ty Coupland, Swift Current Broncos

October 10, 2023: Terik Parascak, Prince George Cougars (NHL CSS: B)

October 2, 2023: Terik Parascak, Prince George Cougars (NHL CSS: B)

September 25, 2023: Oscar Lovsin, Wenatchee Wild

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