Winterhawks Punch Their Ticket to 2025 WHL Playoffs

Sports stats



WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Punch Their Ticket to 2025 WHL Playoffs

March 6, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winterhawks officially clinched a berth in the 2025 WHL Playoffs following the team's 4-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night. Standing at 32-24-3-1 on the season, the Winterhawks have now qualified for the WHL Playoffs in 14 consecutive campaigns and will chase their fourth Ed Chynoweth Cup beginning this spring.

Following last season's run to the WHL Championship Series, the Winterhawks returned 11 players from their 2024 Western Conference Championship roster and they will look to make another deep run later this month. The Hawks become the sixth team in the Western Conference to punch its metaphoric ticket to the postseason. The 2025 WHL Playoffs are expected to begin one week after the conclusion of the regular season during the weekend on March 28 - 30.

Led by fifth-year forward and captain Kyle Chyzowski, the Winterhawks rank inside the top five of WHL teams in scoring and shot volume and they co-lead the league in shorthanded goals (14). Chyzowski, 20, sits fourth in the WHL with 39 goals and 96 points, nearly doubling his previous career high of 50 points in 65 regular-season games. If the Surrey, B.C. native can reach 100 points this season, he will enter the Winterhawks' top 30 scorers of all time. Returning forwards Josh Zakreski (33 goals) and Diego Buttazzoni (33 goals) have also set new career highs in scoring, giving the Winterhawks three players in the 30-goal club. Only one other WHL club boats three 33-plus goal scorers on the year.

Joining Portland in early December, Alex Weiermair has come over as advertised from his time at the University of Denver and the U.S. National Team Development Program. Weiermair, 19, has maintained a point-per-game pace in the WHL with 38 points (18G, 20A) in 34 games and a team-leading plus-10 rating. Tyson Yaremko, Kyle McDonough, Ryan Miller, Tyson Jugnauth and rookie Jordan Duguay round out the nine Winterhawks with double-digit goal scoring this year.

Defensively, Seattle Kraken prospect and Michigan State commit Tyson Jugnauth leads all WHL defensemen with 69 assists and 81 points. He recently achieved 100 career assists with the Winterhawks, doing so before skating in his 100th WHL game. Jugnauth, 20, currently ranks fifth all-time in points per game as a defenseman in Winterhawks history. Philadelphia Flyers draftee Carter Sotheran is the other Portland defenseman with 31 points this year, scoring three goals in the 2025 calendar year.

Between the pipes, the Winterhawks have been riding the tandem of rookies Ondřej Štěbeták and Marek Schlenker. In his first year playing in North America, Štěbeták has already surpassed 20 wins, becoming the second rookie netminder to do so. The Jihlava, Czechia native owns a 3.74 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage. Štěbeták strung together six starts in February allowing three goals or less and he was recognized as the sixth ranked goaltender in North America according to NHL Central Scouting ahead of this summer's draft. Schlenker is 11-9-1 this year in Portland with a 3.87 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage. The Okotoks, Alta. product has three 40-plus save games this season.

Now, the Winterhawks are in a battle for playoff seeding and potential home-ice advantage in the opening round of WHL Playoffs. Their journey continues on Friday evening when the Winterhawks welcome the Seattle Thunderbirds to town for the second of four games in a five night stretch.

Playoff ticket availability and pricing will be announced in the coming weeks - stay tuned to Winterhawks.com and the Winterhawks social channels for more information.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central