WHL Western Conference preview: Rockets still team to beat, but T-Birds, Winterhawks, Cougars lurk

Yahoo’s Buzzing the Net preview the upcoming 2015-16 season, asking the biggest question of each team. Here is the WHL Western Conference preview.

Teams here are listed in predicted order of finish, from first to last.

Kelowna Rockets – 2014-15 record: 53-13-5-1, 112 points; division finish: first; playoff result: won WHL championship; projection: first, B.C.

Can anyone stop the Rockets from getting back to the WHL final?

The Rockets will surely miss the likes of Leon Draisaitl, Madison Bowey and Josh Morrissey, but Kelowna could have as many as 14 guys who played in the Memorial Cup final in May back this season.

With high-end forwards like Coyotes first-rounder Nick Merkley and Sharks prospect Rourke Chartier, as well as a budding star in Dillon Dube, the Rockets should once again have the top offence in the conference. They’ll have to make a decision about overage forwards, but whichever two they keep of the trio of Tyson Baillie, Gage Quinney and Cole Linaker will by key contributors.

That decision has been prompted by the choice to keep 20-year-old goalie Jackson Whistle and release 18-year-old Jake Morrissey. With 19-year-old Michael Herringer looking solid, Whistle had been seen as a possible trade candidate. But it looks like he’ll be back for a second season as the primary starter.

Defensively, the Rockets are young but talented, with holdovers Joe Gatenby, Lucas Johansen and Devante Stephens leading the way. Riley Stadel could also shift back to the blue line after playing as a forward last season.

Overall, it looks like the West is Kelowna’s to lose again, though they might not run away and hide as they did last season.

Seattle Thunderbirds – 2014-15 record: 38-25-4-5, 85 points; division finish: third; playoff result: lost first round to Portland; projection: first, U.S.

Is this the year the T-Birds break Portland’s stranglehold on the U.S. Division?

There’s a lot to like in Kent this season, with first-round Islanders pick Mathew Barzal and Rangers prospect Ryan Gropp leading a deep group of experienced forwards into a season with high expectations. Columbus draftee Keegan Kolesar is healthy after missing the playoffs last season, and overager Jamal Watson comes in from Lethbridge to join underrated guys like Scott Eansor, Donovan Neuls and Nolan Volcan.

On the back end, overagers Jared Hauf and Jerret Smith should be among the best shutdown defencemen in the conference, and Oilers prospect Ethan Bear should bring some offence (he had 13 goals last season).

The big question mark is goaltending. Logan Flodell and Taz Burman are 18-year-olds with 48 games of WHL experience between them. It’s still unclear who’s going to get the No. 1 role, but if one of these guys can rise to the challenge Seattle will have a good look at a division title.

Portland Winterhawks – 2014-15 record: 43-23-2-4, 92 points; division finish: second; playoff result: lost Western Conference final to Kelowna; projection: second, U.S.

How will the Hawks replace offensive stars like Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan?

No team in the WHL has to replace more goals than the Winterhawks, who now face life without Bjorkstrand, Petan, Chase De Leo and Miles Koules.

Paul Bittner, a second-round draftee of Columbus who had 34 goals last season, is the natural choice to become the team’s top scorer, but he’ll have competition from new Latvian import Rodrigo Abols, who played some games in the KHL last season. Fourth-year forward Dominic Turgeon, a Red Wings signee, should also make an offensive jump as he moves beyond the third line for the first time.

Defence will be a strength for the Hawks, as they add Oilers prospect Caleb Jones (Seth’s brother) and Predators signee Jack Dougherty to the likes of returnees Blake Heinrich and Keoni Texeira. In net, Adin Hill is back after leading the league in save percentage in a surprising rookie campaign that got him drafted in the third round by Arizona.

The Hawks won’t feature the jaw-dropping skill that led them to five straight Western Conference finals, but there’s enough talent and depth to suggest they can make another long playoff run.

Prince George Cougars – 2014-15 record: 31-36-2-3, 67 points; division finish: third; playoff result: lost first round to Victoria; projection: second, B.C.

Will the New Ice Age pay off with playoff success this season?

The WHL’s perpetually rebuilding franchise may finally be built for success this season, and the Cougars probably won’t be happy with another first-round playoff exit.

After a 79-point campaign as a 17-year-old, Winnipeg draftee Jansen Harkins could be one of the top scorers in the league this season as part of a stout Cougar offence that includes fellow 18-year-old Brad Morrison and overager Chase Witala (38 goals last season). The Cougars also acquired 18-year-old Jesse Gabrielle from Regina in the offseason, and he should lead a crop of secondary scorers that includes Minnesota native Jared Bethune, who hopes to make a big improvement in his second season.

Prince George has struggled defensively in recent seasons, and needs to be much better in its own zone to be taken seriously as a contender. Sam Ruopp is back as the leader of the defensive group, and will be joined by veterans like Joseph Carvalho and Tate Olson. Slovenian Luka Zorko is a new addition on the blue line.

In goal, the Cougars have brought in overager Mack Shields to compete for the starting role with holdover Ty Edmonds, who’s played in 115 games over the last two seasons.

Prince George should have a clear run at second place in the B.C. Division, but still may give up too many goals to give Kelowna a strong push in the playoffs.

Everett Silvertips – 2014-15 record: 43-20-3-6, 95 points; division finish: first; playoff result: lost second round to Portland; projection: third, U.S.

Do the Tips have enough talent and depth to be in the mix for another division title?

Everett was the somewhat surprising U.S. Division champion last season, and had high hopes over the summer of landing key prospects like Auston Matthews and Tyson Jost and becoming a powerhouse.

It didn’t work out that way, and with Nikita Scherbak and Ivan Nikolishin gone, the Silvertips need to find an offensive spark. Overager Carson Stadnyk (27 goals last season) could be the top scorer, but 2016 draft prospect Patrick Bajkov may be poised for a breakout season. They should also get help from 17-year-old Russian Yan Khomenko, who looked good in the preseason.

Though he’s sidelined by an injury now, first-round Montreal Canadiens pick Noah Juulsen will be the leader on defence for the Tips. They need guys like Kevin Davis, Lucas Skrumeda and Tristen Pfeifer to continue to progress, though, to keep up with what Portland and Seattle have.

Carter Hart took over the No. 1 goaltending spot last year as a 16-year-old, and appears to be the starter again this season. But 20-year-old Austin Lotz is still, as of now, on the roster and the Tips will have to figure out whether they should trade him or keep him as an experienced back-up.

Tri-City Americans – 2014-15 record: 31-38-0-3, 65 points; division finish: fifth; playoff result: lost first round to Kelowna; projection: fourth, U.S. (wild card)

Can the Ams score enough goals to take advantage of solid goaltending?

Despite having Eric Comrie in net the last three seasons, the Americans only managed to win two playoff games over that span due largely to an inability to create offence.

Now, with potential future U.S. world junior goalie Evan Sarthou poised to take over the starting role, the Ams seem to be right back where they always are.

The key may be the health of 20-year-old Parker Bowles, who was limited to 86 games over the last two seasons. He put up 84 points in those games, though, so he’ll be a reliable scorer if he can stay healthy. If they also keep overagers Brian Williams and Beau McCue, the Ams should have a solid top line.

Beyond that, they’ll need Tyler Sandhu to finally break out offensively in his fourth WHL season to provide some scoring depth or it could be another sub-200 goal season for Tri-City.

Defensively, the Ams have a good pair in Bruins prospect Brandon Carlo and Islanders draftee Parker Wotherspoon. Finnish import Juuso Valimaki will step into a big role as well. Those guys should help them deal well with the top scoring lines on other teams in the division.

Kamloops Blazers – 2014-15 record: 28-37-4-3, 63 points; division finish: fourth; playoff result: missed playoffs; projection: third, B.C.

Can the Blazers take the next step in their rebuild and get back to the playoffs?

Losing Cole Ully will hurt, but in a muddled race to finish third in the B.C. Division it seems like the Blazers might have a slight leg up on Victoria and Vancouver for that automatic playoff berth.

Matt Neeham, who had 76 points last season, will fill a Ully-like role as an overager, and promising forwards like Deven Sideroff, Collin Shirley and Matt Revel should keep the Blazers offence potent enough to compete every night. Jake Kryski could also take a step forward in his second season.

Kamloops would like to get a bit more offence out of overage defenceman Marc McNulty, who had 17 goals with Prince George in 2013-14 but regressed to eight last season. Captain Ryan Rehill will provide leadership and ruggedness on the blue line, but they’ll need other guys to step forward, like youngsters Dawson Davidson and Nolan Kneen, as well as import returnee Patrik Maier.

Goalie Connor Ingram has a chance to be one of the big surprises in the league this year after a good second half last season, and his performance could be the key to getting the Blazers back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Victoria Royals – 2014-15 record: 39-29-3-1, 82 points; division finish: second; playoff result: lost second round to Kelowna; projection: 4th, B.C. (wild card)

Who’s going to help Joe Hicketts keep the Royals competitive every night?

The Royals are looking at a bit of a rebuild this season, but should have enough quality on the roster to get into the postseason and perhaps nab the third spot in the B.C. Division.

The key might be overager Alex Forsberg, the former first-overall bantam pick who came to the Royals last season. If he can handle a primary scoring role along with Tyler Soy and Jack Walker, the Royals offence might not be all that bad. Secondary scoring will be an issue, though, as there’s no other returning forward who scored more than the six Regan Nagy potted last season. Perhaps 17-year-old Dante Hannoun or former Portland Winterhawk Ethan Price can find some scoring touch.

Hicketts, a world junior veteran and Red Wings prospect, should help offensively as well given his 64-point output last season, but who will help him keep pucks out of his own net? Chaz Reddekopp, Ryan Gagnon and Jordan Wharrie — an offseason acquisition from Everett — will need to step up.

Coleman Vollrath is back as the starting goalie, but he has competition from Nashville draftee Evan Smith, who’s in his first WHL season.

Spokane Chiefs – 2014-15 record: 34-34-3-1, 72 points; division finish: fourth; playoff result: lost first round to Everett; projection: fifth, U.S.

Can a team with a bright future compete this season?

With young players like Kailer Yamamoto, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Ty Smith in the pipeline, the Chiefs are poised to be among the league’s best teams in two years. For now, though, it looks like the 2015-16 season could be a struggle.

However, Spokane was supposed to have a rough go of it last season but Don Nachbaur found a way to have his team within two points of the division lead in December before injuries led to a bit of a second-half fade.

With recent news that Adam Helekwa may stay in the AHL this season rather than come back from his overage season, the Chiefs could have a tough time scoring this season.

Yamamoto isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2017, but had 57 points last year for Spokane. The only other returning double-digit goal scorers are third-year import Dominic Zwerger and overager Riley Whittingham. Perhaps Anderson-Dolan can duplicate Yamamoto’s output as a 16-year-old.

Captain Jason Fram will be the leader on defence, and 18-year-olds Evan Fiala, Jordan Henderson and Tyson Helgesen have some promise.

It looks like Garret Hughson will be back for another season in goal. The overager played in 53 games last season.

Vancouver Giants – 2014-15 record: 27-41-2-2, 58 points; division finish: fifth; playoff result: missed playoffs; projection: fifth, B.C.

Will a big year from Tyler Benson be enough to get the Giants out of the basement?

The good news for Vancouver is that their top four scorers from last season — Jackson Houck, Carter Popoff, Thomas Foster and Benson — are back for 2015-16. The bad news is none of those guys had more than 51 points and the Giants were the worst team in the Western Conference.

Benson, who has been named the team’s captain, will be expected to be a force once he gets back from a preseason surgery. The question is whether the rest of that returning corps of forwards can take a step forward (Foster also starts the season injured), and if new Slovkian import Radovan Bondra can make an immediate impact.

Defensively, the Giants will lean on Minnesota-born Brennan Menell for offence and B.C. native Josh Thrower for physical play, and will hope they can get big improvement from third-year Russian Dmitry Osipov.

The Giants are still sorting out the goaltending situation, with reigning No. 1 Payton Lee in a battle for playing time with 18-year-old Cody Porter and rookie Ryan Kubic.

New coach Lorne Molleken should help bring some stability after a disjointed 2014-15 season, but it still may be a long year at Pacific Coliseum.

Scott Sepich writes about the WHL for Buzzing the Net. Follow him on Twitter @ssepich.