Warriors, Blades, Raiders savouring return of WHL playoffs

The WHL playoffs are back for the first time since 2019.

Players, coaches and fans had to deal with the harsh realities of COVID-19 over the past two seasons.

A suspended season in 2019-20 and a shortened “bubble” season in ’20-21 has created a lengthy delay for post-season WHL hockey.

However, teams managed to play a full 68-game season this year and the first round of the playoffs includes some divisional matchups against rivals to bring back that playoff atmosphere.

The Moose Jaw Warriors will have home-ice advantage as they take on the Saskatoon Blades in one Eastern Conference series. The teams faced each other in 2019, when the Blades swept the Warriors in four games.

In the head-to-head series during the regular season, Saskatoon took six of the eight matchups. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne says that’s irrelevant as the playoffs begin.

“It really doesn’t mean a thing. If you go back and look at every single lineup card, the teams and the players that are playing against each other in Game 1 (Friday), they’re not the same,” Sonne said.

“We’ve changed so much over the course of the season that stuff that happened in November doesn’t matter.”

There’s only a handful of players on each team who have any playoff experience dating back to the 2019 season. Sonne says it’s key for everyone to get a taste of what it’s like to play in the post-season.

“Just with COVID and playoffs not happening for the past two years, both teams are short for what you’d typically have for playoff experience, so these are important games,” he said.

“They mean a lot right now and for guys that haven’t played playoff for a long time, it’s a great experience for them for the future as well.”

Blades goaltender Nolan Maier is eager to face a provincial rival in the first round, and can’t wait to see the fans show up at SaskTel Centre.

“It’s really exciting to get back into that playoff atmosphere,” he said. “I remember last time we had a playoff game here, we had over 10,000 people in the rink, so to see that atmosphere and to feel that in the SaskTel Centre again will be pretty surreal.”

Warriors forward Ryder Korczak says the feeling is mutual.

“I’m definitely excited. Saskatoon’s our rival so it will be fun to watch,” Korczak said. “I think our fans are going blackout (with black attire). It should be a packed barn, pretty much sold out, so it’s going to be loud in there and pretty exciting.”

The best-of-seven series begins Friday at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

Meanwhile, the Prince Albert Raiders enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 8 seed and will face the league’s top team in the Winnipeg Ice.

The Raiders managed to beat the Ice three times in the regular season and are playing some of their best hockey leading up to the post-season.

Head coach Mark Habscheid said the team has already entered playoff mode as it fought for the final spot in the conference for seeding.

“They compete. They give us everything they have, they play structured, they play for one another and when you do that, they give themselves a chance,” Habscheid said.

“We’re still defending champs (after winning the WHL title in 2019) and no one can take that away from us. We still hold the crown until somebody takes it from us.”

Winnipeg won 53 games in the regular season and earned 111 points. Meanwhile, Prince Albert finished with 28 wins and 61 points.

However, Habscheid says his team believes the Raiders can make some noise.

“You just can’t throw your arms up and say, ‘Well, we’re going to lose’ because we’ve proved that we can win,” he said. “We’re not going here to participate, that’s for sure.”

The best-of-seven series kicks off Friday in Winnipeg.