The WHL playoffs have officially been set. There are some very intriguing matchups on both sides of the bracket as 16 teams compete for a spot in the Memorial Cup. To help determine who may have what it takes to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup, we ran every playoff matchup through NHL 22 to help determine who will be crowned WHL champions. A reminder that all these results are simulated and this article is a fun look at what the playoffs could look like. Here is how it went:
First Round
The first round was exciting and featured four Game 7’s and three upsets. Vancouver, Kelowna and Brandon beat their opponents in Game 7 despite being on the road. There was also one sweep as Edmonton dominated Lethbridge and swept them.
- Vancouver defeats Everett 4 – 3
- Kelowna defeats Seattle 4 – 3
- Kamloops defeats Spokane 4 – 1
- Portland defeats Prince George 4 – 3
- Winnipeg defeats Prince Albert 4 – 2
- Moose Jaw defeats Saskatoon 4 – 1
- Edmonton defeats Lethbridge 4 – 0
- Brandon defeats Red Deer 4 – 3
Playoff Scoring Leaders After Round 1
- Jake Neighbours (Edmonton) 4 games, 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points
- Ridly Greig (Brandon) 7 games, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points
- Jaydon Dureau (Portland) 7 games, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points
- Matthew Savoie (Winnipeg) 6 games, 1 goals, 9 assists, 10 points
- Dylan Guenther (Edmonton) 4 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points
Second Round
The second round was featured three upsets as the Giants, Warriors and Wheat Kings stunned their opponents. Both Western Conference rounds were sweeps while no Eastern Conference game went past Game 6.
- Vancouver defeats Kelowna 4 – 0
- Kamloops defeats Portland 4 – 0
- Moose Jaw defeats Winnipeg 4 – 1
- Brandon defeats Edmonton 4 – 2
Playoff Scoring Leaders After Round 2
- Dylan Guenther (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
- Jake Neighbours (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
- Fabian Lysell (Vancouver) 11 games, 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points
- Ridly Greig (Brandon) 13 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
- Jaydon Dureau (Portland) 11 games, 4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points
Conference Championship Round
The Kamloops continued their dominance while Brandon finished off their Cinderella run as they both made it to the WHL Finals. When these two face off, it will be a rematch of the 1994-95 WHL Championship where Kamloops defeated Brandon 4 – 2.
- Kamloops defeats Vancouver 4 – 0
- Brandon defeats Moose Jaw 4 – 1
Playoff Leading Scorer After Conference Championship Round
- Fabian Lysell (Vancouver) 15 games, 7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points
- Ridly Greig (Brandon) 18 games, 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points
- Dylan Guenther (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
- Jake Neighbours (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
- Riley Ginnell (Brandon) 18 games, 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
Ed Chynoweth Cup
After a hard fought season, the Kamloops Blazers walked away Ed Chynoweth Cup. The Blazers went 16-3 while only giving up 30 goals in their 19 games. The MVP of the playoffs went to goaltender Dylan Garand as he posted a 1.47 goals against average, a .939% save percentage along with 6 shutouts. Kamloops was dominate and should have no problem in the Memorial Cup
- Kamloops defeats Brandon 4 – 2
Final Playoff Leading Scorers
- Ridly Greig (Brandon) 24 games, 11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points
- Fabian Lysell (Vancouver) 15 games, 7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points
- Logan Stankoven (Kamloops) 19 games, 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points
- Dylan Guenther (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
- Jake Neighbours (Edmonton) 10 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points