The good news is that 2024 first-round draft choice Berkly Catton and his Spokane teammates have advanced to the Western Hockey League final by winning the Western Conference championship in a sweep over Portland and fellow Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth. The WHL champ qualifies for the coveted Memorial Cup tourney that decides the champion of the Canadian Hockey League and its three leagues, the WHL, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
While there is no bad news about the opportunity to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, even as Spokane dropped the first game of the best-of-seven series on the road Friday, the challenging news is Spokane is playing Eastern Conference champion Medicine Hat (AB), which also swept its conference series. It’s the first time in storied WHL history that both finalists swept the conference series.
There’s more to the challenge: Catton and company will be facing 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna, who is on a record Canadian Hockey League 53-game point streak. He was 16 when it started. For the regular season, his gaudy numbers totaled 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in 59 games; in the playoffs, he has notched eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 13 contests. Clearly, NHL scouts have McKenna on their radar for the 2026 draft. But make no mistake: Medicine Hat is more than its star players, now 23-1 overall since late February.
With a week between series, no doubt Spokane coaches and players strategized on containing the left wing, who a finalist for WHL Player of the Year, an award won by AHL Coachella Valley forward Jagger Firkus last season. Speaking of honors, the aforementioned Jugnauth was named WHL Defenseman of the Year for his outstanding year on both ends of the ice.
Spokane counters with two Player of the Year finalists, Catton and linemate Andrew Cristall, who was acquired by the Chiefs at the WHL trade deadline. The duo required a couple of games to know each other’s tendencies, but have been high-octane producers since. Catton finished the season with 38 goals and 71 assists for 109 points in 57 games before continuing to motor for eight goals and 28 assists for 36 postseason points in 15 games so far. Spokane captain Catton, Cristall, and linemate Shea Van Olm have combined for 39 goals and 61 assists in 15 postseason games.
In Friday’s game, Catton scored to cut the Medicine Hat lead to 2-1 with five minutes into the third period, but Medicine Hat responded with a goal 72 seconds later to restore the two-goal margin. McKenna kept his point streak alive with primary assists on Medicine Hat’s second goal and another helper on a late empty-net goal to make it a 4-1 final.
The two squads square off Sunday for a Mother’s Day Game 2 (6 p.m.), then the series moves to eastern Washington for Games 3 and 4 Tuesday and Wednesday (7 p.m.). If Game 5 is necessary, it will be played May 18 at Spokane Arena. If the series extends to six or seven games to decide which team is ticketed for the Memorial Cup tourney at Rimouski, Quebec, those contests are set for Medicine Hat.
