Looking into the Crystal Ball

This was sent to me by Rockets beat writer Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. With his blessing I bring you this entry, which appears in today's paper:

Five opinions. Three coaches. Two media members. One great read. Or, we’re hoping it’s a great read.
Through some intimidation, exchanging of money and just plain ol’ bribery, I managed to cajole fellow media member and play-by-play caller Regan Bartel plus three members of the Kelowna Rockets’ coaching staff to peer into their WHL playoff crystal ball.
While Bartel and I are usually harangued by diehard fans for not knowing anything or getting our facts wrong — to quote Dave Barry, ‘What, you never make misstakes?’ — what makes this bit of print interesting is getting opinions from Kelowna head coach Jeff Truitt plus assistant coaches Ryan Huska and coach Kim Dillabaugh.
While the Rockets may not be involved in this year’s playoffs, much to theirs, mine and Bartel’s plus most of Kelowna’s dismay, we here at The Daily Courier are keeping close tabs on this year’s post- season run for several reasons — the first being Vancouver playing host to the 2007 Memorial Cup.
Other reasons include a score of Okanagan residents playing for other playoff-bound teams and, along with the Giants, four other serious contenders for the President’s Cup. Though Vancouver may have loaded up for a deep playoff run, they should be joined by Everett, Medicine Hat, Kootenay and Tri-City.
All in all, the next two months should prove quite interesting.

B.C. Division Vancouver (1) vs. Chilliwack (4)
Truitt: Vancouver in four. The Giants have too much power and head > coach Don Hay is going to have his team pumped for every series.
Huska: Vancouver sweep. The Giants have a lot of firepower and playoff experience that Chilliwack doesn’t.
Dillabaugh: Vancouver has a lot of playoff experience, while Chilliwack doesn’t has as much. And the depth that Vancouver has, the Giants hold the upperhand.
Bartel: Giants in 4. Chilliwack was out-scored 26-2 in four games at Pacific Coliseum during the regular season, and the lack of success will continue when the Giants put their playoff faces on. Potenteau: Giants in four. Why? Chilliwack went 0-8 in its season against Vancouver.

Kamloops (2) vs. Prince George (3)
Truitt: Kamloops isn’t going into the playoffs on a big high. Still, with guys like Reid Jorgensen and Brock Nixon, and if (goaltender) Dustin Butler gets on his game, I like Kamloops. Blazers in six. Huska: Prince George in six. The Cougars have been playing some very good hockey lately and the Blazers aren’t.
Dillabaugh: Prince George in six. The Cougars have had good success lately, and their power play is dangerous. When it comes down to it, Prince George’s power play will be the deciding factor. Bartel: Cougars in 6. The Blazers’ 12-game winless streak on the road to end the season has me siding with Prince George. The first round playoff curse in Kamloops will continue. The Blazers missed the playoffs last season. Prior to that they've been a 1st round casualty 6 years running.
Potenteau: Blazers in six, though during the weekend I was leaning to Cougars in five. Why the change? Kamloops has a big edge in coaching, and, in a nutshell, I’m picking Jorgensen’s grit over the skill of Devin Setoguchi.

U.S. Division Everett (1) vs. Spokane (4)
Truitt: Spokane has played Everett real tough, and earlier, this had a chance to be an upset. But when push to comes to show, Everett has more up front. Silvertips in six.
Huska: Everett in six. The Silvertips, over the course of the regular season, have proven themselves to be THE team in the WHL.
Dillabaugh: Everett in six. When it comes to playoff experience, Everett has the edge. The Silvertips also have Leland Irving in net, and he’s going to be the difference for them. Everett’s going to be a hard team to knock off.
Bartel: Everett in 6. Tips Head Coach Kevin Constantine will get the most out of his guys when it really counts. No one motivates and adjusts to the opposition better than Constantine. Even though Leland Irving was less than stellar down the stretch in goal, he's a money goaltender and will show his weight in gold when it really counts.
Potenteau: Everett in four. Five if they’re unlucky. With Irving plus a handful of great forwards, such as Peter Mueller, Moises Gutierrez, Kyle Beach and Zach Hamill, the Silvertips’ offence will overwhelm Spokane. And it’s hard to argue against 54 wins and 111 points.

Tri-City (2) vs. Seattle (3)
Truitt: Tri-City in five. The Americans are full of confidence, and they’ve really turned the corner since the beginning of the season. Plus, (goaltender) Carey Price has shown that he can play under pressure.
Huska: Tri-City in seven. Price will be the difference in the series. But, that said, I think this will be the best series. Both teams are good and can skate very well; it’ll be a good one to watch. Dillabaugh: This series will go seven games, and Tri-City will win it. The Americans have made some good additions with defencemen T.J. Fast and Roman Teslyuk plus Colton Yellow Horn up front. Derek Yeomans will be good in goal for Seattle, but when Price is on his game, there aren’t many who are better than him.
Bartel: Tri City in six. Good team speed, a solid power play and team toughness is just to much for the T-Birds. Carey Price is always on his game, while Yeomans can take an odd game off. Potenteau: Tri-City in six. The Ams have better coaching, better depth and an edge in age, though don’t be surprised if Seattle, led by Aaron Gagnon and Scott Jackson, pulls off an upset in seven.

Central Division: Medicine Hat (1) vs. Red Deer (4)
Truitt: Red Deer is going to play tough, and GM/head coach Brent Sutter will have his team playing without fear. But Medicine Hat has too much offence in its lineup, and asking forwards Martin Hanzal and Kirill Starkov to carry Red Deer might be too much. Tigers in six.
Huska: Medicine Hat in four. The Tigers have a lot of speed and more depth than the Rebels. Dillabaugh: Medicine Hat in four. The Tigers have a good goalie in Matt Keetley and have good speed team with lots of skill. Red Deer will have trouble defending. The Tigers are rolling and they’re pretty tough to beat at home.
Bartel: Tigers in five. Even without Derek Dorsett in the opening round, the Tigers have far to much fire power. Never bet against a team that lost just five times on home ice all season.
Potenteau: Tigers in four. Medicine Hat has the league’s second best set of defencemen behind Vancouver’s — a fact borne out by the Tigers’ 175 goals against, best in the Eastern Conference and third- best overall.

Kootenay (2) vs. Calgary (3)
Truitt: This will be a good series. Head coach Cory Clouston has done such a good job with Kootenay, and the Ice always seem to rise to the occasion even when they don’t have any big-name players. The Ice play as good a game as any team does, and they’re playing really well right now. Kootenay in six.
Huska: Kootenay in six. Every season, nobody gives Kootenay a chance. And, yet, the Ice are always proving people wrong. Plus, right now, the team is playing very well.
Dillabaugh: Kootenay in six. The Ice have more overall depth and goaltender Taylor Dakers has playoff experience. Kootenay is a real good team, from goal on out.
Bartel: Ice in six. I hate Kootenay. Did I say that out loud? Yet the organization traditionally has playoff success, and again will rise to the top thanks to one of the most balanced lineup's in the league. If one line isn't going, Clouston has the option of leaning on another.
Potenteau: Kootenay in five. The Ice finished with 10 more regular-season wins (49-39) and there’s two good reason for that: Commitment to defence and a potent offence. Kootenay led the league in scoring with 267 goals while only allowing 189 against. Notably, only two Eastern Conference teams were under 200 goals against, with the other being Medicine Hat.

East Division: Brandon (1) vs. Prince Albert (4)
Truitt: Brandon in five. With guys like Mark Derlago and Juraj Simek, the Wheat Kings have a pretty potent power play, and GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon has his team clicking along pretty well. That, and Prince Albert entered the playoffs having to scratch its way in.
Huska: Brandon in five. The Wheat Kings’ power play, and just how many gifted players they have, will be too much for Prince Albert to contain.
Dillabaugh: Brandon in a sweep. Prince Albert has had a tough go lately, and Brandon’s power play and penalty kill has been great all season. The Wheat Kings are an old, experienced team, and they have some guys who know what it takes to win in the playoffs.
Bartel: Brandon in four. The Raiders were awful down the stretch with just three wins in their final 18 games. Peter Anholt may have celebrated a milestone this season by moving into second place all time in games coached in the WHL, but he won't have much to celebrate in post season.
Potenteau: Wheat Kings in four. Of all the games this past season at Prospera Place, nobody dominated Kelowna like Brandon. The Wheat Kings won 7-1 and literally took half the game off. If Brandon can consistently repeat that performance, the Wheat Kings may earn a darkhorse spot in Vancouver this May.

Regina (2) vs. Swift Current (3)
Truitt: I have to give head coach Curtis Hunt a lot of credit. He has his team playing well down the stretch, while Swift Current has been up and down. With the offence the Pats have, Regina in six.
Huska: Regina in six. The Pats have been one of the hotter teams in the league during the second half. They’ll be tough to contend with.
Dillabaugh: Swift Current in an upset. In seven. Call it a gut feeling, though Swift beat some pretty good games the last two weeks, like Medicine Hat and Brandon.
Bartel: Broncos in six. I can't go against my former team can I? The Broncos didn't win a game in Regina all season long, but they'll regain home-ice advantage by finally doing it in the playoffs. Kyle Moir wants to go out with a bang, and the overage goaltender will stand on his head.
Potenteau: Pats in six. Regina has an older lineup and two very good over-age forwards in Garrett Festerling and Kyle Ross. Plus, of course, the Pats gained some valuable playoff experience when they gained forwards Troy Ofukany and Kirt Hill in a six-player trade with the Kelowna Rockets.