WHL 2024-25 Season Preview: Will the Kelowna Rockets take the next step?

CHL

Sep 19th, 19:30

Last season was a season of change for the WHL. The Moose Jaw Warriors won their first-ever championship, the Saskatoon Blades returned to powerhouse status with their winnest season in more than a decade, and the Prince George Cougars had their winningest season ever.

The story of the season, however, was the emergence of Gavin McKenna as the league's newest superstar. The presumptive first-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft was the WHL's best player in 2024, scoring 69 points in 37 games and controlling the game most nights. Then, he went to the U18s, where he set a new single-tournament scoring record for Canada and all 16-year-old players.

The scoring race will be an ultra-competitive one this year, with McKenna's competition including top NHL-affiliated prospects Berkly Catton (Seattl

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NHL Prospects CHL WHL Everett Silvertips Kelowna Rockets Medicine Hat Tigers Moose Jaw Warriors Portland Winterhawks Prince George Cougars Saskatoon Blades Spokane Chiefs Spokane Chiefs Andrew Basha Carson Carels Berkly Catton Braeden Cootes Andrew Cristall Landon Dupont Blake Fiddler Jordan Gavin Reese Hamilton Riley Heidt Tij Iginla Lynden Lakovic Cayden Lindstrom Brek Liske Gavin McKenna Roger McQueen Tanner Molendyk Giorgos Pantelas Caden Price Joshua Ravensbergen Cole Reschny Ryder Ritchie Daxon Rudolph Jackson Smith Carter Sotheran Keaton Verhoeff