It’s the WHL Final as the Eastern Conference Champion Brandon Wheat Kings meet the West Conference Champion Seattle Thunderbirds.
Both teams are on a roll as the Thunderbirds have a record of 12-1 in this years’ playoffs while Brandon is 12-2 since losing the first 2 games of their 1st round series.
The clubs’ met once during the regular season and that was over 6 months ago. On October 27th in Seattle the Thunderbirds won 7-2.
This will be the first ever playoffs meeting between the organizations.
Seattle has only made it to the WHL one previous time when in 1997 Patrick Marleau and the Thunderbirds lost in 4 straight to Chris Phillips and the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
This is the 7th time that Brandon is in the League Final. The Wheat Kings won in 1979 against Portland and 1996 versus Spokane. Last year the Wheat Kings lost in the WHL Final to Kelowna.
Experience could be the difference in this series. The Wheat Kings have 16 players who played in the League Final last year and they have 10 players who are 19 or 20 years’ old.
The Thunderbirds have 10 players who are 18-years-old who should make them one of the teams to beat next year.
But this year is the year for the Wheat Kings.
In September I picked Brandon to beat Seattle in the WHL Final and I will stay with that pick. So far in playoffs I am 13-1.
Prediction – Wheat Kings in 5.