Know Your Foe: Winterhawks vs Chiefs Western Conference Championship Preview

Sports stats



WHL Portland Winterhawks

Know Your Foe: Winterhawks vs Chiefs Western Conference Championship Preview

April 25, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Western Conference Championship gets started this evening with the Portland Winterhawks and Spokane Chiefs battling for the right to play for a WHL title.

This is the first time since the 2019 playoffs that these two U.S. Division rivals have met in the postseason.

During the 2024-2025 regular season, Portland won two of the six contests, but most of the games were played before the Chiefs made a big splash at the WHL trade deadline.

Spokane struck a deal with the Kelowna Rockets, who are hosting the 2026 Memorial Cup, for Washington Capitals signed prospect Andrew Cristall. The price to acquire the talented winger was high, but the offensive spark the Burnaby, British Columbia, native provided was instantaneous. Cristall joined forces with Seattle Kraken signed prospect and Chiefs' captain, Berkly Catton, along with overager Shea Van Olm.

Cristall played 29 games with Spokane and registered an impressive 22 goals and 50 assists en route to leading the entire WHL in scoring. Catton finished third (38G, 71A) and Van Olm ninth (49G, 43A).

Portland, as it was in the first two rounds, will be underdogs in the series, and will start on the road, where the Chiefs can dictate the matchup they want. Needless to say, the Winterhawks' success in the series will depend on limiting the chances for the dynamic trio.

The Winterhawks played a lot of hockey in a short period of time against Everett, including a four games in five nights stretch. The Western Conference Championship, presented by Nutrien, will follow a 2-3-2 format as the Chiefs have other commitments at the Veterans Memorial Arena.

Both teams have plenty of notable names up for WHL Awards following the 2024-2025 regular season. All three Western Conference finalists for Player of the Year will take to the ice in this series, (Catton, Cristall, and Portland's captain Kyle Chyzowski). Chiefs goaltender Dawson Cowan is a finalist for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy, presented to the top netminder. Tyson Jugnauth is a favorite for the Defenseman of the Year after an 89-point regular season campaign. Kyle McDonough was named the Humanitarian of the Year, and Catton earned the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as the WHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player for 2024-2025.

NHL Central Scouting was busy during the regular season keep tabs on NHL Draft-eligible players for Spokane and Portland.

The Chiefs had three players listed on the final rankings, and four Winterhawks were included on the list. Center Owen Martin was the highest-rated Spokane skater at No. 54, followed by Owen Schoettler at No. 138, and then Assanali Sarkenov, an import forward, at No. 217.

For Portland, goaltender Ondřej Štěbeták was the eighth ranked North American goalie and second amongst WHL netminders. Fellow Czechia native Max Pšenička is the highest rated skater in this series at No. 40. Forward Ryan Miller is 20 spots behind, and Diego Buttazzoni rounded out the list at No. 141.

Top-end scoring will be on full display with the four highest point producers in the 2025 WHL Playoffs meeting. Cristall (13G, 15A) and Catton (7G, 21A) are first and second with 28 points each. Jugnauth (3G, 23A) is one point back, while Chyzowski is trailing by two (11G, 14A).

Van Olm has 21 points (9G, 12A) in 11 contests, while Buttazzoni's 18 (9G, 9A) is the third highest amongst Winterhawks.

Mathis Preston has eight points (6G, 2A) to lead all active rookies entering the third round. Pšenička's seven assists is next in line.

The goaltending matchup is always a key point of emphasis in every playoff series, and Cowan vs Štěbeták will be one to watch. Štěbeták has been lights out for the Winterhawks and has elevated his play since Game 7 in the first round. The 2007-born netminder has also been by far the busiest in the WHL. He's faced 518 shots, 122 more than the next closest (Max Hildebrand's 396), so the Winterhawks will want to reduce the amount of pucks sent Štěbeták's direction.

Cowan, a 2005-born goalie from Warren, Manitoba, has all eight wins for the Chiefs and enters the Western Conference Championship with 253 saves on 289 shots. He had four shutouts during the regular season.

With playoffs often resulting in tighter checking games, special teams can be a difference maker in the series. Spokane finished the regular season with the league's best power play at 28.9%, but also gave up the most shorthanded goals (16). Through the first two rounds of their playoffs, the Chiefs are 11-for-42 (26.2%) on the man advantage. Portland has converted on 14-of-48 (29.2%) man-advantage opportunities. The Winterhawks scored at least one power-play goal in the last five games against the Silvertips.

The WHL Playoffs are available on Victory+ without geo-restrictions, giving fans the opportunity to follow their favorite teams and players on the road to the championship. With Victory+ offering a free, ad-supported streaming service, this ensures that the game is accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or what devices they use, including Samsung and Vizio smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Android and web browser.

Learn more at victoryplus.com/download.

Series Schedule:

Game 1 - Friday, April 25 - @SPO - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Cartside at 1825 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OR 97227)

Game 2 - Sunday, April 27 - @SPO - 5:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Grains of Wrath at 230 NE 5th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607)

Game 3 - Wednesday, April 30 - @POR - 7:00 p.m.

Game 4 - Thursday, May 1 - @POR - 7:00 p.m.

*Game 5 - Saturday, May 3 - @POR - 6:00 p.m.

*Game 6 - Monday, May 5 - @SPO - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Cartside at 1825 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OR 97227)

*Game 7 - Tuesday, May 6 - @SPO - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Grains of Wrath at 230 NE 5th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607)

* If necessary | HOME

Regular Season Results (POR went 2-4-0-0)

Spokane 7 @ Portland 3 (Feb 23 2025) Final

Spokane 2 @ Portland 5 (Jan 2 2025) Final

Spokane 4 @ Portland 6 (Dec 17 2024) Final

Portland 4 @ Spokane 7 (Dec 1 2024) Final

Portland 1 @ Spokane 5 (Nov 30 2024) Final

Portland 2 @ Spokane 4 (Nov 1 2024) Final

POR Leading Scorers in the Regular Season Series:

Kyle Chyzowski - 5G - 5A - 10 PTS

Tyson Yaremko* - 2G - 5A - 7 PTS

Alex Weiermair - 4G - 2A - 6 PTS

Diego Buttazzoni - 2G - 4A - 6 PTS

Tyson Jugnauth - 0G - 6A - 6 PTS

*Injured

SPO Leading Scorers in the Regular Season Series:

Shea Van Olm - 7G - 7A - 14 PTS

Andrew Cristall - 5G - 5A - 10 PTS

Berkly Catton - 2G - 8A - 10 PTS

Brayden Crampton - 0G - 9A - 9 PTS

Rasmus Ekström - 4G - 4A - 8 PTS

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from April 25, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central