It took exactly one pick to throw the floor at the 2019 GWMHL Rookie Draft into a tizzy, as the Great Lakes Pilots surprised many by forgoing phenom centre Elias Pettersson in favour of defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. That meant that the Charleston Chiefs, who dealt Steven Stamkos along with the 10th pick to move up to 2nd with the intention of picking Dahlin had to “settle” for Miro Heiskanen. Pettersson finally went at #3, to Winnipeg, where he’ll learn the ropes from Tyler Seguin.

The South Side Renegades picked Brady Tkachuk with the fourth pick, setting the stage for the next surprise of the morning when the Ice Harbor Storm, with a pick acquired from Denver in a move that sent two players and 6 picks the other way, chose goaltende Carter Hart at #5.

Andrei Svechnikov (Portland), Sam Steel (Hamilton), Roope Hintz (Adirondack), Quinn Hughes (Pittsburgh), and Max Comtois (San Jose) rounded out the top 10.

After Hart, the biggest question among goaltending prospects was Jordan Binnington, thought by some to have the potential to seize a starting job if given the chance. No team wanted to risk a first for him, but he finally went to South Side with the second pick of the second round.

Check out the full results of the 2019 rookie draft here.

It was a quiet draft on the trade front, with teams seemingly content to sit tight and see how the chips fell. Only two player-involved trades were made on the draft floor, beginning with the biggest: Boston trading goaltender Matt Murray, a 3rd rounder, and a 1st in 2020 to Pittsburgh for goalie Ben Bishop, a 3rd and a 4th. Portland also sent goaltender Keith Kinkaid to South Side for a 3rd, while Delta traded a pair of 2020 picks for four late 2019 selections in a pair of deals.

The 2018-19 GWMHL regular season is in the books. 8 teams look ahead to the postseason; 12 more look ahead to the draft lottery.

In the Plante Conference, Salem barely stayed ahead of Parry Sound for top seed, while the El Dorado Lynx and Baltimore Crab round out the playoff-bound teams. It’ll be Salem vs. Baltimore and Parry Sound vs. El Dorado in the first round — that latter series should be a good one.

In the Sawchuk, the Farmington Fighting Saints came out of the pile of playoff pretenders to nab the final seed. The first round will see Delta face Farmington and Boston take on Ice Harbor.

Stay tuned for round 1 playoff previews, coming soon!

Winnipeg’s Jamie Benn takes the scoring crown with 109 points. He’d probably rather be heading to the postseason, but his first career scoring title is still a pretty good consolation prize. Benn was one of six Gump players to break the 100-point barrier on the year.

Vancouver’s Anders Lee put together a monster fourth quarter to emerge out of nowhere and tie West Virginia’s Patrik Laine for the goal-scoring lead with 51. Benn and teammate Tyler Seguin weren’t far behind with 49.

Anze Kopitar‘s +80 is the highest total by any player in 9 years. The Salem centre was also tied for the lead in shorthanded goals.

Fighting Saint John Carlson led all defensemen with 71 points, just one ahead of El Dorado veteran Jeff Petry, who surprised the league with 70 points. Young Adirondack rearguard Zach Werenski led defensemen in goals with 26, one ahead of Carlson’s 25.

The rookie scoring race was tight heading into the final quarter, but Vancouver’s Mathew Barzal pulled away big-time in the final 18 games, finishing with 83 points, 10 ahead of Salem’s Yanni Gourde. Boston rookie winger Brock Boeser tallied 35 goals in an injury-shortened freshman season.

The goaltender numbers have a less clear-cut leader, but Parry Sound’s Pekka Rinne may be the closest we’ve got — he finished second in GAA (2.38), save percentage (.928), and shutouts (6) behind three different netminders, plus led all goalies in wins, by a fair margin, with 39. Rinne was a big offseason add for the Orrsmen; the question now is whether he’ll be enough to bring them to the next level in the playoffs.

The race for a coveted playoff spot is on! As we head into the final quarter of the 2018-19 season, some real dogfights are taking place in both conferences.

In the Plante Conference
Salem and Parry Sound continue to lead the way — the Orrsmen will have to make up six points to seal home ice advantage throughout the postseason. Denver slipped big in the third quarter, and indeed if the playoffs started today, only the Sabercats would be repping the Plante East — the next four contenders are all in the West. The real race is for the fourth seed, with Baltimore (70) just four points up on Charleston (66).

In the Sawchuk Conference
Delta seems to have a firm grip on the top seed over Boston, but a late surge from the Banshees could change all that. Like in the Plante, the real race is for the fourth and final playoff birth. Just four points separate third place Ice Harbor (72) and fifth place Farmington (68), with West Virginia (69) sandwiched in the middle. Vancouver and Adirondack are a mere five points back of that pack. It’ll be tight!

Stat-Watching
With 90 points (37 goals and 53 assists), Winnipeg’s Jamie Benn has taken over the scoring lead from Salem’s Anze Kopitar (88 points). Benn’s teammate Tyler Seguin and West Virginia sophomore Patrik Laine share the goal-scoring lead with 43. Farmington rearguard John Carlson still leads defensemen with 57 points, although El Dorado’s Jeff Petry deserves notice for his whopping 52. Salem’s Yanni Gourde (60 points) has taken over the rookie lead from Vancouver’s Mathew Barzal (58). Salem’s goaltending tandem of Frederik Andersen (21 wins, 2.19, .923) and Marc-Andre Fleury (24 wins, 2.43, .927) have been putting up the best numbers for netminders.