After a disappointing 7-12-1 start transformed into a disastrous 0-10-0 streak at home in the second quarter, the Boston Banshees wasted no time in sounding the rebuild alarm with a pair of blockbusters.

The first deal saw Boston send its best defenseman, Josh Morrissey, as well as injured winger Tyler Seguin, and a fourth round pick to Clarington. In return, the Banshees get wingers Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson and, most importantly, Clarington’s first round pick in 2026. The Coyotes ended the first quarter tied for the league’s fifth worst record, so the pick should be a good one. Still, it’s the first time the Coyotes have positioned themselves as buyers. Morrissey dramatically changes the complexion of their blueline and will no doubt be paired with Mo Seider.

In the second move, the Banshees traded goaltender Ilya Sorokin to the surging Great Lakes Pilots for young winger Rutger McGroarty, goalie Elvis Merzlikins, and a second round pick. Although neither Sorokin nor Merzlikins have had especially good numbers this year, there’s no doubt that the acquisition of the former solidifies the Pilots’ goaltending in a way they desperately needed. Meanwhile, the Banshees will hope that Yaroslav Askarov can become their new backbone between the pipes.

We wrap up our four-part series of posts previewing the 2025-26 GWMHL season with the rest of the Sawchuk Conference.

You can read all the previous instalments right here:

• Plante part 1
• Plante part 2
• Sawchuk part 1

Ice Harbor Storm

24-25 record: 37-42-3 (lost in first round)
24-25 leading scorers: Sam Reinhart (82, 95-39-134), Aleksander Barkov (73, 27-106-133), Alex DeBrincat (82, 44-71-115), Mike Matheson (82, 11-67-78)
2025 draftees: Jett Luchanko (11), Daemon Hunt (33), Matej Blumel (54), Carter Mazur (77)
Key arrivals: Sam Carrick, Christian Dvorak
Key departures: Tanner Pearson, Daemon Hunt, Scott Perunovich, Juuso Valimaki
25-26 outlook: Despite managing a playoff appearance, the Storm had a pretty rocky year compared to expectations. Take a glance at is leading scorers and you’d expect it to have been a contender, but Ice Harbor got far too little secondary scoring (Matthew Tkachuk had just 17 goals in 80 games) and the team has also had a tendency to be a bit of a glass cannon: great offense with poor goaltending. All that said, the bones of a contender are still here: a well-rounded lineup, some young players on the rise (especially Dylan Guenther) and a goaltending trio (Linus Ullmark/Spencer Knight/John Gibson) that seems primed for a bounceback. Some of the vets are aging and the team’s window is shrinking, but the Storm are solidly on the playoff bubble, if not more.

Portland Winterhawks

24-25 record: 36-42-4 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Nick Suzuki (82, 45-43-88), Artemi Panarin (82, 35-49-84), Jesper Bratt (82, 27-56-83), Brad Marchand (82, 19-44-63)
2025 draftees: Jonathan Lekkerimaki (9), Drew Helleson (31), Ozzy Wiesblatt (66)
Key arrivals: Joel Kiviranta, Brett Pesce, Drew Helleson
Key departures: Ryan Hartman, Erik Gudbranson, Nick Leddy, Cam Talbot
25-26 outlook: As Portland’s young forwards–led by Nick Suzuki, with Logan Cooley and Shane Wright behind him–continue to flourish, alongside a very good goaltending duo in Mackenzie Blackwood and Adin Hill, the team should be better than the results it mustered last season. Part of that is something they’ve struggled to address for years: a lack of offensive finish from the back end. With the exception of Darren Raddysh and maybe JJ Moser (who had 32 points in 57 games but is unlikely to repeat those numbers) there’s not much pop there. The Hawks will have to rely on top-notch defense and a quick counterattack. The pieces are there to compete for a playoff spot, in any case.

San Jose Hosers

24-25 record: 49-26-7 (lost in second round)
24-25 leading scorers: Steven Stamkos (79, 63-54-117), Mitch Marner (69, 46-63-109), John Tavares (80, 40-52-92), Shayne Gostisbehere (81, 21-50-71)
2025 draftees: Ian Moore (85)
Key arrivals: Jason Zucker, Collin Graf, Mackenzie Weegar
Key departures: Joey Anderson, Kyle Maclean
25-26 outlook: The Hosers haven’t had a first round pick since 2021, and it’ll catch up to them eventually. A core that features the likes of John Tavares, Nazem Kadri, Mark Stone, Steven Stamkos, and Mats Zuccarello is a ticking timb bomb. But for now, those are all productive players to surround Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner. And they turned their latest first rounder into Mackenzie Weegar, a two-way force who instantly brings an already pretty good blueline (Mikhail Sergachev, Thomas Harley, Charlie McAvoy, Shayne Gostisbehere) into the upper echelons. Even a down year from Igor Shesterkin shouldn’t be enough to keep the Hosers from a solid playoff run. Contender.

Vancouver Night Train

24-25 record: 27-45-10 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Mathew Barzal (78, 24-47-71), Elias Lindholm (75, 18-36-54), Tommy Novak (71, 24-26-50), Mackenzie Weegar (82, 15-34-49)
2025 draftees: Jimmy Snuggerud (7), Calum Ritchie (19), Fedor Svechkov (27), Erik Portillo (49), Rory Kerins (71), Dylan Duke (80), Justin Robidas (86)
Key arrivals: Fedor Svechkov, Conor Timmins, Jake Christiansen
Key departures: Luke Kunin, Tommy Novak, Mackenzie Weegar, Nick Perbix, Jack Johnson
25-26 outlook: Trainwreck? With Mat Barzal expected to miss the majority of the season, along with Elias Lindholm’s declining offense, the writing was on the wall. That prompted the Night Train to ship out Mackenzie Weegar, easily one of its best players. The defense is still solid, led by Shea Theodore, Thomas Chabot, and Filip Hronek, with young Philip Broberg and Brandt Clarke seemingly ready to take on bigger roles, but the forward depth is a mess, and it’s doubtful that younger players like Logan Stankoven or Zach Bolduc are ready to make much of a dent. For a second straight year, it looks like Alex Kerfoot will be playing in the top six. Oh, and the team has possibly the worst goalie duo in the league in Sam Ersson and Tristan Jarry. It’s going to be ugly.

West Virginia River Rats

24-25 record: 46-29-7 (lost in first round)
24-25 leading scorers: Leon Draisaitl (81, 42-77-119), Nikolaj Ehlers (82, 39-60-99), Sebastian Aho (78, 29-51-80), Jake Guentzel (66, 27-48-75)
2025 draftees: Zayne Parekh (4), Ville Koivunen (17), Jakub Dobes (39), Colton Dach (59), Landon Slaggert (83)
Key arrivals: Kyle Palmieri, Eric Comrie, Jakub Dobes
Key departures: Erik Haula, Radko Gudas, Cayden Primeau
25-26 outlook: Getting bounced in the first round was not the expected result for the River Rats, a high-powered team with excellent depth up front and on defense. They even managed to turn Morgan Rielly into the pick that got them bluechipper Zayne Parekh this offseason. While Parekh is at least a year away, everything else is looking pretty rosy for West Virginia: Kyle Palmieri shores up the right wing, Dmitri Voronkov is developing well, and the team can throw out any line or defense pairing and hurt you. Juuse Saros is now the weak link: he was disappointing last season, and while the Rats went out and got Eric Comrie and young Jakub Dobes to lighten the starter’s load, they’ll still be chasing games unless he rebounds. That said, there’s no way to call this roster anything but a contender.

Now that we’ve covered all 11 teams in the Plante Conference, it’s time to turn our sights to the Sawchuk. Stay tuned for the final part tomorrow. Read the previous entries right here:

• Plante part 1
• Plante part 2

Adirondack Aces

24-25 record: 59-14-9 (won Atkinson Cup)
24-25 leading scorers: Chris Kreider (82, 61-57-118), Kirill Kaprizov (75, 43-70-113), William Karlsson (70, 41-58-99), Roope Hintz (80, 36-61-97)
2025 draftees: Conor Geekie (22), Oliver Kapanen (44), Arttu Hyry (65), Angus Crookshank (88)
Key arrivals: Ryan Hartman, Cam Talbot
Key departures: Johnny Gaudreau, Jason Dickinson, Robby Fabbri, Brett Pesce, Semyon Varlamov
25-26 outlook: The Aces won their third title in four years. The question now is, how will the loss of one of its best players, Johnny Gaudreau, affect the team? Beyond that, both Drew Doughty and Kirill Kaprizov are expected to miss significant time to injuries, although the team seems to be deep enough to absorb those losses. It also seems unlikely that an aging Chris Kreider will be able to maintain his team-leading scoring pace. The eleventh-hour acquisition of Cam Talbot likely provides the team with its starting goaltender, but it’s a middling one. A noticeable drop-off from last year’s incredible team performance seems inevitable. Right? RIGHT?

Boston Banshees

24-25 record: 40-35-7 (lost in second round)
24-25 leading scorers: Robert Thomas (82, 24-65-89), Joe Pavelski (82, 27-33-60), Tage Thompson (71, 36-20-56), Zach Hyman (80, 38-16-54)
2025 draftees: Denton Mateychuk (15), Matthew Wood (32), Samuel Honzek (40), Brett Berard (41), Cam Lund (42), Aydar Suniev (56), Ryan Ufko (79)
Key arrivals: Mackie Samoskevich, Paul Cotter, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Sam Malinski, Scott Wedgewood
Key departures: Joe Pavelski, Philip Tomasino, Jordan Greenway, Mathieu Joseph, Roman Josi, Matthew Dumba, Jayden Struble, Timothy Liljegren, Justus Annunen
25-26 outlook: Perhaps sensing a lost year with significant injuries to Tyler Seguin and Anthony Mantha, Boston was quiet–by its standards–this offseason. By far the most notable move involved shipping out Roman Josi for picks, which doesn’t suggest a lot of confidence by management. Still, the team has some strengths: fine forwards like Robert Thomas and Tage Thompson, a well-rounded veteran defense, and a very good goaltending tandem in Ilya Sorokin and newly acquired Scott Wedgewood. It might be enough to keep the Banshees out of the basement, at least.

Clarington Coyotes

24-25 record: 19-55-8 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Seth Jarvis (73, 27-25-52), Nicolas Paul (82, 23-21-44), Moritz Seider (82, 3-40-43), Sean Walker (73, 9-26-35)
2025 draftees: Ivan Demidov (3), Luca Cagnoni (23), Kirill Kudryavtsev (45), Ivan Ivan (67)
Key arrivals: Marco Kasper, Hendrix Lapierre, Nick Perbix
Key departures: Jeff Carter, Blake Lizotte, Calvin de Haan, Elviz Merzlikins
25-26 outlook: Bad team is bad. But brighten up, Coyotes fans, because an image of a competitive team is slowly starting to come into view. An exciting young core has begun to form around Adam Fantilli, Seth Jarvis, Kirill Marchenko, and eventually Ivan Demidov up front. Dustin Wolf seems poised to take the starter’s net. Mo Seider and Alex Vlasic are fine defensement. Clarington likely isn’t coming out of the basement just yet, and is especially hobbled by poor defensive depth, but it should absolutely be better this year.

Delta Sturgeon

24-25 record: 32-45-5 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Nathan MacKinnon (82, 37-63-100), Nikita Kucherov (81, 37-55-92), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (80, 20-39-59), JJ Peterka (21-32-53)
2025 draftees: Artyom Levshunov (8), Sebastian Cossa (28), Nikolas Matinpalo (51), Adam Klapka (57), Gage Goncalves (62), Samuel Helenius (72), Raphael Lavoie (73)
Key arrivals: Frank Nazar, Alex Turcotte, Gage Goncalves, Roman Josi, Radko Gudas
Key departures: Kyle Palmieri, Jason Zucker, Paul Cotter, Josh Manson
25-26 outlook: How does a team with two of the league’s most talented scorers in Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov, a solid D featuring Jake Sanderson, Colton Parayko, and Esa Lindell, and a good starter in Jake Oettinger, finish near the bottom of the league? It was one of last season’s great mysteries. Nevertheless, the Sturgeon is banking on Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael to step up as meaningful contributors–enough that they shed some veteran scoring wingers in the offseason–and the D gets a big boost from veteran Roman Josi. This should have been a bubble team last year, but this season the team should be more than capable of seizing a comfortable playoff berth.

Farmington Fighting Saints

24-25 record: 51-27-4 (lost in third round)
24-25 leading scorers: JT Miller (81, 75-74-149), Mikko Rantanen (80, 40-88-128), Kevin Fiala (82, 51-69-120), Devin Toews (82, 16-58-74)
2025 draftees: Leevi Merilainen (20), Nikita Grebenkin (63)
Key arrivals: Alexey Toropchenko, Parker Wotherspoon, Leevi Merilainen
Key departures: Cole Smith, Ilya Samsonov
25-26 outlook: The Fighting Saints tick a lot of boxes, especially up front where the team can practically ice an entire 12-man forward corps of 20-goal guys, led by what was the most dangerous line in the GWMHL last season, JT Miller/Mikko Rantanen/Kevin Fiala. Beyond that embarrassment of riches, you’ve got a very good defense corps highlighted by Devon Toews, John Carlson, and Vince Dunn, and the selection of Leevi Merilainen in the draft adds some intriguing talent behind Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren. There are very few weaknesses here–this team’s a contender.

Hamilton Ti-Cats

24-25 record: 30-48-4 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Claude Giroux (82, 18-63-81), Travis Konecny (72, 47-29-76), Dylan Strome (82, 28-47-75), Cole Caufield (82, 20-34-54)
2025 draftees: Will Smith (5)
Key arrivals: Will Smith, Matthew Dumba, Jayden Struble, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Alexander Alexeyev
Key departures: Kevin Hayes, Michael McCarron, Jake Bean, TJ Brodie, Pierre-Olivier Joseph
25-26 outlook: The Ti-Cats seriously underperformed last season, in part because they were let down by poor goaltending. The hope is that Filip Gustavsson and Sam Montembeault get their mojo back this year, and the odds are good. Otherwise, the team has excellent depth up front, led by Cole Caufield, Dylan Strome, and Travis Konecny, to the point that one might call it overcrowded. Good vets are likely going to have to be healthy stretches to give everyone time. The defense will definitely continue to miss Roman Josi, though. Any team running the likes of Kaiden Guhle or Kevin Bahl on the second PP is in trouble. Despite that, a bounceback from the goalies will put Hamilton squarely in playoff bubble territory.

In the second part of our 2025-26 season previews, we take a look at the remaining teams in the Plante Conference. Read part 1 here.

Parry Sound Orrsmen

24-25 record: 37-42-3 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Auston Matthews (73, 70-33-103), David Pastrnak (82, 32-60-92), Matthew Boldy (73, 27-53-80), Connor McDavid (76, 24-53-77)
2025 draftees: Gabe Perreault (10), Jani Nyman (29), Maxim Tsyplakov (53), Ryan Greene (76)
Key arrivals: Maxim Tsyplakov, Lane Hutson, Simon Benoit, Dan Vladar
Key departures: Jesper Boqvist, Drew O’Connor, Mark Kastelic, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, John Klingberg, Erik Gustafsson
25-26 outlook: After years of struggling to find the right support for stars Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and David Pastrnak, some important things have fallen into place for the Orrsmen. They’ve steadily added depth on the wings, and last year’s arrival of Brock Faber, along with the upcoming debut of Lane Hutson, completely changes the complexion of the blueline, long a Parry Sound weakness. Last season was a disappointment, but McDavid, Pastrnak and supporting players like Rickard Rakell have much more to give than what they showed in 24-25. Goaltending let them down as well, and while Stuart Skinner has proven to be an unreliable starter, the hope is that Jake Allen and Joel Hofer can compensation. This team could find itself in a race for one of the last playoff spots, but there’s also a chance it cruises into the postseason with ease.

Pittsburgh Hornets

24-25 record: 39-35-8 (lost in second round)
24-25 leading scorers: Jason Robertson (82, 42-50-92), Quinn Hughes (82, 24-65-89), Evgeni Malkin (82, 26-59-85), Charlie Coyle (82, 34-42-76)
2025 draftees: Oliver Moore (14), Hunter Brzustewicz (36)
Key arrivals: Philip Tomasino, Aatu Raty
Key departures: Anthony Duclair, Sam Malinski, Lukas Dostal
25-26 outlook: The Hornets have done a good job shoring up the ranks to compensate for the slow decline of star Evgeni Malkin, with Marco Rossi and Pavel Dorofeyev the latest two to emerge as legit scoring options. That leaves the team with solid depth up front to go along with what continues to be one of the best bluelines in the business, led by Quinn Hughes and Victor Hedman. Pittsburgh was a bit let down by Andrei Vasilevskiy last season; if he rebounds they could make some noise. But with few significant roster changes, this team is a good bet to make the playoffs but might not have what it takes to truly separate it from the middle of the pack.

Salem Sabercats

24-25 record: 22-53-7 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Anze Kopitar (81, 26-31-57), Gustav Nyquist (81, 13-44-57), Bo Horvat (81, 22-21-43), Will Borgen (80, 2-38-40)
2025 draftees: Matvei Michkov (2), Owen Pickering (25), Zachary L’Heureux (37), Justin Hryckowian (47), Nolan Allan (69)
Key arrivals: Matt Coronato, Zachary L’Heureux, Nick Blankenburg
Key departures: Logan Couture, Dakota Joshua, Ondrej Palat, Torey Krug
25-26 outlook: When things finally fell apart for the once-mighty Sabercats, it happened in a big way: a bottom-three finish. The rebuild is officially on. Salem has some young pieces to help form the basis for a solid roster in a year or two, including Connor Zary, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Jack Quinn) but the addition of Matt Coronato and especially 2nd overall pick Matvei Michkov could be real difference-makers. The D is so-so at best, beyond Brandon Montour and Jake Walman, and the Kevin Lankinen/Pyotr Kochetkov tandem doesn’t inspire much confidence either. Salem is heading for another top pick.

South Side Renegades

24-25 record: 38-36-8 (lost in first round)
24-25 leading scorers: Brady Tkachuk (81, 38-43-81), Teuvo Teravainen (76, 25-51-76), Dylan Larkin (68, 28-36-65), Nico Hischier (71, 35-27-62)
2025 draftees: Dalibor Dvorsky (13), Maveric Lamoureux (35), Isaiah George (55), Oskar Back (78)
Key arrivals: Mitchell Chaffee, Isaiah George
Key departures: Sonny Milano, Conor Sheary
25-26 outlook: The South Side Renegades have excellent strengths and some glaring weaknesses. Starting with the good: players like Matthew Knies have helped to fill out the top of the lineup around the excellent centre depth of Dylan Larkin, Nico Hischier, Anthony Cirelli, and Mason McTavish, and Connor Hellebuyck and Joseph Woll could well be the best goaltending tandem in the league. On the flip side, the team lacks depth on the wings, especially on the right side where Kappo Kakko continues to flounder, and the the team has far too little offense from the blueline, beyond Seth Jones and (arguably) Vladislav Gavrikov. Not much has changed going into this season, so the Renegades remain squarely in the playoff bubble zone.

Winnipeg Falcons

24-25 record: 22-54-6 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Elias Pettersson (82, 41-61-102), Frank Vatrano (82, 38-48-86), Jamie Benn (82, 23-52-75), Adam Lowry (81, 12-21-33)
2025 draftees: Macklin Celebrini (1), Lian Bichsel (24), Jack Finley (46), Dennis Hildeby (68)
Key arrivals: Macklin Celebrini, Connor Brown, Morgan Barron, Lian Bichsel
Key departures: Marcus Johansson, Ben Chiarot, Joonas Korpisalo
25-26 outlook: It was a disastrous year for the Winnipeg Falcons, with one big silver lining: moving up one spot in the draft lottery enabled them to grab Macklin Celebrini. With questions surrounding Elias Pettersson’s ability to sustain his 100-point performance from last year and the inevitable decline of Jamie Benn, Celebrini projects to step right into a top-six role and may even be the 1C before you know it. The team has high hopes that Dylan Holloway can grow into a solid contributor, which would help as well. The D looks better these days, with Luke Hughes, Owen Power, and Dylan Samberg providing the depth they lacked for several years, and the Darcy Kuemper/Calving Pickard tandem in net should do fine. But the forward depth is likely going to be this team’s weakness and keep them far from playoff contention for at least another year.

A new GWMHL season is just days away. Draft picks have been made. Rosters have been finalized. Let’s take a look at what this season might have in store for all 22 teams, beginning with the six from the Plante Conference.

Baltimore Crab

24-25 record: 36-34-12 (lost in second round)
24-25 leading scorers: Sidney Crosby (82, 43-77-120), Filip Forsberg (82, 52-60-112), Jonathan Marchessault (82, 49-42-91), Cale Makar (77, 17-43-90)
2025 draftees: Sam Rinzel (12), Elias Pettersson (34), Max Sasson (60), Patrick Giles (81)Key arrivals: Mark Jankowski, Nikolai Kovalenko, Simon Edvinsson
Key departures: Jesper Fast
25-26 outlook: The Crab have a pretty strong top six, led by Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele, and Filip Forsberg, who all played a big part in sneaking this team into the playoffs and taking eventual finalist El Dorado to seven games, but it also lacks meaningful depth down the lineup. Secondary scoring could be this team’s Achilles heel. The goaltending tandem of Karel Vejmelka and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also comes with question marks. On the bright side, Simon Edvinsson is set to join the team’s blueline–fellow youngsters Simon Nemec and Sam Rinzel remain a year away–which should help the defense corps make up for the age-related declines of Ryan McDonagh and Brent Burns. Baltimore looks like a bubble team, short of some big midseason acquisitions.

Charleston Chiefs

24-25 record: 48-25-9 (lost in third round)
24-25 leading scorers: Jared McCann (80, 43-64-107), Brayden Point (81, 43-51-94) Brock Boeser (81, 44-44-88), Casey Mittelstadt (80, 19-45-64)
2025 draftees: Joel Blomqvist (18), Victor Mancini (50), Ville Ottavainen (61), Nikke Kokko (84)
Key arrivals: Timothy Liljegren, Joel Blomqvist
Key departures: Kevin Labanc, Troy Stecher, Philipp Grubauer
25-26 outlook: The Chiefs surprised many with last year’s performance, helped by its reliable stars (Kyle Connor, Brayden Point, Miro Heiskanen, and Adam Fox) but truly driven by career years from Jared McCann and Brock Boeser. Dumping Philipp Grubauer is probably addition by subtractions, but that also leaves the starter as the very, very shaky Alexandar Georgiev (Anthony Stolarz figures to be something of a 1B). Timothy Liljegren does help solidify the defense somewhat, but if McCann and Boeser fall off, Charleston won’t be able to outscore bad goaltending and may struggle to make the playoffs.

Denver Spurs

24-25 record: 33-41-8 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Matt Duchene (80, 40-59-99), Vladimir Tarasenko (76, 31-63-94), Morgan Rielly (72, 14-58-72), Evander Kane (77, 41-28-69)
2025 draftees: Fabian Lysell (30), Drew Commesso (52), Helge Grans (74)
Key arrivals: Joel Hanley, Josh Mahura, Keaton Middleton, Juustus Annunen
Key departures: Evander Kane, Scott Wedgewood
25-26 outlook: Cursed by perennial injuries to crucial players, the Spurs have struggled to mount consistent seasons in recent years. They also traded what would turn out to be the 4th overall pick to West Virginia–at least the player they got in return, Morgan Rielly, had an excellent point-per-game season. Still, losing Evander Kane (cut due to injury) and with Vladimir Tarasenko being able to repeat his 94-point performance seeming unlikely, a bounceback isn’t looking realistic. Too many middle-sixers, like J-G Pageau and Warren Foegele, will be asked to be load-bearing contributors. This team might be able to stay out of the bottom five, but a playoff spot would take a minor miracle unless Jordan Binnington turns in a performance for the ages.

El Dorado Lynx

24-25 record: 50-19-13 (lost in final)
24-25 leading scorers: Ryan O’Reilly (82, 31-54-85), William Nylander (82, 35-49-84), Clayton Keller (77, 46-30-76), Adrian Kempe (77, 25-46-71)
2025 draftees: Seamus Casey (21), Joakim Kemell (43), Ethan Cardwell (64), Aleksei Kolosov (75), Devin Kaplan (87)
Key arrivals: Lukas Dostal
Key departures: Andrew Cogliano, Nico Sturm, Erik Brannstrom, Jonathan Quick
25-26 outlook: The Lynx have pretty consistently been at or near the top of the conference in recent seasons, and they have one title to show for it. What once was unequivocally Alex Ovechkin’s team is now so deep on the wings that they’ll barely feel it if Ovi has a down year. Kenny Johnson, Jordan Kyrou, and Mason Marchment could all well end up in the bottom six. The team’s biggest weakness remains offensive punch from the blueline, with only Matthias Ekholm really able to chip in on that front. A serious injury to John Marino doesn’t help, either. Still… that winger depth. If Ryan O’Reilly and Mikael Granlund can be serviceable top-six centres and newcomer Lukas Dostal can adequately relieve Sergei Bobrovsky, there’s nothing to suggest that El Dorado won’t be vying for top seed yet again.

Great Lakes Pilots

24-25 record: 43-27-12 (lost in first round)
24-25 leading scorers: Evan Bouchard (81, 29-69-98), Lucas Raymond (82, 36-48-84), Connor Bedard (68, 30-53-83), Rasmus Dahlin (81, 30-53-83)
2025 draftees: Rutger McGroarty (16), Sam Colangelo (38), Albert Johansson (58), Georgii Merkulov (82)
Key arrivals: Cutter Gauthier, Jackson Blake, Mavrik Bourque, Sam Colangelo, Jacob Berner-Docker, Albert Johansson, Elvis Merzlikins
Key departures: Michael Carcone, Hendrix Lapierre
25-26 outlook: The Pilots were the feel-good story of last season, a scrappy young club that surprised everyone by climbing out of the cellar with the conference’s third-best record. Sure, the playoffs could have gone better, but it was still a big success and one that the Pilots would like to build on. The team’s looking solid at most positions now, and it’s about to get a serious injection of youth with Cutter Gauthier, Jackson Blake, and Mavrik Bourque all poised to join the roster. It remains to be seen if this team will get the kinds of performances it did last season, but bigger contributions from vets like Ryan Donato would go a long way. The only question mark, and it’s a big one, is in goal. Thatcher Demko is hurt. Devon Levi isn’t ready for primetime. In desperation, the team acquired Elvis Merzlikins to take the starter’s net. He’ll have to outperform his recent seasons to give Great Lakes a chance to take another step forward.

Hershey Bears

24-25 record: 26-46-10 (missed playoffs)
24-25 leading scorers: Brandon Hagel (82, 30-50-80), Adam Henrique (82, 17-45-62), Wyatt Johnston (82, 22-35-57), Brady Skjei (80, 20-32-52)
2025 draftees: Ryan Leonard (6), Noah Ostlund (26), Marc Del Gaizo (48), Andre Lee (70)
Key arrivals: Adam Gaudette, David Perron, Emil Andrae
Key departures: Nick Cousins, Mike Reilly
25-26 outlook: The Bears have bounced in and out of the playoff bubble over the years, boosted early by striking gold with Brandon Hagel and Carter Verhaeghe. The future is pretty bright, with Ryan Leonard set to join the team next year and Leo Carlsson ready to break out. For now, improving on last season will be a challenge: even though Joey Daccord brings some stability in goal, the team is staring down big injuries to three key players in Valeri Nichushkin, Boone Jenner, and Hampus Lindholm. Hershey probably isn’t a playoff-bound team this year.

The Winnipeg Falcons made Macklin Celebrini the first overall pick in the 2025 GWMHL Rookie Draft today. Celebrini, the expected top pick, may well step right onto the Falcons’ first line in the upcoming season after the team won the draft lottery. The Salem Sabercats picked Matvei Michkov at #2, Ivan Demidov went to the Clarington Coyotes at #3, and, with a pick they’d acquired last season from Denver, the West Virginia River Rats chose defenseman Zayne Parekh at #4. Will Smith rounded out the top five, going to the Hershey Bears.

The Adirondack Aces captured their third league title in four years last night, and they did it in thrilling fashion, beating the El Dorado Lynx in overtime in game 7 to take the Atkinson Cup.

Nick Bjugstad had scored to put the visiting Lynx up 3-2 early in the third, only for the Aces’ Chris Kreider to knot the score at 8:31 of the period. The 4-3 game winner came off the stick of Kirill Kaprizov 6:46 into OT. It was Kaprizov’s 12th goal of the postseason.

Adirondack had enjoyed another spectactular regular season, racking up 59 wins to El Dorado’s 50th. Still, the Lynx pushed the favored Aces to the absolute brink.

Congratulations to both teams for an exciting culmination of the 2024-25 GWMHL season!

Here it is. A clash of titans. The best team in the Sawchuk, the Adirondack Aces, will face the top seed in the Plante, the El Dorado Lynx, for the 2025 Atkinson Cup.

It’s a rematch of the 2023 final, which saw the Aces beat the Lynx in 6 for their second straight title. Now, the Aces look to return to championship glory.

(1) Adirondack Aces (59-14-9) vs. (1) El Dorado Lynx (50-19-13)

Head-to-head record: EDH won 2-0-0
Top regular season scorers:
ADI: Kreider (82, 61-57-118), Kaprizov (75, 43-70-113), Karlsson (70, 41-58-99), Hintz (80, 36-61-97)
EDH: O’Reilly (82, 31-54-85), Nylander (82, 35-49-84), Keller (77, 46-30-76), Kempe (77, 25-46-71)
Regular season goaltenders:
ADI: Varlamov (27, 2.80, .921), Tarasov (22, 2.85, .908), DeSmith (17, 3.45, .890), Soderblom (16, 3.26, .880)
EDH: Bobrovsky (58, 2.90, .909), Quick (24, 3.05, .905)

What is there left to say? Each team won their conference during the regular season, but Adirondack ended with 9 more wins and for good reason: they have a clear offensive advantage here, despite El Dorado boasting wonderful forward depth. The Aces had the best powerplay (although the Lynx’s PK was better), and while their goals against during the season were close, the Aces scored way more goals, averaging 5.3/game. They also have higher-impact defensemen, as demonstrated by Zach Werenski’s clutch OT winner to send Farmington packing in the conference final.

That’s not to say it’s fait accompli. The Aces had to work hard to move past the Fighting Saints, and most notably, the Lynx actually won both regular season matches between these teams: first in a 7-2 early-season drubbing at Adirondack, then a closer 4-3 win at home. Neither team is a stranger to high-pressure, winner-take-all situations. It should be a great series.

A new champion will be crowned thanks to San Jose’s elimination, and there’ll be no Cinderella stories these playoffs, as the top two seeds in the Plante and Sawchuk all move on to the conference finals.

(1) El Dorado Lynx (50-19-13) vs. (2) Charleston Chiefs (48-25-9)

Head-to-head record: CHA won 3-1-2
Top scorers:
EDH: O’Reilly (82, 31-54-85), Nylander (82, 35-49-84), Keller (77, 46-30-76), Kempe (77, 25-46-71)
CHA: McCann (80, 43-64-107), Point (81, 43-51-94), Boeser (81, 44-44-88), Mittelstadt (80, 19-45-64)
Goaltenders:
EDH: Bobrovsky (58, 2.90, .909), Quick (24, 3.05, .905)
CHA: Georgiev (36, 3.23, .896), Stolarz (27, 2.49, .927), Grubauer (19, 2.88, .900)

The Plante Conference’s top two seeds both made it through their first round matchups but you wouldn’t call either series a cakewalk as El Dorado took out Baltimore in 7 while Charleston ousted Pittsburgh in 6. There’s plenty of intrigue heading into this conference final.

The Lynx had the better overall record, yet the Chiefs won the season series, taking all three games at home (and scoring 18 goals along the way) and managing a couple of road ties. Charleston’s special teams were better than the Lynx’s, and while the Chiefs’ roster definitely lacks El Dorado’s excellent forward depth, it’s shown it has no trouble scoring. The Chiefs’ Adam Fox had 7 points in 6 games against Pittsburgh, and the Lynx don’t have a weapon like that on the back end, a couple of clutch goals from John Marino notwithstanding. William Nylander leads El Dorado in scoring so far this postseason, with 7 goals and 12 points. Shockingly, Alex Ovechkin has yet to record a goal.

As in the last round, Charleston will likely deploy Anthony Stolarz early in the hopes of getting a cushion in the series, then go to Philipp Grubauer. Stolarz was definitely better in his playoff appearances (.938 in three games), but Grubauer still managed to get the job done. Still, he’s a big step down from Sergei Bobrovksy, who overcame some tougher games to finish the last series strong and represents El Dorado’s single biggest edge in this series.

(1) Adirondack Aces (59-14-9) vs. (2) Farmington Fighting Saints (51-27-4)

Head-to-head record: ADI won 5-1-0
Top scorers:
ADI: Kreider (82, 61-57-118), Kaprizov (75, 43-70-113), Karlsson (70, 41-58-99), Hintz (80, 36-61-97)
FFS: Miller (81, 75-74-149), Rantanen (80, 40-88-128), Fiala (82, 51-69-120), Toews (82, 16-58-74)
Goaltenders:
ADI: Varlamov (27, 2.80, .921), Tarasov (22, 2.85, .908), DeSmith (17, 3.45, .890), Soderblom (16, 3.26, .880)
FFS: Lindgren (33, 3.50, .898), Thompson (29, 3.26, .894), Samsonov (20, 3.69, .896)

Are the Adirondack Aces stoppable? After an eye-opening regular season, which saw them score a ridiculous 436 goals — 5.3 per game — the Aces swept Boston and now only the Farmington Fighting Saints stand between them and a berth in the Atkinson Cup Final.

It says a lot about the greatness of the Aces’ season that they finished 21 points ahead of Farmington, since the Saints had an excellent season of their own, driven by league points leader JT Miller. Miller and his line with Kevin Fiala and Mikko Rantanen were huge in their win over defending champ San Jose, with Miller and Fiala each scoring 8 points in the deciding game alone. The Aces and Saints both have top-flight scoring depth, but shutting down that Miller/Fiala/Rantanen line, which has combined for 53 points so far in these playoffs, has got to be Adirondack’s #1 priority.

The Aces dominated the season series, with Farmington managing a 4-1 road win in the second quarter, but that’s not to say the Saints have no chance in this series. Adirondack will be forced to use a goalie platoon, and which they were able to outscore Casey DeSmith’s very shaky play (.864) in his two starts in the last round, there’s opening there to steal a couple of games. And while the Aces swept BOston, two of those wins came in OT — that series could easily have looked very different.

We’ve hit our first checkpoint on the road to the Atkinson Cup, as four teams — Ice Harbor, West Virginia, Great Lakes, and South Side — are eliminated, and top two seeds in each conference join the fray after taking a round off. Here’s how the four series in the conference semifinals look.

(1) Adirondack Aces (59-14-9) vs. (5) Boston Banshees (40-35-7)

Head-to-head record: ADI won 4-2-0
Top scorers:
ADI: Kreider (82, 61-57-118), Kaprizov (75, 43-70-113), Karlsson (70, 41-58-99), Hintz (80, 36-61-97)
BOS: Thomas (82, 24-65-89), Josi (82, 12-62-74), Pavelski (82, 27-33-60), Thompson (71, 36-20-56)
Goaltenders:
ADI: Varlamov (27, 2.80, .921), Tarasov (22, 2.85, .908), DeSmith (17, 3.45, .890), Soderblom (16, 3.26, .880)
BOS: Sorokin (45, 3.77, .886), Brossoit (23, 3.42, .903), Annunen (14, 2.34, .931)

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Adirondack had a ridiculously great season. They had by far the best record, their team boasted a 61-goal guy (Kreider), three with more than 40 (Kaprizov, Crouse, and Karlsson), and six skaters with 90 points or more. They had the league’s best powerplay (27.3%), their PK was in the top third of the league, they were the only team to eclipse 400 goals on the season AND they allowed the fewest goals in their conference. Look out for Lawson Crouse, especially: he wasn’t one of the team’s top point-getters, but 12 of his goals were game-winners.

It’s fair to say that the Banshees have their work cut out for them. What they have in their corner is momentum from a modest upset of the West Virginia River Rats in an efficient five games. And if they can prolong the series to seven games, they might even force the Aces to play one of their third- or fourth-string goalies, since neither Varlamov nor Tarasov are eligible to play in more than three games.

(2) Farmington Fighting Saints (51-27-4) vs. (3) San Jose Hosers (49-26-7)

Head-to-head record: FFS won 5-1-0
Top scorers:
FFS: Miller (81, 75-74-149), Rantanen (80, 40-88-128), Fiala (82, 51-69-120), Toews (82, 16-58-74)
SJH: Stamkos (79, 63-54-117), Marner (69, 46-63-109), Tavares (80, 40-52-92), Gostisbehere (81, 21-50-71)
Goaltenders:
FFS: Lindgren (33, 3.50, .898), Thompson (29, 3.26, .894), Samsonov (20, 3.69, .896)
SJH: Shesterkin (55, 3.41, .908), Forsberg (28, 5.02, .857)

Just one point separated these two teams in the standings, but that’s all it took: Farmington got the bye, San Jose got to warm up its postseason with a five-game elimination of Ice Harbor in the opening round. Although their records were close, Farmington dominated the season series, winning five of six and averaging an eye-popping 7 goals per game.

Yet, the Hosers are the defending champions, and likely have an edge in goal if Shesterkin is at the very top of his game. Likewise, while Farmington is very deep on paper, its actual offensive production was quite top-heavy; the key for the Hosers will be trying to contain Miller-Fiala-Rantanen in the hopes that the Saints’ secondary scoring doesn’t rise to the challenge.

(1) El Dorado Lynx (50-19-13) vs. (6) Baltimore Crab (36-34-12)

Head-to-head record: EDH won 4-1-1
Top scorers:
EDH: O’Reilly (82, 31-54-85), Nylander (82, 35-49-84), Keller (77, 46-30-76), Kempe (77, 25-46-71)
BAL: Crosby (82, 43-77, 120), Forsberg (82, 52-60-112), Marchessault (82, 49-42-91), Makar (77, 17-73-90)
Goaltenders:
EDH: Bobrovsky (58, 2.90, .909), Quick (24, 3.05, .905)
BAL: Luukkonen (37, 3.25, .907), Vejmelka (30, 3.46, .891), Ingram (15, 3.88, .884)

The Crab ended Great Lakes’ Cinderella season, and get the pleasure of facing the league’s second-best team. The Lynx were tied (with Charleston) for the fewest goals allowed in the regular season and had the third best penalty kill too. Their top scorers barely beat a point per game, but they have scoring power up and down their lineup (to the point that Ovechkin, with a respectable 70 points, didn’t even crack the team’s top 4 this season), and the team will no doubt ride Sergei Bobrovsky in the postseason. This is a scary opponent.

Baltimore, meanwhile, had the bigger scorers during the regular season, led by Crosby, Forsberg, and a white-hot Marchessault who already has 7 goals these plays, but the forward group is top heavy and lacks depth. Still, Baltimore has a major edge on the back end — the Lynx don’t have an offensive weapon on the blueline who can come anywhere close to Cale Makar. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen doesn’t have Bobrovsky’s pedigree, but he turned in a pretty good season and the Crab net is likely his to lose despite a somewhat shaky opening round (.876). This has a good chance to be a closer series than regular season records would suggest. Of note: three of El Dorado’s four wins against the Crab came in Baltimore, so that’s something to watch after the first two games.

(2) Charleston Chiefs (48-25-9) vs. (4) Pittsburgh Hornets (39-35-8)

Head-to-head record: CHA won 5-1-0
Top scorers:
CHA: McCann (80, 43-64-107), Point (81, 43-51-94), Boeser (81, 44-44-88), Mittelstadt (80, 19-45-64)
PIT: Robertson (82, 42-50-92), Hughes (82, 24-65-89), Malkin (82, 26-59-85), Coyle (82, 34-42-76)
Goaltenders:
CHA: Georgiev (36, 3.23, .896), Stolarz (27, 2.49, .927), Grubauer (19, 2.88, .900)
PIT: Swayman (35, 2.91, .897), Vasilevskiy (27, 4.01, .883)

The Hornets steamrolled the South Side Renegades in the first round’s only sweep, and that momentum gives this series some upset potential. Getting past the Chiefs will be tough: this is a team that had the fourth best powerplay and was tied for the top penalty kill during the regular season, got a career season out of Jared McCann, who was one of three 40-goal scorers on the team, has a strong D led by Adam Fox and Miro Heiskanen, and — oh yeah — totally dominated the season matchups between these two clubs.

Charleston is a really good team, but it also has some flaws that Pittsburgh may be able to exploit under the right circumstances. Its forward depth isn’t amazing. And while it was tied for the fewest goals against, but in this series, by far its best-performing goaltender (Anthony Stolarz) is only eligible to play 3 games, so Georgiev/Grubauer will really have to rise to the challenge. At the Pittsburgh end, Jeremy Swayman had a disappointing regular season but was scintillating (4gp, 1.50, .936) in round one. Plus, all those Charleston wins over Pittsburgh came in the first half of the season — 40+ games later, it might as well be a new season.