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.