FIVE MINUTE MAJOR CHL Top Ten and more.

It’s a new week in major junior hockey and with that comes the usual CHL top 10 rankings, players of the week and other news.

This week saw the Medicine Hat Tigers’ Gavin McKenna continue to make headlines as he was named WHL Player of the Week. This is the third time he’s received the weekly award this season in addition to Player of the Month wins for September/October and January.

McKenna paced all WHL players this past week with four goals and seven assists for 11 points in two games while continuing a historic point streak. With 37 goals and 84 assists for 121 points in 54 games, McKenna is hot on the tail of Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall for the lead in the WHL points race. He also leads all skaters in assists and plus/minus (54) and sits third among all CHL skaters in points.

The scary thing is he’s not eligible for the NHL Draft until 2026.

This week’s WHL goaltender of the week also came from the Eastern Conference as the Saskatoon Blades’ Evan Gardner received the award. It’s the second time this season the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has received the award after previously receiving it in November. He led all WHL goaltenders with a 3-0-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals-against average, a .964 save percentage and back-to-back shutouts to help the Blades keep pace in the East Division playoff race.

The WHL Rookie of the Week also came from Saskatoon as Cooper Williams received the honor for the second time this season. He led all WHL rookies with three goals and four assists for seven points and a +6 rating in four games. Like McKenna, Williams is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.

In other WHL news, the postponed Seattle Thunderbirds at Tri-City Americans game has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 23 at 4:05 p.m. PST. This comes after it was postponed due to the scary injury to Tri-City defenseman Terrell Goldsmith in a fight.

The WHL and OHL both led the CHL with four teams each in this week’s CHL top 10 while the QMJHL checked in with two. For the QMJHL, the Moncton Wildcats remained at the top spot while this year’s Memorial Cup host, the Rimouski Océanic checked in at three.

In the OHL the London Knights remain in the second spot with the Kitchener Rangers at six, Brantford Bulldogs at eight and the Windsor Spitfires at 10.

In the WHL, McKenna’s Tigers checked in at four while the Everett Silvertips slid in at five and the Spokane Chiefs at seven with the Calgary Hitmen at nine.

With the Victoria Royals 5-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers Tuesday night, the Seattle Thunderbirds clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL’s Western Conference. Earlier this week before Seattle clinched, the Wenatchee Wild were eliminated from playoff contention. It’s the first time in franchise history across three junior leagues Wenatchee has missed the playoffs as they complete their second season in the WHL.