FIVE MINUTE MAJOR It’s a new week in major junior hockey and things are rolling right along.

The Western Hockey League (WHL) and Spokane Chiefs continue to make positive headlines.

It was announced Monday, Oct. 7 that the Chiefs’ Shea Van Olm had been named the player of the week.

Van Olm has brought championship caliber experience to this Chiefs team after winning the WHL’s Ed Chynoweth Cup with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2021-22 season.

Over the weekend he helped push the Chiefs to a pair of wins with four goals and three assists for a league-leading seven points,

Van Olm leads Spokane and the entire WHL in points and sits second in goals, just one behind top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Roger McQueen of the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The WHL Cup is coming up and will run from Wednesday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Peavey Mart Centrium, home of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. But the WHL Cup doesn’t involve WHL teams. The tournament will feature teams from the four Western Canadian provinces competing in a round-robin tournament format followed by playoffs. Those teams will include the top 2009-born players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

The WHL Cup was established in 2009 and is held every season except in years when the Canada Winter Games happen. It’s the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence for players.

Team Alberta features seven players taken in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft while Team Manitoba is the defending WHL Cup Champion. This year’s rosters have been announced and can be found at the following link: 2024_WHL-Cup_Rosters-v2.pdf (chl.ca)

Tickets for the WHL Cup will be available for purchase at the door – $45 for a tournament pass or $10 for a day pass.

This week we’ve had a lot of WHL action and will continue to throughout the week. The Everett Silvertips and Spokane Chiefs are making Eastern Conference trips, and the Portland Winterhawks are doing the double dip in Prince George. There are a handful of other games as well. Teams took to the ice Tuesday and Wednesday before having a day off on Thursday.

Everett, Prince George, Spokane, Portland and Victoria held the top five spots in the WHL’s Western Conference going into Wednesday night’s slate of games. In the Eastern Conference, the Saskatoon Blades, Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Regina Pats sat in the top five going into Wednesday night’s slate of games.

The CHL vs. USA National Team Development Program top prospects challenge is set for Tuesday, Nov. 26 in London, Ontario and Wednesday, Nov. 27 in Oshawa, Ontario.

As per usual after each week of play, the CHL’s Top 10 rankings are out. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) checks in with four teams. The Brampton Steelheads sit at one, the Saginaw Spirit sit at five, the Niagara Ice Dogs at eight and the London Knights at 10. The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) checked in with three teams with the Moncton Wildcats leading the way for them at number three. The Sherbrooke Phoenix sit at four and this year’s Memorial Cup host, the Rimouski Oceanic sit at six. In the WHL, they matched the QMJHL with three teams. The Prince George Cougars sit at three, Red Deer Rebels at seven and Medicine Hat Tigers at nine.