The Tri-City Americans and Swift Current Broncos have both reached the Western Hockey League’s final four, but the teams — both of which feature a pair of players with connections to the Cowichan Valley — have taken very different routes.
The Americans have swept both their first- and second-round series, beating the Kelowna Rockets in the conference quarterfinals and the Victoria Royals in the semifinals.
The Tri-City roster includes Jordan Topping, who grew up on Saltspring Island but played minor hockey in the Cowichan Valley and spent a season with the junior A Capitals, and Dylan Coghlan, who was born in Duncan and grew up in Nanaimo.
Topping had a goal and two assists for the Americans in the three-game series, while Coghlan scored three goals and set up three others, was a plus-11, and had 16 shots on goal.
The Americans will face the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference final series starting Friday.
Both of the Broncos’ first two series have gone to seven games, including their first-round win over the Regina Pats and their second-round win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Broncos roster includes Josh Anderson, who grew up in Lake Cowichan and Duncan and played minor hockey in the CVMHA, and Jacson Alexander, who played bantam hockey at Shawnigan Lake School.
Swift Current closed out the conference semifinal series against Moose Jaw with a convincing 6-0 win on Monday. The tight series included games that went to overtime, double overtime, and triple overtime.
Anderson had one assist in the series, while Alexander was held off the scoresheet.
The Broncos will take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Easter Conference final series starting Friday.
Jordan Topping’s younger brother, Kyle, meanwhile, climbed in the official prospect rankings for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft on June 22 and 23. Kyle was ranked 64th among North American skaters in the midseason rankings, but rose to 59th when the final list was announced on Wednesday.
A 5-foot-11, 180-pound centre, Kyle had 65 points (22 goals and 43 assists) and 56 penalty minutes in 2017-18, his second season in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets, who were eliminated by Jordan’s Americans. Before moving to the WHL in 2016-17, Kyle played a year with the junior A Caps.
