The Victoria Royals are driving into the Elite Eight of the Western Hockey League playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
But with how much gas left in the tank?
It took every bit of sweat and sinew the Royals had to outlast the Vancouver Giants over seven gruelling games in the first round. They earned a two-day turnaround before facing the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference semifinals, beginning Friday and Saturday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Americans are well rested. They haven鈥檛 played since March 29, after sweeping the talent-laden sa国际传媒 Division-champion Kelowna Rockets 4-0. That is an impressive achievement, considering the Rockets boasted a roster that included future NHLers Dillon Dub茅, Kole Lind and Cal Foote.
Tri-City, however, also has a roster that is none too shabby. It includes four players selected in the first four rounds of the 2017 NHL draft 鈥� including first-rounders Michael Rasmussen, ninth overall to the Detroit Red Wings, and defenceman Juuso Valimaki, 16th overall to the Calgary Flames.
There is also third-round Carolina Hurricanes selection Morgan Geekie, who had a torrid nine goals and 13 points in the four playoff games against the Rockets, and fourth-round Anaheim Ducks pick Kyle Olson.
The Americans鈥� depth extends to blueline star Dylan Coghlan of Nanaimo, who is signed to a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and forward Jordan Topping from Salt Spring Island, who scored 38 goals in the regular season.
鈥淚f the Americans are healthy and rested, as they seem to be, they are a formidable opponent,鈥� Royals GM Cameron Hope said.
鈥淭eams in our league are used to playing a lot. It maybe means a little more in this case for us because of not only how long our series was against Vancouver, but how physical it was. There was a lot of attrition. We鈥檒l see how our team responds in the first two games [against Tri-City].鈥�
The injury-depleted Royals survived the Giants series without Victoria鈥檚 top two centres 鈥� all-time franchise scoring and points leader Tyler Soy and St. Louis Blues-signed Tanner Kaspick 鈥� and top-pairing defenceman and third-round Montreal Canadiens draft pick Scott Walford. Also out was useful checking forward Dino Kambeitz.
鈥淚t was perseverance that got us through it,鈥� Hope said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a possibility of seeing a couple of our injured players back in this series against the Americans, but I鈥檓 not sure when.鈥�
In other words, Royals fans, don鈥檛 hold your breath waiting for Soy, Kaspick, Walford and Kambeitz, at least for this weekend. The third and fourth games are Tuesday and Wednesday in Kennewick, Washington.
The Americans had the opposite problem.
A trendy pre-season pick to win the Western Conference, Tri-City suffered through long stretches of injuries to key players, and performed well below expectations in the regular season. But their 85 points was still better than Victoria鈥檚 84.
The Royals get home-ice advantage in the series because they were seeded higher in the sa国际传媒 Division at No. 2 than the wildcard Americans were at No. 4 in the much tougher and deeper U.S. Division.
Hope touched on the achievement of the Royals never missing the post-season in their seven years of playing on the Island, and of getting to the second round four of the past five seasons.
鈥淲e pride ourselves in being a playoff team each year. With the parity in the league, it鈥檚 hard to get into the final eight,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut nobody really remembers any except the two teams that made it to the championship final. We still have to get over that hurdle.鈥�
ICE CHIPS: Royals captain Matthew Phillips, who simply carried the team on his slender shoulders, set the franchise record for most points in a single playoff series with 16 against the Giants. 鈥� Under GM Hope and owner Graham Lee, the Royals have earned a reputation as among the classiest organizations in the WHL. That class was displayed after Game 7 in the Memorial Centre, when the three stars were announced as the Giants鈥� graduating 20-year-olds Ty Ronning, Brennan Riddle and Darian Skeoch. That was a nice touch in a league in which the three stars are often laughably homerish in most rinks.
