May 3—Most of the Spokane Chiefs players were still in diapers the last time the organization reached the Western Hockey League finals in 2008. Five had not been born yet.
Just six seasons after his long and distinguished playing career ended, Brad Lauer was in his second season as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. General Manager Matt Bardsley was in his second season as director of player personnel with the Portland Winterhawks, who the Chiefs dispatched last week in four games in the Western Conference championship.
There are just five left from the front office that was with the team during that run.
In fact, the only constants the Chiefs have had in both of their championship runs is owner Bobby Brett and chief marketing officer Dave Pier, hired by Brett shortly after he bought the team.
So, it’s been a minute.
But that’s the nature of Major Junior hockey. As a development league, players, coaches and executives change all the time. What doesn’t change is the name on the front of the jersey.
Folks in Spokane know how long it’s been.
As Vin Scully used to say, “it’s interesting to note” that the Chiefs’ first WHL championship came in 1991 and the second was in 2008 — 17 years apart. It’s now 2025. Could karma be catching back up to the Chiefs 17 years later?
Why not?
The team is explosive and deep on offensive with an experienced goaltender and veteran coaching staff. So far in the playoffs they’ve been held to fewer than four goals just three times in 15 games. The sweep over Portland wasn’t easy by any means, but the Chiefs did score 10, six, eight and six goals in the four games — winning games both by blowout and overtime.
“We’ve talked about it all year long,” Lauer said Thursday after beating Portland in Game 4. “You don’t win championships, you don’t win consistently with with just one guy or one line of guys. We talked about that right from Day 1 in training camp — the importance of having depth, the importance of everybody playing the right way, doing the right things.”
The current version of the Chiefs have gone from a 15-win team two years ago to being on the verge of playing for a title. The coaching change last offseason might have been what put them over the hump.
“It’s a credit to our kids. We talked to them in training camp when we came in here as a staff,” Lauer said. “We were all brand new. No one knew each other. But when we gave them what we wanted as a coaching staff, what the demands were, and what we wanted, and how we wanted to play … they embraced that. They embraced this challenge all year.”
Chiefs captain Berkly Catton was a rookie on the 15-win team.
“It’s been a process, for sure,” he said. “You know, new management, new people, new players and such, have allowed us to kind of take that next step. … We’ve all wanted this. We’ve been through the tough times to get to here, and we’ve realized how much it (hurts) to not be a good team. And now we’re really cherishing this, being a good team and having a chance to do some damage.”
Lauer knows that teams like this don’t come around all the time. He also knows most coaches don’t have the luxury of a first-round NHL draft pick (Catton), WHL points leader (Andrew Cristall) and WHL goal scoring leader (Shea Van Olm) all on the same team.
“As a coach, anytime you can be still be playing in May, especially in our league, you’re doing something right,” he said. “To see them grow as a group, as individuals, through the year, and then to get to a point where we are right now is, it’s very satisfying as a coach. I mean, our work isn’t done yet, by no means. But as a coach, it’s very rewarding to see these kids have success.”
The next round isn’t going to be easy. The Eastern Conference champion Medicine Hat Tigers are coming off a sweep of their own, and have enough offensive firepower to rival the Chiefs. The Tigers have scored four or more goals in 11 of their 13 playoff games, including all four games of their sweep over Lethbridge.
The top three overall scorers in this playoffs match the top three in the regular season: Cristall, Catton and Medicine Hat’s Gavin McKenna, who is widely expected to the first overall NHL draft pick in 2026. McKenna finished second in the WHL between Cristall and Catton with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 regular season games and broke a 19-year-old record for points in consecutive games, scoring in 51 straight.
It also doesn’t help that the Chiefs have to start the series on the road, with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday in eastern Alberta. But if the Chiefs can steal a win at Co-op Place over the weekend, Games 3, 4 and 5 are back at the Arena next week.
This is the last go-around for this group. Catton and Cristall will most likely be playing pro somewhere in the fall. Van Olm is graduating, as is defenseman Brayden Crampton and versatile forward Rasmus Ekström. That’s one-fifth of the roster — and the Chiefs top five scorers.
Bardsley, when he was introduced as GM in 2022, stated his goals for the organization rather succinctly.
“We certainly want to have championship banners, and we want to have players and coaches and staff to have success moving on. We want (Spokane) to be a destination of choice.”
Step 1 — winning the Western Conference championship — is out of the way.
Greatness is now within reach. Achieve that, and a chance at legend status would follow.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but we know that’s not true. It’s happened twice for the Chiefs, 17 years apart. Now, another 17 years later, a bunch of kids who were still in diapers the last time could make it happen again.
Why not?
Most of the Spokane Chiefs players were still in diapers the last time the organization reached the Western Hockey League finals in 2008. Five had not been born yet.
Just six seasons after his long and distinguished playing career ended, Brad Lauer was in his second season as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. General Manager Matt Bardsley was in his second season as director of player personnel with the Portland Winterhawks, who the Chiefs dispatched last week in four games in the Western Conference championship.
There are just five left from the front office that was with the team during that run.
In fact, the only constants the Chiefs have had in both of their championship runs is owner Bobby Brett and chief marketing officer Dave Pier, hired by Brett shortly after he bought the team.
So, it’s been a minute.
But that’s the nature of Major Junior hockey. As a development league, players, coaches and executives change all the time. What doesn’t change is the name on the front of the jersey.
Folks in Spokane know how long it’s been.
As Vin Scully used to say, “it’s interesting to note” that the Chiefs’ first WHL championship came in 1991 and the second was in 2008 – 17 years apart. It’s now 2025. Could karma be catching back up to the Chiefs 17 years later?
Why not?
The team is explosive and deep on offensive with an experienced goaltender and veteran coaching staff. So far in the playoffs they’ve been held to fewer than four goals just three times in 15 games. The sweep over Portland wasn’t easy by any means, but the Chiefs did score 10, six, eight and six goals in the four games – winning games both by blowout and overtime.
“We’ve talked about it all year long,” Lauer said Thursday after beating Portland in Game 4. “You don’t win championships, you don’t win consistently with with just one guy or one line of guys. We talked about that right from Day 1 in training camp – the importance of having depth, the importance of everybody playing the right way, doing the right things.”
The current version of the Chiefs have gone from a 15-win team two years ago to being on the verge of playing for a title. The coaching change last offseason might have been what put them over the hump.
“It’s a credit to our kids. We talked to them in training camp when we came in here as a staff,” Lauer said. “We were all brand new. No one knew each other. But when we gave them what we wanted as a coaching staff, what the demands were, and what we wanted, and how we wanted to play … they embraced that. They embraced this challenge all year.”
Chiefs captain Berkly Catton was a rookie on the 15-win team.
“It’s been a process, for sure,” he said. “You know, new management, new people, new players and such, have allowed us to kind of take that next step. … We’ve all wanted this. We’ve been through the tough times to get to here, and we’ve realized how much it (hurts) to not be a good team. And now we’re really cherishing this, being a good team and having a chance to do some damage.”
Lauer knows that teams like this don’t come around all the time. He also knows most coaches don’t have the luxury of a first-round NHL draft pick (Catton), WHL points leader (Andrew Cristall) and WHL goal scoring leader (Shea Van Olm) all on the same team.
“As a coach, anytime you can be still be playing in May, especially in our league, you’re doing something right,” he said. “To see them grow as a group, as individuals, through the year, and then to get to a point where we are right now is, it’s very satisfying as a coach. I mean, our work isn’t done yet, by no means. But as a coach, it’s very rewarding to see these kids have success.”
The next round isn’t going to be easy. The Eastern Conference champion Medicine Hat Tigers are coming off a sweep of their own, and have enough offensive firepower to rival the Chiefs. The Tigers have scored four or more goals in 11 of their 13 playoff games, including all four games of their sweep over Lethbridge.
The top three overall scorers in this playoffs match the top three in the regular season: Cristall, Catton and Medicine Hat’s Gavin McKenna, who is widely expected to the first overall NHL draft pick in 2026. McKenna finished second in the WHL between Cristall and Catton with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 regular season games and broke a 19-year-old record for points in consecutive games, scoring in 51 straight.
It also doesn’t help that the Chiefs have to start the series on the road, with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday in eastern Alberta. But if the Chiefs can steal a win at Co-op Place over the weekend, Games 3, 4 and 5 are back at the Arena next week.
This is the last go-around for this group. Catton and Cristall will most likely be playing pro somewhere in the fall. Van Olm is graduating, as is defenseman Brayden Crampton and versatile forward Rasmus Ekström. That’s one-fifth of the roster – and the Chiefs top five scorers.
Bardsley, when he was introduced as GM in 2022, stated his goals for the organization rather succinctly.
“We certainly want to have championship banners, and we want to have players and coaches and staff to have success moving on. We want (Spokane) to be a destination of choice.”
Step 1 – winning the Western Conference championship – is out of the way.
Greatness is now within reach. Achieve that, and a chance at legend status would follow.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but we know that’s not true. It’s happened twice for the Chiefs, 17 years apart. Now, another 17 years later, a bunch of kids who were still in diapers the last time could make it happen again.
Why not?
