We recently took a look at how the rookies have fared with the Hurricanes this season. Now, in light of the season ending for several midget teams this week, I’d like to check in on how some of the future prospects have been looking.

A Brandon victory over Regina last night officially put the playoffs out of the reach, leaving the Lethbridge Hurricanes looking to play the role of spoiler against the teams jostling for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The opponent this afternoon, the Edmonton Oil Kings, currently hold down top spot in the conference, but have been feeling the heat lately from the hard charging Moose Jaw Warriors. In their first game since since being officially eliminated, the Hurricanes have a chance to do their former captain a favour by stealing a couple of points in Edmonton.

No change to the Hurricanes’ line-up for this game, with both Albin Blomqvist and Craig Leverton still sidelined by upper body injuries. Damien Ketlo gets the start in goal.

It’s no secret that the Lethbridge Hurricanes, beginning to emerge from a rebuild, have relied a great deal on the performance of rookies this season. Nine first year players have been regulars in the line-up for the Hurricanes this season, and we’ve seen some good performances from that cohort. Since these players are going to become the core of the team in the next couple of seasons, I thought it would be interesting to look at the impact of Hurricanes’ rookies vis-à-vis vis those of other WHL teams this season.

As a review, here are the offensive numbers for the Hurricane rookies (and affiliate players) as of today, February 23:

The Hurricanes head out to Saskatoon for a one game road trip and the last of four meetings with the Blades this season. The Blades come into the game with a decimated defensive corps, only able to dress four healthy defencemen for this game. For the Hurricanes, both Craig Leverton and Albin Blomqvist are the scratches with upper body injuries. Damien Ketlo gets the start in goal, looking for wins in consecutive starts.

What happened

Tonights game faces Damien Ketlo holding off 45 saves in his previous sting against his former teammates as he gave the Canes the win on that night. The Pats lead the season series by one with the Canes in the hunt to even that up. The Canes should enter tonights game with confidence and after a strong performance in a loss that came down to the opposing teams Goaltender shutting them down on too many chances to count. That marked the second gutsy effort in a row and signs that the lack of effort that had marked a string of games may be coming to an end.

What happened

The Hurricanes went into battle against the Brandon Wheat Kings riding a solid effort and hard earned win against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Canes looked to keep the momentum going and show some heart as they head into the seasons final games.

What happened

Whenever someone mentions the name Dwight King, all sorts of good Hurricane memories come to mind for me. The big forward was a fourth overall bantam pick of the Hurricanes in 2004 (their highest pick ever, I believe, until drafting Jay Merkley and Ryan Pilon third overall in 2010 and 2011, respectively).

In 273 regular season games in a Hurricane uniform King tallied 79 goals and 189 points, adding nine more goals and 22 points in 40 playoff games. One moment that particularly stands out in my memory is an overtime goal he scored against the Kootenay Ice on April 5, 2008, preventing the Ice from taking a 2-0 series lead. The Hurricanes won the next three games to finish off the Ice in five before sweeping the Calgary Hitmen in the conference finals.

After a couple of disappointing losses on home ice, the Hurricanes looked to get back on the winning track against the conference’s worst team tonight. The Prince Albert Raiders may occupy the eastern conference basement, but thay have had the Hurricanes’ number this season, winning 5-2 in Prince Albert back in November and 6-3 here in Lethbridge just a couple of weeks ago. With only four points between the two teams, the ‘Canes would like to gain a little more ground to avoid the dubious distincation of finishing 12th.

What happened

Back at the Enmax after falling short in an incomplete effort against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night, the Hurricanes sought redemption against the Saskatoon Blades, a team fighting for position in the upper half of the WHL’s eastern conference standings.

Damien Ketlo gets his fourth consecutive start in goal, while the two imports, Juraj Bezuch and Albin Blomqvist get the night off as scratches.

What happened