By Scott Fisher /

The WHL season is well underway and the quest for the Memorial Cup continues to heat up. Here’s a run-down of what’s going on with every Western League Club. For all the latest news on the WHL, check out hockeynow.ca’s daily updates.

EAST DIVISION

Saskatoon Blades
It took them a while to get straightened out, but the Blades are arguably the league’s best team.
The Blades won all four games on their recent road trip, outscoring their opposition 18-6.
Saskatoon added tough guy Randy McNaught, who leads the league in penalty minutes, from the Chilliwack Bruins.

Brandon Wheat Kings
The Wheaties are hoping to find a cure for what ails on the road.
Coming off a lacklustre 6-5-1 start, the Wheat Kings have ventured out on a season-long seven-game road trip.
Goaltender Jacob De Serres was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds for 17-year-old rookie Brendan Rouse.

Moose Jaw Warriors
It’s been quite a turnaround for the Tribe.
The WHL’s worst team a year ago, the Warriors have been shooting the lights out as they’ve kept pace with the elite clubs this season.
Overage forward Jason Bast ripped up the opposition for 13 goals in the first dozen tilts.

Swift Current Broncos
A 6-5-1 start has the Broncos right in the mix in the tough Eastern Division.
Centre Justin Dowling, 18, has led the charge offensively with 15 points through the first 12 games.
Former Red Deer Rebels goaltender Morgan Clark is off to a good start with a 4-2-1 record between the pipes.

Regina Pats
With big guns like Jordan Eberle and Jordan Weal, the Pats obviously have enough firepower to get the job done.
Now if they could just keep the puck out of their own net.
Regina surrendered 14 goals in a pair of recent losses to Moose Jaw and Calgary.

Prince Albert Raiders
The Raiders are happy to be back in the country after picking up just one win on their five-game road trip through the U.S. Division.
They’ll get a chance to turn things around with a five-game homestand, which includes a pair against division rival Regina.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Calgary Hitmen
The Hitmen took it on the chin as they absorbed a 5-1 beating from the Saskatoon Blades on home ice.
But they got all-star goaltender Martin Jones (ankle) back. Jones, who missed seven games, posted a 6-5 win over Portland to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Backup Michael Snider proved himself during Jones’ absence, going 4-2 with a 2.48 GAA and .914 save percentage.

Medicine Hat Tigers
The Tigers won’t appear determined not to surrender top spot in the division.
A three-game winning streak, during which they filled the net with 18 goals, has the Bengals alongside the Hitmen as top dogs in the Central Division.
Defenceman Mark Isherwood tallied six goals and 14 points through 12 games.

Edmonton Oil Kings
The Oil Kings are starting to come back to earth.
A 4-0 shutout at the hands of the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Oct. 18 was Edmonton’s third loss in its past four games.
But at 6-5-2, they were just a couple of points out of top spot in the division.

Red Deer Rebels
The Rebels clawed their way back to the .500 mark with three straight home victories at the Centrium.
RW Willie Coetzee has been on fire, scoring at least a point in every October game — 17 points in seven tilts.
And G Darcy Kuemper has been solid, surrendering eight goals in the trio of wins.

Kootenay Ice
It’s difficult to figure out the Ice these days.
They’re just 2-5 in their last seven, but one of those wins was a 7-3 pounding of the powerful Wheat Kings 
in Brandon.
The special teams definitely need a tuneup with the powerplay (16th) and penalty killing (19th) struggling.

Lethbridge Hurricanes
With one win in their last five games, the Canes are in danger of falling off the pace in the Eastern Conference.
They’re averaging 23.2 penalty minutes a game — third highest in the league.
The penalty kill has been solid, but constantly being a man down takes a toll on 
the offence.

B.C. DIVISION

Vancouver Giants
The G-Men are back in familiar territory — in first place.
LW Craig Cunningham has picked up points in 11 of the club’s 13 games.
The Giants have also killed off a league-best 92.5% of their penalties.

Kamloops Blazers
A 12-5 loss to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Thanksgiving Monday took some of the air out of the Blazers’ sails.
Two games later, they gave up eight goals in a loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
They’ll need to shore up the defensive end — and quick.

Kelowna Rockets
Back-to-back home losses to Everett and Tri-City leaves the defending WHL champs in the middle of the pack in the B.C. Division.
Rookie RW Shane McColgan leads all WHL freshmen with 16 points through his first 11 contests.
The Rockets kick off a four-game homestand Oct. 28.

Chilliwack Bruins
The Bruins don’t seem to mind working overtime.
They’ve already went to extra time on four occasions, splitting a pair of OT clashes with Medicine Hat and losing two shootouts.
Ryan Howse and rookie Chris Collins have been bright spots. They’re a combined plus-16 through the first dozen games.

Prince George Cougars
The Cats are have run into injury problems — none bigger than the hip ailment that has sidelined super sophomore Brett Connolly.
The Cougars have lost all four games they’ve played without the reigning CHL rookie of the year.
With two 20-year-olds also out, Prince George acquired overage LW Del Cowan from the Brandon Wheat Kings.

U.S. DIVISION

Tri-City Americans
When Brendan Shinnimin hits the scoresheet, he tends to get carried away.
The league’s top scorer has eight multiple-point outings, including five games with at least three points.
Adam Hughesman is tied for the league-lead with three game-winning goals.

Everett Silvertips
The Silvertips have played less games than any other team in the league.
Turns out, that was good news for the rest of the teams as the ’Tips have gone 6-2-0 in their eight tilts.
Radko Gudas is tops in the WHL with a plus/minus of plus-16.

Portland Winterhawks
The Hawks have lost three of four after surging to an impressive 7-2-0 start.
But the Hawks have clearly turned the corner after a couple of disasterous seasons.
Rookie Ty Rattie has shown signs of being a future star in the league.

Spokane Chiefs
Thanks to three wins and a loss over a nine-day stretch, the Chiefs are keeping pace with the big dogs.
Levko Koper and Calgary Flames pick Mitch Wahl are averaging better than a point per game and goaltender James Reid has posted a 2.86 GAA.

Seattle Thunderbirds
A 4-2 win over the last-place Prince George Cougars brought an end to a four-game slide.
But the T-Birds have to start scoring some goals before they get left behind.
Twenty-three goals in 11 games just isn’t going to cut it, no matter how good G Calvin Pickard is.