FIVE MINUTE MAJOR CHL Top Ten and more.

It’s a new week and that means more player honors, CHL top 10 rankings and more.

This week in the CHL, the London Knights once again finished at the top spot as they continue to show dominance. Three other OHL teams joined the Knights as the Kitchener Rangers slid in at four, Windsor Spitfires at eight and Barrie Colts at nine.

In the QMJHL, the Moncton Wildcats checked in at the two spot and the Rimouski Océanic at the three spot.

The WHL saw the Spokane Chiefs check in at six, Calgary Hitmen at seven and Medicine Hat Tigers at 10.

Remaining in the WHL’s Western Conference, the Victoria Royals made headlines. Alternate captain for the Royals, Cole Reschny was named the WHL Player of the Week. He paced all WHL skaters with four goals and seven assists for 11 points in four games.

The Royals stayed in the news cycle with the WHL Goaltender of the Week. The Royals newcomer went 2-0-0-0 this week with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.

Hicks is 6-2-0-0 with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage since joining the Royals on January 3, 2025, from the BCHL’s Brooks Bandits.

The WHL Rookie of the Week came from the US Division. Savin Virk of the Tri-City Americans received the honor as he tallied three goals and four assists for seven points in three games to lead all first-year players.

It was also announced on Tuesday that former Kelowna Rockets head coach Kris Mallette had been hired by the OHL’s Erie Otters as their next head coach. He was let go by Kelowna back on Jan. 10.

In other CHL news, there were 29 CHL alumni set to take part in the 4 Nations Face-off. Canada led all countries taking part with 20 CHL alumni members, followed by Finland with four, the United States with three and Sweden with two.

With a tournament-high 20 CHL graduates, Canada will aim to win a seventh championship title at what will be their ninth time participating in an NHL international tournament.

The CHL is the only development league in the world to feature at least two alumni on each country participating in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off. In total, there are 14 graduates hailing from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), 11 from the Western Hockey League (WHL), and four from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) participating in the event.

While there are obviously other leagues out there that develop players well, the CHL continued to show its strength with Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-off. All 13 forwards and three goaltenders on Team Canada developed through the CHL.

Four CHL alumni taking part in the tournament have won a Memorial Cup. This includes Nathan MacKinnon with Halifax in 2013, Anthony Cirelli with Oshawa in 2015 and Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk with London in 2016.

A total of 14 players taking part in the tournament have won the Stanley Cup. Two of those include captains Sidney Crosby and Mark Stone. Speaking of Crosby, the QMJHL announced on Tuesday that the MVP trophy would be named after him.