FIVE MINUTE MAJOR CHL playoffs and more.

It’s a new week in major junior hockey and each of the three leagues are gearing up for their respective league championship series.

The WHL will see the Medicine Hat Tigers take on the Spokane Chiefs while the OHL will see the London Knights take on the Oshawa Generals. The QMJHL will see the Moncton Wildcats taking on the Rimouski Océanic.

In other news, the WHL was set to conduct its 2025 Expansion Draft for the Penticton Vees, WHL Prospects Draft and WHL U.S. Priority Draft Wednesday and Thursday.

Staying in the WHL, forward Andrew Cristall of the Spokane Chiefs was awarded the WHL Player of the Month honor. The Washington Capitals prospect led all WHL skaters with 16 goals (including three game-winners) and 15 assists for 31 points in 11 games as the Spokane Chiefs inched closer to clinching a berth in the 2025 WHL Championship Series.

In addition to the WHL Player of the Month honor, it was announced he’s also received the Bob Clarke trophy as the top 2024-25 WHL scorer. The 20-year-old Capitals prospect led all WHL skaters with a standout 48 goals and 84 assists for 132 points in just 57 games with the Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets. Cristall’s accomplishments this season mark the second-highest point total of any WHL skater in the past decade, trailing only Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard who tallied 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in 57 regular season games in 2022-23 with the Regina Pats.

Going into the championship series with 20 goals, Cristall is tied for 13th among CHL postseason scorers since 2000. He sits alongside names such as Ty Rattie, Matthew Tkachuk and Jeff Skinner. The all-time goals record in the WHL playoffs is 24, so he’s just four games short of that.

Cristall will be facing off against the WHL’s latest Goaltender of the Month award winner Harrison Meneghin of the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL Championship Series. It’s the second straight month that Meneghin has been named WHL Goaltender of the Month, in addition to a win in January. He went undefeated for back-to-back months with an 8-0-0-0 record in April, a 2.65 goals-against average, a .882 save percentage and one shutout to help Medicine Hat reach its first WHL Championship Series since 2007.

Portland Winterhawks’ defenseman Tyson Jugnauth won the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy for WHL Defenseman of the Year. He’s the eighth Winterhawks skater and the first since Derrick Pouliot in 2014 to earn the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy. The 20-year-old led all WHL defensemen in scoring with 13 goals and 76 assists for 89 points in 65 games. His 89 points saw him finish second in scoring for Portland and 13th among all WHL skaters. The Kelowna, B.C. native also led the league with 35 powerplay assists.

In other news, it was announced as of next season CHL teams will be able to have three import players on their roster. With more imports on CHL rosters, the quality of play and competition level will only become greater.