The WHL needs to reduce its schedule

It’s time for the WHL to cut back the number of games in the regular season.

The Raiders played 15 games in January. If you go back to the Dec. 27 opener during the second half of the season, the team played 18 games in 34 nights. The brutal stretch included three straight three game in three night weekends and two of those included four games in five nights.

It’s not a major leap to link the ramped up schedule with injuries to key players. Nineteen-year-old centreman Jordy Stallard is out indefinitely with an upper body injury sustained on a Sunday afternoon in Calgary, the fourth game in less than five nights that week. Stallard was on fire. The former Hitman acquired before the trade deadline had six goals and 10 points in eight games as a Raider.

Simon Stransky, the team’s top offensive player all season missed six games during the January juggernaut, while captain Tim Vanstone spent four games on the injured list with his upper-body ailment. This doesn’t include the plethora of bumps and bruises requiring ice bags and pre-game treatments. It stands to reason top players who put in big minutes in all situations would be most prone to injuries. The fact of the matter is more immovable objects are colliding with more irresistible forces more often.

The Raiders aren’t alone. Every team has at least one schedule related horror story to tell and many have injured lists to prove it. The Red Deer Rebels have six players out due to injuries, while the Vancouver Giants have seven in their mash unit. Other rehabilitating front line players include Everett defenseman Noah Juulsen, Medicine Hat rearguard David Quenneville and Moose Jaw winger Noah Gregor.

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The WHL opted for starting the season one week later for the 2015-16 campaign allowing more top players to return from NHL tryouts, meaning teams are jamming 72 games into 25 weeks while trying to optimize the number of games played on Fridays and Saturdays.

I realize suggesting cutting any games would be just as unpopular in the big money markets like Calgary as the smaller centres such as Prince Albert. Even taking one away night of revenue may cause heart palpitations and hyperventilation among the hard working marketing people around the league. However a case could be made for reducing the number of marginally attended mid-week games and creating more demand for the prime nights.

It would also prevent the scheduling conundrum that saw the Raiders meet Moose Jaw four times in just over two weeks or the Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants playing a weekend triple-header.

The OHL and QMJHL both play 68 game regular seasons and it’s about time the WHL followed suit in the name of player safety.