In the cyclical nature of junior hockey world, where players time out when they cease to be teenagers, where teams throw in all their chips to try to win a championship and then have to start over, hope tends to be mercurial.

The Edmonton Oil Kings went through it, got to the 2022 Memorial Cup, hit rock bottom, and now they are very much on their way back. They lost in Game 7 of the first playoff round to the Prince Albert Raiders last spring, squandering a 3-1 series lead. But now they look like one of the better WHL teams for the 2025-2026 campaign.

So change that to faith springs eternal for teams like them.

Case in point, the Oil Kings begin the season at No. 6 nationally in Canadian Hockey League’s rankings, the second best Western Hockey League team on the list after Brad Laue

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