The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) 2025-2026 Playoffs get underway Friday, March 20, and the Whitecourt Wolverines are heading into round one as North Division and regular season champions.
The team finished the regular season with a record of 39-13-1-2 and 81 points.
“We’re healthier than we’ve ever been going into playoffs before, so that’s always a good thing,” says Head Coach and General Manager Shawn Martin. “But I think everyone’s chomping at the bit and getting ready to go.”
Martin says the plan is to take things one game at a time, as the North Division had multiple strong teams this year.
Returning Wolverines are especially motivated to keep focused, Martin says, after getting knocked out of last season’s semifinals by the Grande Prairie Storm.
The Storm stuck close to the Wolverines in the standings throughout this regular season, and finished second in the North Division with a record of 38-15-0-2 and 78 points, just three behind Whitecourt.
The Wolverines will have to wait until round two to take on the Storm. Round one, the quarter finals, start with a seven-game series against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
While the team performed well as a whole during the 2025-26 season, Jalen Bianchet, Tristan Slywka, Quentin Bourne and Elliott Pratt are also finalists for individual awards from the league.
Bianchet was recently awarded the titles of 2025-26 AJHL Scoring Champion and AJHL Leading Scorer, and is a finalist for Most Valuable Player and Top Forward.
Martin says the team captain met every individual goal the two set for him at the start of the season and has generally surpassed expectations.
“He’s been a great leader, and he’s been one of the best Wolverines I’ve seen in my time here,” he comments.
Up for Rookie of the Year, he says he is also glad to see the league recognize Slywka’s efforts over the season as a rookie player.
“He came on to a veteran team, so his numbers probably aren’t as high as some of the other rookies in the league, but he’s played a really key role in playing on our shutdown line and doing some penalty killing, doing some power plays,” Martin explains.
When it comes to Bourne, Martin will be surprised if he’s not awarded Outstanding Defenceman after he “took it to another level” this season.
And with a 2.32 GAA and 0.916 SV%, Martin says netminder Elliott Pratt did everything the organization asked of him.
“He’s gotten better as the years went on, and I think the last month or so is probably the best version we’ve seen of Elliott Pratt,” he comments. Pratt is a finalist for Top Goaltender, while Martin himself is a contender for Coach of the Year.
The playoff puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday for the Wolverines, but fans can head to JDA Place at 5 p.m. for a tailgate party and barbecue. The first 500 people in the door will receive a Wolverines playoff towel.
