Royals Crush Americans, Move On to Round 2

The Royals won a decisive game five to take the series win over the Americans on Friday, April 4! After managing to survive being swept in game four, the Americans would find no answer to Johnny Hicks once again and fell 7-0 to the mighty Royals. While Victoria's second round opponent remains unconfirmed, this was an extremely positive series for the Royals overall. Here are some key takeaways from these first five playoff games!

Reschny Magic

Cole Reschny has, as usual, been on fire in his past few games. Already at 12 points through five games played in the playoffs, he is tied for third league-wide in both points and assists, not to mention sitting seven points back of the Royals all-time record for points in a single season's playoffs, set by Matthew Phillips in 2017-18. The series-winning game was a real highlight for Reschny, with the Saskatchewan-born forward supplying four primary assists to propel the Royals to a big win. With the Royals heating up for a solid playoff run and his own draft stock on the line, Reschny will look to keep this excellent production going and give his team a fighting chance.

Go, Johnny, Go

Johnny Hicks has been working wonders for the Royals since his call-up from the BCHL this season, especially since being given the starting goalie honours for the first round of playoffs. The 19-year-old from Kamloops earned his first two WHL shutouts in the first and last games of the series, and has the highest save percentage of any WHL goaltender in the postseason thus far, as well as the most shutouts and the second-lowest GAA. After proving he can handle a high shot volume and be a difference maker in big games, Hicks will need to continue this standard of play as the competition gets much tougher within the second round and beyond.

Depth Scoring

A strength of the Royals all season long seems to persist into the playoffs! While the top line obviously leads in points, especially one as potent as the Trembecky-Reschny-Isogai trio, there isn't a single player in a royal blue uniform that hasn't been a solid contributor in the first round. From Landon Young playing dependable defense against one of the most physical teams in the league to Wyatt Danyleyko getting things started in game five, to Jerrett Ross notching his first career WHL goal late in the game, the Royals have scored and won by committee so far, which is crucial for a successful playoff team.

The Royals will soon continue their postseason quest, and attempt a feat never before accomplished in franchise history: making it past the second round. If this past series against the Americans was any indication, the Royals are looking like a tough team to beat for just about any challenger they could face.