Second round picks

After going 7-for-8 in the first round (admittedly there were a lot of no-brainers in the first round so I won't back-pat myself too hard for that success rate), time for some second round picks. These are a little harder, but still not too difficult IMO.

Eastern Conference:

#1 Edmonton vs #6 Brandon:
My pick: Edmonton in five. Yes, Brandon upset the #3 ranked Calgary Hitmen in the first round. But Edmonton is not the Hitmen - they are deeper up front and with more high-end talent, they have better goaltending, and most significantly they are a million times better on the blueline than Calgary was. Brandon is no slouches - they have a hot young goaltender, a couple young stud prospects on the blueline, and the offence of Stone and Ferland. I just have to tick the boxes beside Edmonton as you go through every category in this series and to me that doesn't promise a long series.

#2 Moose Jaw vs #4 Medicine Hat:
My pick: Medicine Hat in seven. Yes, I'm picking the upset. After underestimating the Tigers in the first round (they made short work of the Blades after I predicted a longer series), I won't do that again. Emerson Etem up front and Tyler Bunz in net will give the Warriors problems. The Warriors are a very good team as well - they have a lot of character veterans up front and on the blueline who are going to give Etem and Bunz problems of their own. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to see Moose Jaw win in six or seven games either. I'm just playing a hunch here.

Western Conference:

#1 Tri-City vs #5 Spokane:
My pick: Tri-City in five. Yes, the Americans are banged up - they lost two veteran players with season-ending injuries in the first round and a third veteran is questionable right now. They're still a lot better than Spokane though. They still have their league-leading goaltender and they still have their three 100 point forwards. Spokane has lost Brendan Kichton for the season and weren't as good as Tri-City even before losing their own best player. This series might get a little nasty (as befits a good rivalry) but I don't see the Chiefs winning more than a game at the most. Could even be a sweep.


#2 Portland vs #3 Kamloops:
My pick: Portland in five. Yes, five. A quick series despite how close they were in the standings this year. Kamloops will be hurt by losing their captain Chase Schaber to a season-ending injury but I would have picked the Hawks in five anyway. Kamloops' only regulation win over the Hawks this year came with the Hawks missing Sven Bartschi in the NHL, and Portland has simply embarrassing depth at every position. Kamloops might (might!) have an edge in goaltending, but otherwise every offensive threat or blue-chip defenceman that Kamloops can toss out there, Portland has two they can counter with. That kind of depth kills other teams in the playoffs when benches can get a little short.