Spokane Chiefs interim head coach Ryan Smith guides team back into playoff picture

When the Spokane Chiefs fired coach Adam Maglio on Feb. 10, the team sat in last place in the Western Hockey League’s Western Conference with a 12-26-3-1 record. Flash forward almost five weeks and the Chiefs are suddenly in the thick of the playoff picture.

Ryan Smith, the Chiefs’ interim coach, has guided his team to a 7-6-1-0 record since stepping in as the head man behind the bench. He’s shown he isn’t afraid to shuffle the line combinations to give some players a larger role. He’s also teamed with assistant Dustin Donaghy to improve the special teams.

That’s put the Chiefs squarely in the playoff picture with just 12 regular -season games remaining. Five of the eight playoff spots in the West are locked up by Kamloops, Everett, Portland, Seattle and Kelowna. Behind them sit, in order, Vancouver, Spokane and Prince George, with Victoria and Tri-City on the outside looking in.

The Chiefs are playing their best hockey of the season at the right time and there’s been a noticeable difference in their play since Smith took over behind the bench.

“Morale has gone up and there’s a little bit of desperation as we get to the end of the season,” team captain Bear Hughes said. “Everyone’s working as hard as they can every night. Even during the week in practice, I think there’s been an improvement just in our speed and compete level.”

Heading into Tuesday’s home game against Everett, the Chiefs sit four points behind Vancouver and are tied with Prince George for seventh. Prince George has one game in hand on Spokane, and Vancouver has two.

The W HL moved back to a conference playoff format this season, granting the top two seeds to the division winners and then seeding everybody else by record. A seventh- or eighth -place finish would pit Spokane against one of the two division winners – Kamloops from the B.C. Division, and either Everett or Portland from the U.S. Division. A sixth-place finish would get Spokane a matchup against either Seattle or Kelowna, most likely.

The best way for Spokane to secure a playoff spot is to get regulation wins against Vancouver, especially, but also Victoria and Tri-City to hold them off. The Chiefs took three of four against Prince George during the season, and have two games at Vancouver April 2 and 3. The Chiefs play Victoria twice in a row in Victoria to end the season, and they have two more against Tri-City, one at home and one on the road.

Those upcoming games are essentially playoff games.

“We have to get into playoff mode. We were down and are still in a position where a bad weekend sets us back,” Smith said. “We’re really trying to work on one game at a time. It’s tough in this league with back-to-back nights or three games in three, but we’re taking it one game at a time.”

Winning those remaining games will go a long way to securing a playoff spot, and stealing one or more against the rest of the Chiefs’ opponents this season – Everett four times, Kamloops once and Seattle once – will bolster their chances.

The Chiefs could get some help from their division rivals, too. Everett and Seattle each play Vancouver twice, and Tri-City plays them once. Prince George has an easier path, as they get Victoria four times before the season concludes. Victoria is currently ninth in the Western Conference.

“We’re focused on taking care of our business without looking at the scoreboard too much, but we need a little bit of help, though, if some teams can do us some favors,” Smith said. “We have to do ourselves some favors first. I don’t think we want to rely on other teams. We want to come in the front door of the playoffs and be ready to go.”