Victoria Royals take over No. 1 in Week 1 CHL Top-10 rankings

Graphic by Provectus Media (PM)

TORONTO — The first CHL Top-10 rankings of the 2026-27 season have a new team on top, and Alberta's Medicine Hat Tigers are right in the mix.

The Victoria Royals climbed two spots to No. 1 on Tuesday after a 4-2 win in Kamloops, powered by a 34-save WHL debut from goaltender Cole Prelusky. The London Knights also rose two positions to No. 2 after sweeping Windsor, with Evan Van Gorp collecting five points across the two games.

The Cape Breton Eagles held No. 3 after taking points from consecutive shootout losses, doing it without four NHL-drafted players in the lineup.

For Alberta fans, the Medicine Hat Tigers opened the season ranked fifth in the country, the highest-placed WHL club after Victoria. The Brandon Wheat Kings (No. 9) give the WHL three teams in the Week 1 rankings.

Sitting fourth is the Guelph Storm, the club that will host the 2027 Memorial Cup from May 20-30 — the tournament every team on this list is chasing.

New to the rankings at No. 10, the Moncton Wildcats opened with back-to-back road comeback wins, capped by a 6-5 overtime victory in Halifax featuring a Niko Tournas hat trick and Rian Chudzinski's winner.

The full Week 1 rankings: 1. Victoria Royals (WHL), 2. London Knights (OHL), 3. Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL), 4. Guelph Storm (OHL), 5. Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), 6. Saginaw Spirit (OHL), 7. Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), 8. Québec Remparts (QMJHL), 9. Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL), 10. Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL).

Fans can watch OHL and QMJHL games on FloHockey, while WHL regular-season games stream free on YouTube. The next rankings arrive the week of Sept. 28 after the second week of play across all three leagues.

The road to Guelph runs through nights like these. Every point banked in September matters when the league's four champions meet for the Memorial Cup in May.