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This is shaping up as the ultimate rags to riches story.

No one expected much from the Victoria Royals this season.

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Yet here they are … on top of the heap.

It wasn’t always this way.

Royals bench boss Dave Lowry gives kudos to his veteran players for taking his Cinderella squad to top spot in the WHL standings.

“At the beginning of the year, everyone thought we weren’t going to make the playoffs,” Lowry said. “I give the credit to the leadership of our group. They didn’t want any part of that.

“But we’re still a young group and we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We were supposed to take a step backwards and I think we’ve surprised not only ourselves but a lot of people.

“If you go to the playoffs and you can be healthy and you have your game where you need it to be, anything can happen.”

The Royals are the last club any team wants to see in the post-season now.

The league’s hottest team, led by captain and Team Canada world junior star Joe Hicketts, is showing no signs of cooling off in the slightest.