Any questions surrounding just how the Portland Winterhawks were going to do once Mike Johnston moved up to the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL club were answered following this past weekend at the Everett Pre-Season Tournament. New Coach and General Manager Jamie Kompon led the charge after 4 grueling days at the Winterhawks Skating Center for camp. The young guns that are the future of the Winterhawks showed that the franchise is in great hands even without Mike Johnston at the helm.
The Hawks won all three games and in doing so, showed people the firepower that the team will display this upcoming season. Portland beat Spokane 7-5 after leading 6-1 at one point. They followed up with a 5-2 win over Tri Cities and capped the weekend with a 4-2 win over the host Everett Silvertips. Without Brendan Leipsic, Taylor Leier and Derrick Pouliot who have all signed NHL deals, the weight fell to Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan and Chase DeLeo and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
The weekend also featured the strong showing of Blake Heinrich, who saw limited action during the WHL Final versus Edmonton. This bodes well for the offensive style of defensemen that the Winterhawks have created the past five years. The Hawks also saw strong work from Joshua Smith, a defenseman, who is competing for one of the 3 spots for 20 year old players. Smith, who spent his career in Prince George, joined Trent Lofthouse, formerly of the Everett Silvertips and Victoria Royals and Trace Elson who has been in the Vancouver Giants and Red Deer Rebels organizations competing alongside current Portland 20 year olds Adam DeChamplain and Josh Hanson.
Cody Glass, who was the Winterhawks first round selection this season, showed great form as did last season’s draft pick Skyler MacKenzie. Other rookies who made impressive showings at the Everett Tournament included Nick Heid, Colton Veloso, Carter Czaikowski, Reed Morrison, Jack Flaman, Evan Weinger and Alex Overhardt
All teams will have until October 15 to reduce their roster to just 3 players at the 20-year-old level and will use this upcoming weekend to create a roster that will be announced as the one at opening night. Teams have already returned players born in 1999 to their homes with a few exceptions, those being ones that have been signed to WHL standard contracts. The Winterhawks roster currently stands at 30 players and most teams will carry between 22 to 25 players during the season.
The battle for goaltending has been reduced to three with Brendan Burke returning as the veteran goalkeeper and Adin Hill, who made a strong splash prior to the acquisition of Corbin Boes at trade deadline last season. Michael Bullion, who appeared at camp as a 16-year-old last season, looked strong in his win over Tri Cities during the Everett Pre-Season Tournament. Burke will most likely attend the Arizona Coyotes NHL camp, leaving Hill and Bullion to answer the call for the upcoming tournament in Kennewick this weekend.
The interesting thing about the Kennewick tournament is that it is mostly made up of rookies and those desperate to lock in a spot on the roster. The Portland Winterhawks will be no exception as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Chase DeLeo, Nic Petan, Alex Schoenborn, Dominic Turgeon, Keegan Iverson and Brendan Burke look to be headed to NHL camps for evaluation. Some players may return prior to the start of the regular season, though there is no firm schedule for any of the players to be on the opening night roster.
The Portland Winterhawks will open their regular season on Friday, September 19 at the Moda Center when they face the Seattle Thunderbirds. To date, the Hawks have announced 17 games for the Moda Center and 16 for Veterans Memorial Coliseum with three dates awaiting a venue. Tickets for all games are on sale now.
Ice Chips:The Portland Winterhawks Booster Club has surpassed the 400 member mark for the third straight season. They have also announced their fan trip schedule for the season. Day trips to Kennewick and Seattle and a 5 day trip with 2 games to Prince George, British Columbia are part of the activities for the club. The Booster Club was able to donate well over ten thousand dollars to various hockey related charities this past season and looks to similar results for this season. Those interested in the Booster Club and its activities should visit http://www.pwhbc.com for further information.
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