The National Hockey League held its annual entry draft and just one Portland Winterhawks player was selected, that being Rodrigo Abols in the seventh round, 184th overall by the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks had courted Abols last season, inviting him to a camp, but no deal was struck and Abols joined the Winterhawks.
With the drafting of Abols, the Winterhawks were able to draft two import players, based on the possibility that he would sign and either join the Canucks roster or in a more likely scenario, move to the farm system in either the AHL or ECHL to start the season. As an overage import player, Abols would have to occupy two roster spots on the Winterhawks roster, something which Mike Johnston has never had to deal with in his years as the Hawks bench boss. However, with the two drafted imports, Johnston will have a little time to make a decision if Abols doesn’t make the call up by the Canucks.
Joachim Blichfeld, a native of Denmark, was the first selection of the Hawks. He has strong world representation having been in two World Junior camps and played in one tournament this past season. Joachim was drafted by the San Jose Sharks during the seventh round in this year’s draft and could make a strong impact as an 18 year old. Joachim averaged over a point per game as a forward and played this last year in Malmo, Sweden after starting with his hometown Frederikshavn, Denmark.
Henri Jokiharju is 17 and played in the World Juniors for Finland. He is the first ever Finnish born player to be drafted by the Winterhawks. Henri had strong seasons in points as a defenceman for Jokerit B in Finland averaging nearly a point a game. He had similar stats in his under 16 year as well which positions him well in the Hawks uptempo, offensive-defenseman style that Johnston employs.
Shortly after the NHL draft, the Western Hockey League opened the opportunity for teams to release their regular season schedules for the upcoming season. The Winterhawks scheduled weekend games with games on Fridays, games on Saturdays and games on Sundays. The also have reverted back to the earlier schedule for the “swing” which this year will take them as far east as Brandon, Manitoba and then to teams in Saskatchewan. The long trip, which is in October, will start in Kent, Washington versus the Seattle Thunderbirds and travel through four Saskatchewan teams before the game in Brandon. They will have an eight hour trek to Regina, Saskatchewan, before they head to Spokane and a game versus the Chiefs before they head home. The Hawks will play three home games in September, four home games in October, but an eight straight game homestand in November. Dates for promotional nights are still to be announced as are the venues as the NBA schedule has yet to be released. Over the past several years, the Hawks have split the regular season games between both the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Opening night will be Saturday, September 24th versus the Seattle Thunderbirds and the last regular season game will be Sunday, March 19th versus the Spokane Chiefs. The Hawks will make their annual visit to the furthest north WHL franchise, the Prince George Cougars in January, but unlike previous years, they will have a couple games to hit on the way home in Kamloops and Kelowna, BC.
Ice Chips:
The Portland Winterhawks Booster Club is currently organizing their annual long road trip. They look to be heading on the four game set in Prince George for two games, along with Kamloops and Kelowna. The trip will run January 15, 2017 through January 22, 2017 with pricing to be announced shortly.
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