The 2012 World Junior Championships do a lot for young stars of hockey. Many get to represent their country in the pursuit of glory. For the Western Hockey League, and the teams within, it means a period of time without some of their top players. Portland is no exception, as winger Sven Bartschi will be representing his home country of Switzerland. Bartschi leads all WinterHawks players with 2.16 points per game. However, the Hawks need to capitalize on the depleted rosters, and the return of Ty Rattie and Brad Ross, and solidify their positioning in the B.C. Division.
Rattie, despite his immature moves at points this season, is the one of the most electrifying players in the WHL, and now has a real chance to win the WHL scoring title with current leaders Emerson Etem and Mark Stone heading to the World Junior Championships. Rattie leads all players with 33 goals, 16 power play goals, and 62 points. However, the biggest flaw in Rattie’s game continues to be his defense. Despite his stellar offensive numbers, Rattie is only plus-five overall, and that would easily be the worst plus/minus among the top 25 scorers if it were not for Brad Ross’s minus-five. In fact, defenseman William Wrenn is the only WinterHawks player in the top 50 players in plus/minus.
A lot of the blame for the WinterHawks’ defensive struggles can be placed on the net minding of Mac Carruth and Brendan Burke. While Carruth has greatly improved over the course of the season, his save percentage is still only 90.3 percent, and his 3.01 goals against average is 14th among qualified goalies. Burke has been even worse as Carruth’s backup, failing to save one out of every five shots, and his 4.91 goals against average is the worst in the league among goaltenders with at least seven games played. With both of Tri-City’s goaltenders in the top ten of GAA, the Hawks have a clear weakness.
Not all the defensive problems can be pinned on Carruth and Burke, as starting defensemen Derrick Pouliot and Troy Rutkowski are a combined minus-seven. The mindset of coach Mike Johnston is to have the Hawks simply outshoot the other teams, and when they face a balanced attack like the one in Tri-City, or the one in Vancouver, the Hawks find themselves at a disadvantage that is hard to overcome.
The Hawks have 23 games remaining in their division, including three at home against Tri-City. Without Bartschi, the Hawks will play the next stretch without their leader in assists, and Taylor Leier will have to step up along with play of center Taylor Peters to deliver the passes to Ross and Rattie. If Carruth keeps improving, the Hawks will have strong positioning going into the playoffs. If Carruth regresses, or the Hawks scoring drops, the Hawks could be in for a long winter.
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