Though they lost Ty Rattie and Taylor Peters, the Portland
Winterhawk’s Championship repeating hopes lie firmly on their forwards up front.
Once all 5 forwards return from NHL camps (and they will), it will be quite
interesting to see which 14-15 Hawk’s forwards stay with the team this season.
Just because some of these players may not stay with the
team after camps finish, it does not mean that they will not be back, as every
one of them is on Portland’s 50 man protected list.
The Returning Forward Locks:
-Brendan Leipsic (Listed as a Center but plays RW) - Leipsic
has improved steadily the past few seasons with the Hawks, growing (no pun
intended) into the dominant offensive force that he has become. His 120 points
tied him for the WHL (and CHL) scoring title last season with team mate Nic
Petan. Suffice it to say that point total is within reach this season even with
him and Petan likely to miss time at NHL camps and possibly playing for Canada
at the World Juniors. Leipsic is incredibly strong on the puck for a guy of his
stature and has shown a deft scoring touch. The only knock against Brendan is
that if he is not emotionally invested in the game (which happens from time to
time) he takes plays off. He needs to take a similar stride forward as a leader
that Ty Rattie did last season.
-Nic Petan- Center- Petan is exactly what you want from your
number one center man at the WHL level. He makes play after play for his
wingers, has become exceptional on the penalty kill and defensive zone and has
improved steadily on the faceoff draw. Leipsic and Petan will likely go down as
one of the best tandems in Winterhawk history, if they can find someone to jump
into Ty Rattie’s role on the top line (anyone would be lucky).
-Taylor Leier- RW- Leier’s season ended awfully last season
with an injury on a vicious hit in the Memorial Cup semi-final against London
of the OHL. It had to be incredibly difficult to watch your team lose in such a
heart-breaking fashion in the Final, from the stands. Leier has become a fan
favorite for the passionate way he plays in the corners and in his own zone. We
should see Leier feeding off that heartbreak and playing even more passionately
this season. He is someone who could be relied upon to become an emotional
leader for the Hawks this season.
 |
| De Leo |
-Chase De Leo- C- The Hawks second line center is entering
his draft year at hockey age 18 (late birth date) and hopes to become an even
bigger part of the Winterhawks offense this season and earn himself a selection
in next June’s NHL draft. Chase has a lot of the same detractions that Nic
Petan has and could learn from the way Petan overcame those to become a second
round selection last June. Chase has the weapons to put up eye popping
statistics and he has gotten much stronger in the offseason as well.
-Oliver Bjorkstrand-LW- Oliver brought him lethal wrist shot
overseas from Denmark last season and struggled making the adjustments to the
differing style of the North American game. Once he started to adjust to the
hitting he started piling up the points on a line with Leier and De Leo. They
are all going to be back this season and Bjorkstrand’s play really seems to be
the catalyst for that line. They were always a unit that busted their asses out
there but was not very consistent in putting goals in the way the top line was.
If they can shore up the inconsistency, there is literally no better second
unit in the league.
-Paul Bittner-LW- Bittner came in as a late birthday 16 year
old last season and struggled with getting used to the travel and being away
from home. It showed in his game as he did not seem comfortable playing with
his line mates. The Hawk’s coaching staff tried to aid this problem, by
consistently putting him with Keegan Iverson and later in the year; Taylor
Peters on the 3rd line. Bittner’s season took off however when he
filled in on the top line when Ty Rattie left for World Juniors. Bittner scored
consecutive game winning goals and really broke through after that. He went
back to the unit with Iverson and Peters and really excelled in a checking line
type of role. He is looking to become a more consistent part of the offense and
the Hawks coaching staff has been putting him on the top power play unit all
preseason, parking his large frame (6’4” `95 lbs) in front of the net.
-Keegan Iverson-RW- Iverson has not shown the same offensive
upside and dominant ability that Bittner has shown and I think this is unfair
to him as they are inevitably compared to each other. Keegan is not as tall (6’0”)
but he does have 216 lbs to throw around and he often does. He was a key role
player for the Winterhawks last playoff run and he will look to continue to
improve as a key defensive power forward. He has all the makings of a dominant
power forward, but they sometimes take a while to find their offensive game.
 |
| Turgeon |
-Dominic Turgeon- C- Dominic did not play much for the Hawks
last playoff, but he has certainly shown signs of improving his overall play
this coming season. Portland is really looking for him to fill the big hole
left by Taylor Peters leaving and he certainly has the size for it (6’2” 196
lbs) and the pedigree as well. His improvement will be really key for the Hawks
this season as depth at Center is something every great team has (see the NHL’s
Penguins from a few years back).
-Preston Kopeck-C- Kopeck played a large portion of last
year at wing, but should challenge Turgeon for the 3rd line center checking
role. The fact that the Hawks have someone as talented as Kopeck possibly
playing on their fourth line, goes a long way to show how deep they are especially
at Center. Kopeck was not drafted this
past season, most likely due to his lack of size and his recent wrist injury.
Kopeck was coming on like gangbusters, until he hurt his wrist on a fairly
innocuous play in the WHL Championship Series against Edmonton. Preston has
looked good this preseason and should be completely healed from that injury.
-Adam De Champlain- Listed at Center but plays RW- Adam
plays a physical game, throwing large body checks and playing with an irritable
edge that opponents hate and fans love. Adam has really made a commitment to
team defense this preseason and before he received an invitation to the
Vancouver Canucks camp, Adam was scoring a goal and an assist in only 2
preseason games. He seems like he got a lot stronger in the offseason and could
push for top 6 forward time at some point this season.
-Joe Mahon-RW- The 6’5” 223 lb 19 year old was the Hawks
enforcer last season, getting into 41 games and piling up 133 PIMs. Look for
about the same this season from Mahon, who needs a lot of improvement with his
skating and stick work in order to get into any more game then about 40. Joe
did show rapid improvement with these abilities toward the end of the season,
even potting 2 goals, but still has a long way to go.
 |
| Schoenborn |
-Alex Schoenborn- RW- Alex has gotten a lot of playing time
with Petan and Leipsic early in the preseason and even chipped in a couple
points so far. The 18 year old has a lot to improve on however. He skates with
his head down too much and does not have a light enough touch when receiving
passes on the rush. Putting him on the top line, was most likely an attempt to
get him some good scoring chances and letting the coaches get a good look at
him as well. This was more of a disservice though because most players in the
league will stand out in a negative way if they can’t quite keep up with the top
2 scorers in the WHL. The coaches do seem to love his work ethic though, as he
was getting second line positioning and power play time during the 2 preseason
games this last weekend.
Key Addition:
-Shane McColgan-Center- Shane wore out his welcome in
Kelowna in 2011-12 and was traded as a 19 year old to Saskatoon for their
Memorial Cup hosting squad last season. McColgan did his part with 19 goals and
47 assists, playing on the Blade’s top unit. He is definitely a very skilled
playmaker, who can also pitch in a bunch of goals. He will be at home anywhere
on the Hawk’s top 6 forward group, where he will be sure to pile up even more
points, adding to his career WHL total of 268. The only issue, besides being a
possible locker room headache, is that McColgan is a 20 year old and the Hawks
have a very deep forward unit. If De Champlain or Bittner makes him replaceable
to the top 6, he could be traded to help shore up the back end for the Hawks.
This, however, is very unlikely, as the Hawks seem to really like the
Californian. McColgan also had offseason surgery on his hand, due to a weight
lifting accident, so he was unable to attend the New York Rangers training
camp. McColgan appears to be ready for the regular season, but will unlikely play
any preseason hockey.
New Guys Hoping to Make the Team:
-Ethan Price- RW-The undrafted 16 year old signed with the
Hawks last week and has looked impressive so far. He has skated with more
experienced Hawks in the games that he has played in so far. Price is a
bruising, power forward type that the coaches will love to groom into an elite
talent. He will very likely be one of the depth forwards on the Hawks this
season, as he has not looked out of place and has outplayed some of the older
guys, in the games I’ve seen.
 |
| Alldridge |
-Adam Rossignol- Center- The 20 year old has played with
Kootenay and Regina in his career, which sadly looks like it’s nearing its end
in the WHL. To make a team that is very deep at forward, he would need to
impress way more than he has so far. He has potted a few goals and made some
nice plays in the preseason, but has not done enough in my book. Rossignol, at
his best scored 9 goals for the Pats last season. There are many 20 year olds
who have potted far more than that in the past, who have been cut. He also has
been played mostly at wing with the Hawks this preseason, which is not a good
sign. This means that they are not confident in his faceoff abilities. He also
has not played much on the power play or the penalty kill, which is another
sign that he is on his way out, as soon as the Hawks get at full strength.
Overall, the returning Winterhawks take up 12 forward roster
spots and Shane McColgan, as soon as he is healthy gets another. This leaves
only one-two spots for a very stacked team. I think that the last full time
spot goes to Ethan Price, who had a beautiful goal in the win over Seattle yesterday.
The other spot should go to Alldridge, who will spend most of his time playing
back in the AJHL, until Portland loses players due to injuries or World
Juniors. Age is just simply not on Rossignol’s side unfortunately, as the Hawks
will look to make a move to add another top 6 forward, or more likely, another
Defenseman.
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