The Portland Winterhawks have an open over-age slot this season with the only 1995 born players on the roster being Alex Schoenborn and Blake Heinrich. While a D-man is an option for Portland, I don't see them trying to bring in another D-man, when their top 4 seems to be pretty set. At the forward position, though, there seems to be an opening for a really skilled over-age player that can help them replace all of the scoring they lost through Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan, Chase De Leo and Miles Koules.
Let's take a look at the other WHL teams out there that could be looking to unload a 1995 born player in order to make the limit of three over-age players, by the deadline of October 15th.
Brandon Wheat Kings
Bukarts
Rihards Bukarts (Forward) Also an import.
Tim McGauley (Forward)
Colton Waltz (D-man)
Macoy Erkamps (D-man)
-McGauley, who was 3rd last year in WHL scoring is going to be out for up to 8 weeks with a shoulder injury and he was probably the most likely of the 4 to be kept. Brandon received D-man Ivan Provorov back from the Philadelphia Flyers who took him 8th overall in last June's draft, meaning the Wheaties also have one too many import players now. 18 year old forward Dario Winkler was selected in last May's import draft giving them three foreign born players and they are only allowed to keep two. No other WHL team currently has an over-age and an import spot both available so Brandon will likely need to make multiple moves. My gut says that Bukarts will be the one ending up with a different home, but it's tough to see him coming to Portland.
Calgary Hitmen- Currently at three but could receive D-man Keegan Kanzig back at some point. Earlier this week he was sent by the Calgary Flames to Stockton of the AHL to attend their camp. If he does come back to Junior, Calgary will have to choose between him, Goalie Brandan Burke, D-man Colby Harmsworth and Forward: Elliott Peterson.
Everett Silvertips
Lotz
Remi Laurenecelle (Forward)
Carson Stadnyk (Forward)
Cole MacDonald (D-man)
Austin Lotz (Goalie)
-It seems fairly obvious that the Tips are trying to find a home for Lotz but with Portland, Moose Jaw and now Swift Current as the only teams with room for another 20 year old, I just don't see this happening. They will likely wait right up until the over-age deadline (October 15th) and see if another WHL team's Goalie suffers a significant injury or if they don't have faith in their 'tending situation to make room for Lotz.
Kamloops Blazers
Harrison
Matt Needham (Forward)
Luke Harrison (Forward)
Ryan Rehill (D-man)
Marc McNulty (D-man)
-Kamloops has taken turns through their first couple games in scratching one of the D-men and since Needham is their Captain, I get the sense that it will be one of them or Harrison that's shipped out. If they get a tempting offer for Rehill, I could see them biting but I don't know how much value the other two have in the current WHL market. My guess is they end up cutting ties with Harrison by releasing him
Kelowna Rockets
Quinney
Gage Quinney (Forward)
Tyson Baillie (Forward)
Cole Linaker (Forward)
Jackson Whistle (Goalie)
-The Rockets re-assigned 3rd string Goalie Jake Morrissey, so it looks like they will be riding with Whistle and back-up Michael Herringer. Baillie has to be un-touchable for them, meaning it will come down to Quinney, who was acquired last year as part of the Josh Morrisssey deal and Linaker, who has been with the team since 2011. Both Linaker and Quinney scored pivotal goals in the Rockets WHL Championship run last year and either could possibly find a home in a lot of team's top 6 (but once again room would have to be made for almost all teams).
Kootenay Ice
Luke Philp (Forward)
Jon Martin (Forward)
Tanner Lishchynsky (D-man)
Wyatt Hofflin (Goalie)
-They could have as many as 5 if Jaedon Descheneau is returned from the AHL's Chicago Wolves training camp. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2014 NHL draft and has yet to sign a pro deal. The Ice are currently carrying 3 goalies, like Everett, so they could be shopping Hofflin around, but have not found a suitor. Philp is the most enticing option for a team like Portland as he is highly skilled and could add a smaller, speedy option for Portland's top 6 forward group that they really don't have outside of Skyler McKenzie. The Ice really need to look at whether or not they think they can contend this year and if they don't think they can, then dealing Philp and the rights to Descheneau could get them some prospects or picks that will help them build for the future. That's easier said then done though, when you struggle to get 2,000 fans for your season opener and are in danger of being re-located.
Medicine Hat Tigers
Eisenschmid
Markus Eisenschmid (Forward) Also an import.
Cole Sanford (Forward)
Trevor Cox (Forward)
Ty Stanton (D-man)
-Eisenschmid is currently at Montreal Canadians, but has not had the chance to play, like Everett's Noah Juulsen, as he's been battling a hip injury. The Tigers already have two imports in D-men Tamas Laday and Alexey Platanov, so if he is returned, they will have to find a home for Markus or one of the others and one of the import D-men. I would think that Eisenschmid will not play another game in the WHL, but will find a home somewhere in the pro ranks.
Moose Jaw Warriors- They only have two over-age players, as Torrin White left the team earlier this week.
-I wouldn't doubt that Moose Jaw was trying to find a home for White, before he took matters into his own hands and left the team. White is from Medicine Hat, so he may have been hoping to end up with Med Hat. I don't know if White would want to come all the way down to Portland, rather then just go and play for the University of Alberta, but even if he did, I don't see Portland pulling the trigger on acquiring his rights.
Macklin
Regina Pats
Taylor Cooper (Forward)
Aaron Macklin (Forward)
Colby Williams (D-man)
Daniel Wapple (Goalie)
-Regina actually made a deal bringing in Aaron Macklin from Prince George right as the season started. They did this because Williams will likely miss the whole first half the season with an arm injury and Cooper will miss at least a month recovering from off season shoulder surgery. This gives them the time to see what Macklin can bring them, before they have to make a decision.
Seattle Thunderbirds- Could have an over-age opening if Jamal Watson earns an AHL contract after training camp with St. John who is Montreal's affiliate.
Spokane Chiefs- Currently at three, but could be forced to make a tough decision if Adam Helewka is sent down after attending training camp with the San Jose Barracuda, the AHL affiliate for the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him this June.
Swift Current Broncos- Released D-man Griffin Foulk, just hours ago, meaning that they have another overage option on mind. Perhaps Torrin White or one of the other options listed above.
Analysis:
-So basically, Everett, Kelowna, Kamloops and Kootenay are the only teams that are scratching a healthy over-age player every night, until they make a trade or re-assign a player. Everett, pretty clearly wants to get something for Lotz, but do not seem to have biters. Kootenay and Kamloops need to make up their minds about whether to trade one of their bigger names or not (i.e. Philp or Rehill). Lastly, Kelowna will probably want to make a combination of deals, unloading one of their over-age forwards for an NHL signed 19 year old, that a team, not likely to contend would not mind getting rid of for the right price.
-For Portland, I like Luke Philp or Descheneau the most, but would not mind them ending up with Quinney out of Kelowna. With all of the Bantam picks that they have traded away in recent years, though and the depth they have at the position this year, it might be smarter to just get more playing time for their younger forwards and pass up dealing for a 20 year old.
-It will be very interesting to see all the trades that will be made over the next two weeks, before these over-age slots are filled and solidified.
NHL Central Scouting's "Players to Watch" List:
-The CSS released their annual "players to watch" list and there were some recognizable names for Winterhawks fans.
-17 year old D-man Brendan De Jong was the sole current Portland player listed as he was graded a "C" skater. Players are given an "A", "B" or "C" ranking in this initial list. De Jong, at 6'5" has the size for a D-man that a lot of scouts love, but probably needs to show more in regards to his play along the boards, for him to gain more notice from scouts.
-Winterhawks prospects: Taden Rattie (Forward, C rating, committed to play at Western Michigan), Kieffer Bellows (Forward, A rating, committed to Boston University) and Sam Rossini (Defense, B rating, committed University of Minnesota) are also listed among the players to watch.
-Former Hawks D-man Anton Cederholm's younger brother: Jacob Cederholm, who plays in Sweden was given a B rating.
-The U.S. Division had some other players to watch listed: Patrick Bajkov, Carter Hart and Tristen Pfeifer from Everett, Scott Eansor and Nolan Volcan for Seattle and Dylan Coghlan and Evan Sarthou for Tri City. Spokane had no players listed.
-Rodrigo Abols and Keoni Texeira were somehow not listed yet, despite getting significant interest from NHL teams and attending at least part of some camps. I would expect them to be included on the next list put out by CSS.
Hill
No News Revealed Regarding Hill's Injury:
-During "Hawkey Talk" last night there wasn't really anything new revealed in regards to Adin Hill's injury. Head Coach/GM Jamie Kompon did say that he hopes Hill is available to play "this weekend." To me this just means that they are taking the injury day by day and he will likely be a game day decision.
-No mention of Evan Weinger's shoulder surgery recovery. He was not listed in the WHL weekly report last week but is now listed as out indefinitely this week.
Which WHL Eligible Players are still at NHL Camps?:
-With the news yesterday that the Winnipeg Jets have returned D-man Nelson Nogier, back to the Red Deer Rebels, that means that there are 6 potential WHL players still at NHL camps:
Jake Virtanen- Calgary Hitmen (Vancouver): He could be headed back soon as he skated just 12:24 last night and fellow 19 year old in camp: Jared McCann has been more impressive, scoring the only goal in the Canucks 1-0 win.
Brayden Point-Moose Jaw (Tampa Bay): The 5'10" Point has not let his size hold him back in making an impact at Lighting camp. Head Coach: Jon Cooper even went out of his way to state that the league is trending more towards players like Point with speed, rather then the old days of the bigger, slower players. Point also should be returned by the end of the week.
Brendan Guhle- Prince Albert (Buffalo): The fact that the Sabres' 2nd round pick from this last June is still in camp is surprising. Apparently, he has impressed while paired with former Edmonton Oil King D-man Mark Pysyk. The 18 year old should be returned to the Raiders soon.
Conner Bleackley- Red Deer (Colorado): He will get the chance to play in his home area of Calgary tonight against the Flames and I would expect him to be sent down soon after.
Barzal
Haydn Fleury- Red Deer (Carolina): While the Hurricanes Defense is weak enough that there might be room for both Noah Hanifin (first round pick this year) and Fleury (first round pick last year), I don't know if they will be able to pass up having Fleury play in the Memorial cup. If anything, maybe Fleury gets 9 games of regular season action to give him a taste of the big time.
Mathew Barzal- Seattle (N.Y. Islanders): He was kept today, even though it meant that the Islanders had to send their top overall pick from 2014 back to Junior. This may be a situation, where the Isles want to see the 9 games out of him and if he impresses enough, keep him around. Isles GM Garth Snow, did a similar thing with Portland's Nino Niederreiter and it backfired on him.
-Of those 6, I'd probably be least surprised with Fleury and Barzal not making it back to the Junior ranks.
Former T-bird: Connor Honey Suing City of Vancouver:
-Connor Honey, who played for the Seattle Thunderbirds, is suing the city of Vancouver over hitting his head on an over hang at the Pacific Coliseum that he claims was not properly marked. The incident happened on 9/25/2013 and Honey, who battled through two injury plagued seasons prior to the incident, effectively had his hockey career ended. He tried to play the next season, but only was able to get into 7 games in 2013/14. He is suing for damages in regards to the incident.
Rutkowski
Troy Rutkowski Sent back to Binghamton:
-The former Winterhawks Captain was recently sent down from Ottawa Senators training camp to the AHL, to attend the Binghamton Senators training camp. This is a pivotal year for Rutkowski, as it is the final year of his Entry Level Contract. He got into 15 games in the AHL for the Baby Sens last year, after starting the year with Evansville of the ECHL.
Portland and Victoria met up again on Vancouver Island on Saturday night and while this game looked far different, as the two teams traded goals on the way to a 6-5 Victoria win, the Royals still notched another one on the win column for their 2nd straight over the Hawks.
Victoria's line of Jack Walker, Vladimir Bobylev and Alex Forsberg were again their most potent unit as they combined for 10 points. Meanwhile, Portland was led by a goal and an assist each from Caleb Jones, Alex Schoenborn and Skyler McKenzie.
Bobylev
Late goals in period, continued to doom the Hawks as they gave up a goal from Forsberg with just over a minute left in the 2nd that put the Royals up 5-4. A controversial goal just 13 seconds into the 3rd gave Victoria a 2 goal lead. The goal was one of two that were off of high deflections, as in the 2nd period, 17 year old Royals forward: Jared Dmytriw deflected a shot off of Portland Goalie Michael Bullion's glove and in. It was ruled his stick was too high. The 2nd high deflection, off of Regan Nagy's stick, occurred further away from Bullion and since it was initially called a goal and there was not enough evidence to over-turn the goal, it stood. Nagy's goal was eventually the game winner as Colton Veloso scored his 2nd career WHL goal and first of the year with just under 3 minutes left in the game.
Portland would pepper Victoria goalie Coleman Vollrath with many shots late in the game, but could not solve the over-age 'tender.
Portland's Bullion, making his 2nd straight start as Adin Hill continued to be out nursing an "upper body" injury, stopped 22 of 28 shots (WHL stats), while Vollrath, who was also making his 2nd straight start stopped 27 of 32 shots (my stats and WHL's both). Bullion is now 0-2 to start the season with a 5.00 GAA and a 0.825 save %.
Victoria was 1/6 on the power play, while Portland was 0/3. Over the first two games of the season, Portland's PK is 11/13 for 84.6%, while their power play is 0/9 for 0%.
Vollrath
Player
Goals
Assists
Points
Shots
F/O
F/O %
Hits
B/S
PIM
Bittner
1
0
1
5
0
0
7
1
2
Turgeon
0
1
1
2
15/23
65.2%
1
2
4
Iverson
0
0
0
4
1/1
100%
4
0
2
McKenzie
1
1
2
4
0/2
0%
3
1
2
Abols
0
2
2
2
3/6
50%
2
0
0
Schoenborn
1
1
2
4
0/1
0%
2
1
2
Overhardt
0
0
0
1
4/5
80%
2
0
2
Ericson
0
1
1
2
10/19
52.6%
3
0
2
Glass
0
0
0
1
0/1
0%
0
0
2
Clayton
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
Hughes
0
0
0
0
2/3
66.7%
1
0
2
Veloso
1
0
1
2
0
0
2
0
0
Jones
1
1
2
2
0
0
4
2
0
Dougherty
0
0
0
1
0
0
13
2
2
Heinrich
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
Texeira
0
3
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
De Jong
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
Heid
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Game Notes:
-Keoni Texeira had 3 assists in the game, his first 3 assist game in his WHL career. Texeira showed potential as an offensive D-men in his first year in the Dub, but is finally starting to show the confidence that is needed while moving the puck.
-Jack Dougherty was a minus 3 in the game. Despite that number, I don't think he had that bad of a game. He threw 13 hits, a game after throwing 10 for 23 on the weekend. He is quickly going to get a reputation for being one of the hardest D-men to play against in the WHL with stats like that.
-Michael Bullion, probably had his worst game in a Hawk's uniform. He seemed to lose where he was in the net on several of the Royals goals. His glove side was a place that Victoria's shooters seemed to target and find success when doing so.
-Rodrigo Abols was demoted off the 2nd line and replaced with Carl Ericson, despite notching 2 assists. Ericson has been one of the best and most consistent Winterhawks through the first two games. He started to show some chemistry while playing with Skyler McKenzie and Alex Schoenborn.
-This could've been though because McKenzie and Schoenborn were the best Hawks on Saturday night. The two forced turnovers, and found space, creating great scoring chances. They had a goal apiece and also had several other solid scoring chances. McKenzie could be in for a breakout season for Portland.
-Brett Clayton came within an inch of notching his first WHL goal as he rang a shot off the post in the 2nd period. Clayton was a force while playing on the 4th line. He had 4 hits in limited ice time and helped create some chances for Colton Veloso and Ryan Hughes, his line mates.
-Portland next plays on Saturday night in their home opener against Everett.
