Returning Winterhawk Profile #3: Ethan Price

(Editor's Note: In the countdown to the season opener on September 19th, I will be looking at each of the 15 returning Winterhawks that look to be on the opening night roster).

Next up (in numerical fashion): #3 Ethan Price

Born: 1/17/1997
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
Position: Right Wing
How Acquired: 6th Round Pick (130th Overall) in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft

Stats:
-2013/14: 67 Games Played, 4 Goals, 4 Assists, 8 Points, 30 Penalty Minutes, -9.
              Playoffs: 12 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 0 PIMs.

NHL Drafted: Eligible in 2015

Analysis:
-As a 16 year old last season, Price had very limited playing time, residing mostly on the 4th line for the Hawks. He has quite a bit of size for someone as young as he is, but is short (5'10") and is the same size as he was last year (182 lbs). Last year, he showed flashes of some offensive ability, getting 2 of his 4 goals on absolutely wired wrist shots. He also looked like he has a nice slap shot, but does not have the accuracy needed to expect he is going to shoot that much for the Hawks this year. He showed impressive improvement on the defensive end and was even given quite a bit of penalty killing time as the season went on and was relied upon more than 20 year old Adam Rossignol in crucial time during playoff games. This looks to continue this year as Price fore-checked the heck out of Tri City in a preseason game and was slotted as a top p'ker in that day's lineup.

Outlook:
-Price is eligible for this year's draft but is virtually off the NHL scouting radar so far as he was not listed in Central Scouting's Futures North American list released this July. With Coach Jamie Kompon looking to pair Chase De Leo, Alex Schoenborn and Dominic Turgeon on a second line, Price could be primed to take a spot on the wing of  Keegan Iverson or Adam de Champlain on a 3rd line. With his reliability and fore-checking tenacity, this does seem like a bit of a lock for a checking line with one or both of those older players. Should he show some offensive ability in this increased role and with scouts going to Hawks games to look at Paul Bittner and Keoni Texeira, he could climb his way onto the CSS list and earn a spot in some scout's heart and get drafted. Even if he does not do this, I think he will quickly become a crowd favorite, as he does absolutely everything you want a player to do, as far as effort is concerned. He is a strong player, who goes into all the tough areas, forces turnovers, throws checks and fights well. This is one of the players I am most excited about seeing this upcoming season. He will benefit from the older Hawk's forwards missing time at NHL training camps and at World Juniors, with increased playing time and responsibility.

Previous Returning Winterhawk Profiles: Brendan Burke, Anton Cederholm

Returning Winterhawk Profile: #2: Anton Cederholm

(Editors Note: In the countdown to the season opener on September 19th, I will be looking individually, at each of the 15 returning Winterhawk's players that look to be on the opening night roster).

Second up (in numerical fashion) is #2 Anton Cederholm

Born: 2/21/1995
Hometown: Helsingborg, Sweden
Position: Left Defense
How Acquired: 1st Round Pick in the 2013 CHL Import Draft (60th Overall)

Stats:
-2013/14: 71 Games Played, 4 Goals, 12 Assists, 16 Points, 95 Penalty Minutes, +42
              Playoffs: 21 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 Pts, 16 PIMs

NHL Drafted: Vancouver Canucks 5th Round (145th Overall) in 2013. Signed Rookie Deal on 5/20/14

Analysis:
-Cederholm came in as a bit of unknown after being selected with the last first round pick in last year's CHL import draft. We knew that the Hawks thought enough of him in order to release Russian Defenseman Kirill Vorobyev as one of their two protected imports. But besides that, there was not a lot known about the Swede. My first exposure to him was at his first WHL game: a preseason tilt in the 2013 Everett tournament. On his first shift he threw a massive and legal open ice check that got the small crowd present, excited. This type of play, does not really fit too much with the way the Hawks want their Defensemen to play though so this was dialed back as the regular season began. The message had been sent though that Anton was a big physical D-man, who knows how to use that size. Last year, as he took awhile getting used to the system and making sure that he was not out of place. His size was more useful along the boards, where he made life difficult for opposing forwards in his own zone.

For most of the season and playoffs he was paired with CHL D-man of the year Derrick Pouliot; who played on his right and handled the puck the majority of the time. As he began to get used to the WHL playing surface, he looked more comfortable in handling the puck in tougher situations. He just simply became a player who was not out of place defensively too often. Anton does not seem phased by anything, as evidenced by the season of Swedish Elite League he played as a 17 year old. Though he only notched 4 goals on the season, last year, he was not asked to play too much power play time (especially after Mathew Dumba was acquired) and was more a stay at home D-man then somebody who was asked to light it up offensively. Because of this, he was one of the Hawk's top penalty killers, nearly from day one of the season and will be asked to be the main cog defensively this season. He actually lost 5 lbs (down to 6'2" and 209 lbs from 214 last year) and maybe this will increase his agility, which could use some improvement. The few times he led the rush into the opponents zone, he looked confident and rushed back. It is obvious now in the NHL that Europe (and specifically Sweden) have been cranking out some of the games best D-men and Cederholm looks like he could play at the next level eventually. His case to make this sooner rather than later, would be helped if he develops his shot more and has more big moments like December 27th, 2013, when he rushed up the ice and scored an OT winner vs. Tri City, when Pouliot was at World Juniors. Continued improvements in physical play would help his professional outlook as well.

Outlook:
-The biggest concern for Hawks fans is whether or not Cederholm actually returns to the Hawks for his 19 year old season. He is eligible to play in the AHL for former Hawk's assistant coach Travis Green with the Utica Comets, as he was drafted by Vancouver prior to becoming property of the Hawks and thus is not protected under the CHL-NHL agreement. This decision is anyone's guess right now, but having just been signed, he was an object of interest for the Canucks at July's Prospect Camp. He is a lock for Vancouver's roster at the Young Star's classic from September 11th-15th in Pentiction as he was there last year. As a signed player, he should also be at training camp for the Canucks from the 19th-22nd. Depending on how he performs at this camp, he may get some playing time in some of their 9 preseason games from Sept. 23rd-October 4th. From there it is up to the Canucks on whether he will come back to Portland or head off to Utica.

Even if he does come back to the Hawks, after missing part of the beginning of the season, he might miss some more time around Christmas to go to the World Junior U-20 Championships in Toronto and Montreal from December 26th-January 5th. He is a finalist for the roster as he played in 4 games this summer for Sweden at the USA jr. Development Camp in Lake Placid, where he faced off against 4 Winterhawks teammates (Chase De Leo, Keegan Iverson, Dominic Turgeon and Brendan Burke). Sweden is only returning 2 of the 7 D-men on last year's roster, so Anton has a good chance of making it onto the the reigning Silver Medalists.

Should he be back in Portland (which I expect), he goes from being a support D-man for guys like Pouliot and Dumba to the Hawk's go-to guy on the back end this season. He will most likely notch the most minutes a game on the team and may also be relied upon as a power play quarterback, depending on what newcomers Blake Heinrich and Nick Heid show offensively. It is believed that he has bigger offensive abilities than he has shown so far in Portland and this year, we will get to see those abilities unleashed a lot more. Should Cederholm take a big step forward this season, the Hawk's defense will be a lot less of a question mark than we thought. Because of the other responsibilities he will have this season, he will probably be asked to fight a lot less.

 

Previous Returning Winterhawk Profiles: Brendan Burke.

Returning Winterhawk Profile: #1 Brendan Burke

(Editors note: There is 15 days until the season opener for Portland on September 19th. Over those days, I will be looking at one returning Hawk a day).

First up ( in numerical fashion) is #1 Brendan Burke

Born: 3/11/1995
Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
Position: Goalie
How Acquired: 3rd Round Bantam Draft Pick (49th overall) in 2010.

Stats:
-2011/12: 18 Games Played (GP), 3.58 Goals Against Average (GAA) and 0.875 Save %.
-2012/13: 33 GP, 2.65 GAA and 0.908 Save %.
-2013/14: 48 GP, 2.75 GAA and 0.911 Save %.

NHL Drafted: Arizona Coyotes 6th Round (163rd overall) in 2013. He is currently unsigned.

Analysis:
-Burke enters his second season as the Winterhawks go-to starting Goaltender. Though he has many detractors, I believe he has improved in each of the 3 years he has spent in a Winterhawks sweater. His numbers over the last 2 seasons were some of the best in the WHL, but he was also playing for teams that were stacked with talent. Burke, in his time in Portland, can really be seen in one of two lights and is very unique in that way. The root of this I believe is his playing style. He plays a stand up/butterfly style and is very large in his net (6'4" 190 lbs). This style works for him in that he covers a large part of the net and, due to his butterfly ability, he is great at saving pucks in the 2 and 4 holes (down at his feet). I constantly see his make great scrambling saves when opponents are trying to bang home rebounds down low. Despite the fact that this style is great at this, it means that if he wants to play aggressive and shut down a shooters angles, he has to make sure that his coverage of said angles is nearly perfect. This is really the crux of it for me. Burke has never consistently displayed the confidence necessary to be successful in playing this style. I have see him let a goal in and stay back in his net, letting shooters pick their angles. His glove hand will look fantastic on one shot, but after he's given up a couple weak goals, it will not be the same.

Despite this, last year he played a stretch from January 11th to February 1st (7 games) where he never allowed more than 2 goals and had 3 of his 4 shut outs on the year. Confidence is always an issue for Goalies, they are the most important players in this game we love, so they feel the weight of each loss on their shoulders, especially if the goals they gave up were of the weaker variety.

In order to have the 19 year old banner year that I know he has to expect and that the Arizona Coyotes will need from him in order to sign him, he has to improve at coming out of the net. One major difference between Mac Carruth and Burke, is that confidence necessary to make these saves. In the 2012 Western Conference Semi-Finals vs. Kamloops, Carruth had 2 straight abysmal performances in giving up 7 goals in games 5 and 6, forcing a game 7 in Portland. I never had a doubt about Carruth responding with a great performance in Game 7 due to the irrational confidence that is a large part of how he play. He pulled off a 2-0 shut out, eliminating the Blazers. Carruth had every reason to believe that he would fail in game 7, given how the last 2 games turned out, but he just chose not to believe that it would happen. I have yet to see this same irrational confidence from Burke.

Sure there are technique improvements that a 19 year old Goalie could make that would allow Burke (especially with his glove hand) to launch him to the next level, but to me the difference maker is improving his confidence.

Outlook:
-There is reason to believe that Burke's confidence did improve for this season, as he seemed to have a stellar U.S.A. Hockey World Juniors Evaluation Camp and should be a finalist at being in Goal for the WJC this year. He needs a solid season for the Hawks, though, by the time invites are handed out in order to make this dream come true though. He also had another prospects camp with Arizona, where his Dad: Sean Burke, the Goaltenders coach got to spend a lot of time coaching him. What will make it harder on him to get signed to an NHL contract and make the USA WJC team, is that Portland's defense has some growing pains ahead of themselves. Of the 6 Defensemen on the ice for Game 7 of the WHL Final last year, only 3 are back (Anton Cederholm, Layne Viveiros and Keoni Texeira). And these D-men definitely were not relied upon as much as Derrick Pouliot, Mat Dumba and Garrett Haar were for the Hawks last year.

Burke Replacing Boes

Even with these D-men in the lineup, Burke had an up and down playoff run last year, culminating in him getting pulled from net in game 2 of the Western Conference Final vs. Kelowna after giving up 3 goals on 9 shots. He did get put back in for Corbin Boes in Game 6 of the WHL Final and also played Game 7 for the Hawks. Him starting game 7 was probably more due to the way Boes was playing, then some belief that Coach Mike Johnston had that he would be the reason the Hawks would win game 7.

Again though, the Hawks look to be among the league's leaders in goals this season, as they are returning the #s 2 and 3 WHL season leaders from last year. However, this up temp play that creates this goal total, also leads to breakaways or 2 on 1s in the other direction. This means that even when Burke does not face a ton of shots, the quality of some of those shots will be high.

Sitting behind Burke this season is 18 year old Goalie Adin Hill, who is finally getting his chance to prove himself at the WHL level after playing fantastic in limited starts the past 2 seasons. Burke will be handed the starting gig and my guess is that he will given a lot of leeway at the start of the season.

Overall, Burke, now a year older, should show improvements on his angles and hopefully this will give him the confidence necessary to prove that he really does belong among the top goal stoppers in the WHL. Suffice it to say, the Hawks season really is relying upon him to take this next step forward.

Lofthouse, Elson, Morison and Glass No Longer On Preseason Roster



Lofthouse



The Portland Winterhawks un-ceremoniously made their decision about their over-age dilemma today, by removing Trent Lofthouse and Trace Elson from the preseason roster on their website. Both were invitees to training camp, played the Neely Cup and each played 2 games at the preseason tournament in Everett last weekend.

The decision somewhat cements the Winterhawks with their limit of 20 year olds on the roster. They are: Center Adam de Champlain and Defensemen Joshua Smith and Josh Hanson. De Champlain was 10^th round Bantam Draft pick in 2009, joined the Hawks as an 18 year old for the 2012-13 season and has spent most of his time on the 4^th line for the last two years. Hanson was an 8^th round pick in the 2009 draft and has played 255 games over the past 4 seasons with the Hawks. Smith is the only free agent invitee that is still around. He was actually drafted much higher than Hanson or de Champlain, as he was a first round pick (19^th overall) by the Prince George Cougars in 2009. This decision is more likely in wet cement, as Coach/General Manger Jamie Kompon could choose to take one of these three off the roster if a better perceived option presents itself, especially since it has been reported that Hanson is injured and could be out at least until the regular season starts on September 19^th.



Elson



Cutting Lofthouse and Elson is not too terribly surprising, as both did not stand out in the same way Smith did this last weekend, or free agent invitee Adam Rossignol did a season ago. Lofthouse notched 2 assists in Friday’s 7-5 preseason win over Spokane, but failed to register a point and was a minus 1 in Saturday’s win over Tri City. At times his play was sloppy and you could tell that he was frustrated. The chemistry was just not there between him and his then potential 3^rd/4^th line teammate de Champlain and he was used sparingly in both games as a penalty killer; something your over-age forward not playing in the top 6 usually does.

Elson, meanwhile played Friday and Sunday, notching 1 assist and recording an overall minus 1. I really don’t have much to say about his game on Friday, as he really just wasn’t that noticeable on the ice. He really never made any big mistakes, but did not really present one asset that the Hawks could not live without.

There may be other opportunities for these two out there, as injuries happen and they have both proven that they can contribute at the WHL level. The best of luck is wished to both of them. Lofthouse is eligible to play collegiate hockey and get free tuition for 3 years, as per his WHL education contract.

The roster now sits at 29, as both 15 year old Center Cody Glass and 16 year old Center Reed Morison are no longer listed as of today. Both players are signed by the Winterhawks and are still protected as they are not over-agers. We knew at some point Glass would get sent down, as he is only eligible to play 5 games this season during the regular season for the Hawks. I am somewhat surprised he is not hanging around for the start of the season as Portland will most likely be missing, at least, 6 forwards at NHL camps, but they probably want the preseason games to go to the eligible forwards they will have to make tough choices on to start the season.

Morison appears to be that first 16-19 year old cut, but it is possible he left for some other reason and could be back. Though a recent Tweet he sent from the Vancouver airports appears to confirm he will not play anymore preseason games, nothing has been released by the Winterhawks officially and this is an educated guess. Morison played Friday and Saturday for the Hawks in Everett and had 1 goal and 1 assist, but was an overall minus 2. If I were to guess at a reason the Hawks sent Morison down, it would be for him to put a little more size on his frame and to work on his 2-way play. He appeared out of position at times defensively and was prone to bad plays. That being said, this guy has a bright future with the organization and if any injuries occur, I would expect them to call him up. He played last season for the Calgary Royals Midget AAA team and could return there.

Portland’s roster now sits at 29 players at this point (15 forwards, 11 Defensemen and 3 Goalies), meaning there are a few more cuts to make after the preseason games this weekend.

Thoughts After Watching First 2 Hawks Preseason Games

The Portland Winterhawks began their preseason play this weekend at the annual Everett tournament this weekend and finished 3-0, outscoring their opponents 16-9. I was able to attend their Friday and Saturday games against Spokane and Tri City and here are my thoughts:

August 29th: Portland 7 Spokane 5:
-The Hawks burst out to a 6-1 lead, before allowing 4 late goals and holding on for a 7-5 win over the Chiefs.
-1999 born 2014 first round WHL Bantam pick: Cody Glass made an impressive WHL debut with 2 goals, while Defenseman Blake Heinrich added 2 as well, in his second game in a Hawks sweater.
-Portland outshot Spokane 43-23 and really controlled about 75 % of the action.

Kompon

-I sat behind the Portland bench and the first difference I picked out between new coach Jamie Kompon and former coach Mike Johnston was that Kompon is far more animated and vocal than Johnston. His two favorite phrases appear to be: "Wheel, Wheel!" and "Pinch!" Most of these were directed at the defense. He was yelling so much, his voice sounded very horse by the second period.
-Based on this and frenetic pace of this game, it would be fair to say that Kompon wants his Defensemen to push the play and force the other team back on his heels, just as much as Johnston did, if not more.
-Assistant Coach Kyle Gustafson worked primarily with the Defensemen, while the other Assistant: Keith McKittrick worked with the forwards.
-This fast pace can set up fantastic goals and cause opposing Goalies headaches, but it also contributed to a few poor goals on the other end as well.
-Glass was a little nervous to start the game, but after his first few shifts (he skated with Chase De Leo and Alex Schoenborn) he was continuously in the right place and though his first goal was a little weak, squeezing through Spokane, 17 year old Goalie Tyson Verhelst's 5-hole, his second was a very deft deflection on a Layne Viveiros point shot. I am very excited for him to put more size on his frame and make an impact as a 16 year old next season.
-Keegan Iverson was a force early on but took it a little too far with a hit to the head of a Spokane player 18:45 into the game, earning a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. In my opinion the hit looked to contact the player's shoulder first, but referee Nathan Wieler would not hear it and Iverson was very upset leaving the ice.

Heinrich

-Heinrich may have to be the Hawk's go to power play quarterback as he exhibited great offensive instincts and a solid point shot. You will have to take the bad with the good (at least early on as he adjusts) with Heinrich though as his pocket was picked in embarrassing fashion by Spokane's Keanu Yamamoto, right in front of Goalie Brendan Burke, not giving poor Burke a prayer on the Chief's second goal.
-Speaking of Burke, I may be the only one who thinks his first game really wasn't that bad. Heinrich's turnover was one of many poor decisions on the back end, leaving him high and dry. The negative of Burke's play is the fact that it still appears that he has not mastered the angles that his playing style forces him to have to excel at. Of the 5 Spokane goals, I probably only place the blame fully on him for 1 of them (Curtis Miske's in the 3rd). This goal (Spokane's 4th) was scored shortly after Miske collided with Burke on the way out of his net leaving a wide open area for Riley Whittingham to bury the puck for Spakane's 3rd goal. Burke did seem to be pretty pissed off though and slapped his stick multiple times on the ice.
-Reed Morison also took away a souvenir puck, as he scored his first WHL goal, scoring off a rebound of a Keoni Texeira shot in the second period. Morison played 2 games for the Hawks last year as a 15 and is hoping to make the lineup permanently this year.
-Skyler McKenzie, who played the maximum number of games as a 15 year old last year (5), also scored his first WHL goal on a ridiculous snipe off a great Colton Veloso late in the 1st period. McKenzie is about 2 inches taller (5'7") and about 15 lbs heavier (149 lbs) and it shows in his play. Last year he got pushed around a lot, despite really good stick skills and superb agility. A little more size will make it easier for him to create a little space out there for his abilities with the puck to show.
-Veloso was the most impressive 16 year old Hawk on the weekend for me. He seems to have great ice vision out there and set up countless great scoring opportunities for his linemates.
-Carter Czaikowski is a 16 year old D-men with great wheels, but just seems like his is too small right now to be counted on for more than a handful of games this season. Spokane seemed to take it upon themselves to hit Czaikowski every chance they had. He did show some toughness by giving it back but on one of the Chief's goals, he could not move his guy out of Burke's ways, even after several cross checks. He would certainly be a fun player to watch this season, as he seems like he could really fit into the system well, but is most likely a year away.
-One guy who is not a year away is fellow 16 year old Brendan De Jong. Rarely do you see a 16 year old already know how to use his size like De Jone does. He threw a couple nice checks along the boards and did not back down from any challenges. De Jong can also skate very well and made several great outlet passes to spring his forwards.
-This is getting a little long winded, but I wanted to mention 20 year old Joshua Smith. Smith is 5'10" and 185 lbs, but plays the physical game well, while also contributing a very hard slap shot and the ability to run a power play from the point. As seen on the Hawk's first goal an absolute blast from the point.I could see Smith hanging around at least until Josh Hanson recovers from his injury and maybe he forces Hanson out. I find it extremely hard to believe that he did not play more for a cellar dwelling Prince George team the past few seasons.

August 30th: Portland 5 Tri City 2:
-We got out first taste of 19 year NHL signed forwards: Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan playing together and it was a real treat. Much like Leipsic and Petan did last year at the same tournament, at times they looked like they were just toying with their opponents. Oliver finished with 2 goals, while Nic had 2 assists. One of Bjorkstrand's goals was of highlight reel variety, as he (shorthanded) took the puck from one defender then walked between him and another for shelving it high glove side, past Tri City Goalie Evan Sarthou. If Bjorkstrand gets enough penalty killing time this season, I could see him making a run at the WHL record for short handed goals in a season: 14.

de Champlain

-20 year old Trent Lofthouse had another forgettable game and was visibly frustrated with himself. At one point, Kompon even went out of his way to say something to him after a string of poor plays. So far, at least, he seems like the easist cut of the 5 over age hopefuls. There was a one Everett fan who was still upset over Lofthouse's failure to achieve his expectations, as he yelled: "Lofthouse You Suck!" multiple times over the 2 games.
-One of these over-age hopefuls, came out with an "A" on his sweater, so appears to be lock and that was Adam de Champlain. De Champlain skated with Lofthouse and 17 year old Evan Weinger. Adam was his aggressive self and was on of the top Hawk's penalty killers in this game. This skill alone could be what has vaulted him on top of the 20 year old hierarchy.
-The other players with "A"s on their sweaters, that I saw play were: Chase De Leo, Dominic Turgeon and Nic Petan.The captaincy will most likely come down to one of these players. The easy choice would be Petan, as he is the only Assistant Captain left from last year's squad, but I would not rule out the other three yet.
-17 year old Jack Flaman, out of the SMHL, was placed on the top line with Petan and Bjorkstrand and was okay, It's hard to judge a guy who flubs a few chances when he is playing with two guys who are just playing at a quicker pace then anyone else on the ice. Flaman did make a couple great plays while killing penalties though and could be a role player for the Hawks down the road.
-Adin Hill had yet another solid game, as he made a few scrambling saves, including a beauty of a left leg kick save to rob Justin Gutierrez. I think this guy is only gonna get better and I would not be surprised if starts somewhere in the 25-30 game range this season for Portland.
-The Ethan Price, Alex Overhardt, Skyler McKenzie line was impressive; creating a solid forecheck and multiple scoring chances off of forced turnovers. Price finished with an empty net goal and could be playing himself into an agitator role for the Hawks as he play with a tone of effort and throws a lot of checks. Price also excelled at killing penalties in the game.
-Evan Weinger was another Winterhawk to score their first WHL goal (all in the preseason), as he potted his first on a nifty snipe off a loose puck. This guy plays with great offensive instincts and has  a nice wrist shot as well. Weinger was a 13th round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft, but I could not find anywhere that he has signed a contract with the Hawks and if this is the case, they need to sign him promptly.

I was not able to make Sunday's 4-2 win over Everett, to close out a 3-0 weekend, but did see that Bjorkstrand had 1 goal and 2 assists, while Nic Petan had 1 goal and 1 assist and De Leo and Heinrich also scored.Michael Bullion stopped 32 of 34 shots for the win.

Portland continues their preseason play with games Friday vs Kootenay and Saturday vs. Red Deer at the annual Tri City preseason tournament next weekend.

Hawks Open Preseason Play vs Spokane Today/ Things to Look For

Portland gets it's preseason play underway this afternoon up at the annual Everett preseason tournament with a tilt against a familiar foe this afternoon in the Spokane Chiefs. Portland has beaten Spokane 17 times in a row, if you include the 2013 preseason and the their 2013 playoff sweep. The last time Spokane was victorious over any Portland squad was a 5-4 shoot out win on January 23rd, 2013.

These are the top 3 things that I will be looking for today and the rest of the weekend:

Bjorkstrand

1) Which top 6 combinations will Head Coach Jamie Kompon try out?
-Portland has lost Brendan Leipsic to the pros from the top line he was on with Nic Petan and Paul Bittner and Taylor Leier (also to the pros) off his line with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Chase De Leo.

These two lines had been playing mostly with each other since the beginning of the 2013 season. In the case of the De Leo unit they also played together a lot in the 2012-13 season. So the major question will be: will Kompon just try to fill in the two empty slots, or will he move Bjorkstrand up to the top unit with Bittner and Petan? This would give some combination of Alex Schoenborn, Keegan Iverson and Dominic Turgeon the opportunity to move up to the top 6. Schoenborn also played a lot with Leipsic and Petan last year and so is an option on the top line.

Because they are stacked at the Center position, there is a chance that either De Leo or Turgeon gets moved to the wing of one of the top two lines. Either way, it will certainly be interesting to see which line combinations catch fire and start the season together.

Overhardt

2) How will the young forwards fare and is there spots for those eligible?
 -Recently signed 2014 Bantam first round pick: Center Cody Glass will be getting his first WHL action this weekend, as will signed 17 year old Center Alex Overhardt and unsigned 17 year old RW Evan Weinger. As Glass, is 15, he is restricted to 5 games of WHL regular season action this year. I'm very excited to see how the Hawks first top round Bantam Pick since Nic Petan in 2010 fares against older competition. Also, Overhardt will be vying for a spot in the bottom 6 with 20 year olds: Trent Lofthouse, Adam de Champlain and Trace Elson (probably will only keep 2 at most), 19 year old RW Tyson Predinchuk, 17 year olds Colton Veloso and Ethan Price and of course 16 year olds: Skyler McKenzie and Reed Morison.

With Turgeon, Schoenborn or Iverson slotted for one of those 3rd line roles, it looks like there is only spots for 7 others (if they keep 2 extra forwards, which is the likely outcome). Preseason is when these 7 spots will be won or lost. If the Hawks keep 2 of the over age forwards, then the 6, signed and eligible forwards remaining will try to win one of remaining 5 spots in the final 23 man roster. This means one, non over age forward will be left out.

The good news for all of these players though, is that Hawks will be missing, at least 6 forwards at NHL camps (most of which are starting on September 13th). How long these players will be gone for, remains to be seen, but it gives each one of these forwards a longer opportunity to earn a spot. Of note also is the fact that Bittner will miss time as the All Americans Prospect Game on September 25th.

Cederholm

3) How good will the defense be?
-For the second season in a row, most of the unknowns on the roster reside on the back end. The Hawks are bringing 11 D-men up with them to Everett, all of which have signed WHL education contracts. Two of these D-men are over agers: Joshua Smith and Josh Hanson and one is eligible for the AHL: Anton Cederholm. Smith has only played a handful of WHL games, so there is a lot of unknowns with his play. Hanson is a known commodity, but has never really fit the system the Hawks run. Though he is eligible for the pros, Cederholm will, most likely come back and can be expected to be the Hawks go to guy on the blue line.

As for the other 8 guys on the roster: 17 year old Keoni Texeira is the only complete lock, as his play last season proved that he should play a huge role in this year's team. Black Heinrich was drafted by the Washington Capitals, but was very tentative in his only WHL action last year. 17 year old Nick Heid is a guy the Hawks are hoping they can count on to play a top 4 role, but has never played a WHL game. 18 year old Zach Paterson has shown flashes, but really needs to have an amazing preseason to cement a spot on the team. 19 year old Layne Viveiros played some power play quarterback last year and may be kept as a veteran who can fill this role. 17 year old: Justin Greer and 16 year olds: Carter Czaikowski and Brendan De Jong are all hoping to make a big impression and win a spot. It is likely the Hawks will put 7 D-men on their final 23 man roster, leaving 4 guys out.

Despite all of these unknowns; one thing is clear: we will know far more about these guys after the 5 preseason games, then we know now and hopefully we will be closer to some answers.

An Early Look at the Over-Age Situation



DeChamplain

 Oh how time flies. The Neely Cup starts tomorrow and player testing is going on today. I thought this would be a good time to look over all the players the Winterhawks have signed to WHL education contracts. At the conclusion of training camp (before their first preseason game against Spokane at the Everett tournament), the Hawks will have the opportunity to sign some of the players that have impressed them.

Another thing of interest if you are going to the Neely cup or any of the preseason games, will be the fact that it will be our first look at Head Coach Jamie Kompon behind the Hawks bench. From everything I have read and seen, Kompon’s team should look similar to Coach Mike Johnston’s with puck control and speed playing large roles.

1994 Born Players (Over-agers)- Portland, like all WHL teams will only be able to carry three 20 year olds at the October 16^th deadline.

-(D) Derrick Pouliot- The CHL’s reigning Defenseman of the year had offseason surgery, but even this will not be enough to send him back to Juniors, because he has signed an entry level deal and there is little doubt the Penguins will want him to start his rehab in the AHL.

-(C) Brendan Leipsic- One of the most entertaining players in all of the WHL, will not be back for his 20 year old season as he has a contract with Nashville. I project that Leipsic will probably spend most of this year in Milwaukie of the AHL.

-(LW) Taylor Leier- One of the Winterhawks over the years who improved so much each year, even playing himself into an NHL entry level deal with Philadelphia. This, of course, means that the Winterhawks will need a new Captain this year. He is another player who will, most likely play the year in the AHL.

-(D) Mathew Dumba- Just the fact alone that Dumba already has used the first year of his entry level deal, means that Minnesota will at least give him the opportunity to start the year in the NHL. Whatever they decide, there is no chance he is coming back to Portland.

-(D) Josh Hanson- I have written time and again about Hanson. Portland took him in the 8^th round of the 2009 Bantam Draft and he has shown signs over the years of developing into a talented top 4 pairing D-man for the Hawks (He looked great at the Tri City tournament last year). However, it just seems that his playing style just never fit in with Portland’s fleet of puck rushing D-men. He also wasn’t big enough to fit in as a stay at home, bruising, defensive D-man (a la Brett Ponich or Tyler Wotherspoon). If there were some other options here, I could not see him being kept as on over-ager, but he actually will be the leading returning scorer in this age group (18 pts). That being said, he really has a lot to prove and if his confidence wasn’t shaken by his gradual move down to 6^th/7^th spot in the rotation last year, he could be primed for a large role on the back end for Portland.

-(C) Adam De Champlain- This is an intriguing one for Portland. De Champlain seems to be the only agitator on the roster, but has played on the 4^th line for most of his career in Portland. Unlike, Hanson, though, he really fits into the system, as he is one of the speediest Hawks on the roster. He is not bad on the draw and if Chase De Leo or Dominic Turgeon is moved to the Center position (De Leo did play some wing at Winnipeg Jets prospect camp), I think he could be a solid 3^rd line Center. He has always shown flashes of having some great offensive skills, but has always been asked to do other things for the team. I really do not see that changing in his last year of eligibility and to me at least. He is the biggest lock of the three 20s that will be in camp.

-(RW) Trace Elson- Portland took Elson in the 10th round of the 2014 Bantam Draft, which was a fairly unique move, as he had just been released by Vancouver. The Hawks really do not have an enforcer and may have been looking for one in Elson. He is only 5’10” 181 lbs though and does not fit the stereotype that is for sure. However, Portland must have felt that he was going to be listed by someone, shortly after the draft; otherwise they probably would not have wasted a Bantam pick on him. I really could not see him being anything more than a placeholder for when the Hawks make a trade for a 20 year old D-man (that’s where their need is). If Elson is a strong locker room presence though and does fit a role as an enforcer type, maybe he will stay around and be started for the games, Kompon belies he is needed in. The Hawks, in the past, have not been averse to placing a 4^th line over-ager on the roster (like Rossignol last year).

Another, outside chance is Defenseman Shaun MacPherson returning to the Hawks, but I really could not see this happening, as he was sent down to the SJHL last year, after parts of a couple up and down seasons with the Hawks.

The most likely outcome is Hanson and De Champlain returning for two of the spots and Elson getting a look through the preseason, like Taylor Thompson did last year.