Monday's Portland Winterhawks News and Notes:Shorthanded Hawks Lose 2 of 3 in Kennewick, Sign Larionov

(Editor's note: I will have another post up soon,  recapping each game at the different training camps that current and former Winterhawks have been involved in. The tournaments conclude tomorrow, with main camps starting soon after).
Hawks Drop 2 of 3 in Kennewick:
-9/9: Hawks Drop Cougars 3-2
Behind 2 points each from '99 born, former first round Bantam pick: Cody Glass and 19 year old Swedish import pick: Carl Ericson, Portland scored three, 2nd period goals and held on to beat Prince George 3-2. Adin Hill started, what should be his last preseason game, before heading to Arizona Coyotes training camp. He stopped 32 of 34 shots and won his only two preseason games. Portland continued their string of penalties with 6 more in this game, after committing 7, two different times the previous weekend. They were able to stop all 6 of the Cougar's power plays.

-9/10: Tired Hawks are Blown Out 7-2 by Spokane
After playing until after 9pm, the night before Portland took the ice at 3pm and were overwhelmed by the young Spokane Chiefs squad. With Hill leaving, Portland was without nine players, who were at NHL rookie camps. They were also without D-men Jackson Caller and Conor MacEachern and forwards Evan Weinger and Bronson Sharp, who are out nursing injuries. Weinger reportedly had offseason surgery on his shoulder and has yet to play in the preseason. That meant a roster that had blossomed to 32 players, after the signing of 17 year old forward: Tanner Nagel, only had 19 players available. 16 year old Goalie: Ethan Middendorf, making his 2nd start for Portland gave up two goals on the first five shots he faced, ended up giving up 7 goals on 51 total shots. Austin Gray scored his 2nd goal, in 3 preseason games and Skyler McKenzie notched one as well.

-9/11: Portland Wastes Solid Outing by Bullion, Loses 3-1 to Everett
18 year old Goalie Michael Bullion stopped 42 of 45 shots and was handed the loss, despite making many outstanding saves. Bullion has made 40 pus saves in his only two appearances of the preseason this year. Alex Overhardt tied the game for Portland in the 2nd period, with his team leading 4th goal, before Everett retook the lead behind a goal from key forward: Patrick Bajkov. Portland ended up losing the last two games, but had built in excuses form the schedule makers, due to having to play three games in under 43 hours.

Point Leaders Through First 6 Preseason Games:

Player	Position	Birth Year	GP	G	A	Pts
(17)Alex Overhardt	Center	1997	5	4	2	6
(8)Cody Glass	Center	1999	6	1	4	5
(20)Carl Ericson	Center	1996	4	1	3	4
(18)Rodrigo Abols	Center	1996	2	0	3	3
(22)Alex Schoenborn	RW	1995	2	1	2	3
(39)Colton Veloso	RW	1997	5	0	3	3
(44)Keoni Texeira	D	1997	2	0	3	3

 Schoenborn, Abols  and Texeira are among the top 7 point getters, despite only playing in 2 games apiece. Here's hoping that Ericson and Abols can continue this point rate in the regular season.

(3)Caleb Jones	D	1996	2	1	1	2
(14)Nick Heid	D	1997	5	1	1	2
(21)Brendan De Jong	D	1998	5	0	2	2
(23)Dominic Turgeon	Center	1996	2	2	0	2
(24)Brett Clayton	LW	1998	3	2	0	2
(29)Austin Gray	RW	1997	6	2	0	2
(5)Jack Dougherty	D	1996	2	0	1	1
(6)Jake Hobson	D	1999	5	0	1	1
(7)Paul Bittner	LW	1996	2	1	0	1
(16)Blake Heinrich	D	1995	5	0	1	1
(19)Ryan Hughes	Center	1999	5	0	1	1
(26)Jack Flaman	Center	1997	6	1	0	1
(28)Carter Czaikowski	D	1998	5	0	1	1
(36)Mitch Walter	RW	1996	6	0	1	1
(38)Reed Morison	Center	1998	5	1	0	1
(43)Skyler McKenzie	Center	1998	3	1	0	1

 Carl Ericson and Cody Glass have shown great chemistry over the 4 games that they've been together. Those two could be part of a solid 3rd line for Portland, which appears to be what Coach Jamie Kompon is grooming them for by placing them on the same line consistently.

Heinrich

Blake Heinrich is a candidate for Captain for the team this season, but the coaching staff probably expected him to contribute more on the score sheet, while 3 of the other expected top 4 D-men have been out of the lineup. While offense is not a huge part of his game, he will be expected to contribute more this season as on over-age, trying to earn a free agent professional contract.

Portland's Last Preseason Game Moved to Everett:

-Due to a hole in the roof of the Winterhawk's Skating Center, Portland has moved their last preseason game from the Center to Xfinity Arena in Everett. It is somewhat shocking that Portland did not outright cancel the game, considering that they had not played 7 preseason games in many seasons. This game does give Portland the chance to take a better look at the depth players in order to narrow down the 19 forwards down to around 14 and the 10 Defensemen to around 8. This last game will give them more fodder for their decisions.

Winterhawks Skating Center (without the hole)

 

Portland Trades Rights to Wait and Cond. Pick for Igor Larionov Jr. and Cond. Pick:

-In a slightly shocking deal, Portland traded away the rights to large, power forward Garrett Wait to Saskatoon for the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov: Igor Larionov Jr. The 17 year old forward is from Michigan and has been battling concussion issues that kept him out of Blades training camp this year. Igor Jr. was only able to get into 13 games over the last two seasons for the Honeybaked U16 and U18 programs. He was able to score 4 total points in those games. I would not expect Portland to rush him into the lineup, but instead take their time in getting him back into action. Portland was patient with Blake Heinrich, who suffered a concussion after a hit last preseason and they will probably do the same for Larionov. Their depth at the forward position means, that they will want to see what the other, younger forwards have to offer anyways, before putting him into a game. Meanwhile, Wait has committed to the University of Minnesota and if he was not likely to renege on this commitment to go play for a team in the USA, he really is not likely to leave school for a team in Saskatchewan. This is not like a couple seasons ago when Tambellini left school to go play for Calgary, once Portland traded him there. He was from Alberta and wanted to play closer to home. I'm hearing that the pick is as high as a 3rd rounder, but is probably conditional on Igor playing in Portland.

Taylor Leier Facing Important Camp:

Leier

-Former Winterhawk: Taylor Leier (2011-14) is facing a very important, Philadelphia Flyers training camp, as he enters his 2nd professional season. He is highlighted by The Hockey Writers as one of the 3 most important rookies to watch at rookie camp, which begins on 9/18. I don't think anyone believes Leier will make the team out of camp, but a strong showing could cement himself into Flyers brass' brains were one of the bottom six forwards to go down with an injury. That is probably where Leier can earn himself a more permanent NHL spot.

 

Wednesday's Portland Winterhawks News and Notes: Nine Hawks at NHL Rookie Tournaments

Portland Takes on Prince George Tonight at 7:05 in Kennewick:
-The Portland Winterhawks begin their 3 games in 3 days set at the annual Tri City preseason tournament tonight at 7:05 pm. Due to NHL preseason rookie camps/tournaments starting this week, a total of 16 players will be missing from tonight's game. Here's who should be out tonight (there's a small chance Adin Hill is available but I would doubt it):

Prince George:

1. Jansen Harkins-Winnipeg-2nd round pick-2015-Young Stars Classic.
2. Brad Morrison-N.Y. Rangers-4th round pick-2015-Traverse City Tournament.
3. Jesse Gabrielle-Boston-4th round pick-2015-Tampa Bay Tournament.
4. Sam Ruopp-Columbus-5th round pick-2015-Traverse City Tournament.
5. Tate Olson-Vancouver-7th round pick-2015-Young Stars Classic.
6. Chase Witala-Dallas-Free Agent Invite-Traverse City Tournament.
7. Jared Bethune-Minnesota-Free Agent Invite-Traverse City Tournament.

Portland

1. Jack Dougherty-Nashville-2nd round pick-2014-Tampa Bay Tournament.
2. Dominic Turgeon-Detroit-3rd round pick-2014-Traverse City Tournament.
3. Alex Schoenborn-San Jose-3rd round pick-2014-Young Stars Classic.
4. Keegan Iverson-N.Y. Rangers-3rd round pick-2014-Traverse City Tournament.
5.  Paul Bittner-Columbus-2nd round pick-2015-Traverse City Tournament.
6. Adin Hill-Arizona-3rd round pick-2015-Rookie Camp starts Saturday.
7. Caleb Jones-Edmonton-4th round pick-2015-Young Stars Classic.
8. Rodrigo Abols-Vancouver-Free Agent Invite-Young Stars Classic.
9. Keoni Texeira-Washington-Free Agent Invite-Tampa Bay Tournament.

-I would look for Portland to stick with the Carl Ericson-Alex Overhardt-Cody Glass line as one of their units as they showed such great chemistry on Sunday in Everett.
-Tanner Nagel was signed today by the Hawks. His signing brings Portland's forward group to 19 and the roster to 32 overall. Nagel is a 1998 born prospect, who hails from Mossbank, Saskatchewan and played the last two years for the Tisdale Trojans of the SMHL. Nagel had 42 points in 43 games last season and had a very strong Neely Cup this preseason.

Breakout Year for Seth Jones?:
-A Good piece on Today's Slapshot that makes the case that year number three in Nashville will be a big one for the former Winterhawks D-man: Seth Jones (2012-13). The 20 year old has made large strides in his game, but has been susceptible to poor giveaways in his own zone. D-men are notorious for taking longer to develop at the NHL level and while Jones has not necessarily broken out yet, he's still been a solid rearguard through his first two seasons. With all of the talent that he has, I would agree with the author that Jones should take the leap to being the elite D-man the Preds expected when they drafted him 4th overall.

Johansen Expected to Make Canada's 2016 World Cup Roster:
-The World cup of Hockey website published a piece looking at the probable roster for Canada at the 2016 World Cup. With the likes of Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews and Steven Stamkos playing the same position as the former Winterhawk: Johansen (2009-10), I disagree with the writer and think he will need to have a breakout year this season, to make the team. The way that I think he actually makes the roster is if some of these bigger names decide not to play for Canada.

Royals Acquire Wharrie:
-The Everett Silvertips traded 18 year old Defenseman Jordan Wharrie to the Victoria Royals for the WHL rights to 17 year old Defenseman Carter Stephenson. Wharrie played 50 games for the Tips last year and showed some adaptability by playing some forward when there were a lot of injuries at the position. He also had 2 points in 11 playoff games, playing on the last pairing with Lucas Skrumeda. Everett likely felt they needed to make room on their blue line as they return five other D-men from last year's roster and have highly touted 16 year old Jantzen Leslie waiting in the wings along with the 18 year old Mackenzie Dwyer who had three points in two games over the weekend.

Andrew Ference Losing Captainship?:
-Puck Daddy had a good look at the situation the Edmonton Oilers are in this year. Former Winterhawk Andrew Ference (1994-99) is the returning Captain, but due to his age (36) and recent depth at the Defense position for the Oilers, he may not get dressed for every game. Ference is such a great sport though, that I don't think taking away the captaincy will effect the positive impact he will have on the young players. The right choice for former Swift Current Coach: Todd Mclellan is probably to make Taylor Hall the Captain this year.

Vrooman and Bellows on TPS:
-Portland play by play guy: Todd Vrooman previewed the Winterhawks this year on The Pipeline Show last night and Portland prospect: Keiffer Bellows was interviewed as well. Those holding out hope that Bellows will renege on his commitment to Boston University and come to Portland instead, will have their hopes dashed by how strongly Bellows states that this will not happen.