Winterhawks Go to Familiar Areas in the Bantam Draft; Then Take a 20 year old?

The Portland Winterhawks finally drafted in the first round of the WHL's Bantam Draft yesterday. They had not selected a player in the top round since 2010 when they selected Nic Petan out of Delta, B.C.  They are allowed to do so, due to trading the rights to Adam Tambelini to Calgary back in December.

They traded their first round selection in 2011 to the Vancouver Giants for the rights to Center Craig Cunnigham. Cunningham played a role on the team that advanced to the WHL Final. In 2012 they traded their first round selection to Seattle for Marcel Noebels. Noebels also helped the Hawks to the WHL Final. Then in 2013, they were not allowed to select a player as part of the sanctions brought down against them by the WHL.

So, I bet the Winterhawks scouts were excited to finally get the chance to take a highly touted player, as opposed to having to rely upon adding a guy to the protected list and trying to convince him to come to Portland.

The Winterhawks were also selecting 19th overall for the first time since they took RW Brett Novak from Grayson, Saskatchewan in the 2000 draft. Novak never played with the Hawks, instead playing parts of 6 seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders. Obviously the Hawks are expecting more return for this #19 pick.

Portland's 2014 WHL Bantam Draft:

Glass

First Round (19th overall): Cody Glass (Center) out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is listed as 5'9" and 138 lbs, which is probably bigger than the Winnipeg native on the Hawks roster: Brendan Leipsic was back in 2009, when he was selected. Glass scored 77 points in 32 games with the Winnipeg Hawks of the WMHA-major bantam AAA. He also scored 17 points in 11 playoff games. Glass definitely takes after Leipsic in hairstyle and one can hope that will somehow translate into providing for the team, what Leipsic has done for the past 5 seasons. Glass describes himself as a "pass first" kind of guy who looks up to Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hobson

Third Round (65th): Jake Hobson (Defenseman) out of Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan. Hobson is listed as 5'10" and 179 lbs, so he should be a pretty stout guy by the time he is ready for the WHL. Hobson notched 32 points in 26 games this past season with the Prince Albert Raiders of the SBAAHL-AA bantam. He also had 123 PIMs for the Raiders, no doubt playing an agitator or enforcer role on top of his other responsibilities. He also had 5 points in 5 playoff games to go with 18 PIMs. Jake even had the opportunity to get in 5 games in the SMHL with the P.A. Mintos (AAA). Hobson is a coaches kid, which is generally a good sign. He has always played under his Dad, which has apparently caused him to become a hard working player and a smooth skater.

Fourth Round (85th): Brannon McManus (Center) out of Newport Beach, CA. He is one to keep an eye on for sure, as he has already verbally committed to the University of Minnesota. Johnston is no doubt counting on his three California kids (Garrett Haar, Keoni Texeira and Chase De Leo) on the current roster to help persuade McManus to come to the WHL instead. Haar would especially be a great guy to get in a room with McManus as he played in both College and the WHL. Should he not have committed yet, there is no doubt McManus would have gone much higher in the draft as he scored 120 points in 65 games with the storied program that is Shattuck St. Mary's of AAA Bantam. Brannon is listed as 5'9" and 154 lbs and from what I have read is a gifted goal scorer. In this video, (McManus is #7) his line completely controls play, before a Goalie is forced to make an incredible save to stop him. McManus appears to have fantastic instincts in the opponents zone and would be an aboslue "get" for Mike Johnston and the Winterhawks staff, should they convince him to play in the Dub instead.

Fourth Round (87th): Scott Reedy (Center) out of Prior Lake, MN. He is a teammate of McManus' and together they helped defeat Glass' team in the playoffs. Reedy is listed as 5'11" and 160 lbs and outscored McManus with 125 points in 65 games for Shattuck St. Mary's.  According to this article,: Reedy looks like an elite prospect who is a "cerebral playmaker." This is exactly the kind of player that, should he end up in Portland, appears to be an elite level player in the making. Should Reedy come to the Rose City, it would probably mean that McManus might follow as the two were linemates. Here is Reedy(#10) scoring, while taking a high stick to the mouth.

Sixth Round (131st): Ethan Middendorf (Goalie) out of Scottsdale, AZ. Gee, a Goalie out of Scottsdale, how is that familiar sounding? Middendorf has to know fellow Arizonan Goalie Brendan Burke. Ethan is listed as 6'4" and 160 lbs. Johnston appears to like a lot of size in his Goalies, which sticks with the norm across the WHL. Middendorf's numbers with the Arizona were decent as he notched a .911 Save % in a District tournament in which he got his team to the championship game before they lost 3-0 to the 14U Colorado Thunderbirds. His Goaltending style is described as "taking a lot of room in net and playing his angles well." Goaltending at this young of an age really is a crap shoot. Usually most teams do no take them in the draft until the mid-rounds, though Regina and Prince Albert bucked that trend a little this year.

Seventh Round (133rd): Jackson Caller (Defense) out of Kamloops, B.C. Caller is listed as 5'10" and 145 lbs, so he has to put some meat on his bones. He has played with the Kamloops Blazers of Bantam A1-T1 and the BCMML Penguins for the U16 cup. Caller was scouted out of Western Canada where there is always a high amount of prospects and this article thought he might even go in the first round. One hopes, Johnston and co. were able to steal a talented player in a later round due to the fact that so many other great prospects were outshining him at the time.

Eighth Round (175th): Cole Guttman (Center) out of Northridge, CA. Another California kid for the protected list. Guttman is listed as 5'8" and 148 lbs and put up 14 points over 10 games in the season and tournament with the L.A. Junior Kings. Chase De Leo is formerly a member of this organization, though this Jr. King appears to be a little grittier with 21 PIMS in those 10 games. In this video he shows pretty good speed on the outside and even better vision in setting up a goal.

Ninth Round (197th): Dylan Burton (Center) out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Hawks went back to the Winnipeg well for their last 1999 born player taken in this year's draft. Burton is listed as 5'6" and 131 lbs (hey he's still bigger than Skyler McKenzie) and he notched 43 points in 30 games as a teammate of Glass' with the Winnipeg Hawks.

Tenth Round (217th): Trace Elson (RW) out of St. Albert, Alberta. Elson is a 1994 born player and so will be a 20 year old this coming season. He has played in a total of 20 WHL games over 3 seasons and has 2 goals and 4 points. My only explanation for a move like this is that Johnston did not think Elson would be available when it came time to list players and so he used a Bantam Pick just in case. This is not a bad move, but one would think you would not want to waster an over-age spot on a guy who has 2 total goals in his WHL career. Who am I though, to doubt Coach Johnston? He has made situations like this work before. It may seem worth it to him, just to bring the guy into training camp and get a closer look at him. If he does make the team, one would think he wouldn't start a fight with Seattle's Jared Hauf again.

Pouliot Wins Defenseman of the Year; First Winterhawk to Win it Outright Since Gary Nylund

On Wednesday morning, Derrick Pouliot was rewarded for his amazing 2013-14 season by being awarded the Bill Hunter trophy for top WHL Defenseman at the WHL Award luncheon in Calgary. Pouliot was up against fellow Team Canada World Junior teammate Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders.

Pouliot joins a long line of prestigious winners, most of whom went on to have great, and in some cases hall of fame NHL careers. These include: Wendel Clark in 1985 (yeah he played Defense in Juniors), Darryl Sydor in 1991 (how Scott Niedermeyer didn't win the following year I'll never know. He was one of the most gifted WHL players I've ever seen), Dan Hamhuis in 2002 and Dion Phaneuf in 2004 and 05 to name just a few.

Nylund

When researching this, I was surprised that Gary Nylund was the last to Winterhawk to win it outright back in 1982. There should really be an asterisk next to that though as Glen Wesley won Western Conference Defenseman of the year in 1986 and 87, when  it was awarded to each Conference's best blue-liner, instead of the WHL's best.

This is still surprising though, considering the great Defensemen that have come through the Rose City since 1987: Andrew Ference, Braydon Coburn, Cale Hulse, Nolan Pratt and Brandon Smith were all dominant enough during some of those seasons to warrant mention. The fact that none of these great Winterhawks won this award and Pouliot now has, speaks to how great he truly has been and especially, what he has meant to this year's team.

Brown

The list of winners is still an impressive one for the Winterhawks:

1. Keith Brown 1979- Brown would go on to a long 16 year career in the NHL, most of them with the Chicago Blackhawks as a steady, shut down D-man.
2. Dave Babych 1980- The only one on this list who can beat Brown's longevity, as he had a 19 year NHL career, that may've been even longer, if the Flyers medical staff hadn't reportedly mis-diagnosed his fractured foot as a bone bruise and okay-ed him to play in the playoffs in 1999. This is something he sued them for and won back in 2002. Babych also had a minor role in the movie: Slap Shot 2.

   

   Babych

3. Jim Benning 1981- 3rd straight Hawk to win the award; Benning notched 111 assists in one season, all but shooing him in for the award. Many feel that his NHL career could have been greater had the Toronto Maple Leafs not rushed him up the system and played him as an 18 year old, Benning's career ended after 9 seasons as a pro, though he worked his way up the scouting ranks and was an Assistant General Manager on the Boston Bruins team that won a Stanley Cup in 2011. He is apparently being looked at as the front runner for the Vancouver Canucks G.M. job as well. It would be kind of ironic that he would be in control of young players who if not properly managed, could end up with a disappointing playing career like his.



Benning

4. Gary Nylund 1982- 4th Straight Hawk to win in a run that has yet to be topped in the 48 year history of the award. Nylund is most known now for being the first player to leave his team via free agency, back in 1986. He followed up an 11 year NHL career with becoming a firefighter in B.C. He was awarded the Medal of Bravery in 2001 after helping save two other firefighters during a chemical fire.

Pouliot definitely has the potential to eclipse all of these fantastic players. He spent a lot of time at the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp prior to the start of this season and was sent back down as a 19 year old after losing out in a battle with Olli Maatta. That's not looking like a bad thing anymore with Maatta having a great rookie season and Pouliot improving as for the first time in his career he is the go to D-man. He still has an opportunity to get something none of the others actually accomplished at the WHL level and that's win a Memorial Cup. If the Hawks do go all the way this year, his role on this team will make him well known on the same level that Nathan MacKinnon was last season. Pittsburgh will most certainly find a spot for him in their lineup next year that's for sure.

Brendan Leipsic Suspended Again; Another Example of the Give and Take of an Agitator

Brendan Leipsic was suspended by the WHL for Game one of the WHL Final against the Edmonton Oil Kings. The reason for the suspension was due to a spear to the midsection he delivered to fellow agitator Tyrell Goubourne in the closing minutes of the closing game of the series against the Kelowna Rockets. The confrontation with Goublourne was well behind the play and puts his team without his services for the third time this season. This time in a pivotal playoff game.

First, he was suspended back in September: 3 games for a hit he put on Tri Cites Taylor Vickerman. Then in December agaisnt Seattle, he flew halfway across the ice to lay waste with a head hit on rookie Keegan Kolesar. That warranted a 7 game suspension from the WHL. So, safe to say he was on the WHL's radar when they looked at the incident from last Friday.

There is no denying that Leipsic is a passionate player who plays on the edge of legality. Leipsic is an explosive player who seems to feed off a large amount of energy. This energy can help and hurt his team, but it is a price that, if asked, every Winterhawks fan would be willing to pay. Leipsic has incredible skills offensively and has stepped up his play in his own zone this year. What's improved the most this year though, has been Leipsic's play in the playoffs. In the previous two seasons Leipsic disappeared in the playoffs at times the previous two seasons. When he is engaged, he is easily one of the highest skilled players in the league. He also can get in the heads of the other team, making them commit stupid penalties. He did this in round two against Victoria Royal's Defensemen Keegan Kanzig and Jordan Fransoo, causing them to put the vaunted Hawk's powerplay on the ice and contributing to their team's demise.

However, Leipsic also has the tendency to let his emotions take over and take stupid penalties. All 3 of his suspensions are examples of this. He also does things that may not be all that illegal or injurious, but still get under the other team's and their fan's collective skin (water bottle incident anyone?).

With these actions, it should not be surprising that he gets the reactions he gets in opponents barns and across the internet. Having gone to my fair share of games in Kennewick, Seattle, Spokane and Everett, I'm pretty sure that most teams fans only knowledge of the Winterhawks is the 5'10" dynamo from Winnipeg. There is probably not an insult that I have not heard directed at Leipsic.

With this having been said though, I would guarantee that if by some weird circumstance the Nashville Predators kept Leipsic in the WHL for his 20 year old season (not going to happen) and the Winterhawks decided to trade him (even more insane), Portland would find 21 suitors across the WHL attempting to outbid each other for his services.

This is the role of the agitator across all of the sport of hockey. They come in all sorts of skill sets, but one thing is for sure, they are here to stay. The easiest definition of an agitator is a guy you hate with the sort of vitriol, you didn't know you had, right up until he gets acquired by your team and his characteristics are now helping your beloved team win games. Then you are defending the actions he took and spouting out conspiracy theories.

Matt Cooke

Every successful NHL and WHL team has examples of these players in their locker room. For all the condemning of Leipsic's actions last Friday, that Rocket's fans displayed, there should come the realization that their team contains players that do very similar things that Leipsic likes to do. Tyson Baillie's "cup check" of Dominic Turgeon in Game three is but one example. If you are out there thinking that your favorite team does not contain an agitator type, you have got to open your eyes. Tyrell Goulbourne, himself, the victim of Leipsic's illegal play, committed 16 penalty minutes in the 5 game series vs. Portland, including some "unsportmanlike conduct" penalties. In an example of agitator related hypocrisy: Eugene Melnyk the owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators tried to get the NHL to order a forensic investigation after (at the time) Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke's ice skate sliced the achilles tendon of star Defenseman Eric Karlson. The NHL deemed it inadvertent, much to Melnyk's chagrin. Melnyk was quoted as saying that there is no place in the NHL for guys like Matt Cooke. It should be noted that Melnyk also employs agitators like Chris Neil, who have also been suspended multipe times and commit liberties consistently.

A great example of the way a team's fans can turn or embrace an agitator, took place over the weekend in Philadelphia. Carcillo was emblematic of the way the Flyers play hockey over his three seasons in Philly. He was a fan favorite for the passionate and boundary pushing way he played hockey. It also helped that he contributed at important times; most notably with an over time winner in game 3 of their 2010 playoff series against New Jersey. Carcillo now plays for the New York Rangers, who are taking on the Flyers in the first round this year. Carcillo scored a huge goal in the Ranger's pivotal game three win in Philadelphia. Carcillo then appeared to taunt the Wahcovia Center crowd, receiving a few flipped birds from the fans. This was a player that was beloved when he played for the orange and black, but now that he changed sweaters, he turned into the most hated player on the ice.

Carcillo-After his Goal

The great agitators revel in their role on the ice and even sometimes off of it. Sean Avery, while a member of the Rangers, got a rule named after him (below), but is possibly more (in)famous for his comments directed at his former girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert and her beaux: Toronto's Dion Phaneuf.

Leipsic's skills both as a scorer and as an agitator are un-questioned. In fact, his abilities in the latter, may end up getting him to the NHL, just as much as his incredible offensive skills. One thing is for sure though, he needs to learn when the proper time to instigate the other team is and when it will do nothing but hurt him and his team, as his actions last Friday have done. Learning this may take awhile, as people who compete in a passionate way have trouble turning it off, even to their own detriment. In the long run though, Leipsic's actions have made him a player that Winterhawks and WHL fans will always remember, even long after he has moved on, albeit in very different ways.

The Western Conference Final: A Story of Jekyll and Hyde

Game Three goes tonight for the Western Conference Final between the Kelowna Rockets and the Portland Winterhawks, with both teams coming from behind to win a game, so far in the series. The oddest thing about the series so far, has got to be how spectacularly similar the two teams won up in the Okanagan.

First, Portland quite literally (okay figuaratively) flew out to a 3-0 lead in game one and looked like they were going to skate Kelowna right out of the barn. Then the Hawk's defense fell apart, with their top two D-men playing the catalysts. Kelowna recovered from a poor start feeding off of a Madison Bowey short handed goal to slow down the game to the type they would like to play and got 5 goals from 5 different scorers to win in comeback fashion 5-4.

Secondly, Kelowna fed off the momentum of their game one victory by scoring two power play goals in the first and then chasing Portland's Brendan Burke with 3 goals on their first 11 shots. Then, just like in Game two, the losing team started to wake up and Portland scored three times in only 2 minutes and 10 seconds, erasing a 2 goal deficit, by taking a 4-3 lead. Portland outshot Kelowna 31-18 over their last 2 periods, on their way to a 5-3 win and a series tie.

So now, heading into game three with a series that is tied up at 1, there is just not much we can actually count on for the last, at least 3 games. We have seen how well and how poorly both teams can play and the only thing that is certain, is that there are sure to be more swings, both ways, before this is over.

Before Game three is upon us though, I have some specific concerns regarding a couple key Winterhawk contributors and these two are both in need of a great game:

Burke

Burke:
-Much has been made of Brendan Burke getting yanked in Game two. I'm almost 100% sure that Coach Johnston will go with him to start Game three and that him being pulled in Game two was more a sign that the team needed to wake up then piss poor Goaltending (though the Stadel and Bowey goals were not that pretty). Despite trading for Corbin Boes, Johnston has never seemed to doubt Burke. Round three of the playoffs is also not a time when you want to start doubting. I have been a firm beleiver that Burke is much more mentally strong this season then he had been the previous year. Last year, he seemed to really suffer after giving up a poor goal, whereas this year he has responded for the most part. Is his REALLY poor play against Kelowna this year a concern? Well absolutely, but I think that Burke has a little of the irrational confidence that Carruth had, which enabled him tobounce back from some horrible outings against teams that had his number. 

Petan:

-It was a great sign that Petan notched his first multi-point night (3 points) since he notched 2 points agaisnt Victoria in Game two. It was also his first goal since that game as well. Though he has 14 points in 11 games now this post-season, he has not been the Nic Petan of the regular season. His points per game has dropped from 1.79 to 1.27. This actually is similar to last season as well, where it dropped from 1.69 to 1.33 in the playoffs. Overall in 61 career playoff games he has 42 points, whereas in 198 career regular season games he has 269 points. His point production is a little concerning to me, as Portland's other top scorers have not suffered the same fate this season.

Consider that Oliver Bjorkstrand (1.58 to 2.0), Brendan Leipsic (1.52 to 1.91), Derrick Pouliot (1.21 to 1.82) and Taylor Leier's (1.27 to 1.45) have all gone up; Bjorkstrand and Pouliot considerably so.

Petan

The only caveat to the argument that Petan has had a disappointing playoff so far, besides the fact that it's not close to over is that he plays Center and has had to pick up his responsibilities doing other things on the ice (AKA the Jonathan Toews defense from alst year).

There defientely is some volition to this argument as Chase De Leo's points per game (1.13 to 1.0) has dropped as well and both have been great at back-checking for a defense that has definitelt needed help a lot of the time.

This having been said, stars need to raise their games, especially when they are needed and Petan was one of the Hawk's MVPs this season for a reason. Having a breakout game would quiet any of the concerns that his dropping point prodcution, not to mention losing three straight draws at the end of Game one to Ryan Olsen have started to escalate.

Kelowna and Portland: Built in Very Different Ways

When looking at the lineups for the two Western Conference finalists this season, you can see why they ended with the best records in the WHL. Without under-selling the Edmonton Oil Kings, this certainly looks like a match-up similar to the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers from this past seasons NFC Championship. I say this because this was the match-up we were expecting at the beginning of the season and now, even though, it's as expected it is easily the most exciting of this year's playoff.

Between the two teams, of the 21 players for Portland and 19 for Kelowna that have played a playoff game this year: 16 players have been drafted in the NHL and 7 have been listed in the top 141 in the final Central Scouting North American skaters for thsi coming draft. This talent was amassed by the two teams in very different ways:

Chartier

First Round Bantam Picks:
Kelowna:

• Defenseman Jesse Lees (9th) in 2010.
• Center Rourke Chartier (15th) in 2011.
• Center Nick Merkley (9th) in 2012.

Portland:

• Defenseman Derrick Pouliot (1st) in 2009.
• Center Nic Petan (16th) in 2010.

  

  Pouliot

This is where you get a lot of the high end talent in the WHL. Portland not having their first round picks through 2017 will really hurt them in getting guys like Petan, Pouliot and Ty Rattie. But even before they lost them, Coach Mike Johnston showed a confidence in his recruiting staff by sending a first round pick to Seattle for Marcel Noebels. Jesse Lees has attempted to follow Myles Bell's shoes in not only copying him by moving from Defense to Forward in his injury absence, but by taking his spot on the line with Baillie and Kirkland. Chartier and Merkley are also solid already and could be elite players in the league in a couple years. It should also be noted that Kelowna along with Chilliwack/Victoria, Swift Current and Prince Albert are the only teams to have their first round picks from 2010, 11 and 12 to play games for them this season.

Second Round Bantam Picks:

Bowey

• Right Wing Colton Heffley (39th) in 2009.
• Defenseman Madison Bowey (23rd) in 2010.
• Right Wing Austin Glover (37th) in 2011.
• Defenseman Joe Gatenby (34th) in 2012.

Portland:

• Left Wing Taylor Leier (24th) in 2009.
• Defenseman Keoni Texeira (26th) in 2012. 

  

  Leier

In researching this, I was actually surprised that Leier and Texeira were the only second rounders on the team. This really proves that Johnston is even more likely to trade away second round picks then he is first rounders. This is especially the case for the next 3 years, when they will not have one, because of the trade for Dumba. Bowey is by far the best, so far, of the group of second rounders for Kelowna. He would be a top pairing D-man for practically any other team in the WHL. Heffley plays on the line that usually sets the tone and starts the game with Olsen and Goulbourne. Gatenby and Glover are depth players that will defintely play more next season.

Mid-Round Bantam Picks:
Kelowna:

Cooke

• Goalie Jordon Cooke 4th Round (79th) in 2008.
• Left Wing Tyrell Goubourne 5th Round (105th) in 2009.
• Center Tyson Baillie 3rd Round (53rd) in 2010.
• Center Cole Linaker 6th Round (113th) in 2010.
• Defenseman Riley Stadel 3rd Round (51st) in 2011.
• Left Wing Justin Kirkland 5th Round (103rd) in 2011.

Portland:

• Left Wing Brendan Leipsic 6th Round (112th) in 2009.
• Goalie Brendan Burke 3rd Round (49th) in 2010.
• Center Dominic Turgeon 3rd Round (64th) in 2011.
• Right Wing Ethan Price 6th Round (130th) in 2012.

  

  Burke

This is where the bulk of the talent from the top seeded team from the WHL came from. Finding gold in the range between picks 45 thru 132 can be difficult for a lot of teams. For the Rocket's sake though, they have been able to count on building a lot of their depth from this area. Cooke has played in Kelowna since he was 16 and was handed the reins from Adam Brown at the beginning of last season. Baillie notched 55 points this season, Kirkland came in just behind him with 48, Goulbourne got 37, Linaker 22 and Stadel from the rearguard position had 35. Their depth was their best strength this season and these 6 players were very important to them.

Leipsic was a steal, partially because of his size in the 6th round back in 2009 and Price could be another one in the near future, as his coming from Nebraska probably played a role in most teams staying away from him, thinking he'd go the college route.
Late Round Bantam Picks:
Kelowna:

Severson

• Defenseman Damon Severson 9th Round (192nd) in 2009.
• Defenseman Mitch Wheaton 10th Round (207th) in 2010.

Portland:

• Defenseman Josh Hanson 8th Round (156th) in 2009.
• Left Wing Adam De Champlain 10th Round (200th) in 2009.
• Center Chase De Leo 9th Round (192nd) in 2010.
• Defenseman Layne Viveiros 9th Round (196th) in 2011.

  

  De Leo

Kelowna hit gold with snagging Severson in the 9th round back in 2009, as he is probably their best player that is healthy for the series. He brings much the same to the table as Derrick Pouliot does, wothout being a high first round pick. Wheaton is a solid defensive defenseman with good size and he was another steal,. though not as much of one.

Portland filling out their lineup with the likes of Hanson, De Champlain and Viveiros is nice as a lot of teams would proably find bigger roles for them, especially De Champlain. De Leo, meanwhile would be a bona fide first line center on any other team. Being from california is probably the only explanation that someone as talented as De Leo was still available in the 9th round in 2010.
Import Draft Picks:
Kelowna:

• Center Kris Schmidli 2nd Round (59th) in 2013.

Portland:

Bjorkstrand

• Defenseman Anton Cederholm 2nd Round (60th) in 2013.
• Right Wing Oliver Bjorkstrand 1st Round (29th) in 2012.

Schmidli notched 35 points for the Rockets, but down the stretch has split time as the 12th forward with Austin Glover. They will both proably have more of a role next season as 18 year olds.

Cederholm is a bit of an unknown commodity, who has not quite found the best role for himself in the WHL yet. He has moments in which he looks to really fit the up tempo style that the Hawk's require of their defensemen and then he has moments where you do not notice him the entire game. Bjorkstrand is another in a recent line of finds overseas, after Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bartschi. He has been, at moments a transcendant talent. If there is one guy in the current group of Winterhawks, that I would not be surprised to see be an elite, MVP caliber talent at the NHL level, it would be the Danish winger. His combination of ridiculous wrist shot and release, as well as his speed and catch you off guard strength are simply a wonder.
Trades:
Kelowna:

Bell

• Right Wing Myles Bell (9/2011) from Regina for D-man Colton Jobke and 2nd Round and 5th Round Bantam Picks in 2012.
• Left Wing Carter Rigby (9/2011) from Prince George for 3rd Round Bantam Pick in 2012.

• Center Ryan Olsen (5/2012) from Saskatoon with 2nd and 5th Round Bantam Picks in 2013 for Shane McColgan and Jessey Astles.
• Left Wing Marek Tvrdon (1/2014) from Vancouver for a 2nd Round Bantam Pick in 2014.

Portland:

Dumba

• Defenseman Garrett Haar (7/2013) from Medicine Hat for Conditional Bantam Pick.
• Defenseman Mathew Dumba (12/2013) from Red Deer for Presten Kopeck and 2nd Rounders in 2014,15 and 16.

Bell is the best player on the Rockts and a guy who had 93 points last year before falling to 77 this season. He has one of the harder slap shots in the league and has been a Winterhawks killer this season scoring 10 points in the 4 games played. He will most likely miss this round and if the Rockets lose, they will always have to wonder what might've been had their MVP played. Rigby is a good two way forward and was able to find his way out of the mediocrity he would've wallowed in if he'd stayed with P.G. Olsen is a big Center that they were able to swing when they dumped Shane McColgan and Astles. Neither of whom were abel to help Saskatoon win a Memorial Cup game. It's looking like a darn good deal now though as the Blades have nothing on their current roster to show for it. Tvrdon is a power forward that, in my opinion, does not play to the best of his abilities.

Listed Players:
Kelowna:





Bittner


• None.

Portland:

•  Left Wing Alex Schoenborn (1/2012) out of the Omaha Junior Lancers of the NAPHL.
• Right Wing Keegan Iverson (3/2012) out of Breck High School in Minneapolis, MN.
• Right Wing Paul Bittner (4/2012) out of Crookston High School in Crookston, MN.
• Right Wing Tyson Predinchuk (12/2013) out of the Melville Millionaires in the SJHL.

2/3rds of the Hawk's 3rd line, along with a reserve forward were signed undrafted by the Hawks and this is where they will have to make their bones in the future. Schoenborn, Iverson and Bittner will be asked to play big roles on the team in the next two seasons and they have shown themselves capable so far this season. The fact that all except Predinchuk are American, means that Jonhston and his staff have been able to convince some very talented and in Bittner's case: elite NHL prospects to pass on the college option in favor of playing in a great developmental league without leaving your country. If they can continue to do this, having only one 1st round pick and no seconds for the next season will not throw this franchise back down the deep dark hole it came from.

Kelowna has succeeded in the last 12 seasons up in the Okanogan, winning 3 WHL Championships and one Memorial Cup, by doing things the old tried and true way, while the Winterhawks appear to be driving off the proven path into something no one has done before. And this is why, if the Hawks continue to succeed, the rest of the U.S. Division, will no doubt copy him.

Nine Former Winterhawks Competing in the NHL Playoffs

The 2013-14 NHL playoffs get going on Wednesday and the Portland Winterhawks are once again heavily represented by their prestigious alumni. Some are making their first forray at the sports biggest prize, some are making perhaps a last grasp at Lord Stanley's chalice and one is going after his 3rd Stanley Cup.
Here are the former Winterhawks, with who they are playing for in the playoffs and their 2013-14 regular season stats:

Anaheim (playing Dallas in 1st Round):

• (D) Luca Sbisa (30 GP, 1 Goal, 5 Assists, 6 Pts)- He battled a knee injury for most of the year and after he came back, was briefly sidelined with an upper body injury. This is not surprising for Sbisa, who battled a broken hand during his short time with the Hawks and seems just cursed with ailments.

Dallas (playing Anaheim in 1st Round):

• (RW) Colton Sceviour (26 GP, 8 Goals, 4 Assists, 12 Pts)- Sceviour, after 5 seasons of playing in the AHL, finally made his case to stay with the NHL's Stars, with fantastic two way play after his March 11th call up.

Colorado (playing Minnesota in 1st Round):

• (LW) Cody McLeod- 71 GP, 5 Goals, 8 Assists, 13 Pts)- McLeod has been the resident enforcer for the past 7 seasons and is a fan favorite, as well as, a great teammate. Cody seems like he is just a guy who enjoys every second he gets to play in the NHL. He also contributes a lot in the Denver community.

Minnesota (playing Colorado in 1st Round):

• (LW) Nino Niederreiter- 81 GP, 14 Goals, 22 Assists, 36 Pts)- Nino had an up and down season in Minnesota, spending time on every line from the 1st to the 4th throughout the year. It just came out recently that he will be moving to Center in the post-season, which seems like a natural move for the big bodied Swiss. It really makes me nervous though, that someone as talented as Nino, has not found a natural fit in the NHL yet, with the Islanders or Minnesota.

St. Louis (playing Chicago in 1st Round):

• (LW) Brenden Morrow- 71 GP, 13 Goals, 12 Assists, 25 Pts)- At the beginning of the year, this seemed like it could be Morrow's last chance at a cup. He had a bit of a career resurgence, though with his best season since 2011-12, which was much better than his poor post season with Pittsburgh last year would have led you to believe. The unfortunate thing for Morrow is that he injured his foot late in the season and was reportedly in a walking boot because of it. It seems that the Blues will need a long post-season run for Morrow to get a chance at playing.

Chicago (playing St. Louis in 1st Round)

• (RW) Marian Hossa- 72 GP, 30 Goals, 30 Assists, 60 Pts)- Hossa had off season shoulder surgery after helping the Blackhawks win their 2nd Stanley Cup in 4 seasons and it was unknown whether he would recover his form. He proved that he still has it though, bringing him 5 points away from 1,000 career NHL points and a guaranteed spot in the Hall of Fame. A third cup would go a long way in helping him lock that spot up.

Columbus (playing Pittsburgh in 1st Round):

• (C) Brandon Dubinsky- 76 GP, 16 Goals, 34 Assists, 50 Pts)- Dubinsky has made his home with the Blue Jackets, after being part of the trade for Rick Nash. He had his best season in the NHL since 2010-11 and has been one of heir best two way forwards.
• (C) Ryan Johansen- 82 GP, 33 Goals, 30 Assists, 63 Pts)- Johansen had a break out season in Columbus and after getting benched in the playoffs in the AHL last season, this is even more impressive. We all knew he would make a great professional with his large frame and solid two way play, but the potential he has shown this year is incredible.

Philadelphia (playing the New York Rangers in the 1st Round):

• (D) Braydon Coburn- 82 GP, 5 Goals, 12 Assists, 17 Pts)- Coburn has been the steady, nearly mistake free Defensemen, since his 15 year old season in Portland. He has continued this now for 8 seasons with the Flyers and is one of only 4 players (Claude Giroux, Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell are the others) that are still remaining from their 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final team. Coburn just doesn't get the attention he deserves, because a lot of the great things he does on the ice are overlooked.

Regardless of how the NHL playoffs turn out, it is a great time for you to pridefully turn to your non-Winterhawks fan friends and say, "yeah you see that guy? I saw him play in Junior!"

Victoria Their Own Worst Enemy?

The Victoria Royals seem to be living out the hit Lit song from 1999: "My Own Worst Enemy," in the first two games against the Winterhawks and Portland is doing all that they can to help them beat themselves.

First, the Royals made countless mistakes in Game one: being sloppy with the puck in their own zone, then committing penalty after penalty in their parade to the penalty box.

In particular, after Taylor Crunk notched a goal early in the second period, cutting the Portland lead to 3-1,  Victoria took 2 straight penalties: a Jack Palmer cross check and a Brandon Magee interference penalty that he took exception to. Portland then scored on the power play via a Oliver Bjorkstrand one man show. Portland was then off to the races, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and going on to blowing out Victoria 8-2.

Towards the end of the game, Keegan Kanzing, the Royal's big shut down D-man, flipped out for some unknown reason on Paul Bittner, leading to a massive melee in front of Brendan Burke. Victoria would end the night with three 10 minute misconducts and one game misconduct and Kanzig's actions leading to the melee long with his salute to the crowd afterwards would earn him a 2 game suspension.

Missing Kanzig would prove fatal in game 2, once they started taking another slew of dumb penalties. Brett Cote and Jordan Fransoo were given a much larger segment of penalty kill time that they were not up for. Specifically, Ben Walker and Logan Nelson hooking penalties that lead to Derrick Pouliot and Bjorkstrand power play goals swinging the game from being a one goal Royal's lead to a one goal lead for Portland, easily the most pivotal part in the game. The Hawks would go on to win 6-3, taking a 2-0 series lead up to Vancouver Island for games 3 and 4 tonight and Wednesday.

In order for Victoria to win even one game in this series, they need to stop taking dumb penalties, especially those after the whistle or behind the play. They have given Portland 15 power plays so far, 5 of which they have converted on. This is made all the more important by Kanzig's absence for game 3 tonight Cote and Fransoo's struggle with shutting down the powerful arsenal that is the Hawk's top power play.

If the Royals can stop beating themselves and push the Winterhawks, they can still make this the tough series that we all thought it would be. If they continue to make the stupid mistakes that they have been making, they will soon be living out another hit Lit song: