Western Hockey League Preview — U.S. Division

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This article was published 23/09/2016 (3511 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS

Last season: 45-23-4-0, first in U.S. Division, lost WHL final to Brandon in five games.

Head coach: Steve Konowalchuk (sixth season as coach).

Assistant coaches: Matt O’Dette (fourth season), Tyler Alos (fourth season) and Ian Gordon (goaltending, fourth season).

Key losses: D Jerret Smith, D Jared Hauf and G Landon Bow to graduation; LW Ryan Gropp to the New York Rangers organization; G Logan Flodell (2.68 gaa, .904 save pct.) in a trade with Saskatoon.

The 20-year-olds: C Scott Eansor, F Cavin Leth and G Rylan Toth, who was picked up from Red Deer.

The imports: C Alexander True of Denmark heads into his third season with the team, while F Sami Moilanen of Finland is in his first season.

Key returnees: C Mathew Barzal (27g, 61a), who was a first-round New York Islanders draft pick in 2015; third-round Columbus draft pick in 2015 F Keegan Kolesar (30g, 31a), who was born in Brandon; D Ethan Bear (19g, 46a), a fifth-round 2015 Edmonton draft pick; C Scott Eansor (12g, 30a), who played for the U.S. in the world juniors last season.

New faces: C Elijah Brown, 16, Seattle’s first round pick in 2015. Moilanen is entering his rookie year and appeared on the NHL Central Scouting pre-season list. F Luke Ormsby is a local product from Monroe, Wash.

Watch for: Can Toth play as well as he did last year for Red Deer and can younger defencemen stand up?

Noteworthy: Seattle will wait to see if Barzal is returned by the Islanders. The 2015 first-round pick has a shot of sticking in NHL this fall.

Did you know: Konowalchuk is 41 wins away from tying Don Nachbaur for second in franchise history.

Prognosis: If Barzal is returned, Seattle will be a contender to repeat as Western Conference champions. Without him, the team will be competitive and could still win U.S. Division, but the rest of the division will have made up ground.

» Andrew Eide/710 ESPN Seattle

 

EVERETT SILVERTIPS

Last season: 38-26-5-3, second in U.S. Division, fifth in Western Conference, lost to Seattle in five games in the second round.

GM: Garry Davidson (fifth season).

Head coach: Kevin Constantine (fourth season).

Assistant coaches: Mitch Love (sixth season) and Brennan Sonne (third season).

Key losses: Overagers LW Carson Stadnyk, C Remi Laurencelle, D Cole MacDonald, D Brycen Martin (who turned professional), RW Dawson Leedahl (who was traded to Regina) and 1996-born D Tristen Pfeifer (who retired due to concussions).

The 20-year-olds: D Lucas Skrumeda and F Graham Millar.

The imports: 18-year-old Finnish RW Eetu Tuulola, a first-round pick in this year’s CHL import draft and sixth- round NHL draft pick by Calgary; and 18-year-old Slovakian RW Mario Mucka, a second-round selection in this year’s CHL import draft.

Key returnees: D Noah Juulsen (a first round Montreal draft pick in 2015), G Carter Hart (a second-round Philadelphia draft pick this year), D Kevin Davis, RW Patrick Bajkov and C Matt Fonteyne.

New faces: RW Dawson Butt, LW Orrin Centazzo, RW Bryce Kindopp, C Brett Kemp, D Ian Walker, D Wyatte Wylie, D Montana Onyebuchi and D Gianni Fairbrother.

Watch for: C Connor Dewar scored 11 goals with seven assists while playing in all 72 games en route to being named Everett’s rookie of the year as a 16-year-old.

Did you know: The Silvertips have qualified for the playoffs in all 13 seasons in franchise history. However, they have never won a post-season series without Constantine behind the bench.

Prognosis: The Silvertips will once again be solid in net with Hart, but must develop some defensive depth to complement Juulsen, Davis and Skrumeda. The offence? Let’s just say get ready for a lot of 3-2, 2-1 and 1-0 games.

» Jesse Geleynse/The Daily Herald (Everett)

 

SPOKANE CHIEFS

Last season: 33-30-5-4, fourth in B.C. Division, lost in first round to Victoria in six games.

Head coach: Don Nachbaur (seventh season).

Assistant coach: Scott Burt (fourth season).

Key losses: Captain D Jason Fram, F Wyatt Johnson, G Tyson Verhelst of Brandon and G Lasse Petersen.

The 20-year-olds: F Keanu Yamamoto (22g, 32a); F Dominic Zwerger (27g, 28a); F Markson Bechtold (17g, 31a); F Jacob Cardiff (9g, 8a) and G Jayden Sittler (.903 save pct.).

The imports: Zwerger, Ondrej Najman (18g, 26a), and Pavel Kousal (20g, 23a). Both Najman and Kousal played for the Czech Republic at the 2016 U18 world championship.

Key returnees: Zwerger is the team’s leading goal scorer; F Kailer Yamamoto is the team’s leading overall scorer (19g, 52a); Keanu Yamamoto; F Hudson Elynuik (19g, 25a), who was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Hurricanes; D Tyson Helgensen (3g, 23a); and D Evan Fiala (6g, 12a). Both Helgensen and Fiala are big bodies who can move.

New faces: G Jayden Sittler (3.24 gaa), who the team traded for after Verhelst quit the game and management traded backup Petersen; D Ty Smith, a former No. 1 pick, will get a chance to play with the team full time.

Watch for: Spokane’s offence should be solid with several scorers split among several lines. Smith brings an offensive-awareness element to the defence to replace what Fram provided. If Sittler can solidify the net, this team should find consistency on offence.

Did you know: The Chiefs are breaking in new general manager Scott Walker. In 26 years, former GM Tim Speltz led the Chiefs to the playoffs in 23 years, including two Memorial Cups. Speltz left in the summer to join the Toronto Maple Leafs front office.

Prognosis: Injuries and missing players forced the Chiefs to play several younger players at key points last season. Management hopes that extra experience will help this team, which remains rather young, avoid the effort swings. Depending on how the team manages overagers, the Chiefs will have some lethal scorers and big bodies on defence to challenge anyone.

» Thomas Clouse/The Spokesman-Review

 

PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS

Last season: 34-31-6-1, third in U.S. Division and swept in the first round by Everett.

Head coach/general manager: Mike Johnston (seventh season, first since 2013-14)

Assistant coaches: Kyle Gustafson (12th season) and Oliver David (first season)

Key losses: F Dominic Turgeon, F Paul Bittner and D Jack Dougherty will play pro hockey as 20-year-olds. G Adin Hill may move on to the AHL. Former Brandon Wheat King F Rihards Bukarts, F Alex Schoenborn and D Blake Heinrich graduated.

The 20-year-olds: F Keegan Iverson is the only sure bet to be back. Hill could be returned by Arizona. Latvian F Rodrigo Abols is in camp but could move to the AHL or another WHL team.

The imports: The Hawks drafted Finnish D Henri Jokiharju and Danish F Joachim Blichfeld. If Abols is in the picture, someone has to go.

Key returnees: D Caleb Jones is the leading returning scorer (55 points). Sophomore F Cody Glass will be expected to take a big step forward, along with F Skyler McKenzie, F Ryan Hughes, F Evan Weinger, D Keoni Texeira and D Brendan De Jong. Michael Bullion looks to be the new starting goaltender if Hill doesn’t return.

New faces: Rookie forwards include 16-year-olds Ty Kolle and Brad Ginnell. Jackson Caller, Jake Hobson and Matthew Quigley are potential contributors on the blue-line. Veteran G Cole Kehler came over in a trade with Kamloops.

Watch for: How quickly the Hawks readjust to the up-tempo style of Johnston, who’s back for his second stint as head coach/GM.

Noteworthy: Of the 228 goals scored by Portland last year, only 85 came from players likely to be on this year’s roster.

Did you know: Twenty-five former Winterhawks suited up in the NHL last season, including 16 who played for Johnston during his first stint with the team.

Prognosis: The Hawks are likely set to take a step backward as Johnston attempts to get the franchise back on track with a young roster. Expectations are low this year, but Johnston should make Portland fun to watch even if losses are frequent.

» Scott Sepich/Portland-based freelance writer

 

TRI-CITY AMERICANS

Last season: 35-34-2-1, fifth in U.S. Division, missed playoffs.

Head coach: Mike Williamson (third season).

Assistant coach: Brian Pellerin (third season).

Key losses: Leading scorer Parker Bowles, captain Beau McCue and rugged F/D Mackenze Stewart. D Brandon Carlo has another year of eligibility, but has opted to join the Boston Bruins organization.

The 20-year-olds: F Tyler Sandhu (19g, 29a), D Jeff Rayman (3g, 2a) and D Dalton Yorke (2g, 11a).

The imports: D Juuso Välimäki (7g, 25a), who captained Team Finland to a fourth-place finish at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Tournament, and a gold medal at the 2016 world U18 championship in April and Russian F Vladislav Lukin (21g, 27a).

Key returnees: F Jordan Topping (33g, 34a) is the team’s leading returning scorer; D Parker Wotherspoon (11g, 45a), the team’s second-leading returning scorer and a solid shutdown defenceman; F Michael Rasmussen (18g, 25a) had an outstanding rookie season, and helped Team Canada to a fifth-place finish at this year’s U18 Ivan Hlinka tournament (1g, 3a); Välimäki; F Tyler Sandhu; G Evan Sarthou (60gp, 26-28-2-0, 3.46 gaa, .888 save pct.), who will be in his second year as the stater. Sarthou was invited to Team U.S.A.’s world junior camp.

New faces: F Carson Focht is a proven scorer and should help out right away; F Keltie Jeri-Leone has shown promise in the pre-season, as has C Riley Sawchuk.

Watch for: Tri-City’s defence should be solid with Wotherspoon, Välimäki, Brendan O’Reilly and Dylan Coghlan returning, and the addition of Yorke (from Prince Albert). Wotherspoon and Välimäki are good with the puck and helping out with scoring.

Did you know: The Americans had their 13-year playoff streak stopped when they fell two points shy last season … Rasmussen and Välimäki are mentioned on the NHL Central Scouting 2017 Draft Futures list.

Prognosis: While scoring is a need, consistency in goal is a must if Tri-City wants to get back to the top of the U.S. Division. Sarthou was a step below his stellar season the year before when he stepped in for the injured Eric Comrie. The Americans will be young once again, but second-year forwards Lukin, Strathclair’s Morgan Geekie, Parker AuCoin, Jordan Roy and Nolan Yaremko got a ton of ice time as rookies and should be ready for more responsibility this season.

» Annie Fowler/Tri-City Herald