WHL NOTEBOOK: Winterhawks potential thrills Thompson

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This article was published 23/01/2024 (605 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Votes of confidence don’t come much bigger than the one the Portland Winterhawks received on Jan. 10.

The Winterhawks were in on a blockbuster deal on trade deadline day when they acquired 19-year-old forward Nate Danielson from the Brandon Wheat Kings in return for 18-year-old defenceman Rhett Ravndahl of Birch Hills, Sask., 18-year-old forward Nicholas Johnson of Calgary, first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2026.

Portland defenceman Ryder Thompson of Russell said it was a nice affirmation of management’s belief in the team.

“We didn’t really know what to expect on trade deadline,” Thompson said. “It’s tough to lose a couple of guys like Johnny and Rav, they’re really good guys, but on the receiving end to get Nate was pretty exciting.

“To have him here for a few games now, it’s been exciting to watch. It’s nice to have him on our end and not be playing against him. It’s been great, and I think he’ll fit with our group really well. I think he has already. It’s just super exciting, especially for this year’s playoffs.”

At the same time, the 19-year-old defenceman added it’s never easy to say goodbye to friends he’s known for a while. He played with Ravndahl and Johnson for a season and a half.

“This was my second year with Nick, and him and I got to be pretty close,” Thompson said. “It’s always hard to lose a teammate and a brother, but it’s just all the best and it’s part of the game. It sucks, but we’re all happy for Johnny for his new experience with Rav in Brandon.”

The Winterhawks are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference, currently sitting in third place. They are two points back of the Prince George Cougars and Everett Silvertips, but hold two games in hand on the Cougars and four on the Silvertips.

The Winterhawks are 2-1-0-0 since Danielson arrived, with the former Brandon captain scoring twice and adding a pair of assists.

“I think the sky is the limit right now,” Thompson said. “If we just stick to our team systems and team plan, we’ll be doing great, and Nate will definitely add to that. His IQ, his smarts and his work ethic, I think the sky is the limit and I’m excited to see the second half of the season.”

The five-foot-11, 182-pound Thompson, who grew up with Vancouver Giants forward Tyson Zimmer and is a year older than Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Aiden Ziprick, was selected by the Winterhawks in the fifth round of the 2019 draft with the 105th overall pick and debuted at 16.

Thompson dressed in 14 of his team’s 24 games in the 2020-21 season, earning an assist.

In 58 games in the 2021-22 campaign — he was a healthy scratch on a rotational basis early in the season as the team sorted out its blue-line — Thompson had a goal and 17 assists, with 10 penalty minutes and a terrific plus-minus of +34.

In 57 games last season, he has three goals, 16 assists, 12 penalty minutes and plus-minus rating of +3, and this season has one goal, 14 assists, 12 penalty minutes and plus-minus rating of 13.

He said his game has come a long way in that time.

“Being a young 16-year-old, I really didn’t know what to expect coming into the WHL, but throughout these years I’ve gained confidence and trust in my ability to make plays and be poised and calm with the puck, making good breakout plays, jumping up into the rush and playing to my strengths and being the player I am,” Thompson said.

“I want to do all the little things right, work as hard as I can night in and night out and block shots and help the team the best I can to get a win.”

As he gets older, expectations rise. Thompson was happy to accept a larger role with the Winterhawks.

“They just wanted me to be a leader as best I can,” he said. “I may not be the most vocal guy in the dressing room at times but I try to do my part and lead by example on and off the ice. This year, my role is I’ve been a key shutdown guy against other teams’ top lines, late game, penalty kill and just trying to shut the other teams down.

“When it comes to the offensive side, I can help contribute to that but right now I’m being used as a shutdown guy with my experience.”

He’s also settling in nicely off the ice in Oregon.

While Portland is a bit larger than Russell — the metro population is 2.5 million compared to 1,700 at home — Thompson has been there long enough now that he’s able to find his way around and has a level of comfort.

The two seasons he spent in Winnipeg playing at the Rink Hockey Academy prior to his American adventure certainly helped in that transition.

“I definitely had to adjust coming from a small town, but I think playing for the Rink Hockey Academy I was able to adjust pretty easily coming here for a bigger city,” Thompson said. “It’s definitely a lot more traffic than I’m used to back home, but I like the big city and love our fans who come out to watch us play. It’s awesome living in Portland — I couldn’t name a better city — but obviously at heart I’m a small-town boy and love my roots.”

This is his third season with his billets — “I’m super comfortable and familiar with them so it’s awesome living there” — but he is located a ways from the rink. His commute is about 25 to 30 minutes without traffic, and 45 minutes on a bad day.

“That’s a big adjustment coming from Russell, Manitoba, that’s for sure,” Thompson added with a chuckle.

He keeps in touch with Zimmer, who he’s known since kindergarten, on an almost daily basis. He and Ziprick also stay in communication, but not as often.

“I’m always following them through the games and watching what they’re doing and keeping up with their stats and trying to always keep in touch and keep up the relationship,” Thompson said.

Oddly, he is the only one of the three Russell players who didn’t change teams this season. Zimmer went from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to Vancouver at the deadline, while the Hurricanes sent Ziprick to the Warriors early in the season.

Happily for Thompson, that means his focus remains with the only WHL club he’s ever known.

“We just want to win as many games and get the highest seed as possible going into playoffs,” Thompson said. “We want to keep on evolving as a team and move up in the ranks and feel confident about our game going into playoffs and obviously bring a championship to the city and make a Mem Cup run.

“As an individual, I just want to play as consistent as I can night in and night out, and just help the team as much as I on the ice, but also just be a leader off the ice and be a voice in the room and just have fun.

“I’m really looking forward to it and excited for this group.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — The Wheat Kings have shut out Lethbridge in their first two meetings, a 1-0 overtime win on Oct. 11 and a 6-0 victory on Saturday. Now it’s guessing time. When was the last time Brandon shut out a team twice in a season, and who was it? For bonus points, what are the most shutouts Brandon has had against a single team in a season in the Internet era?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is Portland defenceman Luca Cagnoni, who led the league in points with a goal and seven assists in four games. The 19-year-old rearguard is from Burnaby, B.C.

The goaltender of the week is Red Deer Rebels rookie Chase Wutzke for the second week in a row. A 17-year-old product of Debden, Sask., Wutzke won his three starts, posting a 2.00 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.

The rookie of the week is Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna, who had two goals, five assists and a plus-4 rating in four games. The 16-year-old forward from Whitehorse, Y.T., had three assists on Sunday as the Tigers beat the Wheat Kings 7-3

• SIN BIN — The Saskatoon Blades were fined $250 for a warmup violation prior to a game against the host Calgary Hitmen on Friday.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Jonny Hooker spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Wheat Kings prior to a trade to the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 9, 2020 for Reid Perepeluk. The Brandon-born Hooker, who was drafted in the eighth round in 2016 by the Wheat Kings, played 239 WHL games over five seasons and graduated as Cougars captain. The 22-year-old forward is in his second season with the University of Manitoba Bisons, and leads them in scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists in 22 games. Second in team scoring is his former Brandon teammate Chase Hartje.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — Brandon heads to Alberta on Thursday for games against the Calgary Hitmen on Friday at 8 p.m., the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday at 8 p.m., and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday at 5 p.m. Their next home game is on Feb. 2 when Red Deer visits.

• ANSWER — The Wheat Kings have shut out a team at least twice in a season 16 times since the 1996-97 season. Oddly, the last victim was Lethbridge in the 2017-18 season. Logan Thompson made 38 saves in a 3-0 win on Dec. 15, 2017, and 32 saves in a 6-0 victory on March 6, 2018.

During the 2015-16 championship season, three of Brandon’s six shutouts were against the Regina Pats, with Jordan Papirny getting them all. He made 16 saves in a 6-0 win at Regina on Oct. 3, 2015, 22 saves in a 4-0 win at Regina on Jan. 24, 2016 and 17 saves in a 3-0 win vs. Regina on March 19, 2016.

When was the trick last turned on the Wheat Kings? Oddly enough, Red Deer beat them 4-0 and 10-0 during the 2015-16 campaign but Brandon got the last laugh when they beat them in the Eastern Conference final en route to winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup. (Unless you count Red Deer’s overtime win that eliminated Brandon at the Memorial Cup as the last laugh.)