The Kids are Alright

Because we see their names in the lineup every night, because they played in last spring's 24-game abbreviated season, we forget sometimes that a number of these T-birds regulars are still classified as rookies and quite a few are still in their 16-year-old season. 

While 17 year olds like Jordan Gustafson, Kevin Korchinski and Nico Myatovic, along with an 18-year-old Reid Schaefer are older "rookies", players like Sam Oremba, Sawyer Mynio and Scott Ratzlaff are those true, "16-year-old season" guys, who've had to grow up in a hurry. That's certainly been the case the second half of the season as they've been called upon to eat up big minutes with so many of the older players on the roster sidelined because of injuries. 

Then, this weekend, Seattle threw three more of those 2005-born players, Coster Dunn, Ethan Mittelsteadt and Niko Tsakumis, into the fray. When the weekend was over, the T-birds had three wins, six points and every one of those players had contributed in some way to the team's success.  

With three of their top six defenseman sidelined for Sunday's game in Kennewick, Seattle played with five d-man who are still considered rookies by WHL standards: Jeremy Hanzel, Kevin Korchinski, Leon Okonkwo Prada, Sawyer Mynio and Tsaksumis. The veteran of the group was 19-year-old Chase Lacombe, Prior to this season Lacombe had just 60 games, less than a full season, of WHL experience under his belt.  Heck throw in Mittelsteadt, who is a defenseman by trade but was playing forward, and the T-birds had six rookie defensemen in the lineup.

Even if you discount Hanzel and Korchinski because they played 23-games last spring, and Okonkwo Prada because he's older, there were still three young d-men in the lineup with a combined 62 games of WHL experience between them and 43 of those games belonged to one player. 

So, let's just concentrate on those six, true, 16-year-old, 2005 born rookies and what they did this weekend, with Seattle once again missing so many veteran regulars.  Combined they contributed five points (2g, 3a), a game winning goal, two first WHL career goals, a plus-6 rating and were 1-0 in net with a 2.00 GAA and .939 save percentage. Shorthanded, trying to stay in the chase for third place in the Western Conference, Seattle needed those six players to be solid, if not good, and they were.  

Getting Tyrel Bauer back for the final two and a half weeks of the regular season is a huge bonus.  Players who normally suffer the type of injury he did are usually given a five-to-six-month timeline for recovery.  Under that scenario, Bauer's season should have been over. That just didn't sit well with the captain.  He was determined to make it back and he did it in three and a half months.  I saw some of the grueling work he put in to make it happen. You have to be laser focused and he was.  For the T-birds it's like getting a big trade deadline acquisition without having to trade away any assets.  

Now Mekai Sanders will have to go through the same thing.  It's too bad, because he was having a great season.  He was a big piece to the team's sucess, and he will be missed in the lineup.  But he has a blueprint laid out by Bauer on what he has to do to get back.

My T-bird Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star: D Sam Knazko: He only played in two of the three games, but Knazko's play in the two wins over Vancouver stood out.  He had a goal, two assists and was a plus-2.  He's gets the most out of his physical play.  He knows how to position himself along the boards to win puck battles. At the offensive end he's patient, never reckless. Just a very confident player right now.

Second Star: C/W Jared Davidson. Came off the injury list and promptly scored in every game over the weekend. Four goals, two assists and a plus-2 rating.  To win consistently, Seattle needs to get healthy, and they need their scoring leader scoring.  Davidson just picked up where he left off and that's good news for the T-birds.  

First Star: W Lukas Svejkovsky.  There weren't a lot of deals at the WHL trade deadline this season, but Seattle's acquisition of Svejkovsky was one of the best.  The T-birds acquired him officially on December 27th, but he had a bout with Covid and didn't make his T-birds debut until a few weeks later. In 29-games as a Thunderbirds he has 39-points (17g, 22a). Six of his goals are game winners.  This past weekend he earned eight points (5g, 3a) in three games.

Wounded, Not Dead

I was going to say that I learned something about this T-birds team this weekend, even in defeat.  But in actuality, I just had something about this team confirmed, something I already knew.  This team is deep, and it is talented from top to bottom.  Even with seven of their best players on the shelf, they had enough talent to compete in every game. There are no moral victories but sometimes in losing, your true character is revealed and Seattle revealed their heart.  

They went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the league for two nights.  Did they come up short? Yes, but not for lack of trying.  That's the one thing about youthful talent at this level, they're green and haven't physically finished maturing.  So, against older, more experienced players, they might not win every battle, but they'll try. 

As I stated last week, the majority of the T-birds players on the sidelines are their older players and they don't have a lot of those to begin with. For two of the three games they were left with one twenty year old in Lukas Svejkovsky and two 19 year olds in defensemen Sam Knazko and Chase Lacombe. Sunday they got 19 year old Matt Rempe back into the lineup, but only after they had lost another player to injury. Every other player on the lineup sheet was 18 year old or younger, including six 17 year olds, by the time Sunday rolled around.

And yet, here they were right in the thick of it going into the third period Saturday and Sunday. They stuck around despite over 200 points of offense sitting up in the stands watching both games.  Their leading scorer, Jared Davidson? Out.  Their fourth leading scorer and newly signed NHL prospect Henrik Rybinski? Hasn't played since February.  Their captain, and top pairing defenseman Ty Bauer? hasn't seen the ice since early December.  Lucas Ciona? Busted hand. Ryan Gottfried? Busted foot.  No Gabe Ludwig and no Mekai Sanders.  

Portland? They were without Dawson Pasternak who is lost for the season to a lower body injury.  He had 14 points in 34 games before the injury. A loss for them yes, but fourteen points is not 200 points. The trade deadline has come and gone. they will not be adding players to their current group.  The Winterhawks team we saw Saturday and Sunday?  That's their team going forward. That's their playoff roster. It's formidable.  they'll be a tough out in the postseason, especially with Taylor Gauthier in net.

But Seattle?  Knock on wood, but they'll hopefully be plugging back into their lineup those 200-plus points. They'll get back their leading scorer Davidson and their fourth leading scorer Rybinski. They are on track to see Bauer, their captain return. Ciona's hand and Gottfried's foot should heal up. Fingers crossed that Ludwig and Sanders can get back too. 

Last week I wrote about some of the similarities between this T-birds team and the one that won the 2017 WHL Championship.  After Sunday's game down in Portland, T-birds head coach Matt O'Dette talked about the similarities as well. 

"Obviously there are similarities to our championship team. Many different things happened that year, long term injuries and illness just like this year, that when we were in the thick of things in the playoffs, we had experienced it all by then. We'll take these experiences, grow from them and it will help us down the line, just like it did back then,"

My T-birds Three Stars for the last week (four games, 2-2):

Third Stars: Goalies Scott Ratzlaff and Thomas Milic.  Ratzlaff got two starts and earned wins in both, beating Tri-City Tuesday and Friday. he was especially sharp in the first period Friday in Kennewick, turning aside 12 shots, including a number of Grade A scoring chances.  Milic took both losses over the weekend against Portland but he gave his team every chance to get something out of both games.  Seattle just couldn't find the offense to support him. Again, Seattle has one of the youngest goaltending tandems in the league but they don't play like it.

Second Star:  D Sam Knazko.  With Ryan Gottfried unable to go versus Portland Saturday and Sunday, Knazko ate up big minutes on the blue line.  He helped control the game by controlling the puck.  he played physical at both ends. He continues to show why he was a third-round pick by the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and why the Blue Jackets wasted little time in signing him to his entry level contract. 

First Star: C Jordan Gustafson. A goal and two assists in the four games, but he was so much more than his point totals.  With Seattle playing most of the week with three of their best centers unavailable, he stepped right up.  He was at nearly 50-percent in the faceoff circle (26/58).  He was tenacious all over the ice but especially along the boards.  Now he gets to put his skill on display for the NHL scouts as this week's Top Prospects game in Kitchener, Ontario.  

Shades of a Championship?

On Sunday February 19th, 2017, the Thunderbirds traveled down to Portland to play the third game of a three-games-in-three nights weekend. They had already played that weekend with a few key players out of their lineup, splitting the first two games: a 4-2 road loss that Friday in Kennewick and a 5-3 home win over Portland on Saturday.

They had played both the Friday game and the Saturday game with just 17 skaters, one under the limit. But they had most of their big guns available, like Barzal, Kolesar and Gropp. But even a few of those players were dealing with the normal minor bumps and bruises from a long season and when they got down to Portland for the Sunday game there were a couple key players who were game time decisions. 

Seattle was already without Scott Eansor, Matthew Wedman and Nolan Volcan.  Kolesar took warm-ups but was a late scratch after suffering an injury the night before.  Rylan Toth was scheduled to get the start in net but took ill and at the last second, had to be replaced in goal by Matt Berlin. When the puck dropped on the first period, the T-birds were down to just 16 skaters: seven defensemen and just nine forwards. 

Playing with that short bench, playing their third game of the weekend, it appeared to be taking its toll.  Seattle fell behind, 4-2, with 11 minutes remaining. It was a valiant effort but no shame in dropping a game like this to a good Portland club. Just one of 72 games on the schedule and there would be better days ahead. Take the L, lick your wounds, heal up and get ready for the next game.

Except the Thunderbirds didn't fold up their tent and go home that day. That injury/illness depleted roster dominated the second half of the third period.  They outshot the Winterhawks 21-11 over the final twenty minutes. Donovan Neuls put Seattle within one with eight and a half minutes remaining. But the T-birds took a late penalty and put Portland on the power play. It appeared time would run out on their comeback bid. They killed off the penalty though.   Then, with the game winding down, Seattle pulled Berlin for the extra skater and with 45-seconds left, Sami Moilanen tied it up. At the very least, the T-birds had salvaged a point.

The game headed to overtime where Seattle pumped six more shots on goal.  No dice, so off to the shootout. When Moilanen, the T-birds third and final shooter, scored, the comeback was complete. Seattle won, 5-4.  

It was after that game, on that Sunday down in Portland, after witnessing what that team could do with only 16 skaters, dominating the third period of a third game in three nights, that I believed that team was destined for greatness and of course they went on to win the 2017 WHL Championship.  

I bring up this story because I see similarities between that 2016-17 squad and this year's team.  They don't quit. They don't give up.  They can outplay good teams when they don't have all their chips available.  They are stronger at the end of games then at the beginning.

We saw that in both games this weekend.  We saw it in their comeback win over Kelowna last week. Seattle has seven NHL drafted players on their roster and at various times over the past week, five of them have been out of the lineup, often at the same time. No Rybinski, no Bauer, no Ciona, no Rempe, no Knazko?  No matter, next man up. And while Seattle didn't fully complete the comeback in either game this weekend, they were the better team on the ice at the end of the night in both games. Just like they were on that Sunday in late February, down in Portland in 2017.

Am I saying this year's squad is on par with that 2017 championship team?  No, not quite. Just that there are similar traits.  The one big difference is experience.  That 2017 team was an older, seasoned, playoff tested club that had been through a long playoff run and a league final the season before.  This 2022 team is much greener and playoff experience is almost non-existent. 

The players missing from the lineup this past weekend, are all 19 years or older (Ciona turned 19 in early January). So, the team that Seattle iced this weekend was, for the most part very, very young.  When you see them do what they did this weekend, and at other points of the season with a less than full roster, your first thought is, I can't wait to see what they can do at full strength.  But there is no guarantee we'll ever see that. Just when it looks like every player will be available, another player goes down. Injuries keep popping up, injuries to their best and oldest players.  

And I will say this, what's the common denominator from that 2017 team and this year's team?  It's head coach Matt O'Dette.  He was the assistant coach on that 2017 team and an invaluable asset to, then head coach, Steve Konowalchuk. I doubt he'll get any consideration for a Coach of the Year honor, but he should.  

O'Dette has held this team together all season. His captain has missed half the year. His number one center has missed big chunks of action.  Another of his top defensemen has been in and out of town because of international duty. He has one of the youngest goaltending tandems in the league.  He hasn't had his full roster available to him at any point since early December, yet he has this team playing winning hockey. He puts his young players in position to succeed.  

His biggest challenge might be ahead of him.  His team is, you guessed it, banged up and will be undermanned this coming week as they try to hold onto fourth place and a top four seed in the Western Conference. He'll have to rely even more on his younger players. I think he's up to the challenge.

My Three Stars for the Past Two Weeks:

The T-birds just finished up a stretch of playing nine games in 16 days.  A lot of hockey in a short time.

Third Star: D Sam Knazko. Back from the Olympics and with hopefully no more interruptions in his season, we are seeing now, on a nightly basis, why he was a third-round pick of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, and why the Blue Jackets have already signed him to his entry level contract. He is a 200-foot player, not just an offensive defenseman. He can be physical; he skates well and acts rather than reacts on the ice.   A very mature player focused on his craft. 

Second Star: W Lukas Svejkovsky.  He battled through a recent illness but with each passing game he looks more and more comfortable out on the ice with his T-bird's teammates. In 22 games with Seattle, he has 29 points (10g, 19a) and a +9 rating.  In his last six games he has nine points on three goals and six assists. He finished the weekend on a four-game point streak.

First Star: C Jared Davidson.  In his last seven games he has 12-points (6g, 6a). He leads the team with 69 points (29g, 40a) putting him 12th in the league as well. In the absence of Henrik Rybinski, he has been the T-birds number one center and consistently has been winning in the faceoff circle, especially in key moments late in games.  

Marching to a Different Drummer

March Madness has begun.  How else to explain that T-birds dramatic win Tuesday.

February started so well. A seven-game winning streak, punctuated by a signature road win down in Portland. Ah, but in February many hearts are broken, and Seattle finished with a three-game losing streak.  

But it wasn't a panic inducing three game skid.  The T-birds weren't playing poorly.  That's not to say that they didn't go flat in the third period last Friday in Spokane, turning a 2-1 lead into a 5-3 loss. In the three losses that was probably their only bad period of hockey.   Remember, in that seven-game winning streak Seattle was averaging nearly six goals per game. You knew at some point that would level off. It was unsustainable.  

Sure enough, against the Chiefs, Everett and Kelowna, the bounces weren't going their way.  The Everett game is a prime example.  The T-birds played their brand of hockey and were driving the play, yet they were shutout despite 48 shots on goal.  Shots missing open nets, shots off the post or crossbar and some incredible saves by the goalie.  A week or two earlier and those shots were going into the back of the net. The hockey gods just took away some of the Thunderbird's mojo.

The only way to get that mojo back is to keep grinding, keep shooting and keep playing your brand of hockey. The T-birds needed to keep from panicking. They had to avoid getting frustrated and gripping the sticks too tight. They needed to stay on task, but they also needed to get that mojo back before the streak wore on. The longer it went on the more doubt would seep in. 

What they needed was a finish like they got Tuesday night in their thrilling come from behind win over the Rockets. Look, teams pull their goalie late for an extra skater all the time, looking for a late tying goal.  And while the percentages of scoring in that situation are probably around 10-15%, if that, it does happen enough that it is not out of the ordinary. 

But normally in those situations, where teams pull the goal for the extra skater and end up scoring a game tying goal, I would guess the odds are pretty high that the game ends up going to overtime or a shootout to decide the winner. It's almost as though both teams are preconditioned for that result. 

But to score the tying goal under that scenario and then bag the game winner with just a few seconds to spare? Well, that's the man-bites-dog ending, the Bigfoot sighting, the alien abduction story.  It's so very rare.  After that goal was scored by Sam Knazko you could almost see the confidence being injected back into each player. 

Maybe it's just my perception, but it seemed to me after Seattle got the equalizer that Kelowna played for the inevitable overtime while the T-birds went for the win in regulation.

My T-Birds Three Star for the Week:

Third Star: C/W Jared Davidson.  Davidson showed his versatility, moving from wing to center with Henrik Rybinski missing the last two games with injury.  He has reached the 100-point mark in his WHL career, and he has blasted past his previous best season point total by 43 points and counting. 

Second Star: W Reid Schaefer. Schaefer now leads the team in goal scoring with 26, which by the way is 26 more than he had all of last season. He has five goals over his last five games and the post and crossbar kept him from adding to that total. But he also contributed an assist on the game winner Tuesday.

First Star: D Sam Knazko.  His career as a T-bird has been brief.  He joined the team in early December, Still recuperating from Covid. he then promptly left for World Juniors. He came back after that tournament got canceled but wasn't back long before he left for the Winter Olympics. He's back again and playing so well.  He is a cerebral player. He seems to be thinking of Step C in the process while executing Step A. His game winner Tuesday wasn't a, highlight reel thing of beauty.  It was him knowing the situation and putting himself in the right position when the time called for it.