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.
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