Home openers,with pregame banner raising ceremonies and all the other pomp and circumstance that comes with it, and Teddy Bear Toss games both share a lot common traits. There is a lot of anticipation and emotion involved. Players are excited and feed off the crowd. The adrenaline is really flowing. We saw that last night in Seattle's 6-4 win over the Vancouver Giants.
The team was really amped up from the start, especially with five players back from NHL training camps and inserted into the lineup for the first time this season. The crowd at the accesso ShoWare Center was in full throated, midseason form.
That combination led to the Thunderbirds jumping out to a quick two goal lead just ninety seconds in. Halfway through the game Seattle was up 5-1. Then they kind of let off the gas. Maybe the adrenaline wore off or they got comfortable with the sizeable advantage. Once they did that they spent much of the rest of the game, especially the third period, on their heels. They never really got that momentum back.
Credit the Giants. A lot of teams, when they fall behind 5-1 in a hostile environment, will just wilt. Vancouver never did. They stuck to their systems and continued to play hard. They made a game of if over the final 28 minutes. Hopefully a lesson learned. The Thunderbirds, for all their talent...and in the end it was their talent that got them the victory...they are still a relatively young team.
Case in point? The Thunderbirds blue line corps. Seattle started three rookies on the back end, two 16 year olds and a first year 17 year old d-man. Their best d-man on the night may have been an 18 year old with limited WHL experience. Was Seattle's young blue line the reason their four goal lead nearly melted away? No. It was a team effort. But you have to expect mistakes and growing pains from such a young group.
With the two 16 year old d-men, Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, I'm reminded a little bit of another pair of 16 year defenseman and their development with the T-birds back in the 2011-12 season. Then head coach Steve Konowalchuk kept throwing Shea Theodore and Jared Hauf out on the ice every night, usually together. He put them out in all situations. He put them out late in games.
The results most nights weren't pretty. Combined Theodore and Hauf played in 125 games that season and were a -68. But we know the results of that experiment. Theodore turned into a first round NHL draft pick and, at age 20, Hauf helped lead Seattle to the 2016 Western Conference Championship.
Here's the difference though for Davidson and Pickford. They are surrounded by a much more talented group of players. That 2011-12 T-birds team finished 25-45-1-1 and missed the playoffs. Burke Gallimore led the offense that year with 40 points. Heck, Theodore was the third leading scorer on that team with 35 points. Last night Davidson and Pickford combined for three assist and were +3. Their growing pains aren't going to be as painful as the ones Theodore and Hauf experienced and their potential is off the charts.
I thought one of the issues for Seattle after building the big lead was too many forwards trying to take short cuts or trying to do too much on their own. That won't sit well with Matt O'Dette. Stick to the systems! When you have a team down as the Thunderbids did, finish them off.
Seattle put enough quality chances on goal the first half of the game to score 7-8 times in the first period alone. Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman, a 2020 Vegas Golden Knights draft pick, kept it from being a complete blowout before the first intermission. He gave Vancouver an opportunity to comeback and put a late scare in the Thunderbirds. Still, as well as he played, Seattle still produced a five spot against him.
The Thunderbirds haven't figured out their line combinations yet. They haven't been together as a complete team yet either. They are integrating returning players back into the lineup. They have a young D corps. Their special teams have not impacted either of their first two games. They are awaiting the return of Kevin Korchinski. They have only two 20 year olds. But here they are, 2-0.
My T-birds Three Stars for the weekend:
Third Star: C Jared Davidson. First game back from NHL camp with Montreal and he's already had a big impact with a goal and an assist. Took him ten games a season ago to record his first goal, enroute to a 42-goal campaign. He scored in his first game this season. Can he hit 50?
Second Star: W Kyle Crnkovic. Seattle traded for his offense and through two games he has delivered with a pair of goals, an assist and a shootout goal. He has delivered the goods. For a guy known for his offensive accumen, I appreciate his commitment to a 200 foot game.
First Star: C Jordan Gustafson. I thought he had jump from the get go and was one of the few players who played a complete sixty minute game. His assist on Lucas Ciona's goal was a thing of beauty and showed his ability to read the ice. He's an underrated skater and puck handler.
No comments:
Post a Comment