A Tale of Two Cities

What a difference twenty four hours can make in the life of a young Thunderbirds hockey team.  The game Friday at home against Prince George was the best game they had played since their last win back on December 13th in Spokane. It was not a perfect game as they still are struggling to finish, but against one of the best team's in the CHL they went toe to toe and probably deserved something other than the 2-1 loss.

They were direct, they got pucks in deep, they won puck battles and put shots to the net. In the defensisve zone they got into shot lanes. Their sticks were active knocking down passes and they played with some physicality.  I thought they were focused on playing their best agaisnt one of the best.

Satruday in Everett it was almost the complete opposite. And you might be asking why? Why couldn't the T-birds bring that same focus and effort they had against the Cougars into the game against the Silvertips? I think one of the lessons that young players struggle to grasp early in their careers, is the need to make adjustments from game to game.

Everett plays a different style than PG.  Just as Portland plays a different brand than, say, Tri-City.  So Seattle's young squad may have been focused on doing the same things against Everett as they did the night before against Prince George. That's okay until you have to adjust to how your opponent is playing. 

Against PG Seattle was able to get pucks in deep in the offensive zone and get into the board battles quickly.  Everett is a quicker team and Seattle didn't adjust to that speed.  As head coach Matt O'Dette said about Everett "They're a team that gets up and down the ice very fast. They're on you quick. When you're trying to skate the puck up the ice (against that), if you're not letting the puck work for you and moving it, getting to a place where you can head man the puck, they're going to chase you down."

Again, it really comes down to consistency of effort because back on December 30th, Seattle was able to do that against Everett. They did it even in their 7-1 loss to Everett in mid-December when they outshot the Tips in Everett 44-35. It's just making the mental adjustments from game to game, opponent to opponent.  It's the part of the game that probably takes the most teaching. 

I think another issue is physical maturity. When you're young and consistently playing against older players. Back to back games can be a drain. Physically going up against an older, NHL drafted player on back to back nights is going to be taxing. These young players are learning that firsthand.  We saw it a few years back when players like Ciona, Schaefer, Davidson and Korchinski were young and green.  Then we saw those players mature physically and turn the tables. It's a process. 

But you can't learn it if you don't go out and play.  This is why you'll see a young Braeden Cootes or even a 15-year old callup like Brendan Rudolph out on the ice against an opponent's top line. It gives them that first hand opportunity to know how much they need to grow. It many not seem like it now, but they are learning from those situations.  I remember quite vividly Shea Theodore's 16 year old season. He finished -36. He was thrown out on the ice in all situations.  He wasn't benched if he made a mistake. He learned, he grew, he absorbed the lessons and a couple of seasons later he was +19 and a NHL first round draft pick.

They're going to have some good shifts and they're going to have some bad shifts. They're going to have some good games and they're going to have some nights where they are off.  The goal is to reduce those bad shifts and off games as they grow in their WHL careers. You can't learn every lesson in practice.

What's the first thing a U16 player says after his first game in the WHL? almost to a man they say it's a much faster game. What's the first thing a freshly drafted 18 year says at his first NHL camp? The players are bigger and faster. You don't adjust to that change overnight. The game slows down as you get more repitition. And when you think you have it figured out one game, the next game will challenge that thinking.

Nineteen. The T-Birds have nineteen rookies in their system.  Many of them have already played at least one WHL game this season. In all likelihood, they're going to get two top 25 draft picks this May.  So that's a minimumm of 21 players who will be fighting for roster spots the next two to three seasons. Those players are spread out over four drafts. That's competition. Iron sharpens iron. 

Not all of those players are going to spend 4-5 seasons with the Thunderbirds but they're going to push each other to be their best.  Not all the players will become Shea Theodore's. The cream will rise to the top and that's how you build a winner.  The organization won't hit on 100% of those prospects but if they can develop 30-40 percent, they'll be a winning team again, sooner rather than later.  That process has already begun.  Probably sooner than the organization wanted to because of all the injuries this season. So it may be a curse right now, it could end up being a blessing down the road.

My T-Birds Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star: C Coster Dunn.  He just seems primed for an offensive breakout.  You could see that shorthanded goal he scored against Everett coming.  He seems to be feeling more comfortable in his own skin as he becomes relied upon more.  He still has work to do but he had a goal and an assist in the two games and that has him pointing in the right direction.

Second Star: W Nathan Pilling.  A goal in each game.  His shooter's mentality is a reason for that. Hopefully there is more of that to come the second half as he gets more comfortable in his new surroundngs. In five games since being acquired from Edmonton he has four points (2g, 2a). What I've observed from him off the ice, he's got the look and the demeanor of a team leader.  

First Star: G Scott Ratzlaff. Simply brilliant on Saturday night in Everett. He made 54 saves and everyone of them kept the T-birds in the game, giving them a chance until the final minute. One of the best singular goalie performances I've seen in 20-plus years with the T-Birds. Not just because of the volume of shots faced, but the number of high quality scoring chances he denied.  In two games this weekend he stopped 87 shots.