It was a scoreless game for 64 minutes opening night in Wenatchee. Chances aplenty at both ends, with two goaltenders playing in midseason form. Then Luke Puchner, with a little help from Noah Kosick and Grayson Tash, ended the drama and put his name in the T-Birds history book. What a way to make your debut with an opening night, overtime game winner! The new kid from New Germany knew what to do with the puck. The T-Birds have been around 50 years and you see something new every season.
Not sure I'm a fan of the new overtime rules. Maybe it just takes some getting used to. There is something anticipatory about watching a team take the puck into the offensive zone, wheel all the way back down into the defensive zone for a reset, then build up speed and rush back onto the attack to score.
Like Michael Scott, I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious! There have been a few times over the past few years where it looked like goalie Grayson Malinoski was on the cusp of pitching a shutout, only to have a late goal sneak through. So as the game wore on and that zero was still up on the board, I made sure not to bring up the subject on the broadcast, lest I jinx him. Not even a glancing thought. Then, as extra time started, I was thinking, please don't get through sixty minutes unscathed and give one up in the OT! He earned that shutout, especially with some big time saves in the second period when the Wild were on the power play three times.
One thing you know about opening weekend in the WHL, you can't get a read on where any team is going to finish six months later based on these early results. Rare that teams are at full strength. Too many top players on just about every team are still at NHL camps. No one is playing with a full deck yet. But one thing I noticed about the T-Birds not only opening night, but going back to training camp and the preseason? They were "bought in". They played as a complete unit, were mostly fundamentally sound and there was just a feeling of cohesion about the way they played. By no means are they a finished product, but they have laid the foundation.
The T-Birds rebuilt a good chunk of their D-corps this offseason. With the departures of Ashton Cumby, Radim Mrkta and Joe Gramer, they needed to reload. So they brought in Jonas Kemps, Henry Schmiel, Owen Hayden and Reko Alanko to supplement returning blue liners like Brennan Hocher, Tai Riley and Grayson Tash.
Only problem this weekend was that three of those d-men were unavailable for various reasons for the opener against Wenatchee. No Alanko, no Kemps and no Riley. Even 16-year old rookie and 2025 first round pick Brook Haile was on the shelf. So big props to Ethan Creran and Affiliate Player Jackson Beggs for stepping up into that void and giving Seattle solid shifts on the blue line.
Beggs will evenutally be reassigned, but when everyone is back and available they have one of those good problems on their hands. Finding ice time for a D-corps that is at least 7-8 players deep.
Speaking of d-men, Henry Schmiel at one point last year was listed at 6'0", 235 lbs. My first thought was, that's not a hockey player, that's a linebacker! He told me this summer he has actually slimmed down to 210 lbs. After watching him opening night, he confirmed to me he is a hockey player...who hits like a linebacker. And he skates quite well. On more than one occasion he caught up to an odd man rush by the Wild and broke up the play before it could ignite.
It was clear to me in the preseason and clear to me opening night, opposing teams are focusing on Brock England. They're going to try and be physical with him. Just so you know, he won't back down. he'll give as good as he gets. Other teams know England is the T-Birds offensive catalyst. But that should open up opportunities for his linemates. That's what good players do, they make the players around them better.
Quick thoughts after the opener:
One game into his tenth season at the helm Matt O'Dette is 11 wins shy of 300 wins as Thunderbirds head coach. Two championships, two U.S. Division banners, four Western Conference titles earned and two trips to the Memorial Cup in his tenure (asst. coach and head coach) and still, after nine seasons, one of the most underrated head coaches in the WHL. Excluding the Covid years, the only season he missed the playoffs (2024), his team was decimated by injuries. You'll not convince me that both he and his predecessor, Steve Konowalchuk, were not slighted when it came to selecting a WHL Coach of the Year during their championship runs. Insane.
Power play and penalty kill are still a work in progress. Getting players back will help.
Watching the new players interact off the ice with the returning players, after just a month of being together? This is already a close group.
Off topic, the area around Wentachee/Chelan/Leavenworth has some of the best fall foliage in the region.
One down, 67 more to go!
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