Road Tested T-birds

Last season the Thunderbirds won a total of 11 road games (out of 36 games). The 26 points they earned away from ShoWare Center during the 2012-13 season was third fewest in the entire WHL. Now, already this season, in seven road contests they've won five games and earned 10 of a possible 14 points. They are on pace to earn slightly over 40 points on the road this season.

The clichéd formula for most team sports has always been to win the majority of your home games and split on the road and you'll be a playoff team and a title contender. Well, at the moment, the T-birds are doing just that. It's still very, very early in the season and there are still 29 road games to go but so far Seattle is creating that formula for success that says good teams win no matter where they play.

After dropping the first two of their just completed six straight on the road, I think most who follow this team would have been happy if the club had split the remaining four games, especially after they were outscored 13-4 in those first two games. Instead the 'Birds won all four and did so by competing hard for sixty minutes. Three of those four wins were won in the third period or later. Twice, against pretty stiff competition, the Thunderbirds fell behind by two goals but came back to record the win.

The Thunderbirds power play hasn't gotten going just yet, which makes their 7-2 start all the more remarkable. But there is just too much skill and fire power on the team not to get it unleashed at some point. I still expect their power play to be in the upper half of the league when the smoke clears. They should have had a power play goal last night, if not for a quick whistle by a referee who lost sight of a puck the T-birds were about to score on. It is hard at times to remember that this is a development league for the officials too and they will make mistakes from time to time. Why does it seem that time always comes up when it affects the Thunderbirds adversely though??

The T-birds fast start is no fluke and neither is the fact that its happened with the team playing three 16 year olds extensively and in key situations. Watching the games you would never know that Mathew Barzal, Ethan Bear and Keegan Kolesar are freshed-faced newbies. Whether it's the power play, the penalty kill or late in the third period of a close game, all three are getting plenty of ice time.

Can we put to rest the notion that the T-birds goaltending is their weakness? In each of their last starts, Danny Mumaugh and Justin Myles have faced about the same number of shots (Mumaugh 39 vs. Kootenay and 40 for Myles in Kelowna) and come up with big performances including late game saving saves. They were each integral to the team's recent road success. Throw out one stat-skewing game down in Portland and the M&M boys have done exactly what's been asked of them; give the team a chance to win.

Myles played his best game in his brief T-birds career last night against the Rockets. He showed tremendous puck control and was the team's best penalty killer as Kelowna went just 1-for-7 with the man advantage. I've never seen this guy rattled. On or off the ice he displays a calm, ice-water-in-the-veins demeanor.

It's amazing how often the T-birds and Kelowna have played past regulation recently. But maybe all the close overtime battles shouldn't be too surprising as it seems the two Western Conference rivals are constructed in similar fashion. Both have a good, young corps of puck carrying defenseman with a solid group of two-way forwards, not to mention a good one-two punch in goal.

I heard or read a few questioning the trade of Griffin Foulk to Lethbridge in exchange for Adam Henry. I too was sorry to see Foulk go as he had made huge strides in his game over the past year and was off to a solid start this year with the 'Birds. But if Friday night in Kelowna was an indication of how he'll play the rest of this season, fans are gonna like Adam Henry. He came advertised as a good puck moving, offensive defenseman but he was solid at both ends of the ice. He showed some physicality in the d-zone but was definitely not afraid to jump up and join the rush, almost scoring his first T-birds goal in the third period by going hard to the net. He really seems to have a lot of hockey smarts.

Tonight the T-birds play the team that handed them their last loss. It was two Tuesday's ago that the Americans blanked the T-birds, 3-0, over at the Toyota Center. Should be a good battle tonight at the ShoWare Center in the return match.

Hurricane Force Trade Winds

The Seattle Thunderbirds got a little makeover on their blueline with the trade of two defenseman while getting one back in return. Both deals could be looked on as a bit "surprising" from the initial reaction, but once you look deeper into the transactions you can see how they make sense.

First, the T-birds had a move coming one way or the other. Seattle was carrying four 20 year old players and the cut down date to get down to the league limit of three was looming. For a while it seemed their decision might be made for them when Mitch Elliot got extended time at camp with the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate. In fact, not knowing if Elliot was going to be returned, Seattle claimed Erik Benoit off waivers from Saskatoon.

It seemed no sooner had Seattle brought Benoit into the fold, that Elliot was then returned. This put Seattle one player over the 20 year old limit. A month, even two weeks ago I don't think we envisioned that it would be defenseman Jesse Forsberg who would be the odd man out. But in deed, Forsberg was dealt to Moose Jaw Wednesday for a 2015 3rd round Bantam Draft pick.

In my opinion, two things made this trade plausible. First, of the four overage players on the roster, Forsberg probably had the most return value in a trade. Quality 20 year old defenseman are hard to come by. Forsberg will bring leadership, passion, grit and solid two way play to the Moose Jaw locker room. I doubt the three remaining 20s could have brought back a 3rd round draft pick in a trade. It's just my opinion that you can get good 20 year old forwards for a lesser price. The T-birds in fact, paid nothing to acquire Benoit, who is a solid two-way player who plays in all situations, not to mention he's won a league championship and been to two Memorial Cups, yet all it took to get him was a waiver claim.

Secondly, the play in the early season of 16 year old rookie defenseman Ethan Bear makes trading Forsberg more palatable. I'm not suggesting they are the same type of player and at just age 16, Bear will still go through growing pains, but he's earned his ice time and the teams is unbeaten (6-0) when he's in the lineup. The good news for Forsberg is he gets to play his final season in the WHL back in Saskatchewan, where he's from. Circle Tuesday, January 21st on your calendar though. That's when Forsberg and his Moose Jaw team invade the ShoWare Center.

Meanwhile, if we look back at the Colin Jacobs deal that went down last offseason, the T-birds have gotten a pretty good return on their investment. Jacobs turns into one year of Forsberg plus a 5th a 7th and now a 3rd round draft choice.

The second transaction the T-birds made Wednesday was to deal another defenseman, 18 year old Griffin Foulk, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for 19 year old d-man Adam Henry. At first it may seem odd that a team that has begun the season 6-2 would suddenly trade away two of its top six defensemen. But Seattle had a glut of '95 born blue liners on the roster. Four 18 year old defensemen (Hauf, Smith and Theodore in addition to Foulk) meant younger players weren't getting needed ice time to develop.

Sending Foulk to Lethbridge breaks up that age group. This trade is also as much about next season and the season after as it is about this season. Seattle has some very good young defenseman in the pipeline who are going to earn a roster spot next season. Remember, they spent their 2013 first round bantam draft pick on highly touted d-man Dante Fabbro. If you witnessed any of training camp you also saw a few other young, talented defenseman who could make an argument they should be on this team now, if necessary.

Meanwhile by acquiring Henry, you gain some of the veteran experience you lost in dealing away Forsberg and Henry seems to be a similar type player to what you traded away in Foulk.

I know when we were in Lethbridge last weekend and I asked about their roster, Henry's name came up as one of their better, more reliable players. He was also an older player on a rebuilding team. I'm sure a change of scenery with a Seattle team on the upswing, will invigorate him.

It's funny that just about five months ago we were excited for this season and one reason for that was the T-birds returning all of their top six defenseman from the 2012-13 campaign. Now 2/3rds of them are gone. But we also knew coming into camp this fall that the Thunderbirds had nine signed defensemen on the roster and something had to give.

I certainly will miss both these players. Forsberg was a solid team leader and gave the team a veteran defenseman last season when they had none. Meanwhile it was fun to watch Foulk's game make a big jump forward from the time he was acquired from Everett one year ago to now. You could see his confidence level rise with each game he played. They are two good hockey players but also two solid citizens and I wish them well with their new teams.

Weekend Warriors

I do my best blogging at six in the morning after getting off the bus following a long overnight drive from Cranbrook!

Understatement to say it but this past weekend of hockey was one of the best in recent T-bird history. Three games in three nights, all on the road with other mitigating circumstances (injuries) and the Thunderbirds pluck out three wins. Winning is never easy, winning on the road is even harder and winning under difficult conditions, well, that takes resolve and the T-birds showed they have it in spades.

The win Sunday night over the Kootenay Ice was one of the most impressive from this team that I've witnessed in a long while. Not because they got some incredible, mind bending performance from anyone, not because they weren't expected to win...this team believes they are going to win every time they take the ice...not because they pulled off some sort of last second miracle. No, what was impressive is that, down two of their top six forwards and two of their top six defensemen, they just went about their business, stuck to their game plan and came away with the well earned 4-3 victory.

Man down? No problem; next man up and let's get to work. That was their approach to the game.

I was at the game, I was watching the action, but still I missed one of the most incredible saves in a key moment of a game that you'll ever, or in my case never, see. From my broadcast vantage point at Western Financial Place, traffic in front of the Seattle goal with some thirty seconds remaining and Seattle nursing a one goal lead, obstructed my view. All I saw was Kootenay's Sam Reinhart, one of the best players in the WHL, take a shot toward a gaping opening at the right side of the T-birds goal. Then I saw the Ice players celebrating an apparent tying score. I assumed the game was tied and probably heading to overtime. Then I saw the referee waving his arms emphatically indicating no goal. Then there was Seattle goalie Danny Mumaugh skating out of his crease, holding up his catching mitt and shaking his head back and forth as if to say "No, no, no".

Some how, some way, Mumaugh had flashed that glove over in time to snatch that puck out of midair just before it crossed the goal line, preserving the lead. Maybe I shouldn't have been too surprised because Mumaugh had been making big saves all night. In fact, he had given a glimpse of things to come by making flashing gloves saves two nights earlier in the T-birds 5-4 overtime win Friday in Medicine Hat. One of the biggest question marks for the 'Birds coming into the season was their inexperienced goaltending but the way Mumaugh and Justin Myles have been turning up their play between the pipes, the only question is which of the M&M boys is plain and which one is peanut?

It's hard for a first-overall-pick-in-the-draft player to go about his business in an unassuming manner but in case you didn't notice, Mathew Barzal is now leading the team lead with 12 points (3g, 9a) and is plus-8.

The 16 year old rookie appears to get more and more comfortable playing at the WHL level with each passing game. It was interesting to see him matched up at times Friday night in Medicine Hat against the Tigers' Hunter Shinkaruk and Sunday against Kootenay's Reinhart and more then hold his own. After a productive weekend Barzal sits 8th in the league in scoring and is the top rookie point producer.

Speaking of unassuming, how about the play of defenseman Griffin Foulk? Foulk isn't going to pile up the points although he did get one assist Saturday in Lethbridge. His first order of business is to take care of the defensive zone and he had a good weekend in that department. Foulk was a plus player in all three games, finishing the weekend at +4.

Here's one of those "I didn't see it coming" stats. Seattle is 6-0 with 16 year old defenseman Ethan Bear in the lineup and 0-2 when he's a healthy scratch. Bear saw a lot of first unit power play time over the weekend and he's +2 on the year. With two of your top d-men down for the count, that's what's called stepping up

Chance for 72-0 Season Get Squashed

I think the T-birds just lost their focus Saturday night in Portland. While the Winterhawks played well, I didn't see much different out of them then what I saw in the season opener a week earlier at the ShoWare Center, a game the T-birds won 4-3 in a shootout. It think this was more a case of what Seattle didn't do as much as it was a case of what Portland did do.

Make no mistake though Portland has finishers. Seattle created enough scoring chances when this game was still in doubt but kept shooting wide or misfiring on passes. The Thunderbirds didn't go as hard to the net as they had through the first three games. The Winterhawks were near perfect in finishing their scoring chances. It was a bit of the perfect storm; the T-birds playing their second game in as many nights, probably feeling pretty good about themselves after a 3-0 start, going up against a well rested Portland team that not only had lost two in a row but was probably a bit embarrassed by their previous game, a 6-2 loss at home to Tri-City.

Still, halfway through the contest it was just a two-goal deficit facing the Thunderbirds and they were given two power play chances to try and slice the Portland lead. But the third Winterhawks goal seemed to have the T-birds doubting themselves and things went from bad to worse.

You might think those four goals Seattle scored in the third period were meaningless but it showed players like Theodore won't quit no matter the score. I think Theo is still settling in after his return from NHL camp with Anaheim. His third period performance (2g, 1a) should be a harbinger of things to come from this offensive minded defenseman.

My guess is the T-birds coaches use the video from this game as a teaching tool and a reminder that consistent hard work needs to be the norm and what you did yesterday doesn't mean a whole lot today if you don't put in the work.

I think we'll see a nice bounce back effort Tuesday in Kennewick.

A Tri-ing Time

Funny thing, this game called hockey. The T-birds fore check was at its best Friday night against Tri-City in the third period. They were doing yeoman's work protecting that one goal lead, pinning the Americans in their own end, forcing Tri-City turnovers and getting shots on goal as a result. Then, with time waning one mistake; the puck shot over the glass on a Seattle clearing attempt leads to a Tri-City power play and they cash in to tie the game and force bonus hockey.

What is it they say? Good teams find ways to win. The T-birds overcame that error and won in a shootout anyway. Roberts Lipsbergs, who may have had his worst game as a T-bird, ends up being a hero by scoring the only goal in the shootout, although goalie Justin Myles was solid as a rock in goal in the overtime and shootout period (with a little help from his friend the crossbar!).

I remember writing last year that had Myles stayed healthy he might have given scouts something to ponder in his draft season. At least maybe a mention in the NHL Central Scouting Rankings. Hopefully he'll catch their eye this time around. He battled toe-to-toe with the Americans Eric Comrie, considered possibly the best goalie in the WHL and a 2nd round NHL draft pick (Winnipeg Jets) himself. In his first two starts Myles has faced 78 shots, many of a high quality and has a save percentage of .910.

Tri-City's forecheck is different from the T-birds. Where Seattle has a physical punishing fore check, last night the Americans used their speed and sticks in the passing lanes to slow down Seattle's breakouts and forced many turnovers as a result. It's early in the season so look for the Thunderbirds coaches to focus the team's attention on better puck control in the defensive end. But let's also give the Americans credit for playing a solid game and forcing the issue late. We tend to think every puck that ends up in the back of our team's net, every penalty taken is our team's fault. Sometimes it's the other team's play that creates those situations.

The T-birds finally gave up a power play goal, two in fact. Probably more a result of taking too many penalties then any cracks in the penalty kill armor. I'm sure there was some concern with the graduation of Luke Lockhart and the trade of Connor Sanvido that the 'Birds wouldn't have that shutdown player on the PK but Riley Sheen has really embraced that role and Seth Swenson and Erik Benoit are chipping in as well. I think the PK is in good hands. Seattle was awarded just two power play chances on the night. Tri-City over the past two seasons has been one of the least penalized teams in the WHL but I thought there were a few missed calls that should have resulted in a couple more power play chances for the T-birds.

We're just three games into the new season and I think I've exhausted all the positive accolades I can bestow on Branden Troock. I think he's the straw that stirs the drink on that top line. I know it is overused on the Seattle sports landscape but Troocker has gone "Beastmode" to start the season. He registered another two points last night (1g,1a) and realizing it was a tight game, he remained disciplined and stayed out of the penalty box.

Jared Hauf entered the game at +5 and even after the four goals Tri-City scored last night is still at +5 this morning. Shut down d-man!

It's very possible the Thunderbirds could be at full strength for tonight's game in Portland. Justin Hickman is now available after serving out a three game suspension to start the season. Meanwhile defenseman Jesse Forsberg was a game time decision last night but ended up not playing coming off the upper body injury suffered in the preseason. It's possible he sees his first regular season action tonight against the Winterhawks.

Two for the Sho'

The Thunderbirds return home Friday night to face the Tri-City Americans for the first time this season and do so sporting a 2-0 record after beating up the Vancouver Giants, 6-0, Wednesday night up at the Pacific Coliseum. Apparently that is a big deal since the T-birds haven't started a season 2-0 since the Clinton Administration (1998).

This 2-0 start is no fluke either. These have been two well earned wins with a lot of similarities, namely a relentless attack that is creating quality scoring chances, steady defense and solid goaltending. The tone setters have been the line of Branden Troock, Connor Honey and Alexander Delnov. Through the first two games that trio has combined for a line of 5g, 8a 13pts and +6.

Wednesday night's game in Vancouver was broadcast on Shaw TV throughout Western Canada and I was a bit surprised to hear that the Shaw telecast Three Stars of the Game did not include Troock. I thought Troock was the catalyst for a lot of what the 'Birds were able to do against the Giants. There were a number of times when the Giants just couldn't contain Troock on the rush. It's not just because he's a big, physically imposing power forward, but Troock can stick handle through traffic as well as he moves up ice. The good news is he is not over handling the puck, which he had a tendency to do in the past. He's reading the ice and using his line mates very well here in the early going.

Danny Mumaugh got the shutout in goal making 31 saves. The shutout was the first of his young WHL career. While it may seem Mumaugh had an easy night as the T-birds offense was rolling up the pressure, remember this was just a one goal game early into the second period. Mumaugh had to be sharp in the first when the contest was still scoreless. Seattle didn't get off to the fast start they did opening night against Portland and Mumaugh kept the Giants at bay until the offense started to get untracked. The M&M boys (Myles and Mumaugh) have done their part in goal for Seattle these first two games. It will be interesting to see if Devon Fordyce gets a start in either of the two games this weekend. Yes, the T-birds still have three goalies on the roster but at some point they'll have to make a decision on which two to keep for the duration of the season.

Seattle played the first two games without defenseman Shea Theodore who was away at training camp with the NHL's Anaheim Ducks who selected Theodore in the first round of the June draft. Theodore has since been returned to the Thunderbirds and will be available for this weekend's games. The T-birds scored nine goals in the first two games but not one of those goals came from a defensemen. Theo is an offensive minded defenseman, coming off a 19 goal 2012-13 campaign, so expect that to change.

Even without Theodore the eight Seattle defensemen who saw action over the course of the first two games were +8 with five assists. 18 year old Jared Hauf has been the biggest contributor with 2 helps and a +5 rating. Even young 16 year old Ethan Bear, despite not picking up a point yet, is at +2.

It's still early to make anything out of this start. I still like the 15-20 game sample size which is essentially the end of October, but right now this is a very confident group of players.

What to Take From Taking One

Saturday night's season opening shootout win over Portland at the rockin' ShoWare Center was just one game of a 72 game schedule so I think we can all agree to temper our enthusiasm until we've seen about 15-20 games. Afterall, the T-Birds defeated the Winterhawks, 5-2, on opening night down at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) a year ago and we all know what happened after that as Portland dominated the rest of the season series on their way to the Chenowyth Cup.

Still, I think it is safe to say their are things the Thunderbirds did last night that are sustainable over the course of the long season. Here's my take on some of those.

1. Pressure. The Thunderbirds have three, if not four solid lines. Last night they were able to generate fairly consistent pressure over the entire course of the game; relentless at times...especially early. As a result they created a dozen or more quality scoring chances. They forced Portland's goalie, Brendan Burke, to stand on his head to keep pucks out. By next weekend they get to re-insert Justin Hickman into the lineup, which will only make them stronger up front. Eventually they'll get Shea Theodore back which will only strengthen the back end. If they can do this most game night's, those pucks will eventually start going in.

2. Fast, Physical play. The T-birds are a good sized team, but it's not at the expense of team speed; they skate well too. As a result they generate a strong, punishing forecheck. There were times they made it difficult for the Winterhawks to get out of their own end. Portland did eventually adjust but the T-Birds were just as physical with the 'Hawks as they moved the puck up ice.

3. Defensive zone play. As the game wore on, the T-Birds did drop into some old habits of failing to clear a few pucks but for the most part they did a good job of limiting the Winterhawks time in the offensive zone. They were strong along the boards and there seemed to be good communication among the d-men and goaltender. I also liked how few times goalie Justin Myles covered the puck for a defensive zone faceoff. This may be a Myles strong suit, hard to tell just yet since it was just one game, but he seemed to know when to play the puck and keep the game moving and when to freeze it. The ability to play the puck smartly is what usually separates good goalie from great ones.

4. Special teams. Not too many teams can lose their power play quarterback, a first round NHL pick, and replace him with a 16-year-old and apparently not miss a beat. But that's what Seattle did. With Theodore still away at camp with the Anaheim Ducks, the Thunderbirds slid rookie Ethan Bear into his slot on the top PP unit and looked just as solid. Bear looked like he's been there done that. Who knows, maybe he had a whole nest of butterflies churning away in his stomach, but you couldn't tell by his composed demeanor. Seattle was only 1-of-5 with the man advantage but they were dangerous every time they skated 5-on-4. If that doesn't get you excited, think about this: at times on the PP the T-birds had three 16-year-olds on the ice (Bear, Kolesar and Barzal)and it looked like a seasoned PP unit. Conversely Seattle held Portland without a power-play goal on five chances one night after the 'Hawks went 5-of-8 with the man advantage against Prince George. While a couple of rookies looked good on the power play, two veteran players, Seth Swenson and Riley Sheen, led the way on the PK.

4. Myles is the man. Yes, it's one game, and limiting Portland's high powered offense to just three goals on 42 shots and keeping them out of the back of the net on the power play is a team effort, but it starts with goaltending and Myles made the saves he had to make. Remember, Myles hadn't played in a meaningful game since last November. He should only get better the more starts he gets under his belt.

5. I trust you, you trust me. Every player wants the trust of his coach so they can play in all situations. Conversely a coach wants to trust that he can put any player on his bench out on the ice at any time. Steve Konowalchuk's liberal use of all his players, old and young, rookie or seasoned vet, was evident in Saturday's win. I don't really think he started shortening his bench until the last half of the third period and even then it was just a couple of rookies who saw their ice time limited.

Strange note. Well, maybe not so strange since Seattle and Portland play each other 12 times a season, but at least eight players on the Seattle roster have made their WHL debuts against Portland. Branden Troock debuted against the Winterhawks as a 15-year-old a few years back. Last season then 16-year-old goalie Danny Mumaugh, as well as then 15-year-olds Keegan Kolesar and Ethan Bear did the same and Saturday night, 16-year-old Mathew Barzal, 17-year-olds Austin Douglas, Carter Folk and Scott Eansor did the same. That number could be higher, but I'm not sure if Michal Holub was in the opening night lineup against Portland a season ago.

I don't want to call Erik Benoit cheap and easy, but the newest T-Birds cost the organization absolutely nothing to acquire after he was claimed off waivers from the Saskatoon Blades last week and the way he plays makes it easy to like him in Thunderbirds blue. He looks to be a solid two-way player and is another top piece of the power play puzzle. Remember, Benoit comes with a solid resume having won a WHL championship with Kootenay and also having played in two Memorial Cups in a three year span; one with the Ice and one with the Blades. Chatting briefly about Benoit with Konowalchuk before the game, it was easy to tell the coach was more than glad Benoit was on his team. After seeing Benoit in his T-Birds debut it was easy to see why the coach feels that way.

Twenty one of the players on Seattle's opening night roster were either drafted or listed by Seattle. Only four were acquired via trade while one was a waiver pick up. It's simple, you build a winner in this league through the draft (just ask Portland) and we're seeing that better drafting is turning the T-Birds into a more competitive team. The Thunderbirds top three draft choices from the 2012 draft (Barzal, Kolesar and Bear)were all on the ice last night and contributed two assists and a shootout goal. A fourth player from that draft, Lane Pederson, was a healthy scratch but I'm guessing he'll make his debut next week.