There's nothing like starting off the new year on the right foot. Seattle did just that by winning their first two games of 2018 this past weekend, backing up a 6-4 road win in Kelowna Friday with a 4-1 win on home ice over Spokane Saturday. The two wins give the T-birds a five game winning streak and points in eight straight games, a season best in both categories.
As a result of their recent streak the Thunderbirds sit a season high six games above .500 at 20-14-4-1 and with 45 point are just five points out of the U.S. Division lead with a game in hand on the current leaders, Everett. Coming into the season with muted expectations off their championship run last spring, few pundits, if any had this team sitting where they are right now after 39 games.
The teams sits where they are because they have done what they set out to do from the start of training camp. The motto back then, and still is "embrace the culture", a culture of success and compete level that was created over the past four seasons. It's an attitude and approach to put yourself in the best possible position to succeed. It doesn't mean winning a championship every year. It means taking no shortcuts, giving a full effort and sticking to the systems.
Could you argue Seattle is getting more bounces to go their way during this streak then they were getting earlier in the season? Possibly. But hard work often creates those favorable bounces or deflections. So, if the breaks aren't going your way you still keep working hard and eventually, they will.
It's remarkable to think the T-birds have gotten to this point with what you could call an "unsettled" goaltending situation. Stability in net is something that usually calms a team down. But when training camp began, the team's presumptive starting goalie, Carl Stankowski, was out with injury. He still is. In his place the team has used three netminders and two of them have also come up lame at some point. Yet Matt Berlin, Liam Hughes and Dorrin Luding stepped up to give the T-birds a solid presence between the pipes. In fact, I would say it was Berlin embracing that challenge that earned him the trade Monday to Kootenay.
That may sound odd, but I think Berlin earned that chance to go to the Ice and be a number one goalie through his hard work and dedication here with the T-birds. He wasn't going to be here next season as a 20 year old. Now he has that chance this season and possibly next, to be the number one guy with a new team. Hughes is a year younger and Luding a year younger then that and the return of Stankowski is looming. As well, Hughes has shown, since coming off injury, he can handle the load. Once again Russ Farwell looks the part of a genius, turning a goalie he acquired to be an emergency, two week back up last season, into a 5th round bantam pick. Remember, all Seattle surrendered for Berlin was a conditional 9th round pick.
That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. We've all heard that before. It certainly applies to the T-birds during this streak. In just about everyone of their last eight games Seattle has had to battle adversity, penalty issues, a few lost leads and their own mistakes and have found a way to stay composed and battle back. A head coach who has his player's backs and leadership from veteran players who have been through the wars sure helps in that regard. It seems when Seattle has to reach back for something extra you will usually find Turner Ottenbreit, Donovan Neuls and Nolan Volcan leading the charge. Those are three players who have played late into May the past two seasons.
The trade deadline arrives this Wednesday. As of this posting, Seattle has made just the Berlin deal. Will they make another? My hunch is no, or at least not a significant move like the ones we've seen from Tri-City and Everett. Even with their veterans, Seattle is a young team building toward the future. I could see a move for a third or fourth line forward to fill the void left by the departures of Elijah Brown and Ian Briscoe.
***UPDATE***Seattle has traded Elijah Brown to Medicine Hat. In return they receive a 2018 second round bantam pick and a 2019 conditional third round pick.***UPDATE***
A lot of the chatter I've seen is that Seattle should sell off all their veterans and take whatever they can get in return to speed up their rebuild. Look, this isn't fantasy hockey. Seattle is still looking at making the playoffs and having those veterans around is crucial to that goal. You certainly don't undersell just to recoup something for a player who won't be back next season. Plus, those vets are showing the way for the young rookies. That is vital for their development.
But trading all the veterans to speed up a rebuild isn't practical because you need two to tango. For instance, trading a 20 year old player at this time of the year is difficult. Most teams that are in the "in it to win it" mode are probably in that position because they already have three good overage players on their roster. Trading for a 20 year old on another team means dumping one of your own good 20s. At best, that is a lateral move. 20 year olds are also a half year rental. Contending teams prefer to add 19 or 18 year olds because there is the possibility you could get one or two more year of service from them. If you're going to deal away draft capital or young prospects, you want to maximize your return.
We're seeing crazy high prices being paid in some of the deals that have gone down this past week. Does Seattle have a player on their roster that would command such a return? We'll find out but I think it would have to be one of those "offers you can't refuse" to get G.M Russ Farwell to depart with a key piece of the roster.
My Three Stars for the Weekend Sweep:
Third Star: G Liam Hughes. He probably would want a couple of the goals he allowed Friday in Kelowna back, but he made enough quality saves to earn the 6-4 win. He probably played his best game as a T-birds Saturday in the 4-1 win over the Chiefs, stopping 39 of 40 shots, including a Jarret Anderson-Dolan breakaway in the second period when the game was still just 1-0 Seattle.
Second Star: D Jarret Tyszka. Finished the weekend with three points on a goal and two assists and was +3. After a slow start on the stat sheet, the Montreal Canadians prospect now has 27 points (6g, 21a) in 37 games.
First Star: W/C Donovan Neuls. Celebrated playing in his 250th game Friday by scoring twice against the Rockets. His second goal that night stemmed the tide and tied the game up at 4-4 after the T-birds had lost a 3-1 lead and fell behind. He followed up that performance with a three point night (2g, 1a) Saturday against the Chiefs. He's now just a point behind Nolan Volcan for the overall points lead on the team. When you factor in his playoff action, he has now played 295 games in a T-birds jersey.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Monday, January 1, 2018
Merry New Year!
Seattle returned from the Christmas break and promptly earned seven of eight points, going 3-0-1-0 in the last four games of 2017. Only a blown 3-1 lead in the third period in Spokane the first game back from the break, prevented the T-birds from a four game sweep. They had to settle for a point in an overtime loss. Add to that their two wins before the break and the T-birds ended the year on a six game point streak, earning 11 of a possible 12 points by going 5-0-1-0 to close out December. Oh well, if "if and buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas. Wait, I think we did have a Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year too.
When the season started did you have Seattle four games above the break even mark and just seven points out of the Division lead on New Year's Day? I take it you won the lottery too then.
Let's give props where props are due, the coaching staff. Specifically first year head coach Matt O'Dette who inherited a team sans Barzal, Bear, Gropp, Kolesar, Toth, True and Eansor and a goaltending situation in flux. This team is currently four games above .500 and trending in the right direction because he has this team ready to play almost every night through the first half of the schedule. No one knows how the second half will unfold or what their final record will be, but this team will be better when the season ends then when it began. Young players will have developed at a solid pace. That's due to the coaching they get both on and off the ice, during games and during practice and that's because of O'Dette and his assistants Kyle Hagel and Castan Sommer.
The one thing Hagel and Sommer bring to the table, that offsets their coaching inexperience, is their enthusiasm. They both show a great desire to want to teach. They believe in their players and are eager to help them improve as they strive for pro careers. Sometimes a fresh perspective can help a franchise stay at or near the top, or keep a winning atmosphere like the T-birds have created the last few seasons, from growing stale.
Those players mentioned above were all key cogs in Seattle's top tier special teams the past two seasons, yet without them the T-birds are still ranked among the best in the league in both the power play (8th) and the penalty kill (3rd) at the halfway point. The past four seasons as an assistant under Steve Konowalchuk, O'Dette was the PK guru. Despite being elevated to head coach his influence is all over the penalty kill. Players, whether they are four year veterans or first year rookies, have bought into the program. While implementing his own coaching style, O'Dette is smart enough not to fix what ain't broke, instead building on what Konowalchuk started.
Let's not forget the architect of this team has been General Manager Russ Farwell. He built a team that played in two straight league finals and won a Chynoweth Cup and did it without mortgaging away the future. It's much easier to rebuild, or reload, if you have most of your best assets still in your back pocket. In getting to the WHL Championship series each of the past two seasons he made no major blockbuster deal that cost him a big chunk of the future. Instead he relied on his scouts to one, recommend players he could trade for who fit the T-birds systems while complementing the roster they already had and two, recommend the drafting and signing of young prospects who could develop quickly into good WHL players.
Here we are, a week from the trade deadline, and so many rumors are flying about blockbuster deals, or a about Team X or team Y potentially mortgaging their future by trading away high picks and top prospects to make a run at the Cup. That's something Farwell didn't have to do.
Seattle's first four games following Christmas were not perfect sixty minute games yet they found ways to get wins or points in all of them. The New Year's Eve win down in Portland, the third game in three nights, may have been their most complete effort. That was an attribute of last year's team too. So often last year Seattle was the better team at the end of a busy stretch because of their compete level. It's not talent alone that wins, it is talent plus desire. It's not often that throwing the first punch wins the fight. Often it is the ability to take the hit and get back up and hit back even harder. That's a pretty apt description of a Seattle team the past four to five seasons and it continues this season as well.
Thirty five games to go before the playoffs. Four dozen games in 77 days between now and March 18th. 19 of those games will be at home including a three game homestand beginning next Saturday. Hope you got your Holiday Flex Pack for Christmas because you'll want to watch this team fight and compete for one of those eight Western Conference playoff spots up for grabs. The race is on!
My T-birds Three Stars for the first four post Christmas games:
Third Star: G-Matt Berlin. Berlin faced 75 shots in his two starts, both against Spokane, and made 66 saves to go 1-0-1-0. Plenty of those 75 shots were high end scoring chances. His lateral quickness seems to be improving as he made a couple of memorable side to side saves against his former team. Now 19-9-4-1 in net in his T-birds career. Not bad for a guy acquired for a 9th round bantam pick who was originally brought in to be an emergency back up goalie for a few weeks last October.
Second Star: G-Liam Hughes. When Berlin suffered a lower body tweak in the final seconds against Spokane Friday night, Hughes came off the injury list to start the final two games of the weekend. Showing no rust from having been sidelined since mid-November, he went 2-0 with a 2.80 GAA by stopping 64 of 70 shots in two games versus Portland and showed terrific rebound control. He capped it by stopping all three Winterhawks shooters in the shootout New Year's Eve. Like Berlin, Hughes was acquired out of necessity (Stankowski injury) but only cost Seattle a mid round draft pick to get him out of Edmonton.
First Star: D Turner Ottenbreit. Over the four game stretch he had five points (1g, 4a) but it was his whole game that earns him the honor. He puts in big minutes on the ice as part of Seattle's top D pairing. But he also sets the tone by delivering big hits, especially early in games. Just his way of letting the opponent know they're going to be in for a battle. He stood up for his teammates all weekend. He may be the most scrutinized player in the WHL when it comes to officiating but he's not changing his approach. Turner is still going to be Turner and that benefits the T-birds.
When the season started did you have Seattle four games above the break even mark and just seven points out of the Division lead on New Year's Day? I take it you won the lottery too then.
Let's give props where props are due, the coaching staff. Specifically first year head coach Matt O'Dette who inherited a team sans Barzal, Bear, Gropp, Kolesar, Toth, True and Eansor and a goaltending situation in flux. This team is currently four games above .500 and trending in the right direction because he has this team ready to play almost every night through the first half of the schedule. No one knows how the second half will unfold or what their final record will be, but this team will be better when the season ends then when it began. Young players will have developed at a solid pace. That's due to the coaching they get both on and off the ice, during games and during practice and that's because of O'Dette and his assistants Kyle Hagel and Castan Sommer.
The one thing Hagel and Sommer bring to the table, that offsets their coaching inexperience, is their enthusiasm. They both show a great desire to want to teach. They believe in their players and are eager to help them improve as they strive for pro careers. Sometimes a fresh perspective can help a franchise stay at or near the top, or keep a winning atmosphere like the T-birds have created the last few seasons, from growing stale.
Those players mentioned above were all key cogs in Seattle's top tier special teams the past two seasons, yet without them the T-birds are still ranked among the best in the league in both the power play (8th) and the penalty kill (3rd) at the halfway point. The past four seasons as an assistant under Steve Konowalchuk, O'Dette was the PK guru. Despite being elevated to head coach his influence is all over the penalty kill. Players, whether they are four year veterans or first year rookies, have bought into the program. While implementing his own coaching style, O'Dette is smart enough not to fix what ain't broke, instead building on what Konowalchuk started.
Let's not forget the architect of this team has been General Manager Russ Farwell. He built a team that played in two straight league finals and won a Chynoweth Cup and did it without mortgaging away the future. It's much easier to rebuild, or reload, if you have most of your best assets still in your back pocket. In getting to the WHL Championship series each of the past two seasons he made no major blockbuster deal that cost him a big chunk of the future. Instead he relied on his scouts to one, recommend players he could trade for who fit the T-birds systems while complementing the roster they already had and two, recommend the drafting and signing of young prospects who could develop quickly into good WHL players.
Here we are, a week from the trade deadline, and so many rumors are flying about blockbuster deals, or a about Team X or team Y potentially mortgaging their future by trading away high picks and top prospects to make a run at the Cup. That's something Farwell didn't have to do.
Seattle's first four games following Christmas were not perfect sixty minute games yet they found ways to get wins or points in all of them. The New Year's Eve win down in Portland, the third game in three nights, may have been their most complete effort. That was an attribute of last year's team too. So often last year Seattle was the better team at the end of a busy stretch because of their compete level. It's not talent alone that wins, it is talent plus desire. It's not often that throwing the first punch wins the fight. Often it is the ability to take the hit and get back up and hit back even harder. That's a pretty apt description of a Seattle team the past four to five seasons and it continues this season as well.
Thirty five games to go before the playoffs. Four dozen games in 77 days between now and March 18th. 19 of those games will be at home including a three game homestand beginning next Saturday. Hope you got your Holiday Flex Pack for Christmas because you'll want to watch this team fight and compete for one of those eight Western Conference playoff spots up for grabs. The race is on!
My T-birds Three Stars for the first four post Christmas games:
Third Star: G-Matt Berlin. Berlin faced 75 shots in his two starts, both against Spokane, and made 66 saves to go 1-0-1-0. Plenty of those 75 shots were high end scoring chances. His lateral quickness seems to be improving as he made a couple of memorable side to side saves against his former team. Now 19-9-4-1 in net in his T-birds career. Not bad for a guy acquired for a 9th round bantam pick who was originally brought in to be an emergency back up goalie for a few weeks last October.
Second Star: G-Liam Hughes. When Berlin suffered a lower body tweak in the final seconds against Spokane Friday night, Hughes came off the injury list to start the final two games of the weekend. Showing no rust from having been sidelined since mid-November, he went 2-0 with a 2.80 GAA by stopping 64 of 70 shots in two games versus Portland and showed terrific rebound control. He capped it by stopping all three Winterhawks shooters in the shootout New Year's Eve. Like Berlin, Hughes was acquired out of necessity (Stankowski injury) but only cost Seattle a mid round draft pick to get him out of Edmonton.
First Star: D Turner Ottenbreit. Over the four game stretch he had five points (1g, 4a) but it was his whole game that earns him the honor. He puts in big minutes on the ice as part of Seattle's top D pairing. But he also sets the tone by delivering big hits, especially early in games. Just his way of letting the opponent know they're going to be in for a battle. He stood up for his teammates all weekend. He may be the most scrutinized player in the WHL when it comes to officiating but he's not changing his approach. Turner is still going to be Turner and that benefits the T-birds.
Monday, December 18, 2017
A Tale of Two Weekends
Seattle's final four games going into the Christmas break were like night and day. First there was night. Two games, two losses and 15 goals allowed. Next came day. Two games, two wins and 15 goals scored. Despite the ugliness of the first two games Seattle still earned five of a possible eight points and goes into the holiday break on a two game winning streak and both above .500 and sitting in a playoff spot.
Last weekend against division opponents Tri-City and Spokane we saw a Seattle team we really hadn't seen much the first half of the season. The compete level was off. There were too many breakdowns. Missing two veteran defenseman in those two games certainly had its affect as both Austin Strand and Aaron Hyman were unavailable. The T-Birds were full marks for their roaring, three-goal comeback late in the third period against the Americans that got the game into overtime before they lost. But that may only have masked the team's shortcomings on the weekend. The next night in Spokane, after a solid first period, they fell back into the bad habits of the previous night and were drubbed 9-2.
Two games left before the eight day break. Which Seattle team would show up? Fortunately it was the team we witnessed through much of the first half. The team that, win or lose, played hard for 60 minutes. Seattle put up a solid first period against Prince George at home on Friday, and though they were back on their heels a bit in the second, finished with a dominate third period in a 5-3 win. That win came with Strand back in the lineup but without Sami Moilanen who was the team's leading goal scorer entering the weekend. It also came with Tyler Carpendale sidelined after suffering an injury in practice that week.
Then came the rematch in Spokane against the Chiefs, a Chiefs team riding a two-game winning streak with those wins coming against the top two teams in the Western Conference. I think scoring a goal just 20 seconds in helped get Seattle over any worries about the drubbing they took the week before. Even after Spokane tied the game shortly after that first goal, Seattle played add-on and eventually exacted their revenge with a convincing 10-3 win. A total team win in the last game before scattering home to celebrate the holiday with family as 15 of the 18 skaters registered a point.
What a nice early Christmas present for many of the rookies on the roster who earned the first point of their WHL careers, and in the case of Nikita Malukhin, his first two goals. Holden Katzalay, Sam Huo and newly signed Mike MacLean all earned their first assist.
The happiest T-Bird after that win Sunday over the Chiefs was probably former Chief Matt Berlin. The Seattle goalie earned the win against the team with which he started his WHL career. The most exhausted T-Bird was probably Nolan Volcan who puts in a tireless effort every night. Any energy he had stored up is completely spent by the time the weekend was over. He left it all on the ice both nights.
My T-Birds three stars for the first half:
Third Star: LW Zack Andrusiak. We knew he had a scoring touch but with a deep offensive team a year ago, we didn't get to see it on a consistent basis during the Thunderbirds championship run. But really, who had him on the cusp of 20 goals and leading the team in that category after 33 games? He's nearly a point a game player with 30 points (17g, 12a). He's already nearly tripled his point total from last season.
Second Star: D Austin Strand. The 20-year old has done his best to pick up the offensive punch lost with the departure of Ethan Bear. He's done his best to emulate his former teammate while on the power play where he has registered 10 of his 12 goals. Like Andrusiak he is nearly a point a game player (12, 20a) with 32 points, making him one of the top scoring defenseman in the WHL. His work has paid off. He signed an entry level NHL deal with the L.A. Kings early this season.
First Star: LW Nolan Volcan. He leads the team with 36 points in 33 games and punctuated his first half with a five point night (1g, 4a, +4) Sunday in Spokane. He plays in all situations, he plays physical and he plays to win. The best word to describe him is "relentless". He served as captain when Turner Ottenbreit was out of the lineup a few games early in the season which is no surprise. He leads by word and deed and is a great example for the younger players of what hard work can do for your game. Five minutes after a game he looks totally exhausted. Ten minutes later he looks like he's ready to go another sixty minutes. You can't play the way he plays if you don't love the game. His passion for hockey bleeds through.
Last weekend against division opponents Tri-City and Spokane we saw a Seattle team we really hadn't seen much the first half of the season. The compete level was off. There were too many breakdowns. Missing two veteran defenseman in those two games certainly had its affect as both Austin Strand and Aaron Hyman were unavailable. The T-Birds were full marks for their roaring, three-goal comeback late in the third period against the Americans that got the game into overtime before they lost. But that may only have masked the team's shortcomings on the weekend. The next night in Spokane, after a solid first period, they fell back into the bad habits of the previous night and were drubbed 9-2.
Two games left before the eight day break. Which Seattle team would show up? Fortunately it was the team we witnessed through much of the first half. The team that, win or lose, played hard for 60 minutes. Seattle put up a solid first period against Prince George at home on Friday, and though they were back on their heels a bit in the second, finished with a dominate third period in a 5-3 win. That win came with Strand back in the lineup but without Sami Moilanen who was the team's leading goal scorer entering the weekend. It also came with Tyler Carpendale sidelined after suffering an injury in practice that week.
Then came the rematch in Spokane against the Chiefs, a Chiefs team riding a two-game winning streak with those wins coming against the top two teams in the Western Conference. I think scoring a goal just 20 seconds in helped get Seattle over any worries about the drubbing they took the week before. Even after Spokane tied the game shortly after that first goal, Seattle played add-on and eventually exacted their revenge with a convincing 10-3 win. A total team win in the last game before scattering home to celebrate the holiday with family as 15 of the 18 skaters registered a point.
What a nice early Christmas present for many of the rookies on the roster who earned the first point of their WHL careers, and in the case of Nikita Malukhin, his first two goals. Holden Katzalay, Sam Huo and newly signed Mike MacLean all earned their first assist.
The happiest T-Bird after that win Sunday over the Chiefs was probably former Chief Matt Berlin. The Seattle goalie earned the win against the team with which he started his WHL career. The most exhausted T-Bird was probably Nolan Volcan who puts in a tireless effort every night. Any energy he had stored up is completely spent by the time the weekend was over. He left it all on the ice both nights.
My T-Birds three stars for the first half:
Third Star: LW Zack Andrusiak. We knew he had a scoring touch but with a deep offensive team a year ago, we didn't get to see it on a consistent basis during the Thunderbirds championship run. But really, who had him on the cusp of 20 goals and leading the team in that category after 33 games? He's nearly a point a game player with 30 points (17g, 12a). He's already nearly tripled his point total from last season.
Second Star: D Austin Strand. The 20-year old has done his best to pick up the offensive punch lost with the departure of Ethan Bear. He's done his best to emulate his former teammate while on the power play where he has registered 10 of his 12 goals. Like Andrusiak he is nearly a point a game player (12, 20a) with 32 points, making him one of the top scoring defenseman in the WHL. His work has paid off. He signed an entry level NHL deal with the L.A. Kings early this season.
First Star: LW Nolan Volcan. He leads the team with 36 points in 33 games and punctuated his first half with a five point night (1g, 4a, +4) Sunday in Spokane. He plays in all situations, he plays physical and he plays to win. The best word to describe him is "relentless". He served as captain when Turner Ottenbreit was out of the lineup a few games early in the season which is no surprise. He leads by word and deed and is a great example for the younger players of what hard work can do for your game. Five minutes after a game he looks totally exhausted. Ten minutes later he looks like he's ready to go another sixty minutes. You can't play the way he plays if you don't love the game. His passion for hockey bleeds through.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
No Game of Horseshoes
Being close only counts if your goal is the silver medal. Maybe you like a close shave. And as the old saying goes, closeness only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. This past nine days Seattle has been close, right there 'til the end in five of six games. In the six games the goal totals are thus: Opposition 17, T-birds 16. All they have to show for it though, are three out of 12 points and a 1-4-1-0 record. The biggest culprit? Opponents scored nearly half those 17 goals (8) in the third period or later.
Close wasn't good enough. A win equals two points in the standings, a moral victory equals zero. Seattle let too many points slip away in the last seconds of games. They were gut wrenching, soul crushing losses and points lost that you can't get back. The worst thing you can hear after a defeat is "you outplayed them and deserved a better fate". That's akin to kicking someone when they are already down, adding insult to injury. It means there were too many self-inflicted wounds.
Fortunately there is still a lot of season to play and this team is young and resilient. Despite the cringe worthy late losses, they are still playing .500 hockey. Those last second losses haven't deterred them from getting right back on the horse the next game and battling, full throttle, looking for a better result.
For the first eight games of the season the Thunderbirds averaged about 25 shots per game. In the 16 games since, they've averaged 31 shots per game. In the first eight games Seattle averaged 3.1 goals per game. In the next 20 games, with their shot total increasing by six shots a games, their scoring has slightly decreased to 3.06 goals per game. As Sami Moilanen might say, it all comes down to the finish. Seattle has to just keep grinding and doing a better job of scoring off rebounds and on loose pucks around the opponents net.
Saturday night at home was Seattle's sixth game in nine nights and the first five had been on the road. It was also their fourth games in five days. It showed. They were sluggish most of that game and seemed sapped by the third period and for one of the few times this season their compete level wasn't up to their standards late in a game. To see the compete level drop off for this team this season is so rare it was clearly noticeable the final 20 minutes of that loss to Kamloops.
It came less then 24 hours after one of their better sixty minute efforts Friday in Kennewick in a 5-1 win over Tri-City. That was vintage Thunderbirds with their very aggressive and physical game dictating play. It's how they play most every night, even if they don't always get a result like they did against the Americans.
And stinging, late second losses aside, that is what makes this team fun to watch. They compete. They play to the whistle, they stick to their systems and that puts them in a position to win most nights, even if they don't. They do it with a lot of young players slowly taking on bigger roles on the team.
My T-birds Three Stars for the six game stretch:
Third Star: G Matt Berlin. Berlin was in net for the only two games Seattle earned points in, the win in Kennewick and the overtime loss in Vancouver. Playing in four of the past six games he registered a 2.73 GAA with an .895 SVPCT.
Second Star: W Tyler Carpendale/W Dillon Hamaliuk. This rookie duo combined to score four goals the past three games. Not only did Carpendale record his first WHL goal Wednesday night up in Kamloops, but he scored again the next game in Kennewick. He also chipped in with an assist. He also has the best middle name in hockey; Fletch. Hamaliuk meanwhile, seems to create 2-3 good scoring chances for himself each night but has been a bit unlucky so it was nice to see him pot two on the power play. They are both big bodied, physical players but boy, can they both skate. Move over Starsky and Hutch, here come Hammer and Fletch!
First Star: W Zack Andrusiak. Five goals in 60 games last season, Andrusiak already has 14 in just 28 games this go 'round. He is now second to Moilanen (15) on the team in goals scored. The coaches knew he had a scoring touch. What is impressing them most about his play so far this season is his improved 200 foot game. No where is that more evident then in the past six games as he registered four goals and was +4.
Close wasn't good enough. A win equals two points in the standings, a moral victory equals zero. Seattle let too many points slip away in the last seconds of games. They were gut wrenching, soul crushing losses and points lost that you can't get back. The worst thing you can hear after a defeat is "you outplayed them and deserved a better fate". That's akin to kicking someone when they are already down, adding insult to injury. It means there were too many self-inflicted wounds.
Fortunately there is still a lot of season to play and this team is young and resilient. Despite the cringe worthy late losses, they are still playing .500 hockey. Those last second losses haven't deterred them from getting right back on the horse the next game and battling, full throttle, looking for a better result.
For the first eight games of the season the Thunderbirds averaged about 25 shots per game. In the 16 games since, they've averaged 31 shots per game. In the first eight games Seattle averaged 3.1 goals per game. In the next 20 games, with their shot total increasing by six shots a games, their scoring has slightly decreased to 3.06 goals per game. As Sami Moilanen might say, it all comes down to the finish. Seattle has to just keep grinding and doing a better job of scoring off rebounds and on loose pucks around the opponents net.
Saturday night at home was Seattle's sixth game in nine nights and the first five had been on the road. It was also their fourth games in five days. It showed. They were sluggish most of that game and seemed sapped by the third period and for one of the few times this season their compete level wasn't up to their standards late in a game. To see the compete level drop off for this team this season is so rare it was clearly noticeable the final 20 minutes of that loss to Kamloops.
It came less then 24 hours after one of their better sixty minute efforts Friday in Kennewick in a 5-1 win over Tri-City. That was vintage Thunderbirds with their very aggressive and physical game dictating play. It's how they play most every night, even if they don't always get a result like they did against the Americans.
And stinging, late second losses aside, that is what makes this team fun to watch. They compete. They play to the whistle, they stick to their systems and that puts them in a position to win most nights, even if they don't. They do it with a lot of young players slowly taking on bigger roles on the team.
My T-birds Three Stars for the six game stretch:
Third Star: G Matt Berlin. Berlin was in net for the only two games Seattle earned points in, the win in Kennewick and the overtime loss in Vancouver. Playing in four of the past six games he registered a 2.73 GAA with an .895 SVPCT.
Second Star: W Tyler Carpendale/W Dillon Hamaliuk. This rookie duo combined to score four goals the past three games. Not only did Carpendale record his first WHL goal Wednesday night up in Kamloops, but he scored again the next game in Kennewick. He also chipped in with an assist. He also has the best middle name in hockey; Fletch. Hamaliuk meanwhile, seems to create 2-3 good scoring chances for himself each night but has been a bit unlucky so it was nice to see him pot two on the power play. They are both big bodied, physical players but boy, can they both skate. Move over Starsky and Hutch, here come Hammer and Fletch!
First Star: W Zack Andrusiak. Five goals in 60 games last season, Andrusiak already has 14 in just 28 games this go 'round. He is now second to Moilanen (15) on the team in goals scored. The coaches knew he had a scoring touch. What is impressing them most about his play so far this season is his improved 200 foot game. No where is that more evident then in the past six games as he registered four goals and was +4.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Volcan-ic Tipping Point
Seattle got back into the win column Saturday night with their first shutout win of the season, a 2-0 blanking of Everett at the accesso ShoWare Center. The win earned them a split of the weekend home-and-home series with their division rivals after falling Friday, 3-2, up at Xfinity Arena. The home win snapped a five game winless skein for the T-birds who suffered some frustrating losses in a series of very winnable games.
Even with the win, Seattle continues to miss out on scoring chances despite their ability to create opportunities for more goals. It hasn't helped that one of their top offensive weapons, Sami Moilanen, has missed most of the last four games with injury. But even without Moilanen in the lineup, the T-birds continue to create scoring chances, even with a younger group of forwards picking up Moilanen's ice time. Still, the T-birds scored just four times on the weekend and all four goals came off the stick of veteran left winger Nolan Volcan.
The scoring foibles of this team remind me of another young Thunderbirds team from five years ago. The 2013-14 T-birds featured a set of five fresh faced rookies by the names of Barzal, Gropp, Bear, Kolesar and Eansor who combined to play 288 games that season. They had some veterans leaders as well, but it took making midseason trades for more veteran forwards to bump up that team's goals per game average to 3.3.
This year's team currently sports a 3.04 goal per game average and to get it up to 3.3 or higher, I would suspect the improvement will come from in house, not via trades. The group of rookies this season is much larger then the 2013-14 rookie group. Already this season Seattle's primary group of eight rookies (Hamaliuk, Lee, Terretta, McNelly, Carpendale, Huo, Katzalay and Malukhin) has played a combined 102 games. that doesn't include Ian Briscoe's 13 games because Briscoe, who played in 20 games last season, doesn't technically qualify as a rookie this season.
This year's rookies are being asked to carry more of the freight then that 2013-14 rookie class. While this year's team does feature solid veteran forwards like Volcan, Moilanen, Donovan Neuls, Blake Bargar and Noah Philp, that 2013-14 team had Alexander Delnov, Branden Troock, Roberts Lipsbergs, Justin Hickman, Mitch Elliot and eventually Jamien Yakubowski, Sam McKechnie and Russell Maxwell (not to mention an 18 year old Shea Theodore on the back end) to carry most of the load.
I could be wrong, but my impression is that the Thunderbirds are willing to go through the expected growing pains this season with this young group and I doubt they are looking to add more veteran players. They seem fine with putting these rookies out in key situations such as the power play or penalty kill, or out on the ice late in close games. The expectation is that it will expedite their development. We're almost one third of the way through this season and this team, with this young roster, is playing at a .524 winning clip and you can certainly argue they've been in most games 'til the end and could have won a few more then the 10 they have so far.
There is no question that the early ice time for players like Hamaliuk, Carpendale, Lee and Huo is paying off. They are all better players now then they were in late September when the season began. Much of that is confidence. They're more sure of themselves and their roles on the team. It's also confidence from the coaching staff that is willing to play them in all situations. But there is still much to learn. I would guess some of these young players started to doubt themselves a little during the losing streak. Hopefully, they learned valuable lessons about the need to keep grinding to work your way out of a slump.
The expectations that were on the T-birds team the past couple of seasons of playing for and winning championships, are not on this year's team. That doesn't mean expectations on these young players aren't high. Their job is to embrace the culture of winning created by the team the past four years. That means playing the right way, playing a 200 foot game and taking no shortcuts. It means earning your ice time by putting in the work off the ice and in practice that prepare you for a 72 game season.
The one aspect of Matt O'Dette's coaching that is a direct carry over from the Steve Konowalchuk era is this: veteran or rookie, you're not guaranteed anything. Age, draft status or what you did in Midget or Bantam hockey or your stats from last season don't automatically put you in the lineup. It's all about competition and earning your ice.
My T-birds Three Stars for the past weekend:
Third Star: C Matthew Wedman. Weds is starting to remind me a little of Alexander True and not just because of their similar builds. True did a lot of things well but it took him a while to find a consistent scoring touch. There were so many times when True was in the right place at the right time but just couldn't bury a loose puck around the opposing goal. Wedman is still looking for that scoring touch too. But he plays a big man's game, has improved his skating a good deal over last season and makes a living around the other team's net. Scouts still have to be intrigued by his size. If he can starts scoring consistently he'll have more eyes on him.
Second Star: G Matt Berlin. Seattle could have lost that game Saturday to Everett in the first period were it not for Berlin. While the rest of the club got off to a slow start, Berlin stood tall and stopped 12 shots, kept the game scoreless and finished with a 27 save shutout, the second of his T-birds career. When your goalie is playing well, you want to reward the effort. Saturday Seattle did and Berlin was a big reason the T-birds snapped the losing streak.
First Star: LW Nolan Volcan. Volcan erupted for four goals this weekend. That was every goal Seattle scored in 120 minutes of hockey. In fact by himself, he outscored the entire Everett team in the two games, 4-3. He is now a point a game player with 22 points (10g, 12a) in 21 games. He is so much more then his offensive numbers though. He's the Tasmanian Devil, a non-stop whirling bundle of energy. The T-birds currently sit third in the league on the penalty kill and his willingness to block shots with any body part is a big key.
Even with the win, Seattle continues to miss out on scoring chances despite their ability to create opportunities for more goals. It hasn't helped that one of their top offensive weapons, Sami Moilanen, has missed most of the last four games with injury. But even without Moilanen in the lineup, the T-birds continue to create scoring chances, even with a younger group of forwards picking up Moilanen's ice time. Still, the T-birds scored just four times on the weekend and all four goals came off the stick of veteran left winger Nolan Volcan.
The scoring foibles of this team remind me of another young Thunderbirds team from five years ago. The 2013-14 T-birds featured a set of five fresh faced rookies by the names of Barzal, Gropp, Bear, Kolesar and Eansor who combined to play 288 games that season. They had some veterans leaders as well, but it took making midseason trades for more veteran forwards to bump up that team's goals per game average to 3.3.
This year's team currently sports a 3.04 goal per game average and to get it up to 3.3 or higher, I would suspect the improvement will come from in house, not via trades. The group of rookies this season is much larger then the 2013-14 rookie group. Already this season Seattle's primary group of eight rookies (Hamaliuk, Lee, Terretta, McNelly, Carpendale, Huo, Katzalay and Malukhin) has played a combined 102 games. that doesn't include Ian Briscoe's 13 games because Briscoe, who played in 20 games last season, doesn't technically qualify as a rookie this season.
This year's rookies are being asked to carry more of the freight then that 2013-14 rookie class. While this year's team does feature solid veteran forwards like Volcan, Moilanen, Donovan Neuls, Blake Bargar and Noah Philp, that 2013-14 team had Alexander Delnov, Branden Troock, Roberts Lipsbergs, Justin Hickman, Mitch Elliot and eventually Jamien Yakubowski, Sam McKechnie and Russell Maxwell (not to mention an 18 year old Shea Theodore on the back end) to carry most of the load.
I could be wrong, but my impression is that the Thunderbirds are willing to go through the expected growing pains this season with this young group and I doubt they are looking to add more veteran players. They seem fine with putting these rookies out in key situations such as the power play or penalty kill, or out on the ice late in close games. The expectation is that it will expedite their development. We're almost one third of the way through this season and this team, with this young roster, is playing at a .524 winning clip and you can certainly argue they've been in most games 'til the end and could have won a few more then the 10 they have so far.
There is no question that the early ice time for players like Hamaliuk, Carpendale, Lee and Huo is paying off. They are all better players now then they were in late September when the season began. Much of that is confidence. They're more sure of themselves and their roles on the team. It's also confidence from the coaching staff that is willing to play them in all situations. But there is still much to learn. I would guess some of these young players started to doubt themselves a little during the losing streak. Hopefully, they learned valuable lessons about the need to keep grinding to work your way out of a slump.
The expectations that were on the T-birds team the past couple of seasons of playing for and winning championships, are not on this year's team. That doesn't mean expectations on these young players aren't high. Their job is to embrace the culture of winning created by the team the past four years. That means playing the right way, playing a 200 foot game and taking no shortcuts. It means earning your ice time by putting in the work off the ice and in practice that prepare you for a 72 game season.
The one aspect of Matt O'Dette's coaching that is a direct carry over from the Steve Konowalchuk era is this: veteran or rookie, you're not guaranteed anything. Age, draft status or what you did in Midget or Bantam hockey or your stats from last season don't automatically put you in the lineup. It's all about competition and earning your ice.
My T-birds Three Stars for the past weekend:
Third Star: C Matthew Wedman. Weds is starting to remind me a little of Alexander True and not just because of their similar builds. True did a lot of things well but it took him a while to find a consistent scoring touch. There were so many times when True was in the right place at the right time but just couldn't bury a loose puck around the opposing goal. Wedman is still looking for that scoring touch too. But he plays a big man's game, has improved his skating a good deal over last season and makes a living around the other team's net. Scouts still have to be intrigued by his size. If he can starts scoring consistently he'll have more eyes on him.
Second Star: G Matt Berlin. Seattle could have lost that game Saturday to Everett in the first period were it not for Berlin. While the rest of the club got off to a slow start, Berlin stood tall and stopped 12 shots, kept the game scoreless and finished with a 27 save shutout, the second of his T-birds career. When your goalie is playing well, you want to reward the effort. Saturday Seattle did and Berlin was a big reason the T-birds snapped the losing streak.
First Star: LW Nolan Volcan. Volcan erupted for four goals this weekend. That was every goal Seattle scored in 120 minutes of hockey. In fact by himself, he outscored the entire Everett team in the two games, 4-3. He is now a point a game player with 22 points (10g, 12a) in 21 games. He is so much more then his offensive numbers though. He's the Tasmanian Devil, a non-stop whirling bundle of energy. The T-birds currently sit third in the league on the penalty kill and his willingness to block shots with any body part is a big key.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Lost Weekend
Seattle came off seven straight games on the road, winning five of them, and promptly lost the first two games of a three game home stand. While they found two different ways to lose those games, there was one common thread between them; missed opportunities.
Going into the last two games, the T-birds were actually averaging 3.3 goals per game. Considering the amount of fire power they lost from last season's team, that had to be a better then expected goal production number this early in the season. Unfortunately they could only muster two goals on the weekend in suffering a pair of losses.
It certainly wasn't for lack of chances. In the two games on the weekend, the T-birds generated a combined 69 shots on goal, or an average of 35 shots per game. This is in keeping with a trend that started 10 games ago when Seattle's average shots per game jumped up from 25 per game over the first ten games of the season to an average of 33 since.
And we're not talking about a lot of shots and no scoring opportunities. It wasn't just a case of Seattle throwing pucks on goal from anywhere on the ice. A good percentage of these shots were high percentage chances. Just in their Friday night 4-0 loss to Tri-City, the T-birds coaches graded out 24 of their 43 shots as "Grade A" scoring opportunities. That means over 50 percent of their shots put them in a position to score. While the shots were fewer in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Kamloops, the ten bell scoring chances were still there, even after they lost leading goal scorer Sami Moilanen to injury early in that game.
Sometimes a shot that's not a shot on goal is also a scoring chance missed. There were numerous times over the weekend where Seattle missed the net with a shot or, even more frustrating, hit the post or cross bar. But the biggest culprit was failing to get sticks on loose pucks in and around the crease, the shot never taken. Credit the opposition for winning those battles and clearing the danger. In some instances it's a case of bad puck luck for Seattle. They're in position for a rebound but the bounce goes the other way. But at some point the T-birds have to start winning there fair share of those second chance opportunities.
When you are in the midst of a mini-scoring drought, it might be that one ugly goal, that crazy carom or redirection that gets the offense humming again. You create that with hard work and that is something this team does have going for it. Hard work is what gets you 24 scoring chances in a game against one of the top teams in the league. So far in 18 games, there has not been an instance of this young team taking a night off.
There were a lot of reasons given, I thought of them more as excuses, as to why Seattle had a goal waved off Saturday versus Kamloops. I watched the play unfold right in front of me and never saw the Blazer goalie try to cover the puck outside the crease. He just muffed it as he tried to scoop it and play it to his defenseman. He flubbed the scoop and ended up flicking it into his crease and then it was knocked in to his goal When a goalie makes an error like that, he shouldn't get bailed out by the officials. That "quick whistle" (never heard a whistle) cost Seattle not just a goal, but a point in the standings.
My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:
Third Star: W Ian Briscoe. Healthy and playing with more confidence, he is earning the trust of the coaching staff. As a result he's even getting special teams ice time. He filled in for Moilanen on the power play Saturday and earned an assist, his first point of the season. A gifted offensive players at lower levels of hockey, he's learning to play at both ends of the ice with effectiveness.
Second Star: W Dillon Hamaliuk. It's hard to believe he came out of the weekend with nary a point. No one creates more offensive chances for himself and his linemates the way Hammer does. He is a bit snake bitten right now but you get the feeling once he scores his next goal, the flood gates will open. While the focus is on the present, one can't help but salivate at the potential he has for the future.
First Star: W Blake Bargar. I know we're only 18 games into the season and there is lots of hockey still to play but the 19 year old Torrance, California native has already exceeded expectations after Seattle obtained him in the offseason from Victoria. A year ago he compiled ten points in 61 games with the Royals. This season he already has six points in 18 games, including four goals, just two off his total from last season. It's his well rounded game that makes him a team leader. He plays in all situations and is becoming one of the team's top penalty killers.
Going into the last two games, the T-birds were actually averaging 3.3 goals per game. Considering the amount of fire power they lost from last season's team, that had to be a better then expected goal production number this early in the season. Unfortunately they could only muster two goals on the weekend in suffering a pair of losses.
It certainly wasn't for lack of chances. In the two games on the weekend, the T-birds generated a combined 69 shots on goal, or an average of 35 shots per game. This is in keeping with a trend that started 10 games ago when Seattle's average shots per game jumped up from 25 per game over the first ten games of the season to an average of 33 since.
And we're not talking about a lot of shots and no scoring opportunities. It wasn't just a case of Seattle throwing pucks on goal from anywhere on the ice. A good percentage of these shots were high percentage chances. Just in their Friday night 4-0 loss to Tri-City, the T-birds coaches graded out 24 of their 43 shots as "Grade A" scoring opportunities. That means over 50 percent of their shots put them in a position to score. While the shots were fewer in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Kamloops, the ten bell scoring chances were still there, even after they lost leading goal scorer Sami Moilanen to injury early in that game.
Sometimes a shot that's not a shot on goal is also a scoring chance missed. There were numerous times over the weekend where Seattle missed the net with a shot or, even more frustrating, hit the post or cross bar. But the biggest culprit was failing to get sticks on loose pucks in and around the crease, the shot never taken. Credit the opposition for winning those battles and clearing the danger. In some instances it's a case of bad puck luck for Seattle. They're in position for a rebound but the bounce goes the other way. But at some point the T-birds have to start winning there fair share of those second chance opportunities.
When you are in the midst of a mini-scoring drought, it might be that one ugly goal, that crazy carom or redirection that gets the offense humming again. You create that with hard work and that is something this team does have going for it. Hard work is what gets you 24 scoring chances in a game against one of the top teams in the league. So far in 18 games, there has not been an instance of this young team taking a night off.
There were a lot of reasons given, I thought of them more as excuses, as to why Seattle had a goal waved off Saturday versus Kamloops. I watched the play unfold right in front of me and never saw the Blazer goalie try to cover the puck outside the crease. He just muffed it as he tried to scoop it and play it to his defenseman. He flubbed the scoop and ended up flicking it into his crease and then it was knocked in to his goal When a goalie makes an error like that, he shouldn't get bailed out by the officials. That "quick whistle" (never heard a whistle) cost Seattle not just a goal, but a point in the standings.
My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:
Third Star: W Ian Briscoe. Healthy and playing with more confidence, he is earning the trust of the coaching staff. As a result he's even getting special teams ice time. He filled in for Moilanen on the power play Saturday and earned an assist, his first point of the season. A gifted offensive players at lower levels of hockey, he's learning to play at both ends of the ice with effectiveness.
Second Star: W Dillon Hamaliuk. It's hard to believe he came out of the weekend with nary a point. No one creates more offensive chances for himself and his linemates the way Hammer does. He is a bit snake bitten right now but you get the feeling once he scores his next goal, the flood gates will open. While the focus is on the present, one can't help but salivate at the potential he has for the future.
First Star: W Blake Bargar. I know we're only 18 games into the season and there is lots of hockey still to play but the 19 year old Torrance, California native has already exceeded expectations after Seattle obtained him in the offseason from Victoria. A year ago he compiled ten points in 61 games with the Royals. This season he already has six points in 18 games, including four goals, just two off his total from last season. It's his well rounded game that makes him a team leader. He plays in all situations and is becoming one of the team's top penalty killers.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Ready for Home
Seattle just completed one of their most successful extended eastern road trips in years with a 2-0-1-0 record the second half of their trek through the Central Division. As a result, the T-Birds end a stretch of seven straight on the road by going 5-1-1-0. Hindsight being what it is, if you look back on some of the results that didn't go the team's way, you realize how close they came to going 7-0.
In their only regulation loss against a Central Division team this season, a subpar second period put Seattle behind, but they battled back well enough in the third period to get within a goal against the Kootenay Ice before an empty net goal sealed their fate in a 4-2 loss. In their overtime loss to end the trip in Medicine Hat, the T-Birds hit at least two posts/crossbars and a questionable non-penalty call directly led to the Tigers third goal. Put those two issues together and that had Seattle chasing the game. Instead of lamenting the situation, Seattle came on strong with a pair of late goals to tie it up, earning a point, before falling early in the OT.
Before their October 21st home game versus Moose Jaw, head coach Matt O'Dette broke up his top line of Volcan-Neuls-Moilanen in order to spread more offensive production up and down the line up. At the time, Seattle was averaging just about 25 shots per game. Since then, the T-Birds have had over 30 shots a night in seven of eight games, including a high of 39 twice. One could argue fatigue, travel and playing their fifth game in seven nights is the only reason they didn't hit that 30 shot mark in Edmonton. Even so, Seattle still averaged 32.4 shots over that eight game stretch, an improvement of seven shots a game. That may not sound like much but they went 5-2-1-0 over that span and actually outshot their opponent in the three games they didn't get the win.
Only once in their last seven games have the Thunderbirds had their top six defenseman on the ice and available for all 60 minutes. In a couple of instances the T-Birds played with just their top three defensemen available. Often they had three rookie defensemen in the lineup. In Edmonton they utilized 15-year old prospect Ty Bauer, limited his shifts and still won the game. The strength of this team entering the season was going to be the return of five of their top six d-men from last season's championship team. Yet Seattle just went through a critical stretch of the season with many of those top defensemen unavailable and came out with a winning record.
That is a testament to the coaching staff's ability to coach up the young defenseman as well as make it clear to the forwards they have a responsibility in the defensive zone. Often on the road trip an opponent's scoring chance was thwarted by a backchecking center or winger. There were also time's when the other team scored because of a missed assignment by a forward in the defensive zone. It's all part of learning to play the 200 foot game.
The trade of Luke Ormsby to Everett and the departure of Elijah Brown, who left the team because he was unhappy with his ice time, has opened the door for other young forwards to get more ice time. Three of them have really stepped up and taken advantage of the situation. The more ice Sam Huo, Tyler Carpendale and Ian Briscoe get, the better they play. Briscoe in particular is benefitting as he is now seeing time on the power play as well. While he didn't officially earn an assist on the play, Briscoe's forecheck late in the game versus the Oil Kings, created a turnover that led directly to Zack Andrusiak's game-winning goal.
Do vets really help rookies develop? Maybe it works both ways. The Seattle coaches put veteran Donovan Neuls on a line with two rookies the second half of the road trip. The last few games Neuls has been centering a line featuring 17-year old rookie Dillon Hamaliuk and the 16-year old Huo. Neuls, who hadn't been scoring early in the year, put up a three-game goal scoring streak.
I think the popular sentiment is that Seattle is biding it's time in goal until Carl Stankowski returns. But with no definitive return date for Stankowski, the T-Birds current goaltending tandem of Matt Berlin and Liam Hughes are giving the team the opportunity to win every game. Hughes has really settled in since Seattle acquired him at the start of the season from Edmonton. he ended up starting four of the six games against the Central Division and went 3-0-1-0.
Thanks again to all the former players and parents who jumped onto our broadcasts during the road trip. All brought their own unique spin to our coverage of the games. It's always great to meet up with former players such as Steve Chaffin and Travis Toomey, and see how they've matured into adulthood.
My T-Birds Three Stars for the second half of the road trip:
Third Star: Goaltender Liam Hughes. He went 1-0-1-0 in his last two starts, 3-0-1-0 on the trip and has now improved his overall record on the season to 4-2-1-0. The road trip was a great chance for the coaches to get him lots of time between the pipes and get a better feel for his game going into the meat of the schedule.
Second Star: LW Nolan Volcan. In the last three games on the trip Volcan picked up four points (2g, 2a) and was +4. He plays a complete game and is very aggressive on the forecheck which helps create turnovers. His motor starts in fifth gear and never stops. After a bit of a slow start in the scoring department he is now close to averaging a point a game with 15 points in 16 games.
First Star: D Austin Strand. After finishing the first half of the road trip with a late, game-winning goal in his hometown of Calgary, he started the second half of the trip by scoring a goal and adding an assist in a win against his former team in Red Deer. He added a big power-play goal in the 3-1 win in Edmonton and had an assist on the game tying goal in Medicine Hat. He picked up four points (2g, 2a) and was +2 the final half of the trip and now is second in the league with eight power-play goals. He's also second in the WHL among defenseman in scoring with 22 points (9g, 13a) which also tops his own team's leaderboard. Don't be surprised if NHL scouts are taking notice.
In their only regulation loss against a Central Division team this season, a subpar second period put Seattle behind, but they battled back well enough in the third period to get within a goal against the Kootenay Ice before an empty net goal sealed their fate in a 4-2 loss. In their overtime loss to end the trip in Medicine Hat, the T-Birds hit at least two posts/crossbars and a questionable non-penalty call directly led to the Tigers third goal. Put those two issues together and that had Seattle chasing the game. Instead of lamenting the situation, Seattle came on strong with a pair of late goals to tie it up, earning a point, before falling early in the OT.
Before their October 21st home game versus Moose Jaw, head coach Matt O'Dette broke up his top line of Volcan-Neuls-Moilanen in order to spread more offensive production up and down the line up. At the time, Seattle was averaging just about 25 shots per game. Since then, the T-Birds have had over 30 shots a night in seven of eight games, including a high of 39 twice. One could argue fatigue, travel and playing their fifth game in seven nights is the only reason they didn't hit that 30 shot mark in Edmonton. Even so, Seattle still averaged 32.4 shots over that eight game stretch, an improvement of seven shots a game. That may not sound like much but they went 5-2-1-0 over that span and actually outshot their opponent in the three games they didn't get the win.
Only once in their last seven games have the Thunderbirds had their top six defenseman on the ice and available for all 60 minutes. In a couple of instances the T-Birds played with just their top three defensemen available. Often they had three rookie defensemen in the lineup. In Edmonton they utilized 15-year old prospect Ty Bauer, limited his shifts and still won the game. The strength of this team entering the season was going to be the return of five of their top six d-men from last season's championship team. Yet Seattle just went through a critical stretch of the season with many of those top defensemen unavailable and came out with a winning record.
That is a testament to the coaching staff's ability to coach up the young defenseman as well as make it clear to the forwards they have a responsibility in the defensive zone. Often on the road trip an opponent's scoring chance was thwarted by a backchecking center or winger. There were also time's when the other team scored because of a missed assignment by a forward in the defensive zone. It's all part of learning to play the 200 foot game.
The trade of Luke Ormsby to Everett and the departure of Elijah Brown, who left the team because he was unhappy with his ice time, has opened the door for other young forwards to get more ice time. Three of them have really stepped up and taken advantage of the situation. The more ice Sam Huo, Tyler Carpendale and Ian Briscoe get, the better they play. Briscoe in particular is benefitting as he is now seeing time on the power play as well. While he didn't officially earn an assist on the play, Briscoe's forecheck late in the game versus the Oil Kings, created a turnover that led directly to Zack Andrusiak's game-winning goal.
Do vets really help rookies develop? Maybe it works both ways. The Seattle coaches put veteran Donovan Neuls on a line with two rookies the second half of the road trip. The last few games Neuls has been centering a line featuring 17-year old rookie Dillon Hamaliuk and the 16-year old Huo. Neuls, who hadn't been scoring early in the year, put up a three-game goal scoring streak.
I think the popular sentiment is that Seattle is biding it's time in goal until Carl Stankowski returns. But with no definitive return date for Stankowski, the T-Birds current goaltending tandem of Matt Berlin and Liam Hughes are giving the team the opportunity to win every game. Hughes has really settled in since Seattle acquired him at the start of the season from Edmonton. he ended up starting four of the six games against the Central Division and went 3-0-1-0.
Thanks again to all the former players and parents who jumped onto our broadcasts during the road trip. All brought their own unique spin to our coverage of the games. It's always great to meet up with former players such as Steve Chaffin and Travis Toomey, and see how they've matured into adulthood.
My T-Birds Three Stars for the second half of the road trip:
Third Star: Goaltender Liam Hughes. He went 1-0-1-0 in his last two starts, 3-0-1-0 on the trip and has now improved his overall record on the season to 4-2-1-0. The road trip was a great chance for the coaches to get him lots of time between the pipes and get a better feel for his game going into the meat of the schedule.
Second Star: LW Nolan Volcan. In the last three games on the trip Volcan picked up four points (2g, 2a) and was +4. He plays a complete game and is very aggressive on the forecheck which helps create turnovers. His motor starts in fifth gear and never stops. After a bit of a slow start in the scoring department he is now close to averaging a point a game with 15 points in 16 games.
First Star: D Austin Strand. After finishing the first half of the road trip with a late, game-winning goal in his hometown of Calgary, he started the second half of the trip by scoring a goal and adding an assist in a win against his former team in Red Deer. He added a big power-play goal in the 3-1 win in Edmonton and had an assist on the game tying goal in Medicine Hat. He picked up four points (2g, 2a) and was +2 the final half of the trip and now is second in the league with eight power-play goals. He's also second in the WHL among defenseman in scoring with 22 points (9g, 13a) which also tops his own team's leaderboard. Don't be surprised if NHL scouts are taking notice.
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