It is hard to believe, but hockey season officially kicks off today as 78 players will arrive in Portland as the Winterhawks begin the 2024 Neely Cup, their version of training camp.
Due to upgrades being made at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, this year’s camp is taking place in Sherwood, Oregon, approximately 35-45 minutes southwest of where the Winterhawks play their home games.
My colleague Kurt Pohs and I will be covering this year’s camp extensively. Due to space constraints, the games and practices are closed to the public.
You can follow along with Kurt and Josh on Twitter/X as we bring you interviews and stories throughout the week. Depending upon how everything goes, we may have some additional content to provide, but more on that later.
Kurt and I collaborated on this article to bring you a preview of what we will be watching at camp and what fans can expect regarding who is competing for spots.
Every year, I compile a cheat sheet for fans, which includes a list of the players attending camp, along with some of their stats, their status with the team, and how they were acquired.
2024 Neely Cup Cheat Sheet – Google Sheets
2024 Neely Cup Cheat Sheet – PDF File
If there are any gaps/errors a player, coach, parent, or scout can assist me in filling in, please DM me on Twitter or email me at joshuacritzer@yahoo.com.
A fresh look to the Winterhawks
This year’s Portland squad is going to have a drastic look and feel, as essentially all of the top-six forwards have either graduated (Klassen, Stefan, O’Brien), been traded (Nguyen to Brandon), or will be playing pro hockey this year (Davies & Danielson).
Then, along the blue line, gone are Josh Mori (traded to Edmonton) and Luca Cagnoni (San Jose Sharks system) have moved on.
In goal, Jan Špunar will be playing elsewhere this season (team and league TBD), and Nick Avakyan and Justen Maric will not return as overagers. Luke Brunen, who played 11 games last season before being injured, is back with the team and will be the most experienced netminder in camp.
On the bench, Kyle Gustafson takes over the head coaching duties as Mike Johnston transitions into a new role of focusing primarily on player development along with his general manager and business responsibilities. Flanking Gustafson will be two new assistant coaches in Mike Fanelli and former Winterhawk standout Sven Bärtschi.
Forwards
Seven forwards—Chyzowski, Buttazzoni, Zakreski, Miller, McDonough, Yaremko, and Hudson Darby—are returning from last season’s WHL Western Conference Championship team.
We expect 16-year-olds Jordan Duguay (2nd round pick in 2023) and Reed Brown (acquired from Brandon in the Marcus Nguyen trade) to make the roster.
This leaves at least four spots open up front. Depending upon how Gustafson and Jonston elect to have extra skaters, there may be a fifth or even sixth forward spot available.
Our eyes turn to the prospects who are signed in Braeden Jockims, who played in 12 regular season games and four in the playoffs; David Hoy (listed), Nikita Mikhailov (12th round in 2024 WHL Prospects Draft), Carysn Dyck (2021 6th), Luke Myhre (2022 5th), and Owen Chapman (2023 3rd).
Three other names we will be keeping a close eye on during camp are unsigned: Luke Wilfley, Cru Hanas, and Nolan Dupont.
Wilfley was initially not listed on the roster for camp when the team made the announcement, but he was a late addition.
We have circled and starred Wilfley and will ensure we keep close tabs on him, as he is a special player with a bright future. The team acquired him with their second-round pick in the 2023 U.S. Priority Draft. He was a teammate of Reed Brown last year and has already been getting national attention from USA Hockey.
Cru Hanas is the younger brother of former Winterhawk Cross Hanas. After spending last season with three WHL teams (Medicine Hat, Seattle, and Wenatchee), he received a camp invite. Hanas would provide some size up front as a 19-year-old should he make the team. A lot will depend on how he shows in camp and how Portland elects to shape its roster this year. Will Johnston and Gustafson go with a full-on youth movement, or will they look to sprinkle in some veteran skaters?
If the name Dupont sounds familiar, it is because Nolan is the older brother of Landon Dupont, the most recent player given “Exceptional” status by the WHL to play in the league as a 15-year-old. He has his sights on making the team and is someone we will be watching over the course of the next several days.
Defense
The blue line has a logjam of players for Portland’s hockey operations to choose from despite losing three starters from last year’s roster. Luca Cagnoni and Marek Alscher will be playing pro hockey, and as mentioned earlier, Josh Mori is now in Edmonton.
Regarding locks to make the roster, overagers Ryder Thompson and Tyson Jugnauth (unless Seattle signs him and elects to send him to Coachella in the AHL). Also, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Carter Sotheran will have an expanded role on this year’s team as a 19-year-old.
You can then safely assume that 2nd round import selection Marek Chaloupka, who has signed with the team, will be in the mix.
Cole Slobodian (listed) slid into the playoffs last year, did not look out of place, and appeared to have earned the coaching staff’s trust. As an 18-year-old, he figures to be a full-time WHL player.
Griffin Darby, Hudson’s younger brother, was selected in the 1st round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft and is as close to a lock to make the team as possible as a 16-year-old.
This is where the numbers start to get tight, and the position battles will be fierce as this is already six names on the depth chart.
Alex Thompson is now 18 years old and played in 19 regular-season games and four more in the playoffs last year. Can he make the necessary leap?
That leaves three more signed defensemen, Kayd Ruedig (2022 4th), Cohen Massey (2021 9th), and Lincoln Black-Greaves (2023 8th), fighting for spots and minutes.
Portland also extended a camp invite to 19-year-old Jackson Romeril, who has played games with both Kelowna and Tri-City over the last two seasons. How does he show at camp? Can he force the coaches’ hand and earn a contract?
A few years ago, Mori was asked to be flexible if he wanted to get in the lineup. Oftentimes, he was used as a forward before becoming a full-time defenseman last year. Perhaps one of the names above can fit into a similar role this year?
Goalie
As previously mentioned, the crease is essentially wide open with the departure of Špunar, Avakyan, and Maric.
Currently, Portland has three signed goaltenders: Luke Brunen, Marek Schlenker (2021 8th), and Ondřej Štěbeták (2024 Import 1st).
Micah Adams (listed) has been high on the team’s list for a little while now, as he’s been in the Dallas Stars Elite program.
Tyler DiCarlo, who Portland took with their first pick in the 2024 U.S. Priority Draft, is in the mix for the future, but is too young to play full-time this season.
With so much uncertainty in goal, you can ensure we will be keeping a keen eye on what happens in the crease during Neely Cup.
Notables not attending
While this list could get extensive, we will try to focus primarily on names that are newer to not attending camp.
First is Alessandro Domenichelli (2024 2nd), who has already started school overseas, so he is unable to attend. He is a candidate to come in for a visit later in the season.
Landon Amrhein (2023 U.S. 1st) is not attending and appears to be going the NCAA route.
Jake Gustafson was added to the team’s protected list last year and is a name to keep an eye on in the future. He is a 16-year-old this season, and is somewhat of a late bloomer, but has incredible potential. He has a schedule conflict, otherwise he would have been attending camp.
Cobe Perlinger, a star of last year’s Neely Cup with his display of speed, scoring ability, and grit will not be back again this year as he prepares to play Junior A with his twin brother.
A couple of high-end Minnesotans, Finn Spehar and Freddie Schneider, also had conflicts, but they are names Winterhawks fans should keep tabs on as they would be considered impact players if they elect to come to the Rose City.
Defenseman Will McLaughlin, who was a standout last year at camp, is electing to attend Drumheller’s camp in Junior A, but the door is not fully closed here.
Morgan Stickney, the first U.S. born female netminder selected in the WHL Priority Draft will not be attending as she attends Shattuck. She also committed to playing NCAA hockey with Penn State.
Final thoughts
Obviously, there are a ton of other names that we did not cover here that are on the team’s radar and might surprise and make the team, but we had to draw the line somewhere with this preview.
As camp progresses, we will keep everyone posted on what we are seeing and hearing.
If there is anyone you want to learn more about, please let us know.
