Earlier this week, I attended Portland Winterhawks practice at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum to get caught up on everything surrounding the team.
The team was coming off a dominant weekend performance where they won all three games by a combined score of 23-4.
“Players love games, and coaches love practice,” Winterhawks president, general manager, and head coach Mike Johnston said following approximately 90 minutes of ice time. “For me, I think it really sharpens our team up when we have quality practice time. I think over the course of the year, if we get off our game in any area, it is good to have a week where you have at least three good practices. We have that this week. We can touch up a couple of things, and there are a few areas where we will add something to our game that we haven’t done before. This gives us more versatility.”
A couple of things stood out shortly after I arrived. First, this was going to be a “physical” practice. Players were competing in small-area games with a focus on defense, positioning, backchecking, and clearing the zone after a long shift.
Notably, Josh Davies was not practicing and spent most of the afternoon on the stationary bike, although, with how hard he was pedaling, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he turned it into an actual bike.
Justen Maric was skating and taking a few shots, so his injury rehab continues.
Nate Danielson was in a non-contact jersey, which I immediately made note of and asked Johnston about after practice was over.
“Any time we have injuries or a nagging injury, we put them in a non-contact. It was a battling type of practice, and we wanted to be careful,” Johnston said.
Danielson was not listed on the injury report this week, but something to keep an eye on this weekend, with only one game against Seattle on Saturday.
There were two additional skaters for practice this week as 2023 1st-round draft pick Griffin Darby and 2022 4th-rounder Kayd Ruedig joined the rest of the team.
“The purpose of those young guys coming in is to get them ready for next year or even if we need them for playoffs,” Johnston said when asked about Darby and Ruedig joining practice. “It is good to get them in with the team, especially when we have a full-out practice. For them, there are things we want them to work on and things we are trying to teach them, but it is also really important that they get the pace of the level and know what they have to get to be ready for six months from now when they are going to be a full-time player.”
My colleague Kurt Pohs was also at practice and spoke with Darby and Reudig. He will have a more in-depth article soon about several Winterhawks prospects, so stay tuned to pnwhockeytalk.com for his piece.
“I thought (practice) was super high intensity, like going up against the top guys like (James) Stefan, (Nate) Danielson, and all those guys,” Darby told Kurt. “I think it is going to really improve my game; iron sharpens iron. Just working (against) those guys may suck right now (for me), but it is going to pay off.”
Ruedig commented on the pace to Kurt, saying, “Not bad for the first time practicing up here this season. I just had to kind of adapt to the speed. I thought I faired well against the other guys.”
Nick Avakyan reassigned
With a healthy Jan Špunar and Luke Brunen, the Winterhawks reassigned affiliate player Nick Avakyan to the Whitecourt Wolverines in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Avakyan deserves a ton of credit for keeping Portland afloat since his trade from Tri-City on December 3rd.
During his time with the Winterhawks, the 19-year-old played in 17 games, winning 12 with a 3.20 goals-against-average and a 0.895 save percentage. He also recorded his first career WHL shutout on December 31st against the Vancouver Giants.
“First, Nick is an outstanding person. We heard a lot about his character and who he is as a person,” Johnston said when asked about Avakyan. “It was certainly evident when he was here with the coaches, the players, and the staff that he is a well-liked guy. Then, coming in, I thought once again established himself as a legitimate WHL player. He wasn’t getting an opportunity and he got one here and took advantage of it. I feel for the guys that are waiting for their chance, but I give them a ton of credit when they take advantage of it like he did.”
Throughout most of his time in Portland, Avakyan did not have a backup behind him, but he continued to give Portland everything he had.
Johnston went on to say, “It was a challenging time for him to come in when we had so many injuries and going through a time where we didn’t have a lot of practice time. I thought he did an excellent job. He was solid, stable, and gave us some confidence in games. We weren’t sure what to expect because we only had limited viewings of him over the last few years, but he did a great job.”
Avakyan is eligible to return to Portland once his season with Whitecourt is complete, so depending upon the playoff schedule, the Glendale, California, native may be back in the Rose City in a couple of months.
Needless to say, Avakyan played a key role in Portland’s 2023-2024 season.
Danielson settling in with Portland
Detroit Red Wings signed prospect Nate Danielson has played ten games with the Portland Winterhawks since being acquired at the WHL trade deadline in a blockbuster deal with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Danielson has fit in perfectly with the Winterhawks and is over a point-per-game player as he’s registered three goals and ten assists so far wearing Squal Gray.
“The cities are quite a bit different, for sure,” Danielson said about the biggest adjustment from playing in Brandon compared to Portland. “I went from a pretty small city to a bigger city. The drive in the morning is a bit longer than I’m used to, and there is actually traffic here. It is awesome to be here, and I’m really enjoying it, and the guys have made the transition easier for me.”
The 9th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft did not join Portland right away following the trade. He made his Winterhawks debut one week after the deadline as he got a mental break.
Danielson represented Canada at the World Juniors and then immediately returned to Brandon, where he played two games before being acquired by Portland.
Johnston wanted the 6-foot-2, 188-pound, centerman to have a mental break.
“We sort of had a plan when I was in Brandon that I might fly home for a couple of days. When I got traded Mike right away said he wanted me to go home for around a week and get a break so I could see my family. They were really good about that, and I appreciated that,” Danielson said. “I went right back from World Juniors to playing, so I never got a break since the start of the season or since the summer. I was able to go home and really reset mentally, which was nice. I think the whole idea was to be ready for a long stretch down here in Portland as we go deep in the playoffs. It will be even more of a grind if you don’t have those little breaks.”
Part of joining a new team for a player is getting used to how practices operate. Danielson commented on his experience, saying, “I think everyone does things differently, and the coaches here are very prepared. They did and do a great job of having a game plan for us and what is expected of us. I’ve enjoyed learning from these coaches and what they do compared to Brandon, but both ways are good, just different in a few areas.”
Danielson prides himself on being a 200-foot player and someone who can be trusted on the ice whether his team is up or down by a goal in the final minute. He’s showcased his poise with the puck on several occasions and has gelled with his new teammates.
“It has been really easy, honestly,” he said when asked about trying to form chemistry with new linemates in Portland. “Luckily, there are a lot of good players here. Whoever I’ve played with has been so good. There’s been a few practices and games to help me get adjusted. It feels like we’ve already been playing together for a while now. I’m impressed with the vision of guys here; that has made my adjustment pretty easy.”
Lastly, I asked Danielson why he chose to wear jersey number 89 since he wore 29 in Brandon.
“Well, 29 was taken (Hudson Darby), and I would’ve taken 92 (Jack O’Brien), and that was taken as well,” he said with a laugh. “When I was sitting with the guys in Brandon before I left, we were talking about what number I should wear, and we came up with 89 since not many people wear it, and it was a bit of a different number.”
Possible CHL and NCAA alliance?
During the ‘32 Thoughts: The Podcast’, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed a potential significant change in the junior hockey landscape.
Currently, the moment a player plays in a preseason or regular season game in the CHL, he is ineligible to play NCAA hockey.
However, a player can go from NCAA hockey to the CHL. A perfect example is Tyson Jugnauth, who left the University of Wisconsin to join the Winterhawks mid-season.
With the introduction of the transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), many people have wondered if the NCAA and CHL would change their stance. There are many downstream impacts to this decision, though.
Should the policy be updated, I see this as a game-changer for Portland as it is one of the premier destinations for American-born players. The Winterhawks have been very close to landing blue-chip prospects but have lost out because the player does not want to lose his NCAA eligibility. Should that no longer be the case, there could be an increased number of top U.S. players playing in Portland.
With the topic swirling around the hockey community, I asked Johnston for his thoughts on the matter:
“There has been a lot of talk about it. Certainly, I think the CHL, much like the NCAA, is talking about it at the governor’s level. From the CHL perspective, I’m not sure what exactly it means. I think it depends on how it is structured in the end. When can players leave? Can they leave any time from the CHL and go to college, or can they leave at 19 if they’ve already played in our league? I’m not sure how it will all unfold in the end. I don’t think it is going to happen for next year, but with the amount of talk, I think it is going to happen.”
“My personal feeling on it is if you are a young 15- or 16-year-old player, you want to be in the CHL for sure. Then, if there is an opportunity to play college down the road, maybe certain players will want that. The thing that excites me the most, I would think we (CHL) probably get all the best 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old players. Then, when they are ready to go to college, they could make that choice or stay. I love to coach young guys and young guys that are driven and focused and want to be pros. The more of them that we can get into our league, the better I think it is for everyone involved, including Portland, the WHL, and the CHL.”
Nothing has changed for now, but it is something worth keeping an eye on.
