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9.02.2014

What I learned this weekend in Everett

Here is a list of what I learned from watching 8 hockey games in one weekend between 6 teams

  • Evan Wardley has one mission right now, and that is hitting everyone that comes near him as hard as he can. Really, really hard. 
  • Jared Hauf is being just like Wardley, and throwing his size around. 
  • Seattle still has an issue at goaltending and which two they will keep.  All three looked good this weekend, with of course Flodell stealing the show with Sunday's performance. 
  • Luke Osterman is a little antagonizer in a big frame. 
  • Nick Holowko showed why he really wants to make this team. 
  • The same can be said for Lane Pederson. 
  • Shea Theodore is averaging 2 points per game.  That puts him on pace for 144 on the season.
  • Alexander True left the team, but TRUE to his word, he came back. 
  • Man can Florian Baltram skate well
    • On the rosters they handed out, Baltram was listed as being from Vienna AUS.  I had to idea we had a player from Australia. 
  • Taran Kozun only got to suit up in one game.  I guess being 20 and taking up a valuable game sheet roster spot if dressing has its advantages. 
  • Giving up 10 powerplays in one game is not good. 
    • Only allowing 1 goal in the 10 is not bad. 
  • A note to Seattle shooters, the idea is to put the black puck in the net when you shoot, not wide, not over the top, but inside the net. 
  • EVERY Seattle player was either even or plus on the +/- side of the scoresheet. 
Some non Seattle observations

  • Victoria has a lot of players that are under 6 feet tall (shortest was 5'6), but they hustle like crazy and can really skate. 
  • Oliver Bjorkstrand is one damn good player.  If he is not the best pure offensive player in the WHL this season, then whomever is better is a really damn good player. 
  • Everett still has the worst goal judges in the league.
    • Note to the goal judges, the puck must go across that little red line in front of you in order to turn on the flashy light, not wide, not in front, but behind. 
    • Note number two, a shot on net is only counted when the puck would go across said line in note number one, but someone stopped it from crossing. 
  • If you can believe it, the off ice officials in Everett are even worse. 
  • The WHL still doesn't know how to schedule officials.  How does every game of the 9 have 2 officials, except the last game. 
  • Brooklyn Bros. Pizzeria still has amazing pizza, but their service still sucks. 
  • The price of beer at a hockey game is way to high. 
  • Spokane's Tamas Laday is listed at 6'6, and that is tall.  Everyone was going after him to see just how tough that size is. 
  • Don Nachbaur is still the best dressed coach in the WHL. 
  • Wearing your mouthguard is a very important rule now. 
    • Having your mouthguard fall out, and keep playing is ok. 
  • Doing a dry cut on the ice between regulation and OT is......whats the words I am looking for.......STUPID, BORING, MOMENTUM BREAKING, EXCITEMENT DOWNER, and most of all USELESS. 

20 comments :

Anonymous said...

totally agree with you regarding Oliver Bjorkstrand. Hoping he will be the LAST of great offensive scorers for the winterhawks.

Anonymous said...

After Bjorkstrand and Petan who does Portland have that scares us as goal scorers?

Anonymous said...

De Leo and Bittner for starters.

Anonymous said...

De Leo and Bittner are good players and Texiera looks like he has potential defensively, but they do not belong in the same category as Bjork, Petan, or the previous revolving door of Leipsic, Lieir, Rattie, Pouliot, Wotherspoon, Jones, Bartschi, Johanson, Nino, Morrow, etc. I think it would be possible that starting next season Portland finds themselves finishing second or third in the division. Maybe even lower. But having said that, this team seems to defy the law of entropy, so I will have to see it to believe it.

Last season we won four home games against Portland I think. I would like to see us win a few in Portland this year.

Anonymous said...

I will fathom a guess that Bittner is a 1st round pick, possibly top 15, in the NHL draft next spring. He is a very good player. Schoenborn was a 3rd round pick of San Jose and Keegan Iverson went in the 3rd round to the Rangers. Turgeon went in the 3rd rd as well, to Detroit. De Leo was a 4th rd pick of Winnipeg and Cederhold was taken a few years back in the 5th rd by the Cancucks. Those are all real good players and most will be around for a couple more seasons. Not a Portland fan but they still have plenty in the pipeline to compete for the top spot in the Division and the Conference this year and next. They consistently have 4-5 guys on their roster who are picked in the top half of the NHL draft. I don't see any indication that will stop happening.

Anonymous said...

Agree with anon 9:50am, I don't see Portland coming back to the pack this year or next. The birds need to compete with them all 12 times this year and avoid those blow out games that they have in Portland 2 to 3 times a year.

Kodi said...

The rest of the league needs to figure out how to tap in to the US talent like Portland has seem to done (kudos to them).

When they lost the 1st rounds picks they were still picking up 1st round talent from US players that weren't going to go the WHL route but what do you know, they all decided to anyway.

Anonymous said...

Sure, probably cause they're getting bribed to join the team. :P

Couldn't resist it. In all seriousness, watching Portland kick us around for the last four seasons (particularly in Portland) has made me hope the calls for a regression bear fruit, but so far they haven't, and I haven't seen anything yet to make me think they will this year either. But the gap is a bit closer.

Mr Tell13 said...

anon 2:10 beat me to it.

I don't think that anyone think that Port will be a middle of the pack team now, they just dropped a bit. That said, I would NOT try to compare this year potential lineup with what included the likes of Leipsic, Ross, Pouliot, Barchi and Johansson.

Anonymous said...

Looks like the roster is now down to 26 players. Trim off two overages and 1 to 2 other players and it looks like we have our team. Now we just wait, probably for a while, to see who we can trade and what we can get. I'm good with Mumaugh and Flodell so hopefully Kozun can get us a descent return. I can see this taking all the way to the overage deadline to get fully sorted out, especially if Hickman gets a long look and is maybe offered a pro contract. Don't want to move on from McKechnie to soon if Hickman is suddenly out of the picture.

Anonymous said...

My guess is that Seattle is the only team with 5 over age players. I think Kootney is the only team that needs one, but lots of players to choose from. Half the teams have 4 and will need to release one. I agree that Kozun may have the best value. (above post)

Anonymous said...

If you follow Andy Eide on twitter he has a link to a pod cast that he did with Scott sepich who covers the winterhawks on the upcoming season as well as other topics, it lasted about a hour forty two minutes.

Anonymous said...

This has to be BS no?

http://www.network54.com/Forum/40684/message/1410301770/seattle+sold+new+owner

Thunnex said...

I do not have inside knowledge of that but that seems highly unlikely.

It is possible that the team is/was looking for a new minority owner(s) and maybe this is related. To say the team sold for 650k just doesn't really pass the smell test.

Thunnex said...

Also... dude already recanted it.

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked about the honorable mention in the chl top ten. But also really excited.

Anonymous said...

Random tangent here, but have ye olde bloggers ever considered doing some posts about the history of the team/hockey in Seattle?

Thunnex said...

Great question... simple answer. No.

Reason why?

Jeff Obermeyer wrote a fantastic book and maintains a website at:

http://www.seattlehockey.net/Seattle_Hockey_Homepage/Seattle_Hockey_Homepage.html

That is all about the history of hockey in Seattle. I highly recommend it.

Anonymous said...

Ironically, it was the fact I just finished that book that inspired my question, but that's a fair answer. I agree, it's good reading, though it leaves a gap in my knowledge between 2003 (where the book leaves off) and 2011, when I personally started following the Birds/hockey as a sport, more closely.

Thunnex said...

Great! I can't say we've ever thought about doing something like that.

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