3 Burning Questions Heading into 2017-2018

Welcome to the new blog site everyone!

I know we've been pumping out the reposts of last year's favoutes, but I thought it would be good for you to get something fresh to read ahead of the season.  It's still hard to believe summer's almost over and we're getting primed up for some WHL hockey again.  But here we are...

This time of year, everyone likes to be prognosticators and make bold predictions about how their team will fare.  It's always hard to tell how things will shape up though, given it's not until mid-October that you start to see rosters take shape, with players getting over the summer break, plus some coming back from pro camps.  That always leads to some burning questions.  For the Lethbridge Hurricanes, I have three that will need to be answered over the coming weeks:

#1. Who fills the leadership role left behind by Tyler Wong?

This is more than just who will fill the captaincy role now that Wong has graduated.  He was loved in Lethbridge for the things he brought to the table away from the rink, like community appearances and fundraisers.  The captain needs to be a leader, someone who can guide the troops and say the right things in all of the different situations, both on-ice and off, that can galvanize the squad.  So who becomes THE guy this year?

Sometimes, teams will go to a veteran 20-year-old in hopes of having them take on some extra responsibility.  But that can sometimes backfire if that player just doesn't have leadership qualities.  Sometimes, teams will go with a younger player who already has those qualities but that too can backfire if the older players don't buy in.  GM Peter Anholt did tell Canes This Week last season that Jordy Bellerive "will be captain one day".  Will that day happen this season?  Or will they go with an older player like Giorgio Estephan in hopes of elevating his play.  A big decision looms on that front.

A couple of @WHLHurricanes players taking part in #mnwild camp: @Gestephan_9 & @brennanmenell. #CaneTrain #yql #WHL https://t.co/jL6sU6C7CQ

— Canes This Week (@CanesThisWeek) September 6, 2017

#2. Where will the offense come from?

When you take Wong, Zak Zborosky and Matt Alfaro out of the lineup, you take away three of the team's top five scorers (I do understand Zborosky and Alfaro were added late, so I'm counting full season stats here).  That leaves Estephan and Menell, who will likely be big parts of the powerplay (which was ranked 6th in the WHL last season).  You have to believe that Calen Addison will add to his totals, as will Bellerive.  But can youngsters like Jadon Joseph, Zane Franklin and Dylan Cozens make up for some of the offense that will be lost this season?

Speaking of the powerplay, it was operating at around a 24-percent clip during both the regular season and the playoffs.  That'll need to continue if the Hurricanes want a shot at getting back to the final four.  Wong was a major part of that (36 PP points in the regular season).  That production needs to come from somewhere.  Could Ryan Bowen or Alec Baer get more of that opportunity?  That'll be up to Brent Kisio and the coaching staff to decide.

Of course, can't forget about @tylerwong_5 going to @GoldenKnights rookie camp. #WHL #yql https://t.co/P2mDZ7FuTF

— Canes This Week (@CanesThisWeek) September 6, 2017

#3. What did the Hurricanes learn from the Eastern Conference's best?

Sometimes, it takes getting beat by the best to see where you have to be to get to the next level.  The Hurricanes had to go the distance against both Red Deer and Medicine Hat before losing to the Regina Pats in six.  They were the underdogs in that series and while it might have been a bitter pill to swallow, but it also could have proved to be a learning moment for a team that has only been in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.

With some of their key centrepieces like Bellerive, Calen Addison and Stuart Skinner getting a tad older, the next couple of years might be a window where the Hurricanes could and probably should challenge for a conference or even WHL championship.  This is how teams build for that, is small steps taken over a three- or four-year period.  This year will be a big one in terms of watching the development and it might start with what they noticed in that series with the Pats.

Many other questions will likely pop up in the days ahead as the team gets its final roster put together.  I'm sure you'll hear plenty of them coming up on the first episode of Canes This Week, coming up on Wednesday, September 13th.

Revisiting the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft

I know, I know. Hindsight's 20/20. But can you imagine an even better version of the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club this season? Well, depending on how you look at things, had the cards of 2013 WHL Bantam Draft not fallen as they did, this team could have looked dramatically different. As we've seen, teams trade draft picks like the Vancouver Canucks breed hated hockey players. But in 2013, a bunch of wheeling and dealing was done with some really interesting ramifications. And it includes what would be considered a blockbuster if we had only known which players would be taken. So let's go through this round-by-round in descending order. The Hurricanes didn't use their 13th, 14th or 15th round picks. They did, however, trade picks in the 10th, 11th and 12th to Saskatoon Blades Hockey Club. The WHL's website doesn't list the return and I can't seem to find how that all played out. Either way, the Blades used those picks to select Brett Clayton, Ryan Pouliot and Marcus Mitchell. Clayton split this past season with Portland and the AJHL's Brooks Bandits, Pouliot's with Kootenay Ice, and Mitchell's in Salmon Arm. The WHL's site also claims the Hurricanes sent their 9th rounder to Saskatoon. But the 'Canes used their own pick, while the Blades had three of 'em. So that one's tough to track. As for the 'Canes 9th round pick, they chose defenseman Matthew O'Brien. In round 8, the Canes picked right winger Jake Ashton, while in round 7, they looked to defenseman Jesse Sheen. None have really worked out. Round 6 is where things get interesting. A year prior, the Hurricanes made a trade with Prince George Cougars Hockey Club. They wanted the 3rd rounder in 2012, so they gave up a 3rd and a 6th in 2013 and an 8th in 2014. So they gave up wingers Kolby Johnson and Dylan Strahan, as well as Logan Mazerolle of Grande Prairie Storm. What did they get? They didn't stick with that pick, as they had sent it to Brandon Wheat Kings Hockey Club (WHL) along with goaltender Brandon Anderson for fellow netminder Liam Liston and defenseman Spencer Galbraith. You'll notice a theme with goaltenders here. Who did Brandon take with that pick? Dakota Boutin.

LISTEN: Episode #37 of Canes This Week The Hurricanes, meantime, did make a selection in the 6th round though. At 132nd, they nabbed winger Jordan Porter. They acquired that pick from The Official Vancouver Giants Page, along with a 3rd in 2013 (which we'll get to later) for Liston. The Hurricanes made no picks in the 5th round, as they sent their own pick to Kootenay for Mike Simpson. The Ice went with Robert Johnson, who is in the NCAA. Had the Canes kept that pick, they could have chose Kailer Yamamoto, who has been a stud with Spokane. In the 4th round, the Hurricanes made two selections. The first was 72nd overall with Jaeger White, which was a pick they acquired from Regina Pats Hockey Club for Matt Marantz. The second was 74th overall, their own pick, to grab Connor Rokosh. Defensemen Cale Fleury and Brady Pouteau could have still been had. In the 3rd round, as mentioned, they traded their own pick to Prince George, who selected Kolby Johnson. They also acquired that 45th overall pick from Vancouver, which they used to get defenseman Cody Allen, who is in Osoyoos. Noah Gregor of Moose Jaw Warriors Hockey Club and current Canes defenseman Kyle Yewchuk were still available at that point. The 2nd round was an interesting one. The Hurricanes had their own pick, which they used on Tak Anholt. They also had another pick for a while, because they acquired Moose Jaw's in the Cam Braes deal. But they flipped that pick to Tri-City Americans in order to get Ty Rimmer. Again with the goalies. And that brings us to the 1st round. This was a big one. Because of the draft lottery, the Hurricanes actually started with the 6th overall pick. But they needed a goalie. So on draft day, the Hurricanes swung a deal with Brandon to get Corbin Boes. The Wheat Kings got the 6th overall selection. The Canes got Boes and the 17th overall selection. The Wheat Kings selected Kale Clague. The Hurricanes selected Stuart Skinner. In other words, the trade was Kale Clague for Corbin Boes and Stuart Skinner. Yeah, that happened. And it changed the face of the Hurricanes for years to come.

TRADE TREE: Follow The Bouncing Draft Pick

Every so often, I get sidetracked and start working on something I shouldn't. I had all the best intentions in the world when it came to preparing this week's blog. And we'll be saving it for Friday. That one will be Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club-related. This one isn't. But it's still extremely interesting as it might be one of the weirder trade trees I've worked on to this point. And it all started because I saw a recognizable name in the WHL Bantam Draft in 2012. We'll get to that one in a second.

LISTEN: Episode #36 of Canes This Week But let's start at the Import Draft in 2012. The Saskatoon Blades Hockey Club wanted to move up, so they made a deal with the Prince George Cougars Hockey Club. The Blades grabbed goaltender Andrey Makarov. The Cougars chose Marko Dano, who never stepped foot in the WHL, but went on to play in the NHL. There was another draft choice involved in that. It was Saskatoon's 3rd round bantam pick, which the Cougars wanted in hopes of making the move up worth something. As it turns out, the Cougars didn't want that pick for very long. Because at the bantam draft, they had another massive deal in mind. It was a two-player, four draft pick move with the Everett Silvertips Hockey Club. The Cougars received Jari Ericsson, a 1st rounder in 2012 and a conditional 4th rounder. The 1st rounder turned into Brad Morrison while it appears the conditional 4th rounder didn't trade hands. The Silvertips acquired the rights to Juhjar Khaira, a 1st rounder in 2012 and, yes, that 3rd rounder. That 1st rounder turned into Kevin Davis. Where have I heard that name before? Wait a second, that's the deal involved in the breakdown of the Luca Sbisa trade to Portland. So this DOES have a Lethbridge connection! READ MORE: The Luca Sbisa Trade Tree As for that 3rd rounder you've been dying to hear about? His team was eliminated from the NHL playoffs over the weekend. He never did come to the WHL, opting to play in Switzerland. That's right, if you follow the bouncing draft pick, the Everett Silvertips eventually got a hold of the Saskatoon Blades 3rd round bantam draft choice in 2012 and picked Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

TRADE TREE: The Roadmap to Ryan Bowen

When the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club went up to make their fourth round selection in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft, I don't think anyone really thought it would end up having ripple effects 13 years later. Yet, as you've come to expect from my blogs, that's exactly how it turned out.
The Hurricanes would take a defenseman by the name of Jesse Craige, who turned in a pretty good career in the WHL and CIS before heading overseas. But a trade during his time in the WHL is what takes us for a bit of a ride. During the summer of 2008, the Hurricanes decided to send Craige to the Chilliwack Bruins for winger Cody Smuk and a third round bantam draft pick.

LISTEN: Episode #35 of Canes This Week
The Hurricanes turned that third round pick into Sam McKechnie. And we all know what happened during those tumultuous years in the 'Bridge, as McKechnie was eventually shipped off in a multi-player move with Seattle Thunderbirds. It was him and Jaimen Yakubowski for Riley Sheen, Carter Folk and a third round pick in 2015. That third rounder turned into Tyler Strath. But that's not the point of where we're going here. The Hurricanes also turned Folk into a fourth round pick this coming year. Also not the point. But Riley Sheen becomes integral for this trade tree to continue. He was sent to Red Deer Rebels Hockey Club with a conditional fifth round pick for Brayden Burke and Devan Fafard. Burke was sent to Moose Jaw Warriors earlier this season for Ryan Bowen and a couple of draft picks. Yet again, here's another example of one draft pick having massive implications years down the road. And who knows, maybe in a few years we'll revisit this again, thanks to a few more draft picks trading hands.

TRADE TREE: The Roadmap of John Lammers to Jadon Joseph

If one thing's for certain, it's that WHL teams trade fifth-round bantam draft picks like they're Oprah giving away free cars on her show. And nowhere is that more prevalent than with this latest trade tree, which I think might classify as one of the longest I could find that involves the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club. It all starts in 2001, when the Hurricanes walked up to the podium to use their own third-round pick to select John Lammers. He spent more than three seasons with the Hurricanes, but was traded ahead of the 2005-2006 season to Everett Silvertips Hockey Club. And that set in motion a bunch of dominos that is still affecting the Hurricanes to this day. As I always say, buckle up kids because this one's a fun ride.

LISTEN: Episode #32 of Canes This Week That Hurricanes-Silvertips trade saw Lammers and a fourth-round pick in '06 sent to Everett for Curtis Billston, Keegan Bourelle and a fifth-round pick in '06. That fifth-rounder, 97th overall, was used by the Hurricanes to select Brennan Yadlowski. He, like Lammers, spent more than three seasons with the Hurricanes, before an interesting twist of fate, as he was essentially sent back to Everett for a couple of draft picks. One was a second-rounder in 2011, who the Hurricanes used to pick Carter Amson. The other was a fifth-rounder in 2012. The thing with the fifth-round in 2012 was that the Hurricanes seemingly had their pawprints all over that round. Their actual pick in that round was 94th overall, which was traded to The Regina Pats Official Page for Damien Ketlo. Who did Regina pick up? Austin Wagner, the LA Kings prospect who has had himself a heck of a run with the Pats. The Hurricanes also acquired the 103rd overall pick from The Official Vancouver Giants Page in the Mark Reners deal, which they used to select Kade Jensen. Back to that fifth-rounder picked up in the Yadlowski deal. The Hurricanes packaged that pick up in October 2011 with Reid Jackson to grab Nick Buonassisi from Prince George Cougars Hockey Club. The Cougars did keep that pick, and selected Ethan Waitzner. The key cog here becomes Buonassisi, who didn't spend a lot of time in Lethbridge before he was shipped off to Brandon Wheat Kings Hockey Club (WHL) for, yes, a fifth-round pick in 2014. That pick was the 98th overall selection. Lethbridge kept that pick and they finally got to see him in action this year, picking up 15 points in 68 games. Yes, that pick was Jadon Joseph.

#HurricanesWatch - Nolan Jones

It could be interesting to see what happens in the Jones home in Moose Jaw if the hometown Warriors face the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club. 15-year-old Nolan grew up in Moose Jaw, plays for the hometown Generals in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, but was drafted by the Hurricanes. He says if the two teams are to meet, he knows what will happen if he's sitting in the stands. "That'd be pretty cool to see," Jones said over the phone. "I'd most definitely be cheering for Lethbridge."

Jones is coming off a strong year with the Generals, picking up six goals and 14 assists in 41 games. But the playoffs didn't end the way he was hoping, as they were knocked out by the Tisdale Trojans in five games.
"When the team gets eliminated first round, you're kind of devastated about that because you can't get on the ice about that," he admitted. But he knows the work is only just beginning if he wants to make the Hurricanes next season.
Jones is pushing 6'1" now, and he's put on some weight, now listed at 170 pounds, compared with 150 pounds when he was drafted. At that time, GM Peter Anholt believed the youngster was a two-way player with a defensive undertone but good puck-moving and skating skills.
Jones will be focusing on those, but also his weaknesses, over the coming months. But he has a better idea of what to expect at the WHL level, after three games with the Hurricanes earlier in the year, and was taken aback by how welcoming everyone was.

"Honestly, I don't even know if I could single anyone out, all the guys, they're really welcoming to you to the team," Jones said, going on to say the defensemen did stick together. "All those guys really took me and made it a really comfortable experience for me."

You can listen to Episode #29 of Canes This Week, including this blog, here.

TRADE TREE: Luca Sbisa to Portland

In case you haven't noticed, when you break down a trade involving WHL bantam draft picks, it tends to have ramifications for years to come. And I've found another major deal made by the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club, which did exactly that. Only this time, it sent me down some crazy rabbit hole that is still kind of going. Back in 2010, the Hurricanes sent defenseman Luca Sbisa, a 1st round pick in the 2010 CHL Import Draft and a 5th round 2011 bantam pick to Portland Winterhawks for Daniel Johnston, Jacob Berglund and their first round import pick.

LISTEN: Episode #28 of Canes This Week Buckle up kids because the breakdown on this is something else. We all know what happened with Sbisa. The 1st round import pick the Winterhawks acquired became Sven Baertschi. He was pretty good for Portland as they went to the WHL championship both years he was there. The 5th round bantam pick turned into Michael Fortin, whose career fizzled out with the Swan Valley Stampeders. Johnston and Berglund finished out their WHL careers with the Hurricanes, which leaves us with that import pick. The Hurricanes ended up trading it to The Regina Pats Official Page for a 6th round bantam pick in 2012. The Pats went on to select Ricard Blidstrand, who spent a year and a little with the Pats before he was packaged up with a bunch of picks to Prince George Cougars Hockey Club for Martin Marincin and picks. I'll get back to that deal in a second. What did the Hurricanes do with that 6th rounder in '12? They selected goaltender Eric Szudor. He didn't see the light of day in the WHL. But he kicked off a run of three straight goalies in that round. Brandon took Logan Thompson, who is still there, while Kamloops grabbed Cole Kehler, who played a few games with the Blazers. So here's how that deal basically works out:

To Lethbridge Daniel Johnston ---> done after 2013 Jacob Berglund ---> done after 2011 1st Round Import Pick ---> Regina (who picks Ricard Blidstrand) for 6th Round Bantam in 2011 ---> Eric Szudor

To Portland Luca Sbisa ---> done after 2010 1st Round Import Pick ---> Sven Baertschi 5th Round Bantam Pick '11 ---> Michael Fortin Now, back to the Blidstrand-Marincin deal. Regina used their picks to select Brendan Kallis and Colton Kroeker, who obviously ended up in Lethbridge before too long. The other pick ended up getting traded to Calgary, who selected current backup goaltender Kyle Dumba. On the other side, Prince George picked up the 11th overall selection in 2012, which was flipped to Everett in a blockbuster, and the Silvertips picked Kevin Davis. The 2nd pick was actually a Tri-City pick, which the Cougars turned into Aaron Boyd. For those with long memories, this was actually a selection moved in the Carter Ashton deal between the Pats and Americans. READ MORE: Breaking Down the Ashton Blockbuster The last pick was a 5th rounder in 2013, which was originally a Kelowna Rockets pick. Regina had grabbed it in the Myles Bell deal, where they got Colton Jobke, a 2nd in '12 and a 5th in '13. That 2nd in '12 became Brady Reagan, who we've already linked to Ryan Pilon deal (go to the above link), which was linked to the Ashton deal. As for that 5th in '13, the Cougars turned that pick into Lane Zablocki, who ended being traded back to Regina in the massive Jesse Gabrielle deal. Essentially, here's how the Blidstrand to Portland deal shook down: To Portland Ricard Blidstrand 1st Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> sent to Everett in Kharia/Erricson blockbuster ---> Everett picks Kevin Davis 2nd Round Bantam Pick '12 (previously acquired by REG from TC in Carter Ashton blockbuster) ---> PG picks Aaron Boyd 5th Round Bantam Pick '13 (previously acquired by REG from KEL in Myles Bell blockbuster) ---> PC picks Lane Zablocki

To Regina Martin Marincin 4th Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> Brendan Kallis 7th Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> Colton Kroeker 4th Round Bantam Pick '13 ---> sent to Calgary in Dawson MacAuley deal ---> CGY picks Kyle Dumba So if you follow the chart, you can link the Luca Sbisa deal to Sven Baertschi, Ricard Blidstrand, Martin Marincin, Carter Ashton, Myles Bell, Ryan Pilon, Lane Zablocki, Colton Kroeker and Jesse Gabrielle, amongst a few. Six-degrees of separation, indeed.