PORTLAND — Maybe it’s time to revisit this name Winterhawks.
Sure, the Western Hockey League team does just fine in the wintertime, as was evident in the 21-game winning streak it recently put together.
But in recent years, springtime has been the season when Portland has thrived.
When the Western Hockey League playoffs start Friday with the Vancouver Giants visiting the Moda Center, the Winterhawks will begin shooting for a fourth consecutive WHL Western Conference championship.
Such sustained success is rare in junior hockey, a sport in which trophy-winning teams usually ride a core of seasoned 19-year-olds then enter a rebuilding phase.
But in Portland, success breeds success. A steady stream of National Hockey League draft picks — nine members of the current roster have already been drafted, and defenseman Matt Dumba played this season in the NHL — has helped head coach and general manager Mike Johnston and his staff recruit players who might otherwise choose to play college hockey.
The Winterhawks team that won the WHL championship last season after coming up short in the finals the previous two seasons sent its entire leadership group to the pros.
Yet this team won 54 of 72 regular-season games. Portland has lost only once since getting its full roster together in early January.
“It’s the way we play. Our skill,” said Brendan Leipsic, who has been around for the recent run of success. He credits Johnston, assistant coach Kyle Gustafson, scouting director Matt Bardsley and former assistant coach Travis Green for building the machine.
The Winterhawks led the WHL with 338 goals this season, 28 more than top-ranked Kelowna, the next highest scoring team. They had the league’s best power play. The offense is led by 19-year-olds Nic Petan (35 goals, 78 assists), Oliver Bjorkstrand (50 goals, 59 assists), Leipsic (39 goals 52 assists), Taylor Leier (37 goals, 42 assists) and 18-year-old Chase De Leo (39 goals, 42 assists). But again this season the Winterhawks have more goal-scorers than most teams.
And their defense is again an offensive asset.
“We lose arguably three of the best defenseman (in the WHL) last year (then) we get Garrett Harr and (Anton) Cederholm and a bunch of guys who are stepping up,” Leipsic said.
One of those is Dumba, who joined Portland in January after starting the season in the NHL. Johnston made a trade with Red Deer for Dumba’s rights, adding a top-flight player by gambling that Minnesota would send the young player back to the WHL.
With Dumba and 19-year-old veteran Derrick Pouliot, Portland has two high-end NHL prospects among their defensemen. They aren’t often paired together. But when they are, it’s as if Portland has five forwards on the ice without losing anything on the blue line.
For players like Pouliot, a first-round NHL draft pick by Pittsburgh in 2012, there is still plenty of motivation.
“It’s a new year. But we were that close last year and we didn’t quite get (the Memorial Cup). I think a lot of guys on this team would like to get that shot again,” Pouliot said.
This season’s Memorial Cup tournament will be played May 16-25 in London, Ontario — which is much closer to summer than to winter.
