PORTLAND — There were some lonely days at the start of this hockey season for Blake Heinrich.
The 19-year-old defenseman missed the first 10 games of the Portland Winterhawks season while recovering from a preseason concussion. It then took him a while to regain the stamina needed to play games at a high level.
“Now I’m definitely in game shape,” Heinrich said. “It definitely took a little while to get into game shape and to get used to the speed of the league.”
Heinrich’s return to full strength has helped stabilize a Portland defense that struggled early in the season. His value as a puck-moving defenseman was on display Tuesday as Heinrich helped negate Victoria’s forecheck when the Royals were pushing for a tying goal in the third period of a 4-2 Portland.
“Blake’s game has just elevated. Every time he steps on the ice he’s getting better,” coach Jamie Kompon said after Tuesday’s win over the Royals. “He wants to get better. He wants to be a leader, and he did a heck of a job tonight.”
This is Heinrch’s first season in the Western Hockey League. He has six assists and scored his second goal of the season on Tuesday. The Minnesota native was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2013. He played the previous two seasons with Sioux City of the United States Hockey League. He was the Musketeers’ team captain last season.
“I kind of know what junior hockey is about. But each league you go into it takes a while to get used to the speed,” Heinrich said, adding that the players’ skill level is a step up from the USHL.
Heinrich (5-foot-11, 196 pounds) was with the Winterhawks during last season’s WHL Finals and made his debut with the team in Game 4 of the series. He said that time with the club was helpful when he arrived for his first season in the WHL, but watching games and training alone when the team was on the road at the start of the season was no fun.
“It never gets easy, sitting out and watching the guys play,” Heinrich said.
Heinrich’s absence compounded the early-season challenges for the Winterhawks, whose only win in the first 10 games came in overtime while players who attended NHL training camps adapted to new roles under Kompon. Portland has 11 wins in the 17 games Heinrich has played.
“He’s been a huge factor,” Kompon said. “Now we’ve got three sets (of defensemen) we can just rotate.”
