Road Royals Preview: vs Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton by Lisa Lynam
– Lisa Lynam, Zone 91.3 Interim Hockey reporter
A remodeled Royals (22-19-2-1) team headed out on the road this week to Alberta after winning five of seven games at home. The three wins over Prince George Cougars and back-to-back victories against Spokane Chiefs helped secure a solid 2nd place standing in the B.C. Division. Now at 47 points, Prince George, Vancouver and Kamloops trail the Royals at 41, 40 and 36 points respectively.
Looking to better their 7-12-0-1 road record, the Royals will begin their second round of three games in three days this month, this time against skilled and physical Central Division opponents Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton.
Head Coach Dave Lowry emphasized that the Royals are going into some real tough buildings. “It’s going to be a grind. Red Deer is one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Calgary plays really well at home. Edmonton is defending league champs. It’s a huge test for us….We’re going to have to go in with a chip on our shoulder and we’re going to have to play intelligent,” said Lowry.
While a flurry of additions and deletions before last Saturday’s WHL trade deadline have brought excitement revolving around a bolstered line-up for a long playoff run, Lowry isn’t content with the team’s record thus far. He believes the team has more upside to uncover in the remaining 28 regular season games to be played. “We have to make sure we’re not looking at the play offs. We have to prepare our team to get ready to go into the playoffs…I feel our team has more to give. It’s now about getting back to work and getting back to play the way we can to be successful.”
Unifying a Remodeled Royals
The new look according to head coach Dave Lowry brings depth overall. “We want to play a fast game. We want guys that are hard to play against. We felt that we’ve addressed that,” said Lowry, eager for the road opportunity for the new players to bond with what he considers a close knit team.
The additions include four players – forward Alex Forsberg, 19, from Saskatoon brings offensive skill to complement Victoria’s already strong top six, D-men Alexey Sleptsov, a Russian U18 team member from Moose Jaw who played against Joe Hicketts last year at the Hlinka Tournament, and Bryton Sayers, 18, from Lethbridge provide depth at the blue, while netminder Justin Paulic, 19, also from Moose Jaw, brings playoff experience. Leaving Victoria were Axel Blomqvist (to Moose Jaw), Jayden Sittler (to Lethbridge) and Mitch Skapski (to Saskatoon).
So far, Forsberg, has proven to be an offensive factor, scoring four points in three games including his first WHL hatrick against his former team Prince George last Saturday. “I’ve been playing with some pretty good guys with Magee and Carroll and Chase. They’re very skilled. If I get open they seem to get me the puck,” said Forsberg, the first overall 2010 WHL draft pick who spent his first week getting used to the Royals systems, work ethic and coach Lowry’s approach.
“It’s a really offensive group. Dave has been preaching so far that we have to play the right way or we won’t play. So as long as we’re out there working hard, good things will happen and Dave will be happy with us.”
In his first game for the Royals, netminder Paulic earned a win (5-2 vs Prince George), and proved deserving of a chance in net on the road. Lowry said, “He gave us the opportunity to win a hockey game and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Making his possible first start on the road easier is the fact that Paulic has experience against Eastern Conference teams from his time in Moose Jaw. But he doesn’t want to change his game too much now playing for the royal blue.
“I’m just going to play the way I can and battle each game,” said Paulic, a Thompson, Manitoba product, who wasn’t too surprised with a trade. What he was surprised with was it was with a team as solid as Victoria.
“I’m looking forward to playing some high level hockey with skilled guys and hopefully our goal is to make a good playoff push.”
Miles Away Milestone
In his next game while on the road, Coleman Vollrath will reach the century milestone – 100 games played in the WHL. In his three seasons in net for the Royals, he’s played 5144 minutes, and made 2475 saves producing 42 wins and four shutouts. Overall he holds a 2.99 goals against average and .906 save percentage.
“It’s definitely a milestone. A lot of guys in this league have reached that so it’s exciting for me to play my 100th game.” said the 19-year-old from Calgary who remembers his first WHL game – a 3-2 win against Kelowna at home. “Ever since then it’s been a blast being here in Victoria.”
Vollrath said the addition of another 19-year-old (Paulic) doesn’t change the fact that he has to earn his ice time. “It will create even more competition in the net to earn starts. I’ve had quite a few goalie partners this year, but I’m excited to go on the road with him this weekend. We’re getting along well already.”
Leading Streaks and Scoring
Center Tyler Soy’s current points streak of 9 game matches the previous bests so far this season by overage players Brandon Magee (9 games – 16 pts) and Austin Carroll (9 games – 14 pts). His 15 points (8g-7a) over that period puts him 4th in the WHL for current points streaks.
Overage defenseman Travis Brown, last week’s WHL Player of the Week, continues to lead the WHL in scoring for rearguards at 41 pts, along with goals (16) and power play goals (8). He also leads the league in first goals (6). Joe Hicketts tops d-men in the league for assists (32), while his 40 points total and 17 power play assists both rank third for the WHL.
Carroll continues his league leading contributions both in goals and assists. At 53 points (26g-27a), he’s four points away from his season record of 57 points last year, and is one of two players in the league with more than 25 goals and 25 assists. The Calgary Flames prospect leads the WHL as well in power play goals (12), is tied for 4th in goals and 8th for points. His 7 game winning goals this year tie him for the all-time franchise record of 16. Carroll also leads the team with the number of multi-point games this season with 18. Magee and Hicketts have 12 each, while Brown, 10, and Soy, 9. In his 18 games with the Royals, former Calgary Hitmen player Greg Chase has 21 points (7g-14a) and 6 multi-point games.
A Belated Christmas Break for Hicketts
Joe Hicketts finally got to catch his breath after an intense month winning gold with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Toronto. Following his return to Victoria the day after he raised the Cup at the Air Canada Centre along with coach Lowry, Hicketts was on a whirlwind for five days taking part in celebration events, media appearances and helped the Royals win two of three home games. Finally last weekend, Hicketts was able to enjoy time with family in Kamloops. While in his hometown, the Kamloops Blazers honoured the 18-year-old Detroit Red Wings prospect in a ceremony before their game against Portland.
Going into another tough set of 3 games in 3 days, Hicketts emphasized the need to be diligent about rest and recovery and consider the challenge good preparations for playoffs demands. “It’s going to be a lot of taking care of ourselves on day offs. We’ll probably not skate the mornings of the 2nd and 3rd games. It’s important that we get good rest the day of the game, and we’re going straight home and eating a good meal after. Cool downs and warm ups are important as always. For us it’s going to be mental. We have to push through this because come play offs it’s going to be similar. We’ll be playing 2 really tough games back to back and then playing 2 more in 2 more nights. So it’s 4 in 5. Playoff hockey is really rough so we’re going to have to be prepared for that.”
ROAD SUMMARY
Red Deer (25-14-3-2) – Friday January 16th
Game time: 6pm PST – listen to The Zone 91.3 starting at 5:40 pm.
Last game vs Victoria: 6-5 OT win for Victoria in Red Deer Oct 14th
Red Deer Home record: (13-6-1-1)
2014-15 season games to play against: 3 (next game Feb 7, 2015 at home)
Average crowd this season: 4,809
Hometown ties for Royals players: Logan Fisher
Who to watch out for:
With a five game winning streak, and excitement building for next year’s Memorial Cup to be hosted in Red Deer, the Rebels are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Standing second in the Central Division, the Rebels bolstered their already talented roster before the trade deadline with 48-point forward Connor Gay. Gay was traded from the Regina Pats along with draft picks from the 2nd round 2015, 1st round 2016, and 7th round 2017 in exchange for last year’s first round WHL Bantam draft pick, 99-born standout Jake Leschyshyn. Behind Gay in points are centerman Conner Bleackley, a member of Team WHL for the Super Series who was a WHL Player of the Week in October, and forward Riley Sheen, both at 43 points. Haydn Fleury, the 7th overall 2014 draft pick to the Carolina Hurricanes, was beaten out by Joe Hicketts for the final spot defensemen on Canada’s World Junior team in December. The Rebels have benefited from the offensive strength of former Royal D-man Brett Cote traded at the end of last year. He sits 9th in WHL scoring for blueliners at 35 points (7g-28a) in 44 games.
NHL Central Scouting rankings for the 2015 draft: 5 players including F Adam Musil who was a member of Canada’s golden U18 team this summer with a`B’ rating, D Mario Grman and Austin Strand, F Grayson Pawlenchuk and G Taz Burman with `C’ ratings. D Josh Mahura was part of Canada’s U17 team in November.
Calgary (23-16-1-4) – Saturday Jan 17th
Game time: 6:00 pm PST – listen to The Zone 91.3 starting at 5:40 pm
Last game vs Victoria: 3-2 win for Victoria in Calgary Oct 10
Calgary Home record: (13-10-0-1)
2014-15 season games to play against Calgary: 2 (final meeting Jan 17, 2015 in Calgary)
Average crowd this season: 7,810 (leading the league in attendance)
Hometown ties for Royals players: Coleman Vollrath, Austin Carroll
Who to watch out for:
Calgary’s roster is heavy in big talent, headlined by Jake Virtanen. The 1st round 6th overall Draft Pick to Vancouver Canucks recently returned from the World Junior tournament with gold along with Royals’ Hicketts. Though Virtanen is now an opponent on the ice in the WHL, Hicketts said that going back to playing against [his Canada teammates] in some of the biggest rivalries, is going to be different now that he has gotten to know them.
Virtanen, who has only played 23 games this season with his time away for Team Canada and recovery from shoulder surgery earlier in the season, sits at 8th in scoring for the Hitmen. The team has plenty of scoring depth however. Leading the offensive are Connor Rankin, a WHL Player of the Week in December, with 49 points (23g-26a) and Adam Tambellini, a New York Rangers prospect, with 48 points (26g-22a).
Chase Lang, a Minnesota Wild prospect, is third on the team with 41 points (18-23), and Center Pavel Karnaukhov from Russia’s U18 team has 28 points (16g-12a).
Top scoring defenseman Travis Sanheim (drafted first round, 17th overall by Philadelphia Flyers) brings offensive from the blue as well with his 39 pts. He was also with Hicketts for Team Canada training in December but was cut in the first round of selections.
Rookie netminder Evan Johnson was traded for Portland’s Brendan Burke last week.
Former Royal Keegan Kanzig has adjusted well to playing in cowtown since being traded in November, picking up 7 points in the 21 games played, and improving to a plus 22, while leading the league in penalty minutes at 115.
NHL Central Scouting rankings for the 2015 draft: 1 player F Pavel Karnaukhov `C’ rated
Edmonton (21-18-3-2) – Sunday Jan 18th
Game time: 3pm PST – listen to The Zone 91.3 starting at 2:40 pm.
Last game vs Victoria: 3-2 loss in Edmonton Oct 15
Edmonton Home record (12-8-0-1)
2014-15 season games to play against: 3 (next game Feb 9, 2015 in Victoria)
Average crowd this season: 5,983
Hometown ties for Royals players: Brandon Magee, Greg Chase
Who to watch out for:
Former Oil King Curtis Lazar, now with the Ottawa Senators but still junior-eligible, lifted the Memorial Cup last year with Edmonton, and proudly captained Team Canada to another cup lifting moment at the World Junior Championships this January.
Oil King import player Mads Eller was also in the World Junior spotlight as part of a Denmark team winning its first world championship game and earning the respect of Canadian fans and players. The only disappointment for the Oil Kings was that standout goalie Tristan Jarry, a Pittsburg Penguin prospect, was not part of even the selection camp.
Sitting fourth in the Central Division with a mediocre record just about .500, and currently with five players out for injuries, the Oil Kings aren’t likely repeat contenders for the cup this year.
The Oil Kings’ limited offensive strength this year so far has come from forwards Brett Pollock (40 points) and Lane Bauer (30 points), who was named WHL Player of the Week in November. On D, Ashton Saunter and Dysin Mayo lead the team in assists. The team has been able to deploy a strong penalty kill, ranking second in the league at 86%.
NHL Central Scouting rankings for the 2015 draft: 1 player C Tyler Robertson `C’ rated