THUNDERBIRDS

T-Birds notebook: Line tweaks, power plays and Mount to Team Canada

Oct 18, 2018, 7:07 PM

Seattle Thunderbirds rookie Payton Mount was selected to join Team Canada this November (Brian Lies...

Seattle Thunderbirds rookie Payton Mount was selected to join Team Canada this November (Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

(Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

Back on Oct. 5th the Seattle Thunderbirds played their worst game of the young season, in Everett.

They scraped out a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Silvertips but only managed 17 shots on goal while allowing 41 against. The next night head coach Matt O’Dette made a subtle tweak to his lineup. He moved Payton Mount up to his second line along with center Noah Philp and winger Dillon Hamaliuk.

The move was to hopefully spread his scorers throughout the lineup and in the four games since, its worked.

Seattle has won all four games and piled up 25 goals in the process.

The Mount-Philp-Hamaliuk trio has been a big part of that offensive explosion. Hamaliuk only played one period in this past Tuesday’s win due to injury but in the three-plus games the three played they’ve combined for eight goals, 20 points and 33 shots on goal.

Mount is still in his 16-year-old rookie year but so far is gelling with the older players in a top-six role.

“Mounter is a great passer,” Philp said of his new linemate. “He’s got great vision. I noticed that last year when he came up and I played with him for a game. He’s just fun to play with, he moves the puck well and it’s easy to read off him.”

The rookie has four assists in his first year and seemingly is getting stronger with each shift and each game.

He hasn’t found the back of the net yet but watching him it looks like that first goal will just be a matter of time. He’s trying not to press however.

“You just have hopefully wait for your chances and bury them,” Mount said. “Just not be too hard on yourself, it will come eventually.”

Last season, Philp centered a line with Hamaliuk – who was a rookie at the time – and another rookie in Samuel Huo. He was a calming influence on the first-year guys and continues to be a rookie whisperer of sorts again this season.

“I think I’m fairly approachable for those guys,” Philp said. “I think they can be comfortable around me. I like to think that helps but I think they’re just playing up to their standards. I talk a lot to my linemates. We like to figure things out and ways we can exploit our opponents.”

Its unknown how long Hamaliuk will be out, if at all, but he is a big part of that second line. On Tuesday, when Hamaliuk went out, O’Dette moved Zack Andrusiak to take Hamaliuk’s spot. Being able to slot in a player who scored 36 goals last year is a nice option for O’Dette but the coach would rather have a full arsenal when the Thunderbirds head to Kennewick Friday night for a divisional rematch with the Tri-City Americans.

With a home-and-home with the Americans on the docket for this coming weekend, here’s the latest surrounding the Thunderbirds.

Power play powerful

Seattle’s power play struggled early in the season. Over the first four games, the Thunderbirds only managed two power-play goals in 20 attempts. Those numbers have jumped dramatically during their four-game win streak as they’ve converted on 11-of-23 chances.

It hasn’t just been their top unit either.

That same trio of Mount, Philp and Hamaliuk have made up the second unit and have been just as successful. Seven of those 11 power-play goals have come from the unit that O’Dette has started referring to as 1A.

Together the two units have pushed Seattle to the top of the WHL’s leader board for power play percentage. They now lead the league with a blistering 30.2-percent success rate.

“I just think whoever’s going, they’re comfortable putting both units out,” Philp said of the power play. “I think that first unit is pretty solid when they’re going. They obviously can produce…I think when both units are going, it’s fun. Power play is always good for getting momentum, sometimes you don’t even need to score, just get the team going by getting chances.”

Having two dangerous units will have an affect on Seattle’s opponents. Teams will need to play less aggressive moving forward, for fear of putting the Thunderbirds on the man advantage.

Mount to Team Canada

Mount got some good news earlier in the week when it was announced that he has been selected by Hockey Canada to represent his country in the upcoming 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

The 2017 first-round pick of the Thunderbrids was in camp with Canada this summer and now will join 65 other Canadians to compete on one of three teams. The tournament takes place from November 3rd through the 10th and is a huge honor for Mount.

“I was super excited to get the news that I made the team and I’ll have the opportunity to represent my country, which is a big deal for me,” Mount said of the news. “I can’t wait to get to that camp in November.”

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T-Birds notebook: Line tweaks, power plays and Mount to Team Canada