New challenges await Steve Konowalchuk in fifth season as T-Birds’ coach

This season, which will mark Steve Konowalchuk’s fifth as the Thunderbirds’ head coach, is going to provide a new challenge for the veteran bench boss.

Like in years past and as most WHL teams must deal with, Konowalchuk will be missing many of his key players for portions of the season as they participate in NHL training camps and various other international events throughout the year.

The T-Birds are in a different situation this year, though, as five players on the current roster were selected in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. With the team’s recent success, the usual issues remain, but now Konowalchuk will be leading a roster filled with future professionals.

“It’s going to be a tough year,” Konowalchuk said when asked how he will keep egos in check and everyone focused on a consistent goal. “We’ve got some good players but there’s good hockey teams out there. The game has a way of making you work hard. If you don’t, you’re not going to get results. There are no bad hockey teams out there and we do have talent, but talent only takes you as far as you’re willing to work.”

Another major test for Seattle to overcome will be the losses of defenseman Shea Theodore and goalie Taran Kozun, who won awards as the best at their respective positions last year. Theodore in particular began his full-time Thunderbirds career in 2011, the same year that Konowalchuk took over behind the bench.

“They’re big veterans you’re losing but every team is in the same boat,” said Konowalchuk, who has a 128-133-14-13 regular-season record in his four years with Seattle. “In some area every team is now counting on young guys to step up. (Jerret) Smith and (Ethan) Bear will have to step up. (Jared) Hauf is still here. (Turner) Ottenbreit is ready to take another step.”

Even without Theodore and the intimidating Evan Wardley on the blue line, Konowalchuk feels that Seattle’s blue line should be one of the deeper and more experienced units in the league.

“You lose a guy like Theodore, but we should be stronger by committee back there with more experience,” he said. “Our three young guys have come in and played really good minutes through the exhibition games for us and they’ve continually gotten better and they look like they’re ready to play.”

The three young defensemen that Konowalchuk mentions are 17-year-olds Sahvan Khaira and Brandon Schuldhaus and 16-year-old Jarret Tyszka. Each plays a unique style and is overflowing with potential, but all three are relatively untested at this level, with only Khaira having played any significant minutes.

Up front, there will be the usual turnover as well as a number of rookies are expected to come in and fill important roles. With a full complement of forwards, those rookies will have some time to get their feet wet, play a few shifts per game, and get acclimated to the speed of the WHL.

However, as Seattle will be missing so many forwards at different points in time, the pressure increases on the younger players to step up and help the team avoid any major speed bumps.

Leading and setting an example for the young talent is another responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the veterans, in addition to the usual expectations that they’ll be active contributors on the scoresheet.

“They’re older veteran guys,” Konowalchuk said of his players who have attended camps with NHL clubs over the summer. “They’re learning from NHL veterans how the game is played. It should help them believe in how they have to play. They’re going to lead by example on and off the ice and it should trickle down to the other players.”

One of the brightest spots throughout training camp and the preseason has been the line of Scott Eansor, Jamal Watson and Nolan Volcan. The three are all at different stages of their hockey career – Eansor attended development camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Watson is currently at the Montreal Canadiens’ main camp and Volcan is entering his draft year – but the chemistry between them is already easy to see.

When Eansor arrived in Seattle as a 17-year-old rookie, he immediately fit right in as a checking-line center. Volcan did the same when he arrived a year later as a 16-year-old rookie on Eansor’s wing. Watson, acquired this offseason from Lethbridge, had been one of Lethbridge’s top scorers in each of the past three seasons before coming to Seattle.

Expected to be tasked with shutting down the oppositions’ top lines, the trio flipped the script as it looked like one of Seattle’s best offensive units throughout the preseason, so is it really fair to continue to call it a “checking line”?

“I think the word ‘checkers’ can be thought of as a negative term where you think those guys don’t have skill, but all of these guys have skill,” Konowalchuk said. “They can play at both ends of the ice. Can they play against the top lines? Yes. Will they? Yes. But with the veterans we have back I think we can roll three if not four lines at a time and not worry about the matchup as much.”

A couple of significant decisions still must be made prior to Seattle’s first regular-season game on Friday at Vancouver.

The biggest question that’s been pressing since the end of last season is who will start in net. As expected, Konowalchuk was tight-lipped about any concrete decision being made, but did admit that he expects both netminders on his roster to see significant ice time.

“We’re going to reassess (the goalie situation),” Konowalchuk said of the battle between Logan Flodell and Taz Burman. “It’s been a good camp and both goalies have played well. We’re happy with both guys. I feel confident that whatever goalie is in net, they can win. That’s a good thing to have. And whoever is going to start any particular game, we’ll assess during the week.”

The other question is who will act as the extension of Konowalchuk on the ice by wearing the heralded “C” on their sweater. Last season, Justin Hickman was named captain after he served in the same role as a 19-year-old. When he left the Thunderbirds midway through the season, Theodore adopted those responsibilities.

“We have ideas who we want now,” Konowalchuk said. “We wanted the whole camp to play out and see where we’re at. Now we have some good ideas and that will be addressed some time this week.”

There’s no doubt that expectations are high for Seattle this season, as made apparent by its No. 7 ranking in the BMO CHL Top 10 Preseason Ranking. For Konowalchuk, many of those expectations will fall on his shoulders as he leads the most talented roster he’s had in his half-decade in Seattle.