O’Dette, T-Birds forced to adjust with key veteran pieces missing

Prior to the beginning of this season, the Thunderbirds found themselves in a predicament on defense. They returned their top seven blueliners from last year – Shea Theodore, Jerret Smith, Jared Hauf, Evan Wardley, Adam Henry, Ethan Bear, and Kevin Wolf – and added touted 16-year-old Sahvan Khaira to the mix.

Theodore, Smith, Hauf, and Bear were locks to return, and Khaira would be forced to play at least 40 games as a 16-year-old to meet WHL requirements. That left Wardley and Henry, both 20-year-olds, and Wolf, an 18-year-old who needed more playing time to maximize his potential, in a battle for one top-six defensive spot.

At that time, the T-Birds were in a good spot. They had too many defensemen who were capable of playing full-time minutes at the WHL level.

Fast forward through the first few weeks of the season, and Seattle found itself in a very different spot, one that no one could have predicted a month ago.

Henry was traded and Wolf was reassigned to the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Theodore injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow while at training camp with the Anaheim Ducks.

Seattle picked up 18-year-old defenseman Turner Ottenbreit from the Saskatoon Blades in the Henry trade, so even with Theodore and Wolf out of the lineup, Seattle could still run comfortably with six defensemen.

Then, in a game against Portland on Oct. 11, Wardley was assessed a checking-to-the-head major and a game-misconduct for a hit on Portland center Nic Petan.

With just two days until Seattle’s next contest against division-rival Spokane, T-Birds general manager Russ Farwell didn’t have much time to wait for the WHL to determine Wardley’s punishment. With a lengthy suspension appearing imminent, Seattle acquired d-man Scott Allan from the Medicine Hat Tigers.

At that point, the T-Birds seemed like they would be okay. Luke Osterman, who had spent most of his life playing defense but moved to forward last year, could step back and act as a fill-in defensemen until Theodore and Wardley returned. It was a natural position for him that he could likely re-adjust to quickly for short periods of time, so a Band-Aid was in place if necessary.

Then came the game against Spokane. Within a span of about 17 minutes and 30 seconds, both Ottenbreit and Bear were injured and it was clear that neither would return. Hauf, who was one of the four defensemen remaining the lineup after the injuries, was incorrectly assessed a checking-to-the-head major and game-misconduct of his own after a hit on Spokane’s Liam Stewart. Seattle was left with just three defensemen, a far cry from the eight capable players the team began the season with.

Adjustments had to be made quickly and Justin Hickman, a lifelong forward who had never played a shift on defense, showed why he’s been the captain of the team for the past two seasons.

“In that situation, everything was happening so fast,” said T-Birds defense coach Matt O’Dette. “We had two D go down and one get kicked out of the game, so it was a scramble but (Hickman) stepped up and volunteered. With him being a veteran and a guy that knows our system probably better than anyone, he not only knows his own position, but understands the defense position as well.”

It was also thought that this game would be a good chance for Allan, who had arrived in Seattle just a couple of hours before puck drop, to slowly be integrated into the gameplan. That wasn’t the case, and Allan played what probably ended up being close to 40 minutes in the contest that ultimately went to a shootout.

“(Before the game), we didn’t want to fill his head with too much. We went over the basics of our system so he had the gist of it, but we didn’t want to overload him,” O’Dette said. “In that situation, you want them to go out there and use their natural instincts. As he’s here for more games we can implement more of the details, but when a guy just gets into town, we hit him with the basics then just let him go out and play.”

Bear and Theodore have yet to return to the lineup, but both are expected back in no more than two weeks, according to O’Dette. Wardley has served the first four games of his seven-game suspension and will be eligible to return on Nov. 1 when the T-Birds host Vancouver. Coaching around the missing veterans has proven to be a difficult task, but a good opportunity for the younger players to play valuable minutes and prepare them for bigger roles in the future.

“Any time you’re missing Shea Theodore, a guy that plays 25 minutes a game, and then you add Evan Wardley and Ethan Bear to that, it can definitely be a challenge,” said O’Dette, who joined the Thunderbirds before the 2013-14 season. “But it’s an opportunity for these young guys to get a chance to play and develop. It’s very valuable for them, and as a coach it’s an opportunity to teach and be hands-on. At the same time, you have to understand there are going to be some growing pains.”

Until the missing veterans return, the team has had to lean heavily on Smith and Hauf, two 19-year-olds with multiple years of experience in Seattle’s system. Allan, Khaira, Ottenbreit, and Osterman are all in their first year in Seattle and, for the most part, seeing their first significant WHL playing time.

“Guys like Smitty and Hauf have had to log a ton of minutes and they’ve been warriors,” O’Dette said about the two veterans currently in the lineup. “They’re playing 30 minutes per game and taking on the other team’s top lines. That’s where the challenge comes in as a coach. You want to put everyone in situations where they can succeed, so we’re easing the younger guys in against the opposition’s third and fourth lines, which gives them their best chance to be successful.”

Even though they haven’t had their top six defensemen dressed together at any point this season, the T-Birds are still allowing almost a full goal less per game than they did last season. With what has become a patchwork lineup that has performed admirably despite missing key pieces, the potential is certainly there for this unit to be one of the league’s best by season’s end once everyone is healthy.

“(Goaltender Taran) Kozun’s playing very well for us, and everyone is playing solid defensively, including the forwards,” O’Dette said about the team’s improved defensive performance as a whole. “A big part of that is puck management. We’re playing less in our end because we’re managing the puck better than we did at times last year. When we get our top six together it will be comparable to any defense corps in the league. We’ll also be one of the deepest groups, and these young guys getting this time under their belt will be beneficial to them and our defensive depth.”

The depth will certainly be there but it will be interesting to see how the Thunderbirds decide to manage what will end up being a group of eight defensemen. Once everyone returns they’ll find themselves in a situation similar to the one they began the year with – an abundance of WHL-ready blueliners.

However, as players miss portions of time for international tournaments and injuries, the T-Birds will find themselves in a place where they’re more than prepared to adequately replace them. Further down the line, their options will expand as lesser-known commodities – guys like Ottenbreit and Allan – prove they are more than capable WHL defensemen.