Thunderbirds roster preview: A player-by-player look

The roster has yet to be finalized, but we now have at least a decent idea of what the Thunderbirds roster will look like headed into tomorrow’s opener at the Moda Center in Portland.

Expect this list to look a bit different a couple of weeks into the season once players have returned from NHL camps and the front office has a better idea of what the team’s strengths and weaknesses will be.

Forwards

Sam McKechnie: McKechnie didn’t provide the offense he did in Lethbridge after Seattle acquired him last year, but he was extremely valuable playing with Scott Eansor and Jaimen Yakubowski on Seattle’s checking line. He’s certainly capable of more offense, but was asked to play a different role last year. Fast and strong in all three zones, McKechnie is 20, which means he’s a candidate to be traded in the near future. However, considering the team’s youth up front, having an experienced veteran wing who has shown scoring potential would be a very valuable asset.

Scott Eansor: After thriving in his role as the third line center during the second half of last season, Eansor showed he had a bit of a scoring touch in the playoffs with four goals in nine games. Can he maintain that pace for a full season? Probably not. Will he be expected to? Probably not. Eansor has embraced the role he’s in, despite it not being the most glamorous. After spending a bit of time on the wing this preseason, the 18-year-old should move back to his natural center position this season. Although he may not end up in the box score as often as some of the other players on the team, Eansor’s role is critical to team success.

Justin Hickman: The captain returns for his final WHL season, which will unfortunately start a few weeks late as he recovers from a shoulder injury. Hickman will be the most experienced forward on the roster, having received consistent playing time since he was a 16-year-old rookie. He’ll also be one of the bigger forwards on the roster, and therefore will be counted on not only to protect the younger guys around him, but also to be a strong net-front presence capable of chipping in goals and assists and providing an excellent backcheck.

Kaden Elder: At 16, the former first-round pick will have the opportunity to adjust to the WHL at a slower pace than Barzal or Gropp did, as he’ll likely begin the season on the team’s fourth line. There’s a good chance that Elder will be joined by two other rookies, although who exactly that will be on a nightly basis remains a mystery. Elder has soft hands, good vision, and is a good skater. The team likely won’t count on him for a great deal of points this year, but next season he could play a very important role.

Ryan Gropp: After joining Seattle shortly after the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Gropp took a bit of time to adjust but showed what he can be capable of. Flanking Mathew Barzal, the tandem should combine to put up impressive point totals this year. Gropp’s now had a full offseason of training for the rigors of the WHL and showed in the preseason that he’s added a bit of muscle without sacrificing his top end speed. In the final three months of last season, Gropp posted 29 points in 34 games. Expect him to maintain that pace – or better – for the duration of his 17-year-old season.

Mathew Barzal: Much has been said this offseason of Barzal and the expectations that will be placed upon him as he enters his draft year. He’ll be the unquestioned No. 1 center at just 17, and he should be one of the team’s leading scorers. With 54 points in 59 contests last year, averaging a point per game this year seems to be a fair expectation, although he could certainly surpass those numbers based on his excellent preseason. Barzal should be a top-10 NHL draft pick next summer, and expect him to play in all situations this season, including the penalty kill. He could also sometimes be double-shifted, especially early in the season, in an effort to create more offense.

Lane Pederson: Along with Kolesar, Pederson should be one of the team’s X-factors. He nearly cracked the roster last year as a 16-year-old, and could play top-6 minutes in his inaugural season. The Saskatoon native added some bulk over the summer, which made him much more effective fighting for the puck in the corners and along the boards. Opponents should have a much tougher time taking him off the puck than they did in his brief appearances last year, and with a very different group of forwards than last season, Pederson’s offensive upside will need to be realized for the team to score consistently.

Alexander True: Seattle’s first round pick in July’s CHL Import Draft, True and fellow import Baltram will face the difficult task of replacing departed imports Alex Delnov and Roberts Lipsbergs. True had an up-and-down training camp, as he missed time while auditioning for one of Denmark’s national teams. Tall and lanky, True will surely spend a good portion of his WHL career adding mass to his frame. As the preseason wore on, the smooth skating center showed that he’ll be a contributor, especially once he’s had a chance to adjust to the North American game.

Donovan Neuls: Neuls is a 17-year-old rookie fighting for a consistent roster spot. He possesses good speed and, despite a small 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame, isn’t afraid to dig in the corners and throw what weight he does have at the opposition. As a 17-year-old, Neuls doesn’t have a minimum amount of games he needs to play this season, which should work in his favor as far as qualifying for the final roster. The team as a whole, however, is currently carrying 15 forwards, which means that a few tough decisions will need to be made.

Florian Baltram: Despite being Seattle’s second-round pick in the Import Draft, Baltram looks like he’ll be ready to jump in and make a difference right away. He’s reminiscent of a sort of hybrid between Eansor and former T-Bird Lipsbergs. He’ll pester opposing forwards with his great speed and tenacity on the back check, but also has the potential to chip in a few goals. He may not be a 30-goal scorer, but he looks comfortable carrying the puck through the neutral zone and chasing it into corners. Watch for Baltram to end up being a great value after being selected towards the very end of the Import Draft from Austria.

Calvin Spencer: Spencer came to Seattle about halfway through last season as a high-energy power forward with impressive speed and strength and a touch of skill to go along with it. He scored just six points total last season on three goals and three assists, but expect those numbers to improve this year. He’ll be asked to play a larger role as one of the older forwards, despite not having an abundance of WHL experience. We may have to wait a bit to see Spencer take the ice in a regular season game, as he’s currently listed as day-to-day on the T-Birds’ injury report.

Nolan Volcan: Tying Eansor and Elder for the shortest player on the team, Volcan stands just 5-9, but he certainly doesn’t play like it. The Edmonton native has great speed and was a wrecking ball during the preseason, delivering a number of big hits and even registering a pair of points in five preseason games. Despite being a 16-year-old rookie, I expect Volcan to bring energy to the ice each and every time he dresses. T-Birds coach Steve Konowalchuk expressed during the preseason that Volcan had done a great job of learning and buying into the game plan, which will surely earn favor with his coaching staff.

Keegan Kolesar: Like Pederson, Kolesar is another player whose success will be important for this year’s club. Kolesar arrived at camp leaner and stronger and will hope to greatly improve on last year’s total of eight points. A first-round pick a couple of years ago, Kolesar will be playing for a chance to be drafted by an NHL club this summer. He’s certainly got the size and ability to do so, and if he can put it all together he has the chance to be a very good power forward. Look for Kolesar’s minutes to significantly increase from the fourth-line role he was playing last season. He also could spend some time on the power play, acting as the bruiser in front of the opposing team’s net.

Luke Osterman: Like Neuls, Osterman is a 17-year-old doing everything he can to make the final roster. The team has liked him for a long time, but was never able to find space for him on their blue line, where he played up until last season. The Thunderbirds asked Osterman to move to forward, which he obliged, demonstrating his lack of selfishness. However, that still leaves him a bit raw, as he’s only played up front for a season while those he’s competing against have been there much longer. Osterman is gritty and tough, but still needs to work on his skating and stickhandling to be a good WHL forward. With what he has shown to be a strong work ethic and coachability, Osterman will find a way to contribute when he does take the ice.

Nick Holowko: Another 17-year-old rookie, Holowko comes from the highly-touted Burnaby Winter Club program. Like Osterman, Holowko has shown tenacity and aggression up front to go with good speed. He’ll likely find himself rotating in on the fourth line, where he can be an effective forechecker and wear down the opposing defense. As aggressive as he is, Holowko will need to ensure he keeps it under wraps as he took a couple of bad penalties during the preseason. While it seems unlikely they’d spend a lot of time together this year, Holowko has played with Barzal in the past, which could be beneficial in the long run.

Defense

Jerret Smith: Smith is a sort of do-everything defenseman who has made his living playing alongside Shea Theodore. While not quite as glamorous as his linemate, Smith is durable and capable of playing in different situations. He’s shown that he can chip in offensively, as he had 20 and 19 points in his first two years, respectively. Last season he maintained an impressive plus-14 rating and also does a great job of staying home when Theodore is rushing the puck up the ice.

Kevin Wolf: Now 18, Wolf has yet to crack the lineup full-time. Over the past two seasons he’s only played in 47 total games and, barring multiple moves, looks like he’ll play the role as the No. 7 defenseman again this year. Tall and lanky with great reach, Wolf has yet to show that he can be a full-time defenseman in the WHL during his brief stints. If consistent minutes are something he wants this year, he may have a difficult time finding them in Seattle. With both Theodore and Wardley set to participate in NHL training camps, Wolf will be a top-6 D-man at the start of the year, beginning with a tough test on the road against Portland.

Adam Henry: Like Smith, Henry is also a jack-of-all-trades. He brings offense – he had 38 points in 64 games last year – and veteran presence, which was invaluable to Ethan Bear last season as a rookie. He’s a smart player who would likely man one of the points on the second power play unit in addition to playing even-strength and on the penalty kill. Unfortunately for Henry, he’s 20, and the numbers game may force him out of Seattle despite the team surely wishing they could keep him – and the rest of their 20s – around for another year.

Sahvan Khaira: At just 16 years old, Khaira could play a role similar to that which Bear played last year. The team has him pegged as a future star, but he won’t be counted on to fulfill those expectations quite yet. Expect him to play on the third defensive unit, where he’ll be paired with one of the team’s veterans who can show him the ropes. Khaira is a good skater, has good vision, and great size and strength. He showed during the preseason that he’s still a bit raw, but as a defenseman, he faces a steeper learning curve than forwards so some bumps are to be expected. By the time he’s 18, look for Khaira to be a top-pairing D-man.

Shea Theodore: Theodore’s value to the Thunderbirds can’t be overstated. He led the league in scoring by a defenseman last year at just 18, and is the favorite to do so again this year. No one in the WHL is better at carrying the puck end to end than the Aldergrove, British Columbia native, and he’ll be creating scoring opportunities each and every night with his elite skating and vision from the blue line. Now 19, Theodore’s main focus this season will be cutting down on the occasional mistakes in his own zone. He can often compensate for being in the wrong place by using his incredible skating ability, but he’ll still want to be smarter and more positionally-sound as he begins to look ahead to his professional career, which will likely begin next year.

Ethan Bear: A pleasant surprise as a 16-year-old, Bear wasn’t even sure if he was going to make the team by the time training camp ended last season. There won’t be any confusion this year, as Bear has worked his way into NHL draft discussion, where he figures to be taken no later than the second or third round. Bear will see more power play time this year, which will up his point totals. He has a very good shot from the blue line that always seems to find its way through the defense and hit the net. While not a big hitter, Bear is a good player in his own zone and is usually where he is supposed to be.

Evan Wardley: There isn’t a harder hitter in the league than Evan Wardley, who seems to take enjoyment in teeing off on opposing players. Never one to shy away from contact, Wardley often found himself out of position looking for the big hit during his first couple of seasons. He improved in that area last year and, as a veteran this season, will be counted on to be a responsible defender in addition to an enforcer. Wardley just qualified for the Montreal Canadiens’ main training camp, so he won’t be present at the beginning of the season. As a 20-year-old, it’s possible we don’t see Wardley as all, as he’s a candidate to be traded and would certainly bring back a decent value as one of the league’s true tough guys.

Jared Hauf: The former fourth-overall Bantam Draft pick has established himself as an enforcer in his own right ,and at 19 should be one of the team’s top four defensemen. Hauf’s plus/minus rating certainly leaves something to be desired (he is a minus-76 overall in his career), but he is a durable, reliable, stay-at-home defenseman who can also play on the penalty kill. At 6-5, Hauf is taller than most of his opponents and must continue to learn to use his long arms and stick to his advantage. Hauf had a strong training camp and preseason and will look to show why he was so highly thought of as a 15-year-old.

Goalies

Danny Mumaugh: At this point, Mumaugh looks like he’s ready to be a No. 1 goaltender in this league. Depending on how the Thunderbirds decide to resolve their goalie situation, that may or may not be in Seattle. Mumaugh likely thought the position was his last year when he outperformed Justin Myles in the early parts of the season, but the team traded for Taran Kozun and he was once again relegated to backup duty. The Colorado native has the swagger and skill necessary to backstop a team, and the fact that Kozun is 20 may work in Mumaugh’s favor.

Logan Flodell: Flodell showed in training camp and preseason why the the Thunderbirds consider him their goalie of the future. At 17, he had the most impressive preseason of any of the team’s three goalies and will likely find himself backing up either Kozun or Mumaugh. His numbers probably would have been even better, but he allowed three goals in the team’s final preseason game against Everett, none of which he can really be blamed for. Flodell is usually in good position, has a quick glove and, using the preseason as a measuring stick, already appears ready to start.

Taran Kozun: Kozun stole the show after being acquired last season and was exceptional in Seattle’s first round playoff series against Everett. He certainly deserves to be a starter in this league, but whether or not that’s with the Thunderbirds remains to be seen. It seems likely that either he or Mumaugh will be traded to get the team down to two goalies, and Kozun’s experience will make him attractive to other teams. No. 1 goalies are expected to steal a few games throughout the season, which is something Kozun did multiple times in his 24 regular season games with Seattle last year. His dominance last season alone will make it difficult for the team to part ways with him.