10 T-Birds storylines to ring in the 2014-15 season

10. Can talented youth carry the team?

Even with five 20-year-olds still factored into the average, the Thunderbirds are the third-youngest team in the WHL, according to Alan Caldwell at Small Thoughts at Large. Both teams that are younger than Seattle, Brandon and Vancouver, appear to have their overage situations figured out, so by the time the T-Birds solve theirs, they could be the youngest team in the entire league.

Seattle will rely heavily on a talented group of youngsters, most notably forwards Mathew Barzal and Ryan Gropp, who will be counted on to be a big part of the offense, and Ethan Bear, who could be a top-four defenseman. In addition to those three, a number of other 17-year-olds will be counted on to contribute, including Keegan Kolesar, Lane Pederson, and a big group of rookies.

9. Can imports make an immediate impact?

Two of those rookies who are also 17-year-olds are import draftees Alexander True from Denmark and Florian Baltram from Austria. Both will be expected to chip in immediately and could very well end up in the team’s top six forwards.

Seattle’s imports for the past two seasons, Alex Delnov and Roberts Lipsbergs, combined for 222 points over two years, including 107 between them as rookies. Losing both at the same time will be a big hit to the forward group, but the coaching staff will hope that True and Baltram can come in and replace some of that offense.

8. Who stays and who goes on defense?

At the end of the preseason, there were eight defensemen still on the T-Birds’ roster. The team will likely plan to run with seven, although it’s possible the T-Birds could keep eight on the roster if they choose to play one of them up as a forward on occasion, as they did at times with Kevin Wolf last year. That could be tough this season, however, as the forward ranks are crowded as well.

It seems more likely that one of the current defensemen will be traded. It could be one of either Adam Henry or Evan Wardley, both of whom occupy overage spots. Sixteen-year-old Sahvan Khaira, if he makes the team, will be required to play in at least 40 games, which limits some of the staff’s flexibility with its scratches.

This, of course, could all be moot if Shea Theodore manages to crack the Anaheim Ducks’ opening-night roster. Even if he doesn’t, he’s sure to miss significant time this year as he’ll spend some time at the Ducks’ training camp and will likely be a strong candidate for Canada’s World Junior Championship roster.

7. How about between the pipes?

It’s possible the team could carry two extra defensemen, but Seattle certainly won’t carry three goaltenders, at least not for any significant period of time.

Taran Kozun is the incumbent starter, but also occupies an overage spot and has both Danny Mumaugh and Logan Flodell nipping at his heels. His numbers weren’t pretty during the preseason, posting a lower save percentage than either Mumaugh or Flodell, but we saw last year that he’s more than capable of stealing games and could be a top-notch netminder in the league. If the team does decide to trade him, Seattle could surely get a good value in return.

Mumaugh split time as the No. 1 guy last season before Kozun was acquired, but is he ready to handle the job full time if Kozun is dealt? After having to sit out a large portion of training camp with injury, Mumaugh may have been a bit rusty heading into the preseason and was only able to post an .889 save percentage, but looked more comfortable in net as time went on.

Flodell, a 17-year-old, appears to be the goalie of the future, but more than likely won’t be trusted with the top spot this year, despite a strong preseason. Flodell had the best preseason of any of the goalies, putting up an impressive .947 save percentage and 2.01 goals-against average, despite not winning any games.

6. Can the shutdown line be replicated and keep the league’s best offenses off the board?

Scott Eansor returns to center a shutdown line that proved to be effective during the second half of the season. However, those who flank him on the wings are still undetermined. Jaimen Yakubowski, who played on Eansor’s left wing last year, was traded to Moose Jaw prior to training camp. Sam McKechnie remains on the roster, but his spot isn’t guaranteed either as he is also a 20-year-old who may be traded as the team gets down to the league limit of three.

Eansor has played all over the place during the preseason, but it seems likely that he’ll settle into the role in which he was very effective last year. Any one of a number of players could join him, and whoever it is will be counted on to play against the opposing team’s best line night in and night out.

5. Can Shea Theodore be one of, if not the best, defenseman in the WHL?

If Theodore does come back to Seattle, which seems likely at this point, we know that he’ll probably be the league’s best offensive defenseman, as he led the league in defensive scoring last year with 79 points in 70 games as an 18-year-old.

As has been the case for the past couple of seasons, Theodore will be asked to take another step defensively, where he’s certainly improved, but still has some work to do to be considered among the league’s elite. He has the skating ability to reach that level, but is still prone to the occasional mental mistake or defensive zone turnover that can really hurt the team.

4. Can last year’s depth be matched?

The final roster could feature nine rookies who play on a consistent basis. Last year’s roster had six, and for a team that is expecting to go further in the playoffs this year, playing so many inexperienced players could be detrimental to those hopes.

Seattle featured four effective lines as the Thunderbirds had one of the deepest rosters in the league last season. With the high level of inexperience filling out the lower lines, Seattle will likely need to count more on their top two lines to generate most of the offense.
At this time, there are no 19-year-old forwards on the roster, and the three 18-year-olds – Gropp, Eansor and wing Calvin Spencer – only have a combined 143 regular-season games between them. Last year’s team was stocked with 19-year-olds, including seven forwards who finished the season consistently on the roster.

This season’s depth chart could potentially be loaded with 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom will never have seen more than a game or two in the WHL. There’s undoubtedly a good deal of talent within those age groups, but getting the most out of them will be essential for team success.

3. How good can Mathew Barzal be?

With 54 points in his rookie campaign, Barzal didn’t disappoint while centering the T-Birds’ second scoring line.

This season, however, Barzal will be counted on for much more. He’ll be the unquestioned No. 1 center, a role which he is embracing fully. Barzal was dominant during the preseason and plays the game at a different speed than those around him. He’s got some of the best vision you’ll see from a 17-year-old, soft hands, quickness, and showed during the preseason that he’s ready to put all of that together for a huge season.

Entering his draft year, Barzal should be inspired to play his best every time he steps on the ice, which will be a scary thought for opposing defenders.

2. Can a veteran defensive group keep pucks out of the net?

Of the eight teams that made the playoffs last year from the Western Conference, Seattle allowed more regular-season goals than any, despite earning the No. 4 seed.

The T-Birds are sure to have one of the league’s most experienced defensive units this year, potentially featuring two 20-year-olds in Henry and Wardley and three 19-year-olds in Theodore, Jared Hauf (each entering their fourth full season), and Jerret Smith. Bear, as just a 16-year-old rookie last year, finished with a decent plus-one rating and will be playing veteran minutes this year on both the power play and penalty kill.

Khaira will also factor in here and will likely be paired with one of the more tenured veterans who will be counted on to show him the ropes, as Henry did with Bear last year.

As we’re unsure at this point what we’ll be seeing out of the young offense, it will be even more important for the defense to be at the top of its game as the forwards adjust.

1. How far can this team go?

Seattle was knocked out in the first round two years ago and made it to the second round last year. Can this team be expected to go further this year?

The window for the T-Birds to do big things in the Western Conference is open. They’ve got some of the league’s elite talents in Barzal, Gropp, and Theodore. However, this is almost guaranteed to be Theodore’s last season in Seattle, so the window isn’t huge. Of course, he’s just one player, but he’s one of the few individuals in the league capable of making a huge difference in the team’s success.

Outside of Portland, the rest of the U.S. Division should be even weaker than last year. The Winterhawks will likely be strong once again, but as they go through an adjustment period behind the bench and with the league’s sanctions starting to be felt, the time is now for Seattle to make its move.