T-Birds news and notes: Short handed in Tri City and killing penalties

After playing a couple of preseaon games in Kennewick this past weekend, the Seattle Thunderbirds’ exhibition season is winding down.

The team has one more preseason game left to go, next Friday at home against Victoria, before they will kick things off for real on September 25. Here’s the latest news and notes from the team as they continue to prepare for the start of the season:

Short-handed in Kennewick

Seattle dropped both of its games in Kennewick this past weekend but turned in two impressive performances when you consider the lineup they were forced to use. With ten players out of the lineup – nine at at NHL camps – the club played both games with only four defensemen and ten forwards.

On Friday, despite outshooting the Kootenay Ice 37-16, the team dropped a 3-2 overtime decision. Seattle picked up two goals in the third period – by Nolan Volcan and Nick Holowko – to force the overtime, and Taz Burman made 13 saves in the loss.

On Saturday, Alexander True scored in the first period to give Seattle an early lead against Tri City. The Americans would then reel off three unanswered goals before Kaden Elder scored in the third to make it close. The T-Birds were unable to get the equalizer, however, and ended up losing 3-2. Logan Flodell was in net Saturday and stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

Prior to the games, the Thunderbirds signed Ian Briscoe and Connor Pyne to standard WHL contracts. The two young players appeared in both games but neither registered a point.

To play with such a depleted roster is tough but the T-Birds hung in both games, which is impressive, and there had to be some tired legs on the bus ride home Saturday night.

Dangerous on the PK

When Seattle picked up Jamal Watson in a trade they not only added tremendous speed to their lineup but they added a weapon on the penalty kill. Watson tied for the third-most short-handed goals last year – one coming against the T-Birds – and he is expected to be a key player on the penalty kill this year. But what about Barzal and Ryan Gropp?

Barzal and Gropp are dangerous offensive players who just might end up making Seattle’s penalty kill one of the deadliest in the league. The two teamed up for a short-handed goal last weekend in Everett when Barzal fed Gropp in front of the net for an easy score. Can we expect to see those two on the kill this season?

Head coach Steve Konowalchuk would like to see them there.

“It’s up to them,” the coach said last weekend. “I’d sure like to play them but they have to kill and it looks like they’re more determined to kill the right way. They just can’t be there trying to get offense, but if they kill the right way they’ll get their offense and that’s what they can do.”

Getting your best players out for the penalty kill can have many benefits. The obvious one is that they can use their skill to not only kill the penalty but also create some short-handed chances when the opposition is not going to have its best defensive players deployed. Secondly, it keeps them in the game. If you have to sit your best players while you kill a penalty, and you end up taking a number of penalties, then your best guys aren’t into the flow of the game. Creating that energy can be tough if you’ve been sitting and watching.

Its not uncommon for highly skilled offensive players to kill penalties, either. Last season, the league’s leading scorer, Oliver Bjorkstrand, also led the league in short-handed markers. He scored eight, but it looked and felt like he was going to score every time he was on the penalty kill.

It will be interesting to watch how Konowalchuk uses Barzal and Gropp when short-handed this season.

T-Birds ranked seventh in CHL

In perhaps the most meaningless poll out there, the T-Birds found themselves ranked seventh in the CHL in the first BMO CHL Rankings. Seattle was one of four WHL teams in the top 10 with the loaded Brandon Wheat Kings coming in at No. 1, Kelowna at No. 4 and the Red Deer Rebels at No. 10. The Portland Winterhawks were an honorable mention.

This poll is voted on by NHL scouts who scout the various CHL leagues and in the past has shown to be less than accurate. Still, Seattle’s appearance in the poll speaks to the expectations that the T-Birds will be in the mix for the WHL Championship this year.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide.

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