T-Birds training camp: Olhaver makes his Seattle debut

You didn't need a program to know who new Thunderbirds forward Gustav Olhaver was during Thursday's training camp scrimmages. All you needed to was look for the tallest guy on the ice. The import player from Angleholm, Sweden is an impressive figure, standing at 6 feet 6 without skates. Playing on the wing with fellow import Alexander True, Olhaver looked like a player to watch during Thursday's sessions

Aug 28, 2015, 6:28 AM Updated: 6:30 am

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By Andy Eide

KENT — You didn’t need a program to know who new Thunderbirds forward Gustav Olhaver was during Thursday’s training camp scrimmages. All you needed to was look for the tallest guy on the ice.

The import player from Angleholm, Sweden is an impressive figure, standing at 6 feet 6 without skates. Playing on the wing with fellow import Alexander True, Olhaver looked like a player to watch during Thursday’s sessions. He has tremendous size but skates well, has good hockey instincts and he scored what could be his first goal in North America during the last scrimmage.

Olhaver projects to play with True on Seattle’s third line this year and coming over from Europe he says there are a few adjustments he’ll have to make.

“Obviously it’s a smaller rink here,” he said. “Some adjustments in skating and I have to use my size advantage a little more. Things are quicker here, you have to make quicker decisions.”

Its been a busy summer for the big Swede. Before being selected by Seattle in the CHL import draft he heard his name called in another draft. The Colorado Avalanche took Gustav in the seventh round of the NHL Draft this past June. Like most young hockey players, the 18 year old says it was a dream come true.

“It was great,” he said of the draft. “When I grew up one of my role models was (former Colorado star) Peter Forsberg and to get drafted by his team is special. There’s a lot of hard work still but I’m happy with that.”

Once selected by the T-Birds, Olhaver had a decision to make. Would he come to North America and Seattle or stay home and play in Sweden. He didn’t waste any time and announced on Twitter within an hour of being selected that he was looking forward to coming to the Northwest and the WHL.

“I wanted to come over here and develop my game,” Olhaver said of the decision. “The WHL is a very good league and I think it’s a great opportunity to play here.”

Olhaver describes himself as a guy who likes to go to the net and make smart plays with the puck. He wants to contribute to the offense while still playing a responsible defensive game. The T-Birds are hoping that the big forward does develop and give them some secondary scoring, along with True this year. If that happens it will provide head coach Steve Konowalchuk with three lines that can score, something that will allow him to roll his lines and wear down the opposing team.

Leaving home and moving to a new country can be tough for a young player like Olhaver and he had never been to Seattle prior to this week. He says the adjustment has been easy and that he has been placed with a supportive billet family which has helped the transition. He also says that he’s looking at this experience as an opportunity to advance his hockey career.

“Hockey is work where I come from,” he says. “So if I like the hockey I like the country, I like it so far.”

Here are the other notable observations from Day 3 of training camp:

Gropp and Kolesar sit out

There were two big names missing from Thursday’s scrimmages as both Ryan Gropp and Keegan Kolesar were out. Both players are nursing minor injuries and the team expects them back in action shortly. 16 year old, Colorado native Baker Shore did arrive in camp and took part in the scrimmages Thursday afternoon. Shore is battling it out for one of remaining forward positions on the roster.

Shut down line or scoring line?

When the T-Birds open the season, expect Scott Eansor to center a line with Nolan Volcan and newly acquired Jamal Watson. Those three were together on Thursday and were by far Seattle’s best line. All three are extremely fast, dog the puck and pushed the pace all day. Volcan scored three times on the day as it looks like the 17 year old is ready to improve on his 23 point rookie campaign. His best tally on the day came on a play when he blew past Jerret Smith and fired a deadly wrist shot past Logan Flodell. Those three are going to cause match up nightmares for opposing coaches with the way they can defend and create offense.

Both top goalies in action

Flodell and Taz Burman squared off in the first scrimmage of the day and even though Burman’s squad won 2-0, both goalies played well. Flodell had the tougher challenge and faced more dangerous shots but battled hard. Its still way to early to say if either player took a step towards being the out right number one net minder.

The lean Sahvan Khaira

The 17 year old Surrey, British Columbia native looks to be in much better shape as he prepares for his second WHL career. The slimed down defenseman also looked more confident than he did at times last year. He looked comfortable handling the puck and made crisp and decisive break out passes all afternoon. He was paired with Turner Ottenbreit as Konowalchuk looks to find three compatible defensive pairings.

The T-Birds have another full day of practice on Thursday with scrimmages starting at 9 am.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide