Any hockey team is more dangerous offensively when it can also launch bombs from the blue line.
The Victoria Royals are facing, back-to-back, the two best and most mobile defencemen in the Western Hockey League.
Two assists by New Jersey Devils-prospect Ty Smith, selected 17 overall in the 2018 NHL draft, keyed a rally in the third period last Saturday in Spokane as the Chiefs overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Royals to record a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Royals return to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre tonight to face Colorado Avalanche-prospect defenceman Bowen Byram, the fourth overall selction in the 2019 NHL draft, and his Vancouver Giants.
鈥淏oth those players [Smith and Byram] bring an extra layer of attack into the offensive zone,鈥� said Royals head coach Dan Price.
鈥淚nstead of three forward attacking, you have to worry about four players coming in on you.鈥�
Smith and Byram are among the eight WHL players invited to the 31-player Canadian team selection camp next week in Oakville, Ont., for the 2020 IIHF world junior championship in the Czech Republic. Smith and Byram are considered locks to make the Canadian team.
Also invited are goaltender Joel Hofer of the Portland Winterhawks, defencemen Calen Addison of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Braden Schneider of the Brandon Wheat Kings and forwards Nolan Foote of the Kelowna Rockets, Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice and Dylan Cozens of the Hurricanes.
The Royals, meanwhile, arrive back on Blanshard after garnering five of a possible six points on their recent U.S. Division road swing through Washington state.
鈥淲e went into three difficult building with a dense schedule of three games in four nights,鈥� said Price.
But the Victoria bench boss still expressed dissatisfaction, particularly with the blown 3-1 third-period lead to end the trip in Spokane.
鈥淲e closed out two of those games, but not the third one,鈥� said Price.
鈥淲e need to learn that overtime losses, after you are leading, are not moral victories. We need to close out games with consistency.鈥�
In that is also a subtle message to his charges, who are 13-8-2: Don鈥檛 think of yourselves as a middle-of-the-pack group happy with morale wins. Begin to think of yourselves as a group emerging into a higher status with points earned in eight of the last nine games. The Royals were the third-best achieving team in the WHL in November by earning 75 per cent of the points on offer to them in the month by going 7-2-1.
Victoria is tied with the Giants (13-11-2) with 28 points but the Royals are listed third in the sa国际传媒 Division and Vancouver fourth because Victoria has three games in hand. That is even more impressive because 2018-19 league finalist Vancouver came into this season with lofty expectations, while few across the league expected as much of the Royals.
The Giants are loaded and feature NHL-drafted skaters Byram, Milos Roman (Calgary Flames), Alex Kannok-Leipert (Washington Capitals) and goaltenders Trent Miner (Avalanche) and David Tendeck (Arizona Coyotes). Justin Sourdif of the Giants is a projected first-round pick for the 2020 NHL draft and Cole Shepard for the second to third rounds.
Yet, the Royals have managed to keep pace with the more-fancied Giants.
鈥淲e skate as five players connected,鈥� said Price, of his team鈥檚 cohesiveness.
Leading the offensive charge of late have been Victoria forward Gary Haden, with four goals and an assist, and Tarun Fizer, with two goals and two assists, in the three-game Washington state road trip.
But Royals captain Phillip Schultz was dropped off at SeaTac Airport on the way back. He will be in Minsk, Belarus, to play for Denmark in the IIHF Tier-2 junior hockey championship. Schultz will return to the Royals after Christmas.
With Sean Gulka and Kaid Oliver missing the last two games to injuries, and Schultz on national team assignment, Victoria鈥檚 forward depth will be something to watch as the team returns home to face Giants tonight and Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday and Saturday at the Memorial Centre. Defenceman Nolan Jones was moved up to play forward last weekend in Spokane.
鈥淪ean Gulka is fine and Kaid Oliver is 50-50, [for tonight],鈥� said Price.
鈥淓leven of our 14 forwards have played in the top-nine this season, most even with minutes in the top six. We have a lot of versatility in the lineup.鈥�
Price also talked of his club鈥檚 growing sense of discipline. Saturday鈥檚 game in Spokane was the second this season in which the Royals recorded no penalties, a rare occurrence in hockey. Before this season, that had only happened once before in franchise history.
鈥淚t was the opposite in the first four games of the season with [a plethora of bad penalties],鈥� said Price.
鈥淲e have turned that around and I am really proud of that.鈥�
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