Kailer Yamamoto, rated 16th overall by Sportsnet, had two assists for the Chiefs in Victoria鈥檚 6-5 overtime victory Wednesday in Spokane. The Royals meet 25th-ranked Cody Glass of the Winterhawks tonight in Portland and 11th-ranked Juuso Valimaki, a blue-liner from Finland, on Saturday when meeting the Americans in Tri-City.
The Royals go into Portland tonight riding a two-game winning streak after snapping a four-game losing skid. Glass and his Winterhawk mates survived a nine-game losing streak earlier this season and have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
It鈥檚 part of a WHL Western Conference race that is more resembling a chess league, albeit one with wide swings in fortunes. Only one of the 10 teams in the conference, the Vancouver Giants, has a losing record.
There really isn鈥檛 much to choose from at the moment between Victoria (16-13-2) and Portland (16-13-1).
鈥淏oth teams play with speed,鈥� said Royals coach Dave Lowry.
鈥淎nd [Winterhawks coach Mike Johnston] gets the most out of his players.鈥�
About Glass, who has 15 goals and is fifth in the league in scoring with 41 points, Lowry responded: 鈥淗e鈥檚 an offensive guy who can skate, score and create. We have to take away his time and space and we have to be hard on him.鈥�
The Victoria-Portland rivalry is historic in the WHL, dating to the days of the Maple Leafs and Buckaroos in the old pro WHL and the Cougars and Winterhawks in a previous WHL junior era.
鈥淲e enjoy playing in Portland,鈥� said Lowry.
The current Royals-Winterhawks rivalry stems from the second-round playoff series won by Portland in 2014.
鈥淓ven though there鈥檚 not a lot of guys remaining from that series, playing a team in the playoffs really creates rivalries between clubs [that resonate despite changing rosters and the passage of seasons],鈥� noted Lowry.
The Royals continue light on the blue line with Scott Walford injured and captain Ryan Gagnon with three games remaining on a four-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct incurred last weekend in Prince George.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for other guys to step up and play,鈥� said Lowry.
Meanwhile, the Royals are still awaiting word on what former Victoria forward Vladimir Bobylev plans to do in the wake of his demotion to the Russian minor pros this week after opening the season in the KHL with Moscow Spartak. The 2016 fifth-round Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, whose breakout season last year in Victoria included 28 goals and 67 points, is 19 years old and eligible to return to the junior WHL.
鈥淭here is nothing new to report,鈥� said Royals GM Cam Hope, who is more or less just an interested bystander at this point.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 interfere while [Bobylev, his agent and Spartak] decide what is best for him the rest of this season.鈥�
Each WHL team is allowed two European imports. The Royals currently only carry one, Russian defenceman Marsel Ibragimov, so they have a roster spot open for Bobylev.
