It is the 鈥楨鈥� factor, as in experience, and the Victoria Royals have plenty of it in their opening round Western Hockey League playoff series against the Vancouver Giants, which opens with the first two games tonight and Saturday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The last time the Giants (36-27-9) were in the playoffs, Barack Obama was midway through his second term as U.S. president, and the Winter Olympics had just ended 鈥� not Pyeongchang 2018, but Sochi 2014. Remember those days?
The Royals (39-27-6) go into the series, the second-vs.-third sa国际传媒 Division matchup, with players who have a combined 336 games of playoff experience. That is compared to just 76 for the Giants, and 26 of those have come through former Royals forward Jared Dmytriw.
The Royals, however, are downplaying what appears to be an obvious advantage.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 factor that into the equation,鈥� said head coach Dan Price.
鈥淓veryone is 0-0 in every way at the start of the playoffs. The past is the past. This is about what we do in this moment. We do have a veteran core and veteran leadership group. But this is about what they do now 鈥� in 2018, against Vancouver.鈥�
Among the Royals with playoff pedigree, Tanner Kaspick has won a WHL championship with the Brandon Wheat Kings, while Jeff de Wit and Braydon Buziak both went to the WHL final last year with the Regina Pats. That鈥檚 not to mention the two epic playoff exits over the past two years experienced by eight of the current Royals veterans 鈥� the second-round Game 7 buzzer-beater loss to Kelowna in 2016 and the first-round Game 6 loss to Everett after five overtime periods in the longest game in WHL and CHL history.
鈥淪ame jersey, but different team,鈥� said Kaspick, among eight new mid-season additions to the Royals this year via trades, in downplaying Victoria鈥檚 memorable playoff departures the past two seasons.
De Wit concurred: 鈥淲e know the playoff history of Victoria and that鈥檚 extra motivation. But this is a new group after Jan. 10 [WHL trade deadline]. And for me, losing in the league final last year with the Pats was a stinger and that motivates me. But for all of us, no matter where we came from, the focus is on now.鈥�
With the veterans and new additions, Victoria鈥檚 post-season experience advantage is glaring in this series and can鈥檛 be discounted. Of Vancouver鈥檚 two big stars, 19-year-old high second-round Edmonton Oilers draft-pick Tyler Benson has never played in the WHL post-season, while 61-goal scorer and 20-year-old Ty Ronning has only played two playoff games, and both as a 16-year-old call-up in 2014.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret we have an older locker-room,鈥� said Kaspick, who played in the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament with the league-champion Wheat Kings.
鈥淭his is many of our players鈥� last go-arounds as juniors. That ups the stakes as we look forward to going out with a bang. That [edge in experience] is something we can take advantage of, however, it鈥檚 not the be-all and end-all in this series.鈥�
Especially with three of the Royals veterans hobbled. That provides the great unknown of this series. The league does not issue injury reports in the playoffs but blue-liner Ralph Jarratt skated Thursday in practice and will be a game-time decision tonight. However, defenceman Scott Walford, a third-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens, and Royals second-leading scorer Tyler Soy were both injured in the final two-game regular-season set against Everett did not skate Thursday and are not expected for at least the first two games of the series tonight and Saturday. That evens the ice for the Giants.
Soy was injured in Saturday night鈥檚 meaningless game against Everett. The Giants, meanwhile, sat out both Ronning and Benson for their equally meaningless regular-season ending loss Saturday to the Rockets in Kelowna.
It means Victoria鈥檚 superior depth advantage over Vancouver will be put to the stress test, at least early in the series. Also missing tonight will be forward and Red Wings prospect Lane Zablocki, sitting out the final game of a two-game suspension.
鈥淭here are a lot of good pieces in our room . . . more than people would think,鈥� said the two-way forward Kaspick, under an entry-level NHL contract to the St. Louis Blues.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not worried. We have guys who can step up if top guys go down.鈥�
One of them will have to be rookie Royals defenceman Matthew Smith, who will likely be thrust into a top-four pairing for his first WHL playoffs games.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for the opportunity, and will rely on the guys with experience about what to expect,鈥� said Smith
鈥淧reparation is the key and I feel prepared.鈥�
Crucial for Victoria, a team with a historic penchant for retaliation penalties, is discipline.
鈥淲e have to be cautious with our decisions when emotions and tempers run high,鈥� said Kaspick.
鈥淵ou can still play the game tough and rugged, and be hard to play against, and stay out of the box.鈥�
If the Royals don鈥檛 do that, they will see a Vancouver power play bearing down on them with the likes of Ronning, Benson and James Malm.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a grinding war and extremely physcial,鈥� said Price, of the series.
Here鈥檚 the breakdown:
OFFENCE: Both teams are offensively dangerous, but Vancouver in spots, with a significant edge in scoring depth to the Royals. Victoria was second overall in WHL scoring with 287 goals to Vancouver鈥檚 16th-place 233.
DEFENCE: The series will come down to which blue line holds up the best. The Giants might have a slight edge on defence. Without Jarratt and Walford, that will be exacerbated. Rising Vancouver rearguard Bowen Byram is the WHL Western Conference rookie of the year.
GOALTENDING: The crease battle is a wash between Western Conference second-team all-star David Tendeck of the Giants, the eighth-ranked goaltender for the 2018 NHL draft, and Royals veteran Griffen Outhouse. Both are capable of stealing games by themselves. Tendeck missed the last three Giants games with an upper-body injury so his status is one of the talking points heading into the series.
鈥淭raffic around the [Vancouver] net is beneficial to us and my focus is on whacking in loose pucks around the net,鈥� said de Wit, a Royals power forward known to crowd the crease.
He will get no argument from the Victoria bench boss, who isn鈥檛 concerned about Tendeck鈥檚 reputation as a rising crease star, nor that of touted 17-year-old backup Trent Miner, a first-round WHL bantam draft pick, who was brought up mid-season from the Midget ranks .
鈥淕ood fundamentals create goals, no matter who the goalie is,鈥� said Price.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Victoria鈥檚 scoring prowess allowed its power play to click at a potent 25 per cent efficiency, which was sixth best in the WHL. But it could meet its match against a stubbornly defiant Vancouver penalty kill, which was tied for fourth in the league, operating at 79.2 per cent efficiency.
The importance of Victoria staying out of box is reflected in a suspect Royals penalty kill that was 21st in the league at 74.1 per cent. It faces a Vancouver power play that scored 22 per cent of the time for 13th best in the league.
SEASON SERIES: Because of cross-strait proximity, the Royals and Giants play each other more than any other teams in the Western Conference with 10 games annually. This, however, is the first playoff meeting between the natural-rival franchises since the Royals moved to the Island in 2011-12.
Victoria was 7-3 against the Giants in the 2017-18 regular season but that is deceptive because several of the games between the teams went to overtime or shootout. So, from a Vancouver perspective, the Giants鈥� record against the Royals is 3-4-3.
