The hyper-competitive and parity-driven Western Conference of the Western Hockey League features what could be a telling game tonight in the sa国际传媒 Division with the Victoria Royals in Kamloops to play the Blazers.
Both teams are 7-6 with Kamloops having won its last three games. Victoria put up 24 goals in its recent three-game winning streak, including 18 in two games, before losing 3-1 Saturday to U.S. Division-leading Everett despite widely out-playing the Silvertips.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tight conference, for sure,鈥� said Don Hay, head coach of Kamloops.
鈥淲e have to be competitive against the top teams 鈥� Kelowna, which is starting to play now, Victoria and this year Prince George, which is off to a fast start. And Everett plays well all the time.鈥�
Then there are the Seattle Thunderbirds, who will suddenly become a major factor if Mathew Barzal is sent back from the New York Islanders of the NHL.
鈥淭here are such good coaches in the league and organizations that have done such good drafting [of bantams],鈥� said Hay.
鈥淵ou have organizations that are really committed to getting, and staying, strong. Teams realize they have to be competitive in all different areas.鈥�
Victoria, the defending WHL regular-season champions, dominated Everett on Saturday and outshot the Silvertips 38-13 despite the loss. The difference was Silvertips goaltender Carter Hart, a second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers and likely the goaltender for sa国际传媒 at the 2017 world junior championship. There-in could be the key to what will be a tight season. The goaltending this season will be crucial and teams like Everett and Prince George, the latter well set with 19- and 20-year-old veterans tending the crease, are well poised in that department.
So are they in Kamloops, where formerly unheralded and lightly-regarded Connor Ingram has come on to become one of the best goaltenders in the WHL and was selected in the third round of the 2016 NHL draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning after being overlooked in his first year of draft eligibility in 2015. Ingram is fifth in the league in goals-against average at 2.32 and is third in save percentage at .927.
鈥淐onnor has such composure and he doesn鈥檛 get rattled,鈥� said Hay.
鈥淗is confidence level gives all the other players more confidence.鈥�
The reviews are still pending on the Victoria goaltending, however. It is among the youngest in the league. How goes 18-year-old starter Griffen Outhouse and 17-year-old backup Dylan Myskiw, may go the Royals season. With so many opposing teams in the conference featuring solid to outstanding goaltending, this is not a position in which the Royals can afford to have any uncertainty.
The Ingram-backed Blazers, as a whole, gained a great deal last spring in taking Kelowna to Game 7 of overtime in the first round of the playoffs. They were one shot from meeting Victoria in the second round and the Blazers, in a sense, announced they had arrived.
鈥淭hat series was important for our group鈥檚 growth,鈥� said Hay.
鈥淏ut we need to continue to see growth with this group this season, and to make another step so we can compete against the top teams in our division like Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George.鈥�
Hay, meanwhile, said the transformation in Victoria hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed by him and others in the league.
鈥淭hey have done a great job in Victoria from going from a bigger and more physical team to a smaller and more skilled team,鈥� said the Kamloops bench boss.
鈥淲e better be prepared to skate against these guys.鈥�
The Royals continue their road swing Wednesday in Kelowna with a reprise of that epic second-round playoff series last spring against the Rockets, Friday in Tri-City against the Americans and Saturday in Everett against the Silvertips.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
