As we roll into the second week of the Western Hockey League playoffs, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are a spectator. The club is coming off one of its worst seasons in team history. The ‘Canes amassed just 20 victories to tie the team low for a season set back in the inaugural 1987-’88 campaign. Rich Preston’s crew set a new low for goals scored—just 178, or a shade under 2.5 per contest.
There was a 9-game losing skid that spanned late January and early February. The ‘Canes started the season with 6 straight defeats. The team’s longest win-streak went just 3 games—managed on two separate occasions, the latter followed by another 6-game slide.
For the Hurricanes it all adds up to an idle post-season. While tying a club mark for lowest number of victories is never a good thing, it really shows outside of perhaps Calgary and Vancouver the cyclical nature of junior hockey.
For instance, the Kelowna Rockets, who won the WHL title last season, missed the playoffs just two seasons previous, totalling 22 wins in ’06-’07. It just goes to show any team in this league can turn things around in a hurry as long as a smart rebuilding plan is put in place and implemented properly.
Can the Hurricanes take any positives out of this past campaign? Well, the club did have 20 one-goal losses. Just imagine if the team was a little bit more offensively potent—30 wins are not out of the question.
Outside of the shoulda, woulda, couldas, I never sensed the Hurricanes threw in the towel this season, no matter how badly things were going. The players pretty much gave an honest effort on a night-to-night basis. Credit the organization for keeping its effort level up even after the January trade deadline, when it was pretty apparent the playoffs were out of the picture this spring.
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Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if and what kind of moves General Manager Preston will make. There is a crying need for offense. Red Deer made this year’s playoffs scoring just 202 goals, but the Hurricanes should really be focused on gaining at least 40-50 goals more than they scored this season.
Can it come from within? 19-year-old Mitch Maxwell led the club with 27 lamp-lighters and is eligible to return next season. With one full WHL campaign under his belt, there is a chance he could push 40 goals. Cam Braes more than doubled his previous best with 25 markers, and with him back for his 19-year-old campaign I suspect he could add another 10-15 goals.
Austin Fyten had a career best 19 tallies, and is another bet to up his production. Graham Hood had 8 goals in 38 games for the Hurricanes after he was acquired from Regina in the Carter Ashton deal. As he heads into his 18-year-old season, the Martensville, Saskatchewan product showed signs of offensive flair, but needs to find more consistency in his game.
Import Jacob Berglund, picked up from Portland in the Luca Sbisa trade scored just 4 times in 30 games after he headed east. The Swede can return as a 19-year-old and we shall see if he does whether there is more offensive upside in his game.
As for those ‘Canes who just completed their rookie campaigns, well, nobody is on a Zach Boychuk-like scoring arc. Forwards Mark Reners, Ryon Moser and Phil Tot each had just 10 points each, all playing around 60 games. All need to show more coming back as second-year players in order to earn more playing time, or even secure a spot on the team.
The Hurricanes had a dearth of goal scoring from its blue-line this past winter. In fact, rookie Reid Jackson topped the defence with 4 goals, in a limited role, skating in just 50 games. However, veteran Brennan Yadlowski, along with rookies Landon Oslanski and Daniel Johnston all showed the capability to move the puck. As Jackson, Oslanski and Johnston all return for their second WHL campaigns next fall, it stands to reason the trio will all feel more comfortable, which should lead to more goals from the back-end.
As Captain Carter Bancks graduates as an overager, the Hurricanes appear to have a big hole to fill at centre. Braes may move up as the first line pivot, but unless one of the youngsters makes a huge stride over the summer, it looks like another top centre is a need.
In net, Brandon Anderson rolled with the punches as a rookie and should benefit from the experience. When 20-year-old Linden Rowat went down with injury a short time after he was acquired from Regina, Anderson filled in admirably. His year-end numbers may not blow anyone away, but they are pretty similar to Seattle’s highly regarded Calvin Pickard’s rookie marks.
Perhaps the biggest boon will come from having Preston around for an entire summer. The former NHL assistant coach had a late start in 2009, hired in August, just a few weeks before training camp. Now, the GM/Coach has a full season under his belt. He knows the league better, and he certainly knows his roster better.
Preston, along with his front office brain trust that includes Rich Sutter and Brad Robson must go to work ensuring the roster is stronger heading into training camp. The trio often stated this year that some jobs were acclaimed, rather than earned. I’m sure that won’t be the case this September.
So, while it’s never great to live in the past, Hurricanes fans can think back to as recently as 2008 when the team reached the WHL Finals. I remember heading into that season, the ‘Canes were not a title contender. In fact, the side missed the post season just the year previous. Ah, junior hockey, that’s just how quickly a team’s fortune can change.
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