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The Sea-to-Sky Boner Report: Feb 22nd, 2014
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Rhys Jessop
Feb 22, 2014, 12:48 ESTUpdated:
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The last time we checked in on the Vancouver Giants, they were fresh off a loss against division rival Victoria, but just a game removed from a 10-0 blowout of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (despite having lost their captain and #1 defenseman Dalton Thrower to a reported ankle injury). 
Since then, times have been tough for the G-Men as they stared down one of the toughest stretches of the season without their best player. The wins have stopped coming, goaltending has struggled, and the possession numbers have slipped.
More importantly, Vancouver has lost ground in the all-important race to stay out of 7th in the WHL. They sit just 4 points up on the 7th place Everett Silvertips, and with just 10 games remaining in the regular season, it’s definitely scoreboard-watching time. For a look at how the rest of the season is shaping up, read past the jump.
Vancouver has won two games in a row, but both of those are against the absolute bottom-feeders of the WHL in Kamloops and Lethbridge. Before that, they had just 3 wins in the previous 10 games, and had suffered big losses at the hands of Calgary, Portland and Edmonton. The 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oil Kings in particular was a particularly poor effort, as the Giants managed just 16 shots on goal over the entire game, which was a season low.
The presence of Dalton Thrower is being missed throughout the lineup, as his absence affects all facets of Vancouver’s game. Since suffering a lower body injury on January 24th, the Giants are a middling 4-5-2-0. Their powerplay has been operating at 17.5%, and their possession numbers have fallen by roughly two percentage points, down to sixth in the WHL from fourth:
Rank Name 2p SF 2p SA 2p SF% SF SA Total SF% GF GA Sh% Sv% PDO
1
Edmonton Oil Kings
1453
982
59.67%
2161
1508
58.90%
242
140
11.03%
90.78%
101.81%
2
Medicine Hat Tigers
1446
1092
56.97%
2194
1735
55.84%
210
159
9.41%
90.84%
100.24%
3
Portland Winterhawks
1556
1192
56.62%
2300
1887
54.93%
287
184
12.44%
90.39%
102.83%
4
Everett Silvertips
1263
992
56.01%
1861
1555
54.48%
171
180
9.09%
88.48%
97.57%
5
Kelowna Rockets
1440
1185
54.86%
2180
1781
55.04%
250
150
11.31%
91.78%
103.09%
6
Vancouver Giants
1373
1146
54.51%
2021
1746
53.65%
205
203
10.05%
88.53%
98.58%
7
Regina Pats
1344
1179
53.27%
2035
1845
52.45%
203
206
9.66%
88.98%
98.64%
8
Prince Albert Raiders
1328
1282
50.88%
1968
1937
50.40%
188
211
9.41%
89.20%
98.61%
9
Spokane Chiefs
1194
1170
50.51%
1854
1715
51.95%
198
189
10.53%
89.08%
99.62%
10
Kootenay Ice
1263
1254
50.18%
1876
1907
49.59%
196
170
10.26%
91.18%
101.44%
11
Swift Current Broncos
1376
1369
50.13%
2049
2060
49.87%
151
174
7.28%
91.82%
99.10%
12
Brandon Wheat Kings
1314
1314
50.00%
2020
1994
50.32%
216
219
10.60%
89.11%
99.71%
13
Calgary Hitmen
1267
1299
49.38%
1996
1912
51.07%
238
168
11.79%
91.36%
103.15%
14
Victoria Royals
1236
1320
48.36%
1868
1960
48.80%
200
152
10.52%
92.39%
102.90%
15
Prince George Cougars
1413
1531
48.00%
2083
2245
48.13%
214
264
10.06%
88.44%
98.50%
16
Seattle Thunderbirds
1223
1344
47.64%
1907
2041
48.30%
201
175
10.30%
91.56%
101.87%
17
Moose Jaw Warriors
1159
1289
47.34%
1857
1917
49.21%
151
225
8.03%
88.54%
96.57%
18
Tri-City Americans
1113
1317
45.80%
1669
2011
45.35%
203
209
12.06%
89.74%
101.80%
19
Kamloops Blazers
1201
1456
45.20%
1771
2178
44.85%
151
253
8.47%
88.51%
96.98%
20
Red Deer Rebels
1201
1491
44.61%
1816
2192
45.31%
176
193
9.59%
91.32%
100.91%
21
Saskatoon Blades
1193
1626
42.32%
1809
2468
42.30%
175
252
9.67%
89.90%
99.57%
22
Lethbridge Hurricanes
1133
1659
40.58%
1759
2460
41.69%
145
295
8.14%
88.12%
96.25%
This deficiency in puck possession can be a symptom of a few things, namely difficulties turning pucks over and exiting the defensive zone – two areas where Thrower excelled. Mason Geertsen has tried to fill-in in the captain’s absence, and while he’s done an admirable job, the 18 year old simply does not possess Thrower’s offensive talent. Not surprisingly, the Giants’ top offensive weapons have also had troubles scoring since Thrower has been out of the lineup.
Between the Jan 24th game against Lethbridge and the most recent game against the woeful Hurricanes, leading scorers Carter Popoff and Brett Kulak both had 0G-4A in 11 GP. Jackson Houck had 0G-0A in 10 games, and Dominik Volek had 3G-1A over the same time. Cain Franson and Joel Hamilton posted much more respectable numbers, but again, the majority of their offense came in two games against the basement-dwelling Kamloops Blazers.
Unfortunately, Thrower isn’t expected back in the lineup for another two to three weeks, and Vancouver’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. Four of their 10 remaining games come against the CHL-leading Kelowna Rockets, and two more still come against who I consider to be easily the WHL’s two best teams in the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Portland Winterhawks. By contrast, the Everett Silvertips face Seattle and Tri-City for 6 of their remaining 13 games, and elite teams just 3 times over that span. Vancouver will need some drastically improved play and some good luck to stay in 6th and avoid a 1st round matchup with the powerhouse Winterhawks, who are 15-0-0-0 since receiving Mat Dumba from the Minnesota Wild.
Wins, expected wins, and special teams:
RankNameGPWinsEwinsDiffSOWSOLPP%PK%STI
1
Kelowna Rockets
58
46
43
3
4
4
21.70%
86.80%
108.50%
2
Portland Winterhawks
60
43
43
0
1
3
28.50%
82.50%
111.00%
3
Edmonton Oil Kings
57
41
43
-2
4
1
20.80%
85.20%
106.00%
4
Victoria Royals
61
41
39
2
4
3
21.40%
82.10%
103.50%
5
Calgary Hitmen
60
39
40
-1
3
3
22.60%
83.90%
106.50%
6
Medicine Hat Tigers
59
36
37
-1
4
0
19.70%
80.30%
100.00%
7
Seattle Thunderbirds
59
34
33
1
5
3
20.90%
80.40%
101.30%
8
Kootenay Ice
59
33
33
0
4
2
24.80%
78.80%
103.60%
9
Regina Pats
59
31
28
3
7
3
19.30%
72.90%
92.20%
10
Spokane Chiefs
60
29
31
-2
3
2
22.10%
78.00%
100.10%
11
Everett Silvertips
59
28
28
0
2
1
20.10%
77.20%
97.30%
12
Vancouver Giants
60
28
30
-2
2
3
22.40%
81.10%
103.50%
13
Brandon Wheat Kings
60
28
30
-2
2
2
23.90%
75.50%
99.40%
14
Tri-City Americans
61
28
30
-2
2
3
18.10%
81.70%
99.80%
15
Red Deer Rebels
60
28
27
1
2
3
19.70%
82.30%
102.00%
16
Prince Albert Raiders
59
27
26
1
3
2
25.30%
77.60%
102.90%
17
Swift Current Broncos
59
27
26
1
2
6
23.00%
76.80%
99.80%
18
Prince George Cougars
63
25
25
0
5
5
17.60%
74.70%
92.30%
19
Saskatoon Blades
60
16
20
-4
0
3
22.20%
74.40%
96.60%
20
Moose Jaw Warriors
58
15
18
-3
2
6
19.10%
77.50%
96.60%
21
Kamloops Blazers
60
12
16
-4
1
3
15.80%
71.20%
87.00%
22
Lethbridge Hurricanes
61
12
12
0
2
3
19.20%
71.30%
90.50%

Around the B.C. Division:

Kamloops Blazers: Are a league worst 1-9-0-0 in the last 10 games…F Chase Suoto is out for 1-2 more weeks with an upper body injury, while F Luke Harrison, F Tyson Ness and G Justin Myles are all out indefinitely…F Cole Ully leads the team in scoring with 62 points in 57 games.
Kelowna Rockets: Sit 1st in the WHL with a 47-8-0-4 record…Ranked 1st overall in the CHL Top 10 rankings once again…Second leading scorer F Tyson Baillie will miss 4-5 weeks with a broken leg, while D Jesse Lees is day-to-day.
Prince George Cougars: Have moved to 2 points back of Tri-City for the final playoff spot in the WHL’s west, but Tri-City has 3 games in hand…20-year old F Todd Fiddler was named WHL player of the month for January after 16 goals and 13 assists in just 14 games. Fiddler has 73 points in 43 games since joining Prince George…Forwards Jari Ericsson, Chase Witala and Alex Forsberg remain day-to-day with injuries, F Brett Roulston is out for 2 weeks, F David Soltes is out 4-6 weeks, and G Brett Zarowny is day-to-day.
Victoria Royals: Clinched a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history with a 3-2 OT win against Tri-City…Have won 7 games in a row and are 9-0-1-0 in their last 10…Are ranked 10th in the CHL Top 10 for the 2nd week in a row.
Other WHL News and Notes:
  • Portland has won 15 games in a row since Mat Dumba has returned from Minnesota, and are unbeaten in 19 straight games. With Dumba in the lineup, they have outscored their opponents 94-31, or an average of 6.3-3.1 per game.
  • Portland F Nic Petan now leads the WHL in scoring with 102 points in 51 games, and is 2nd in the entire CHL behind Erie’s Connor Brown, although Brown has played 6 more games.
  • Spokane F Mitch Holmberg still leads the WHL in goals with 51 in 60 games.
  • Amid a tumultuous season, the Lethbridge Hurricanes have fired assistant coach Brad Lukowich after he left the team, due to suspected differing philosophies with head coach Drake Berehowsky. Lethbridge is 12-45-2-3 on the season, with a league worst 147 goals for, and a league worst 300 goals against.
  • The Hurricanes also have the misfortune of being completely broke and are averaging fewer than 700 fans per game. Alumnus Kris Versteeg is rumoured to have interest in buying the team.
  • Seattle and Tri-City took part in a line brawl earlier this month, the second recent one that Seattle has been involved in. Both teams received fines from the WHL for secondary altercations.
  • Recent suspensions have been to Swift Current’s Dakota Odgers (1 game) and Bobby Zinkan (3 games), Moose Jaw’s Scott Cooke (2 games), Calgary’s Jaynen Rissling (2 games), Lethbridge’s Macoy Erkamps (1 game) and Carter Amson (2 games), Brandon’s Colton Waltz (3 games), and Tri-City’s Jesse Astles (7 games, the longest suspension this season).
  • The CHL and Sportsnet announced a new 12-year television deal that will see Sportsnet air more than 50 CHL games each year. The exposure is definitely good for the CHL, but by no means is this the beginning of massive mainstream exposure for the Junior hockey circuit in Canada. Segmented markets don’t really make regional cable coverage viable, so don’t expect to see hundreds of nationally televised games on your T.V. anytime soon.
  • The WHL plays of the week are here, featuring some pretty nice passing plays this week.

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