The Portland Winterhawks have played a handful of road games to start the season. Portland opened the year with a pair of losses to the Prince George Cougars. Then earned their first win in overtime against the Everett Silvertips. In the first weekend of October, Portland lost to the Penticton Vees. However, they bounced back with a win over the Kamloops Blazers. With Veterans Memorial Coliseum under renovation, Portland has six more road contests before their first home game of the year. Here are three emerging storylines through the first few games for the Winterhawks.
First, Nathan Free is an emerging star for Portland. Free spent last season in the BCHL with the Brooks Bandits, and was one of the top skaters in the league. In 54 games, Free had 66 points, which put him at 8th in total points in the BCHL. Now with Portland, he’s on a similar trajectory. Free had a point in each of the Winterhawks first four games this year. Currently, Free has three goals and two assists through five games. The seventh round pick from the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft is also tied for the second most points on the team with Ryan Miller.
Secondly, Ondrej Štěbeták has all of Portland’s starts at goalkeeper. With the departure of Marek Schlenker, Štěbeták becomes the only goaltender on Portland’s roster with WHL experience. Last year, Štěbeták finished the regular season with a goals against average of 3.72, and a save percentage of 0.891. So far this year, Štěbeták has a goals against average of 4.32, and a save percentage of 0.868. However, the Winterhawks have been outshot in three of their five games. Štěbeták also showed a strong performance in Portland’s win against Everett, where he finished the game with 50 saves on 52 shots.
Lastly, Portland’s defense has the potential to elevate this offense. Between defenseman like Marek Alscher and Tyson Jugnauth, the Winterhawks have had recent success finding scoring defensemen. This year, there are a few candidates who could pick up that mantle. Max Pšenička currently leads the Winterhawks defensemen in points. The new Utah Mammoth prospect had two goals and two assists in Portland’s 6-4 win over the Kamloops Blazers. Carter Sotheran and Kayd Ruedig could also be sources of offense for the Winterhawks. Sotheran has averaged 32 points per season with Portland, and had a career high 13 goals during the 2023-2024 season. Ruedig only had four goals last year, but already has a goal this year against Kamloops.
The Winterhawks are back in action in Edmonton on Wednesday to take on the Oil Kings at 6 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 