The Portland Winterhawks have been busy even though they aren’t competing in further playoff matches.
They announced that they would be in two matches for each of the Everett tournaments, where they will play a 2 pm game against Everett and Sunday, September 11 at 4 pm versus Seattle and Tri-City, where they face Spokane Chiefs on Friday, September 16 at 3 pm and then Saturday, September September 17 at 6 pm vs. Tri-City Americans.
The WHL season is set to start on Friday, September 23, but the Hawks have not announced where they will start or when the home opener will be.
They also announced former Winterhawks defenceman Clay Hanus has signed on with the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins of the AHL, which is the farm team of Pittsburgh of the NHL.
Former Winterhawks Joachim Blichfeld, who played two seasons in the SanJose Sharks farm system, has now signed a two-year deal with the Vaxjo Lakers in Sweden. Blichfeld scored 100 points in 138 games split between the AHL and NHL.
More signings have seen the Hawks ink deals with players they drafted this past year.
They include Carsyn Dyck (5-10, 165 lbs.) after an impressive season with the Warman Wildcats U18 AAA program, where he scored 35 points (16G-19A) in 44 games.
Hudson Darby (5-10 160) had a strong season with the Swift Current Legionnaires scoring 14 goals totaling 36 points in 43 games.
The Hawks have now signed several players they have drafted and expect them to make a splash at training camp but won’t be making a full season debut for another year.
The Hawks will hold their annual golf tournament featuring Winterhawk alumni at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains. The tournament helps raise funds for the Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) for the Education Fund and other hockey initiatives.
There will be a charity dinner and silent auction on Sunday the 28th, and then on the 29th, the golf tournament will take place. If interested in the event, email jasonn@winterhawks.com.
The Northwest Officials Association is beyond excited to congratulate Joe Mahon on making it to not only the AHL Conference Finals but also the WHL Finals. A former Winterhawk Mahon, a solid 6’5″ scrapper, has been involved in many WHL games over the past year and continues to climb the ladder.
The Memorial Cup Finals have been set.
Edmonton Oil Kings took six games but finally defeated Seattle Thunderbirds. After splitting the two games in Edmonton, the Oil Kings took the two in Kent, 4-3 and 4-0. The series then shifted to Edmonton. Due to ShoWare Center being used for Graduation ceremonies, Seattle was the designated home team in Edmonton for game 6. Seattle won game 5 also in Edmonton 3-1 but lost a 2-0 game 6 to the Oil Kings, which gave them a 4-2 series win.
Shawinigan Cataractes surprised many with a 4-1 series win over the Charlottetown Islanders. The Islanders had been heavily promoted in the CHL poll during the season, and this strong win for Shawinigan will give them a leg up in the tournament.
Hamilton Bulldogs were the last team to make the final four as they defeated Windsor Spitfires in the seventh game with a 6-1 thrashing.
The games will begin on June 20 through June 30, inclusive of each team facing one another. The top team goes to the final, where there may be a tie-breaker between the next two teams to place the winner in the final.
We hope everyone has a great time over the next month as we take some time away. Look for us in July, where we will update the winner of the Memorial Cup and hopefully have a schedule to report to you and more.
