Blazer Nation

BLAZER

NATION

2019-2020

SEASON PREVIEW

LOGAN’S RUN

The Kamloops Blazers were 7-0 in the pre-season, paced by local phenom Logan Stankoven, who led the WHL in points and assists and shared the assists crown with teammate Zane Franklin.

Can the boys in Blue and Orange carry the sizzle into the regular season?

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BLAZER NATION

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW FILE Kamloops Blazers’ forward scores on Kelowna Rockets’ netminder James Porter during shootout in a March game at Sandman Centre.

A feast of forwards to start season Even while playing a limited number of games last season, Logan Stankoven has amassed a loyal following.

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW FILE

MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

K

yrell Sopotyk wants to be counted on, given ice time in key situations and relied on to produce points.

“We all want to be in the top six, those go-to guys,” said Sopotyk, who cracked the Kamloops Blazers’ roster last season and racked up 18 points, 13 of them goals, in 64 games.

“I’m going to be pushing for that.”

So are about 10 of his teammates — a dilemma for the 5-foot-10, 178-pound left shot from Aberdeen, Sask., and a welcome quandary for the Blazers.

The forward group has numerous returnees and depth unseen in recent years.

Zane Franklin, 20, Ryley Appelt, Orrin Centazzo and Brodi Stuart, each entering their 19-year-old seasons, Connor Zary, Martin Lang, Jerzy Orchard and Sopotyk, beginning their 18-year-old campaigns, Josh Pillar, 17, and Logan Stankoven, 16, will be counted on to lead the team.

Zary had a breakout season in 20182019, tallying 67 points in 63 games, and is projected by some to be a first-round pick in the NHL Draft next summer.

He heads what seems likely to be a strong group — one that has potential to be dynamic and includes Kamloops wunderkind Stankoven.

“There is a lot of room for guys to move up and down the lineup,” said Stuart, who had 20 goals and 38 points in 68 games last season.

“We’ve got a lot of depth this year. It makes for more competitiveness in practices and when we’re scrimmaging.”

Centazzo had 51 points last season, nearly doubling his point total from the previous campaign, despite inconsistency. Much is expected of him in 2019-2020.

Franklin waited until his 19-year-old season to show his scoring potential.

He led the Blazers with 68 points in 68 games, racking up 30 more points than he did in 2017-2018.

Stuart is a two-way forward and leader whose point totals don’t always indicate his value. Still, tallying 38 points last season was tantamount to underachieving.

He will want to do better in 2019-2020.

Lang, a European import from the Czech Republic, was adapting to the North American game last season, but managed to find his stride and finished with 33 points, including 11 goals, in 65 games as a 17-year-old.

He earned national team experience in the summer and an invite to the Carolina Hurricanes’ development camp in September.

Appelt played his best hockey, a physical brand, down the stretch. Eight of Sopotyk’s 13 goals in 2018-2019, his 17-year-old rookie season, came after the Christmas break. He had four goals and five points in six post-season games.

“There are a lot of returning guys,” Franklin said.

“That’s a good start. We have to use that chemistry we had last year and keep

building on things and we’ll start to click.”

The group has upside, potential to be special, and nobody embodies that more than Stankoven, whom the Blazers landed with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 bantam draft.

Stankoven, who got into seven regularseason tilts and six playoff games last season as a 15-year-old, should make easier the jobs of folks in the Blazers’ marketing and ticket sales departments.

His stellar pre-season has generated massive buzz in the Tournament Capital.

“I think it’s huge having Stankoven,” Blazers’ part-owner Shane Doan said.

“I’m big on local kids.

“And I think some of the draft choices and picks over the last few years are paying off. And we’re really excited about the coaching staff.”

Shaun Clouston took the head coaching reins in the off-season, replacing Serge Lajoie, whose tenure in Kamloops ended after one season.

“I’ve been talking to him a lot lately, getting on the same page,” Franklin said.

“He’s a smart coach and I think it’s going to work good.”

Josh Pillar is one of those draft choices Doan mentioned, the 17th overall pick in the 2017 bantam draft, a centre who had 22 points, including seven goals, in his 16-year-old campaign.

“Out of all five years that I’ve played in this league, it’s the deepest by far,” Kobe Mohr said of the Blazers’ forwards, of which he is one.

“There is going to be a lot of role-fillers this year. Not everyone is going to get to be the No. 1 or No. 2 guy.”

FRIDAY, September 20, 2019

B3

2019-2020

SEASON PREVIEW

Will pre-season perfection lead to regular season success?

Kamloops finished the Western Hockey League pre-season with a perfect 7-0 record and the Blazers hope to maintain the momentum when Spokane visits Sandman Centre on Friday to begin the regular season for both clubs.

Faceoff is at 7 p.m. at Sandman Centre, with a pre-game party on the Sandman Centre plaza planned.

The first 1,000 people to arrive with receive a free hamburger or hot dog, while the first 3,000 fans through the doors will be handed a Blazers rally towel.

Kamloops featured a stellar 41-13 goals for/ goals against ratio in exhibition play and were led by local first-round pick (2018, fifth overall) Logan Stankoven, who finished atop the league in pre-season scoring (15), goals (8) and assists (7, tied with teammate Zane Franklin).

In fact, at the end of the pre-season, the Blazers occupied the top three spots in league scoring, with Stankoven’s 15 points followed by Franklin, with 12, and Orrin Centazzo, with 10.

Blazers’ netminder Dylan Garrand secured the most wins in net during the WHL exhibition slate of games, with four.

ROSTER MOVES The Blazers reassigned 16-year-old defenceman Logan Bairos to the Saskatoon Contacts of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

Bairos played in six WHL preseason games with the Blazers and had three assists.

Kamloops also released defenceman Jackson Caller, 20, who cleared waivers and will join the junior A Vernon Vipers.

In addition, Kamloops traded 17-year-old forward Riley Ginnell to the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for a sixth round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

Ginnell, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound left winger from Calgary, was chosen by the Blazers in the seventh round of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

He played in six pre-season games, registering a goal and three assists.

B4

FRIDAY, September 20, 2019

BLAZER NATION

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

2019-2020

SEASON PREVIEW

Garand ready to backstop Blazers In the WHL, first impressions can mean everything, which is great news for Dylan Garand.

The eighth goaltender selected at the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, Garand was thrust into the starting role after an untimely injury to Dylan Ferguson near the end of the regular season in 20182019.

Stepping into the spotlight, he was nothing short of incredible, posting an 5-0-1-0 record, 1.63 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage, and one shutout to get his team into the tie-breaker game.

Garand then stopped 27 of 28 shots in the tie-breaker game to help Kamloops defeat Kelowna for the final playoff spot.

In the pre-season Garand led the league in wins, with four, while compiling a 2.06 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

“He gained some really valuable experience and then this summer representing Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which was great for him,” Bardsley said. “I know he’s looking forward to the season.”

The Blazers also have a rising talent in the 18-year-old Rayce Ramsay, who was arguably the best rookie goaltender in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League last season, posting a 16-71-1 record, a 2.73 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 27 games with the Humboldt Broncos.

In the pre-season, Ramsay secured two wins while turning in a goals against average of 2.20 and a save percentage of .918.

Bardsley spoke highly of both goaltenders and the potential strength that could exist from utilizing both this coming season.

“We have two quality goaltenders that are quality people and they’re going to be pushing each other,” he said. “It’s going to be a nice competition, but it’s a healthy one.”

— WHL Network

Kamloops Blazers’ goalie Dylan Garand led the WHL in pre-season wins, with four.

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BLAZER NATION

B5

2019-2020

SEASON PREVIEW

This season, the Kamloops defence won’t rest Montana Onyebuchi (right), named the Blazers’ top defenceman of |2018-2019, tangles with Seattle Thunderbirds’ rearguard Owen Williams during WHL play in March.

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW FILE

MARTY HASTINGS

STAFF REPORTER

sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

Most folks will agree the Kamloops Blazers are entering a winning window.

How far they push this WHL season might depend greatly on their defence corps, which is seen by some to lack depth in comparison to the forward and goaltender groups.

Quinn Schmiemann, an 18-year-old left shot from Wilcox, Sask., was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer after a breakout 17-year-old campaign, in which he improved throughout the season and peaked in the playoffs.

The Lightning kept him at their training camp into this week.

He is welcoming the spotlight that comes with his drafted status.

“I don’t know if it’s a different approach,” Schmiemann said.

“I think it’s more responsibility to handle. But I think I can handle it.

“We’ve got a good team this

year. As long as I work hard at the rink and do what I’m supposed to do, everything will fall into place.”

Montana Onyebuchi, 19, was named the Blazers’ top defenceman of 2018-2019, thanks in part to a dominant second half, and was a standout at the Calgary Flames’ development camp in July.

The undrafted right shot from

Dugald, Man., is among the most intimidating players in the league — he doesn’t have to fight anymore. And he can play.

Onyebuchi spent time in the past weeks at the Calgary Flames’ training camp, Luke Zazula, 19, was under the microscope last season after his 17-year-old campaign, in 2017-2018, did not live up to expectations established follow-

ing his impressive 16-year-old year.

Blazers’ brass saw 20182019 as a bounce-back season for Zazula and have him pencilled in with Schmiemann and Onyebuchi as the squad’s top-tier defencemen.

Sean Strange, 19, established himself as a dependable rearguard in the second half of 20182019, a quality penalty killer who

will push for more ice time in 2019-2020.

Inaki Baragano, an 18-yearold right shot from Lausanne, Switzerland, might turn out to be a key acquisition, selected this summer in the CHL Import Draft.

“He’s a really good skater, makes smart plays and is not afraid to jump up in the play,” Schmiemann said. “I saw him moving the puck pretty well, too.”

How Baragano progresses and adapts to the North American game remains to be seen, but early signs point to him being a solid addition, one who would go a long way in answering depth questions.

Jackson Caller, a 20-year-old left shot from Kamloops, was a steady hand and a local player, but he was released this week.

After clearing waivers, Caller will join the junior A Vernon Vipers.

Jostling for the one or two available roster spots for newcomers on the back end are Trevor Thurston, 17, and 16-yearolds Ethan Brandwood and Logan Bairos.

B6

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B7

B8

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BLAZER NATION

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SEASON PREVIEW

From Boston to Kamloops for a quick visit MARTY HASTINGS

STAFF REPORTER

sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

K

amloops Blazers’ legend Jarome Iginla and family live in the Boston area.

Much of the retired NHLer’s life revolves around coaching his three children — daughter Jade, 15, and sons Tij, 13, and Joe, 11.

An unfortunate early exit from Little League allowed the Kamloops Blazers’ part-owner to attend the WHL club’s alumni tournament this past summer at Rivershore Golf Links.

Media caught up with him for a few questions: Q: What’s it like to be back in Kamloops?

JI: Time flies.

When you drive in,

lots has changed, but it still looks and feels so similar and brings back a lot of great memories.

I miss junior, when you’re coming in and everything is so fresh.

When I come back and see the mountains, I can remember getting dropped off by my mom at 16 and I didn’t know what to expect — and all the neat memories here.

Q: What do you miss most about playing in the NHL? JI: I don’t know if I can pinpoint one thing, but I do miss the competitive side.

It’s just so fun to be out there playing the game.

We were just big kids, even though we were 25 and, at the end, 38.

It didn’t feel a lot different than being 16 or 17. It was a dream come true.

I kind of wore the

WITH &A IGGY

Q

tread off the tires, but I feel thankful I got to do that.

Q: Speaking of competitiveness, you used to have some good battles with Ryan Kesler.

Did you have a healthy hockey hate on for him?

JI: On the ice, you definitely don’t like certain guys and I’m sure that goes both ways.

It’s not personal.

You try to do whatever you can to win and

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help your team.

On the ice, yeah, definitely one of the guys, you know, what do you say, I butted heads with the most.

I don’t know him personally. Two rival teams.

Starts there.

I was competitive.

He was competitive.

You play each other so much. That’s part of hockey.

Q: What are the chances we see one of

your sons in a Blazers’ jersey?

JI: Well, we’re out east right now.

Both my sons, they do talk about the possibility of wanting to get into the WHL. They like Kamloops and they see enough of the memorabilia around the house.

We’ll just keep at it. They like it. They’re working away at it.

It’s fun to try to pass some stuff on to them.

We’ll just keep trying to help them improve.

It’s neat to be able to be there for practices, coaching my sons’ bantam and peewee teams.

The daughter doesn’t want anything to do with me out on the ice.

She plays, but she doesn’t want me out there.

Q: Do you see yourself getting back into hockey?

JI: I’m getting that

now with coaching [my sons].

It’s literally six days a week, at least one or maybe two times on the ice.

What I do find is I have to dial it back a little bit.

I think of the coaches that you try to learn from and you forget it’s like Don Hay, and they’re great at what they do, but these are just 13- and 11-year-old kids.

Sometimes. I take some of their stuff and then I realize, whoa, maybe that’s too intense.

I’m still learning.

For right now, this is where my focus is.

I don’t know what opportunities will come down the road, hopefully some really good ones and something that fits, but right now I’m loving the kids and coaching them.”

FRIDAY, September 20, 2019

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BLAZER NATION

B9

2019-2020

SEASON PREVIEW

Gaglardi expects Blazers to continue hot streak While the Kelowna Rockets were chosen to host the 2020 Memorial Cup tourney, Kamloops Blazers’ majority owner Tom Gaglardi (seen here in November 2017 announcing the club’s bid for the event), is intent on having his club make life challenging for the Okanagan club this season.

DAVE EAGLES/KTW FILE

MARTY HASTINGS

STAFF REPORTER

sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

Tom Gaglardi is confident his Kamloops Blazers are entering a winning phase.

“We’re at the start of something good,” said Gaglardi, the WHL club’s majority owner.

“I really like our last two or three drafts. I think we’ve got a really deep bench. Frankly, it’s deeper than I ever remember.

“And I feel really good about the coaching staff experience.”

The Blazers hired head coach Serge Lajoie and assistant coach Dan Kordic last summer, a pairing that had success coaching the Alberta Golden Bears in the U Sports ranks.

Their tenure on Mark Recchi Way lasted one season.

“With all due respect to last year, it’s a really hard league and you had two guys that didn’t know the league and did a good job with a good young team with some limited talent and managed to find a way into the playoffs, so we expect to build on that

this year,” said Gaglardi, who also owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars.

Kyle Gustafson appeared next in line to take the reins in Kamloops, but he opted to stay with the Winterhawks in Portland in the associate coach/assistant GM

position.

In May, the Medicine Hat Tigers parted ways with Shaun Clouston, who was named the Blazers’ head coach in June.

“Shaun Clouston brings 14 years experience with the league,” Gaglardi said.

“He’s really excited to be here, a rejuvenated person. And what can I say about Darryl Sydor? He’s the epitome of a professional.”

Sydor joined the Blazers as an assistant coach last season, in February, just in time for their incredible run to the playoffs.

He was among candidates to take the head coaching reins for 2019-2020.

The former Blazer and NHL defenceman, a part-owner of the

Blazers, did not get the gig, but was promoted to associate coach.

Gaglardi is a fan of the tandem, the duo charged with making sure the Blazers pick up where they left off in 2018-2019.

Also on their to-do list: Get one over on Kelowna Rockets and owner Bruce Hamilton.

The Rockets, Blazers and Lethbridge Hurricanes made bids to host the 2020 Memorial Cup. Kelowna won.

“Kelowna is our biggest enemy, I suppose,” Gaglardi said. “ Kelowna, Vancouver, those are long-lasting rivalries. For me, it’s Kelowna, our Interior rival here.

“We really thought we deserved to have the Memorial Cup, so there is a sour taste in our mouth. We’re going

to be motivated to do whatever we can to make it a tough year for them.”

Gaglardi isn’t done thinking about that defeat.

What about the Game 7, doubleovertime loss his Stars incurred to the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s Western Conference semifinal round in May? Is he over that one?

“Not even close,” Gaglardi said.

“Internally, when you’re having conversations … we’re right there.

“We’re as close as anyone to eliminating them.

“So it gives you some comfort to know that your team is right there and it could have been us. That’s a good feeling.”

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CLUB HISTORY: • Estevan Bruins: 1966 to 1971 • New Westminster Bruins: 1971 to 1981 • Kamloops Junior Oilers: 1981 to 1984 • Kamloops Blazers: 1984 to present MEMORIAL CUPS: Seven (Kamloops Blazers in 1992, 1994 and 1995; New Westminster Bruins in 1977 and 1978) OFF THE ICE: Owners: Tom Gaglardi (majority owner) and Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Darryl Sydor and Mark Recchi General manager: Matt Bardsley Head coach: Shaun Clouston ON THE ICE: 2019 Pre-season record: 7-0 2018-2019 regular season record: 28-32-6-2, 64 points (third in B.C. Division, 17th in Western Hockey League) 2019 Playoffs: Won tie-breaker game versus Kelowna to secure the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Lost to Victoria Royals in first round of playoffs, being eliminated in six games in the best-of-seven series Top scorers: RW Zane Franklin (28-40–68), C Connor Zary (24-43–67), LW Orrin Centazzo (18-33–51) Imports: RW Martin Lang (Czech Republic), D Inaki Baragano (Switzerland)

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FRIDAY, September 20, 2019

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SEASON PREVIEW

No Swiss miss in Kamloops drafting Baragano Inaki Baragano scored on this shot in Kamloops’ 6-1 pre-season win over visiting Kelowna on Sept. 13.

The 18-year-old Swiss defenceman is one of two imports on the club and is in his first season. Forward Martin Lang of the Czech Republic is entering his first season with the Blue and Orange.

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW FILE

MARTY HASTINGS

STAFF REPORTER

sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

Inaki Baragano made a good first impression on Kamloops Blazers’ general manager Matt Bardsley, who found the Swiss import defenceman in the Sandman Centre weight room the day after arriving from Europe.

The 5-foot-10, 170pound right shot from Lausanne didn’t let any jet lag catch up to him at training camp, either.

“We thought he had an outstanding camp,” Bardsley said.

Baragano, who turned 18 on Sept.

4, scored the overtime winner for Team Holland in the Blazers Cup final, the marker putting an end to the

split-squad tournament and training camp, which wrapped up on Sunday at Sandman Centre.

The goal was just an exclamation point.

Bardsley said the import showed mobility, a crisp first pass and a physical component to his game during

practices and scrimmages, tools the GM thought he was getting when he selected Baragano 16th overall at the CHL Import Draft in June.

“But sometimes, you never know,” Bardsley said. “You see video and you kind of have to lean on your contacts.”

In six pre-season games Baragano had two goals and two assist and was an impressive plus-11.

Bardsley nabbed a pair of players at the 2018 import draft, defenceman Joonas Sillanpaa of Finland and forward Martin Lang of the

Czech Republic.

Sillanpaa’s tenure with the Blazers ended after the 2018-2019 campaign. Lang stuck and it was his agent who recommended Bardsley take a look at Baragano.

“For junior, it’s the best league,” Baragano said.

“In Switzerland, the junior league is not very good. That’s why I wanted to play for the Kamloops Blazers.”

Baragano toiled last season for Lausanne in the under-20 Swiss Elite League and finished fourth among defencemen in scoring, with 22 points in 39 games, including six goals.

The three defencemen ahead of him are two years older, born in 1999.

“I’m an offensive player,” Baragano said.

“I love the puck. Good skating. Good passes.”

And how was he able to make a statement at training camp?

“I knew I can play,”

he said. “So I played.

Relaxed. No stress.

That’s why I play like this.”

The U20 Swiss league does not hold a candle to the WHL, a great training camp does not necessarily mean a strong preseason and performing well in exhibition games does not guarantee success in the regular season.

But Baragano touched down in Kamloops and hit the tarmac running — and that’s never a bad thing.

“He seems like a very comfortable person,” Bardsley said.

“We’re really happy with where he’s at.”

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