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Winterhawks vets still improving for final junior season

By Paul Danzer, Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: September 24, 2015, 8:39pm

For two members of the Portland Winterhawks, the start of the season is in some ways bittersweet.

As 20-year-olds, Alex Schoenborn and Blake Heinrich know the 2015-16 Western Hockey League season will be the end of junior hockey for them.

It’s also an important chance to enhance the prospect of a successful professional hockey career.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Schoenborn said. “It feels like yesterday that I came in as a young guy looking to the older guys and trying to learn all that I could.”

Schoenborn, a San Jose 2014 draft pick who recently returned from his second Sharks training camp, will be looked to for leadership on and off the ice for a Winterhawks team that must replace a trio of dynamic offensive players.

A midseason injury last season interrupted a promising year for the right winger from North Dakota. Now healthy, the 6-foot-1, 199-pound power forward aspires to be a game-changer in his third full season with the Winterhawks.

“I need to be stronger on the puck, stronger on my stick,” Schoenborn said, explaining the feedback Sharks coaches gave him.

Winterhawks coach Jamie Kompon believes a healthy Schoenborn will be an important piece of his team.

“He’s a bull. He provides that physical element, that work ethic that we preach to our players,” Kompon said. “He was having a great season until he had his injury. Hopefully we can get him back to that level once again.”

Heinrich was drafted in 2013 by Washington, but was not signed the Capitals. He called not signing a “kick in the butt” that motivates him to improve all areas of his game. Leg strength, he said, was a focus of his summer training as he tries to improve his speed.

Like Schoenborn, Heinrich expects to lead both on and off the ice.

Kompon will certainly expect leadership from the Hawks two 20-year-olds. WHL teams are allied to carry three players of hockey age 20. Like last season, Portland begins the year with only two overage players. Kompon said the team might take the same approach as last year when they acquired overage defenseman Adam Henry at midseason.

“It makes me sad a little bit that my junior (career) is coming to an end, but I just want to give it my all and hopefully it works out for the best,” Heinrich said.

Winterhawks opener

Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m. Friday

Listen: AM 860.

Watch: WHL Live (subscription internet stream)

Winterhawks storylines for 2015-16 season

Where will the goals come from? For the first time in several seasons, the Winterhawks do not return any of their top three scorers from the previous season. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan and Chase De Leo accounted for 291 points (117 regular-season goals) last season and have moved to professional hockey. Paul Bittner (34 goals, 71 points) is the top returning scorer.
Coach Jamie Kompon said he expects scoring by committee, and said that is preferred to having a couple of players carry the load the way Bjorkstrand and Petan did at times last season.
European additions Rodrigo Abols of Latvia and Carl Ericson of Sweden join returnees Bittner, Dominic Turgeon, Keegan Iverson and Alex Schoenborn as players expected to provide consistent scoring.
“We have three real strong lines that can score and another line that can chip in here and there that I’m confident putting out on the ice,” Kompon said.
Both European players are good with the puck, according to Kompon. Abols (6-5, 185) could be an impact player right away. The 19-year-old was an invitee to the Vancouver Canucks training camp. He has played for Latvia’s senior national team and last season played 15 games in Russia’s pro league, the KHL.
Which young players will emerge as key contributors? Alex Overhardt, 18, had four goals and two assists in preseason and was second to 16-year-old rookie Cody Glass (two goals, five assists) in preseason points. Glass, fellow 16-year-old Ryan Hughes, 17-year-old Igor Larionov II  and 17-year old Brett Clayton are rookie forwards. Evan Weinger (18) and Skyler McKenzie (17) saw time in the playoffs last season. McKenzie, who plays fearless despite being only 5-foot-7, said that playoff experience gives him a lot more confidence. “You feel so much more comfortable with the puck. You feel so much more comfortable in your D-zone, too.”
Larionov II, son of the hockey hall-of-gamer, has been slowed by injury in preseason.
Kompon said he isn’t putting many expectations on the young players. “We want them to grow into the game.”
How well will new defensemen adjust to WHL? Blake Heinrich and Keoni Texeira are the most experienced defensemen on the roster, but the Winterhawks added two NHL-drafted defensemen in Caleb Jones and Jack Dougherty. Dougherty (6-2, 196) played college hockey  for Wisconsin before being drafted and signing an entry-level contract with Nashville. Jones, the brother of former Winterhawk and current Nashville Predator Seth Jones, was drafted by Edmonton in the summer.
Proven goaltender provides a foundation:  Now 19, Adin Hill looks to build on his strong rookie season with the Hawks after he was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes. Hill was 31-12 with a 2.81 goals-against average and a WHL-best .921 save percentage in the regular season. He was 10-6 in the playoffs with a 2.96 GAA. Michael Boullion, 18, is the backup. He went 2-2 in four appearances for the Hawks last season. He played 25 games with Wenatchee of the North American Hockey League last season.
Second season for Kompon. Coach and general manager Jamie Kompon didn’t have a lot of time to get up to speed last season when he was hired to replace Mike Johnston after Johnston left to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kompon said he is more settled and confident now that he knows the WHL – and the Winterhawks players – better. His first season wasn’t bad. The Hawks finished second in the U.S. Division and took league champion Kelowna to six games in the Western Conference finals.
State-ing their case: Of the 25 players on the Winterhawks’ opening day roster, 13 are from the United States. That continues a trend that has helped keep Portland among the top teams in the WHL over the last six years.
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Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter