2017-18 season previews: Tri-City Americans

(Photos courtesy of Tri-City Americans/Doug Love)

Tri-City Americans (2016-17 record: 42-28-3-0, 85pts. 3rd in U.S. Division, lost to Seattle in first round of the WHL playoffs)

The Tri-City Americans enter the 2017-18 season as an early favorite to do well in the strong U.S. division. Regardless of whether they win the division, they are built for now and for a possible deep run in the WHL postseason.

Who they lost from last year: 

Tyler Sandhu (OA), Dalton Yorke (OA), Rylan Parenteau (OA), Austyn Playfair (Retired), Evan Sarthou (Retired), Parker Wotherspoon (NY Islanders)

Possible breakout players:

Nolan Yaremko

Yaremko had 22pts. (8g, 14a) in 67 games last season. He already has 11pts. (9g, 2a) in just four preseason games this year. He is entering his 19-year-old season, and the experience and confidence of a WHL “veteran” is starting to really show. He has always been one of the hardest working players on the team, and now it seems that hard work should be paying off on the scoresheet.

 

Carson Focht

There was a lot of buzz around him coming into last season. Focht was taken in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2015 Bantam Draft by the Americans. His numbers in Bantam were impressive. Not so much last year for the Americans. There seemed to be a confidence issue. Now that he is a veteran, look for him to come into stride with his potential.

What would have to happen for this team to win the WHL this season?

Consistency. Solid Goaltending.

The Americans may have the best group of “top-nine” forwards in the league. They will be able to score. But how will that group, and the rest of the team, battle through possible adversity this year? Adversity that will creep up during a long season. The last couple of seasons, the team was very streaky at times. When it comes to the playoffs, they have only won two games the past 5 years. A lot of the adversity they have faced had to do with injuries and mental toughness. Injuries you can’t control. Mental toughness comes with age and experience. They have been a young group the last couple of years. Now that they are an older core, the mental game should be better prepared to handle adversity. The US Division of the WHL may be the strongest it’s been in awhile this year. The team will need to consistently bring their “A” game every night.

They also need a solid number-one goaltender. Whether that be from someone already in the organization who steps up, or through a trade is yet to be seen. The team hired Eli Wilson in the offseason as the new goaltending coach, so the possibility of developing that number-one from within the organization is the likely route.

What is the glaring concern?

As stated above, goaltending. For many years, the Americans have been said to “breed goalies.” This year brings more questions than answers. Beck Warm officially played his rookie season last year at age 17, but has been in the organization for the past three seasons. He carried a pretty good load of game action early last season when the team was without injured Evan Sarthou. He was solid, but has yet to put in a full season workload with the Americans. Time will tell as he continues to develop.

Former Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender, Patrick Dea, earned a camp invite from the Americans this year. He has split time mostly with Warm during the preseason where he saw decent numbers. He is an overage player and brings experience to the team. He had a solid preseason including a shutout and a combined shutout against Kootenay sharing the game action with Warm.

 

 

 

Where are the roster battles?

Goaltending

At this point, it looks like Patrick Dea and Beck Warm will be the 2 goalies Tri-City rolls with for now. What isn’t decided at this point is who is the #1. Patrick Dea has started the last two seasons for the Edmonton Oil Kings, but did not post stellar numbers. A change of scenery and a stronger defensive unit in front of him could be just what Dea needs to shine.

Beck Warm only played in 10 games for the Americans last season and despite being in the team’s system the last 3 years, he has yet to have the opportunity for a full year between the pipes as a starter or a backup. He is 18 this year, and with a full season of opportunity, Warm should get the opportunity to show just what he has.

Forward

With a deep core of veteran forwards, the question will be which of the young guns can crack the roster on a nightly basis. Based on preseason performance, the battle comes down to Connor Bouchard and Sasha Mutala. There is no doubt that both can score. They also limit their defensive liability on the ice (Mutala +8, Bouchard +7 in six preseason games). The decision should come down to where they are at individually in their development processes at this point. Based purely on athletic skill, at this point, I think the nod goes to Mutala.

Interesting stats:

This will be the Americans 30th season in Kennewick, WA after the team moved from New Westminster, B.C. in 1988.

Michael Rasmussen becomes just the fifth Americans player to be named captain before his 20-year-old season.

20-year-old situation:

The Americans currently have five overage players on the roster:

Patrick Dea (G)

Maxwell James (LW)

Vladislav Lukin (RW)

Brendan O”Reilly (RD)

Jordan Topping (LW)

There will be some hard decisions for the team to make. It is likely Brendan O’Reilly will be moved. The Americans have a solid defensive core and a deep pipeline of young talent. Import defenseman Sergei Sapego was impressive in the preseason and should get a strong look to earn a roster spot.

If Sapego does make the team, then Vladislav Lukin would most likely be out as well. In addition to being a 20-year-old, Lukin also currently holds one of the team’s two import roster spots allowed by the league. Finnish import Juuso Välimäki will likely return to the team sometime during or after the Calgary Flames training camp and preseason, which will only leave one import spot open.

Import situation:

The Americans currently have four import players in the system.

Roman Kalinichenko (LD) (Moscow, Russia)

Vladislav Lukin (RW) (Ufa, Russia)

Sergei Sapego (LD) (Vitebsk, Belarus)

Jusso Välimäki (LD) (Nokia Finland)

With only two available roster spots for import players for each team in the WHL, the Americans will have to drop two of the above players before the regular season starts. Valimäki has been impressive at the Calgary Flames rookie camp thus far, but chances are he will be returned to the Americans for the upcoming season to continue development. This leaves one other spot available for the three remaining imports. Lukin will likely be out as he is also an overage player. That leaves Sapego and Kalinichenko for the final import player roster spot. Sapego has made the stronger case during the Americans’ preseason that he is roster ready now. Kalinichenko is a year younger, and  the Americans could have him for a longer period of time than Sapego and see how he develops. However, with a pipeline full of young North American prospects, and a couple of solid stay-at-home style defensemen already on the roster, Kalinichecnko will likely be returned.

Away at NHL Camps:

Dylan Coghlan (Las Vegas Golden Knights, Invite)

Morgan Geekie (Carolina Hurricanes, 2nd rd. pick 2017 NHL draft)

Isaac Johnson (Detroit Red Wings, Invite)

Kyle Olson (Anaheim Ducks, 4th rd. pick 2017 NHL draft)

Michael Rasmussen (Detroit Red Wings, 1st rd. pick 2017 NHL draft)

Jusso Välimäki (Calgary Flames, 1st rd. pick 2017 NHL draft)

The Americans have “been there” a lot over the past years. They have made the playoffs 13 of the last 14 seasons. They have a couple of division titles in that time, and even a trip to the WHL finals in 2010. The talent is in place for them to “be there” again, and possibly beyond. If someone steps up big in net, and they can stay healthy, then maybe just “being there” will be replaced with a championship banner.