Allen Douglas / Kamloops Blazers

Blazers go undefeated in preseason

The Blazers completed their preseason with a home-and-home sweep against the Kelowna Rockets this weekend. Yes, they finished the preseason undefeated and yes, that should be taken with a grain of salt. 

Kamloops has 17 returning players this season, excluding backup Rayce Ramsay and Swiss-born Inaki Baragano who are shoe-ins for opening night. Needless to say, there is a lot of competition for the few remaining roster spots. With the majority of the lineup already determined, and only Quinn Schmiemann still away at Tampa Bay Lightning’s rookie camp, much of the focus through preseason was geared toward chemistry and getting up to game speed. Most of the players rotating in and out of games filled out the bottom half of the roster, and as such, the Blazers were consistently dressing a more skilled and veteran lineup than their competition.

Logan Stankoven. Photo by Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers

That particular detail, combined with 37 combined points from the top line, including a WHL-leading eight goals and 15 points from rookie Logan Stankoven, was the recipe for success, but they were far from a one-trick pony.  Kamloops received major contributions from their 2018 and 2019 bantam draft selections through the seven games. Matthew Seminoff — a fifth-round pick in 2018 — had a solid preseason with seven points in six games. The 2018 draft resulted in another standout in Logan Bairos, whose assertiveness in all three zones made the defenseman look more poised than the average 16-year-old.

From the 2019 draft, Mats Lindgren, Tye Spencer, and Dylan Ernst made a positive impact in their brief preseason showings.

Dylan Ernst. Photo by Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers

It was easy to see why Ernst was the first goalie taken in the bantam draft. The Weyburn, Sask., native maintained strong positioning in net and seemed to waste little energy while stopping all 27 shots he faced across two games. Lindgren’s skating allowed him to draw the forecheck in before finding an open Blazer to break out of the zone, while his vision and decision-making provided him ample opportunity on the power play. Time may be all that Spencer needs; the diminutive forward has a nose for the net and the ability to finish from multiple areas around the ice.

One area of concern heading into the regular season could be the struggling power play. The Blazers converted on just six of their 41 opportunities on the man advantage and gave up two short-handed goals in the process. Their early struggles are not for a lack of skill, and the coaching staff will be keen on finding the correct formula before opening night. 

With Riley Appelt and Jackson Caller back in the fold, the Blazers’ only omission is the aforementioned sophomore Quinn Schmiemann. Now that preseason is wrapped up, the focus will be shifted to September 20th when the Blazers kick off the 2019-2020 season against the Spokane Chiefs at the Sandman Centre.