It’s Overreaction Monday where we take a look at a storyline from the weekend and … well overreact. While some good points will be made, these are meant to drive a particular narrative and have fun.
This week’s overreaction: The Royals are the team to beat in the B.C. Division
The first eight games of the 2018-19 campaign were as important as any games this early can get for the Victoria Royals. All eight of their first games this year come against their B.C. Division rivals. With points within the division being worth so much, a strong or poor start would have lasting effects.
So with the Royals storming out of the gate and taking both games last weekend over the Prince George Cougars and then both this weekend over the Kamloops Blazers, they are in a good spot within the division – at the very top.
The Royals were expected to struggle this season and many people had them at the bottom of the division with the Cougars.
Victoria lost a huge part of their offense in Matthew Phillips, Tyler Soy, Tanner Kaspick, Noah Gregor and Andrei Grishakov. They also were without defensemen Chaz Reddekopp and Jared Freadrich. Scott Walford was also off the ice temporarily with an injury.
The one constant for the Royals who was coming back though was netminder Griffen Outhouse. The overage goalie has played all but seven minutes of the first four games and has an incredible 1.77 GAA and 0.947 save percentage. He even posted a shootout win in that span.
He is a key reason the Royals have allowed but seven goals in four games, the lowest rate in the WHL.
The leader in points right now for the Royals is also an overage player. No it is not play-making center Dante Hannoun who had 79 points last season. It is shutdown defender Ralph Jarratt who had 15 points in 2017-18. He already has one goal and five assists for six points in 2018-19. His one goal was a dandy on the power play that showed off his skating ability.
19-year-old D-Jay Jerome appears to be the latest player to find new life on the island. He has two goals and two assists for four points, after piling up 10 points in five preseason games. The oft-traveled Jerome had just one point in 44 regular season games last year.
(Photo: Christoper Kelsall, Victoria Sports News)
The Royals are scoring in different ways so far this year too. Kaid Oliver has two different highlight-reel short handed goals and Tyler Lees has a marker on the penalty kill as well.
The offense is spread out with Dino Kambeitz, Jerome, Oliver, Brandon Cutler and import Phillip Schultz each tallying two goals so far.
The Royals must have felt strongly about their forward group as they moved overage sniper Lane Zablocki to B.C. Division rival Kelowna Rockets last week. That leaves them with Hannoun, Jarratt and Outhouse as their overagers. They also moved long-time backup goalie Dean McNabb. Outhouse will again gets a lion’s share of the starts this year.
If he can keep up his hot start and steer the Royals to some more B.C. Division wins, the Royals could be back up near the top of the division in a year few expected them to be. If they do make it back to the playoffs, general manager Cam Hope will be taking home an award or two as he has already made 11 trades since the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft in May.
