It’s that time of year again! We at the DubNetwork always try to come up with a new order for previews each year and this season we are going with least recent to most recent Ed Chynoweth Cups for our order of previews. They will run 2-to-3 a day until September 20th. Then on September 21st – the day the season opens – we will have our predictions.
2017-18: Last year was a trying time for the players, coaches, and fans of the Kamloops Blazers. The team finished with a record of 30-17-1-4 for 65 points, finished 2nd last in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs.
Offseason departures: This offseason brought more change than the usual departures of 20-year-olds. on May 10th majority owner Tom Gaglardi announced that General Manager Stu MacGregor had been reassigned within the Dallas Stars organization while both the Director of Player Personnel, Matt Recchi and Assistant Coach, Mike Needham did not have their contracts renewed. Most notably, Hall of Fame coach Don Hay also moved on from the team. The Blazers reported he had retired from coaching but was still kept on the payroll as an advisor. Hay was clearly still looking to be in the coaching game as on August 20th – a little over three months after the announcement from the Blazers, he joined longtime friend Mike Johnston with the Portland Winterhawks as an assistant coach.
Along with all the front office changes, the Blazers also graduated three 20-year-olds off their year end roster this offseason. Kamloops native Nick Chyzowski, and defensemen Joe Gatenby and Brady Reagan have all moved on from the Western Hockey League. Other player departures include Forward Quinn Benjafield who was traded to Edmonton along with a 2020 fourth round pick on May 3rd, for Forward Kobe Mohr. Later in the offseason on July 31st, 18-year-old forward Jackson Shepard was traded to Lethbridge for forward Zane Franklin and a fourth round pick in 2020. Import forward Justin Sigrist has also moved on from the team and will play back home for the GC Küsnacht Lions.
Newcomers: The 2018-19 season brings in some new faces, not only on the ice but also in the front office. Starting from the top, the Blazers hired a new General Manager, ex-Portland Winterhawks Assistant GM, Matt Bardsley. Bardsley had been involved with Portland for 19 seasons. He started as a scout, working his way up to Assistant GM. Bardsley’s first order of business was to hire a coach, and he did just that on June 25th when the team announced that former Alberta Golden Bears head coach Serge Lajoie had accepted the head coaching role. Lajoie had spent three seasons with the Golden Bears, the last of which saw his team raise the David Johnston University Cup as the Men’s Hockey USPORTS champions. Soon after, on June 9th, Bardsley, along with insight from Lajoie, hired Assistant Coach Dan Kordic. Kordic had been Lajoie’s assistant for the Golden Bears during the last two seasons.
There are also a few new players who are expected be carving up the Sandman Centre ice this season. Forwards Josh Pillar, (newly signed) Jerzy Orchard, and Kyrell Sopotyk are three names to watch for this season. While it’s likely Pillar sticks with the team the entire season, it’s hard to say what happens to the other two when/if Jermaine Loewen returns from Dallas Stars camp. Both Orchard and Sopotyk have shown enough in camp and during preseason to warrant staying all season, but it’s yet to be seen what the Blazers front office decides to do. On defence, rookie Quinn Schmiemann is expected to jump into action this year. The Blazers blue line is as deep as it has been in years and Schmiemann is a big part of that depth.
While the rookies have impressed this preseason, there were also some players acquired via trade. Forwards Kobe Mohr and Zane Franklin have both joined the team this offseason from the eastern conference. Mohr came over from the Edmonton Oil Kings on May 3rd and Franklin was moved from Lethbridge on July 31st.
Overage situation: The overage situation this season was made easy with the offseason move of forward Quinn Benjafield. This trade left the Blazers with three overage players. Forwards Jermaine Loewen and Luc Smith with try to improve their point total this year, while goaltender Dylan Ferguson, provided he is returned to the WHL from Vegas (consensus is he will be) will look to backstop the Blazers surely playing upwards of 55 games. These three players may very well be the best 20-year-old group in the Western Conference, maybe the entire WHL.
Import situation: After trading defenceman Ondrej Vala at the deadline last year the Blazers ended the season with one import spot open and chose to take two players in the 2018 CHL import draft, meaning Forward Justin Sigrist had been released. In the first round Kamloops chose Czech forward Martin Lang with the 14th overall pick. Lang had 59 points in 35 games in the Czech under-18 league last season. With their second selection, the Blazers chose 6-foot-6 Finnish defenceman Jonas Sillanpaa 74th overall. Sillanpaa had eight points in 43 games combined in the Finished under-18 and under-20 leagues.
Returning scorers:
| Pts rank | Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
| 63 | Jermaine Loewen | 66 | 36 | 28 | 64 |
| 117 | Luc Smith | 62 | 21 | 23 | 44 |
| 150 | Brodi Stuart | 70 | 16 | 22 | 38 |
| 155 | Nolan Kneen | 68 | 7 | 30 | 37 |
Returning goalies
| Player | GP | GAA | Sv % | Record |
| Dylan Ferguson | 59 | 2.95 | .907 | 24-28-1-3-1 |
| Max Palaga | 17 | 3.71 | .875 | 5-7-0-1-1 |
| Dylan Garand | 3 | 3.14 | .905 | 1-2-0-0-0 |
Forwards: Overall, the Blazers forward crop is certainly one that can do damage throughout this season. Returning 20 year olds Jermaine Loewen and Luc Smith will certainly be leaned on to provide a bulk of the offense. Surprisingly, 2000-born Brodi Stuart went undrafted this past June. One has to think that he will use that, along with a strong preseason to lead a secondary wave of attack from the forward group. Other parts of that second wave will include rookie import Martin Lang, speedster Orrin Centazzo, and 2001-born Connor Zary- who will look to improve on his impressive rookie campaign.
Defense: The Blazers blue line will certainly be key to any success they have this year. The 1999-born trio of Nolan Kneen, Sean Strange, freshly returned from Colorado Avalanche rookie camp, and Tampa Bay Lightning main camp invitee Montana Onyebuchi will lead the group. 2000-born Luke Zazula, will be relied upon to provide some offense from the back end, and to carry the puck out of trouble when needed. Rookies Quinn Schmiemann and Jonas Sillanpaa, whether in the lineup from day one or stepping in due to injury, will need to show their value to stick in this solid group of defenseman.
Goalies: Goaltending should also be a strong point for this team. Overage goaltender Dylan Ferguson played 59 games last year and should be expected to come close to that number again this year. The Blazers know what they have in Ferguson, he is as solid as they come in the WHL. The 20-year-old goalie will give this team a chance to win on almost every night he’s between the pipes. The backup job becomes more interesting. 16-year-old Dylan Garand or 18-year-old Max Palaga. There is a good chance that both these goalies see regular season minutes early on as Ferguson should play at least one preseason game with Vegas this year. As for the backup spot, do they take a shot on Garand this year? Which would surely mean he is set up to be the starter next year. Or does management decide they want a more known quantity in Palaga? Let’s not rule out newly signed 17-year-old Rayce Ramsay who has performed well this preseason. Whichever goalie proves themselves early in the season should be in the driver’s seat.
Outlook: The BC Division is due for a shakeup. Kelowna and Victoria lost big pieces and Vancouver is looking like the favourites to hang a division banner this year. If Kamloops’ overagers Jermaine Loewen, Luc Smith, and Dylan Ferguson have the years they are expected to, the river city team should find themselves easily inside the playoff picture, and probably have home ice advantage in the first round.
