Every WHL, AHL, and NHL team is looking to grow the game at the grassroots level. The Portland Winterhawks are no different.
On Sunday night, the Winterhawks Junior Hockey organization held their second annual Alumni Game. Proof the youth hockey scene in Portland is alive and well.
The highlight was an action-filled game between the current 18U AAA Winterhawks Junior Hockey team and their alumni. However, the event was more than just a game.
First, all proceeds from the event went to Tom’s Tykes, a newly-founded program led by Portland Winterhawks Assistant General Manager and Associate Coach Kyle Gustafson.
“It is something that Mike Johnston (Winterhawks vice president, general manager, and head coach) and myself researched in the summer,” Gustafson said. “When my dad (Tom) passed away, it was something we kind of put towards his memory. It is a program where if any kid wants to play, they can participate in a 12-week program where the equipment, the ice time, everything is provided for them for free. Once they graduate from that program, then there is a package that they can continue on, mostly a start into playing hockey.”
More information will be available soon, but Gustafson said, “It is something that takes place in August. Last year was our first pseudo plan with it. We are going to try to evolve it a little bit more and raise as much money as we can to kind of kick it off. It is something we researched from the NHL. The Anaheim Ducks have something very similar to this, and we wanted to do the same thing.”
Former Winterhawks Junior Hockey President Dean Rurak commented, “I think tonight is really special for Tom’s Tykes and Tom Gustafson. I always loved coming to the rink and talking to him. It was great seeing him at the rink every Saturday and Sunday. I’m fortunate that one of his grandsons is the same age as my younger boy — great to see him watching his grandkids play. With this being a fundraiser for Tom’s Tykes and that foundation, I think it is awesome to be able to give back and young kids access to the game. Then it is also honoring him and his name.”
Before the puck was dropped, two members were inducted into the Portland Youth Hockey Hall of Fame.
First was Tom Gustafson, who was inspirational in local hockey in Portland as the founder of the Portland Junior Hawks. Second was John McBride, who served as a coach and rink manager for 39 years. The PA announcer read his favorite quote: “Do the right thing no matter how hard it is.”
Players from both the 18U and the Alumni lined up on the blue line banging their sticks on the ice in honor of Tom Gustafson and John McBride.
A ceremonial puck drop was the final festivity before the game took place.
The 18U team plays locally in Portland as well as in the NAPHL (North American Prospects Hockey League). Rurak described in greater detail. “At this point, it is more about going into the BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League) or the NAHL (North American Hockey League). Our league is affiliated with the NAHL, so you can get called up or you can get tenured. There is a lot of exposure at this level. A lot of these kids are on the path of playing 18U, play junior in the NAHL two years before you go to college, then they have a chance to make a college (NCAA) team.”
However, two of the current 18U players, Trystan Swiger and Bennett Turley, received an invite and attended the Winterhawks training camp prior to the season. The WHL is another option for the kids as well.
“We want to make sure that we have some local flavor,” Gustafson said. “Those kids that played in our training camp, they deserved it first and foremost. They had a good showing in camp. We want to do everything we can to try and streamline that to playing here locally 18U and making the jump to the Winterhawks. There are more and more good players coming out of here. We are doing everything we can to develop them.”
Swiger talked about how the time with the Winterhawks “got me prepared for the pace and ready to battle mentally. It gave me an edge on maybe some of the other guys.”
Turley said after training camp with Portland, he felt “pretty confident going into the (18U) season and had a pretty good start. I made some good connections with my linemates. It helped me start off the season pretty well.”
“Every kid has a different route on how they are going to get to the NHL,” Gustafson continued about the importance of youth hockey in Portland. “We just want to make sure we have a flagship program here in Portland. One of the challenges we get is players who come up to a certain age and they feel they have to take off to pursue their hockey dreams. We want to make sure we provide something here locally that is going to help them get to that dream.”
Gustafson acknowledged many different possible routes. “With their goal, if some make our program with the Winterhawks, great. If they need a little bit more time, maybe the NCAA route, maybe playing in the BCHL or USHL which a lot of kids have done from here. Maybe that is best for them, but it really goes many different ways once you get to a certain point. We want to make sure that our 18U Team and our Midget Program here is sound and sharp.”
The game was entertaining with the 18U defeating the Alumni 5-3. Kyle Gustafson, Paul Gaustad, and Matt Bader, who played for the Air Force Academy Falcons after playing locally in Portland, put on a show for the Alumni.
The 18U Team held off a frenzy of a final push by the Alumni. Goaltender Luke Neilson made several big saves towards the end of the game to preserve the win. His most impressive stop came on a slap shot by Gaustad.
Left alone in the slot, Gaustad wound up and the seas parted as no one wanted to get in the way of the missile about to be unleashed. Neilson not only stopped the shot but did not give up a rebound. The save earned him a pat on the pads from his head coach.
Paul Gaustad’s Influence on youth hockey in Portland
Running a successful hockey association demands hard work and tremendous leadership. Furthermore, putting a competitive team on the ice also requires quality coaching. Portland youth hockey has all the above in Paul Gaustad, former NHL player for the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators.
Gaustad is the head coach of the Portland 18U Team.
A veteran of 727 regular season NHL games and three seasons with the Winterhawks, Paul’s home is in Portland.
“(Paul) cares a lot about this,” Gustafson said. “He came up through the program. I came up through the program. We have had a lot of guys play professional hockey through here. Paul gives back so much. He is the coach of the 18U team, puts a lot of effort, energy, and resources into that team to make sure it is ran almost as a junior professional team. He truly cares. Paul is hands on with this event and wants to make sure it is run properly. We are real fortunate to have a guy like him back in the community.”
Why did Gaustad get involved in Portland youth hockey and Winterhawks Junior Hockey?
“It is kind of paying it forward,” Gaustad said. “I had a lot of people volunteer when I was in youth hockey who helped me and advocated for me. It is the same thing now. It is paying it forward for young guys and keeping that cycle going.”
Another reason Sunday was so special to Paul: “The cycle is why we want to keep this alumni event. It is important to keep that cycle of guys that played and now are coaching, want to keep moving that forward.”
“(Sunday) is about culture and youth hockey, and hockey in Portland in general. A lot of generations of guys here who grew up here playing hockey and what it means to them coming back. It is also for the 18U team — it is always fun to see these guys. Three of the players on the Alumni team played on the 18U team last year. It is fun and bringing everyone together. There is a path, and they can have an open mind to talk to guys who have been through it and see what they can accomplish. It is a fun night for them too.”
The growth continues for the Gaustad-led 18U Team. “This group has been playing in one of the toughest youth hockey leagues in the country right now, playing against some of the top teams in the country too. It has been a really good year of pushing the limit of Portland youth hockey. We have playoffs coming up for the league, as well as regionals to go to nationals. One of the things that this team has an opportunity to do is something the state of Oregon or Washington has never done — send a team to nationals at the AAA level. We are going to be trying to fight for that spot and be the first Northwest team to do that. The guys have bought in, working extremely hard, and it has been a fun year.”
One of the highlights for the team this season was getting a victory over Shattuck St. Mary’s, one of the top programs in the nation. Some notable names to spend time with the Shattuck St. Mary’s program — Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Zach Parise, Derek Stepan, Jonathan Toews, just to name a few.
Rurak, also an assistant coach on the 18U team, talked about what the win meant to his group. “For our program, it meant a lot. Shattuck was ranked (36th) in the country when we were playing them. When you play against those teams, an aspiration program, it means even more to beat them. We can say, ‘This (Winterhawks Junior Hockey) program is the program that is really good. You don’t need to go somewhere else to play. You are playing at the highest level in the country and are getting the exposure to get to the next level.’ That win was massive for us. There has been a lot of development in the first half of this year.”
Everyone involved in the organization/association deserves credit for a win over a top tier program. Gaustad’s impact is felt throughout the Rose City.
Winterhawks taking an active role in the community
On May 1, 2019, the Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club announced, via a letter from President Doug Piper to the members of the board, they were transitioning the management of the old Portland Junior Winterhawks to the Winterhawks starting with the 2019-2020 season.
Included in the transition was a re-branding to Winterhawks Junior Hockey, hiring staff to oversee the operation, and renting over 100 additional hours of ice time at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Gaustad talked about the new approach. “We want to do a top to bottom thing so that everyone is communicating and teaching the same way. With the Winterhawks being one of the best junior organizations in the world, it is always great to have that leadership.”
“I think it gives us access to the professionals,” Rurak added. “We have access to Mike Johnston and Kyle Gustafson from a coaching aspect. Also having access to the management team with Doug Piper and Max Gordichuk just gives it a little bit more of a professional look to it. The branding of truly under the Winterhawks has been really good too.”
Where does Rurak see the program progressing in the next several years? “I would really like to see another sheet of ice built. If we could (get one built), we could grow this program to a thousand kids. If you do that, now you can play at a higher level all the way from ten-year-old to 18-year-olds. I want to see a pipeline of development and having this program on the horizon going forward where we are on the national stage every year.”
Where the rink is constructed doesn’t matter to Rurak as long as one is built.
Another benefit to having another ice sheet — more opportunity to grow the girls’ game. “I think the girls’ program has really taken off. We’ve always had to have the girls play co-ed and then have select teams in the girls program. Rose City has taken another step. Our girls’ program would be bigger and better if we had another sheet of ice. It just comes down to we only have so much ice, and who do you service as a customer. Our girls’ team next year, at 14U and 16U levels, will be really, really good. We have a lot of quality girls playing who have been skating here since they were three or four years old.”
With the help of the Winterhawks organization, Rurak is one of the many Portland parents who is not faced with the decision to send their son or daughter away to play competitive hockey if they want to make it to the next level.
“Growing up, I moved away at 15 to play at a high level,” Rurak said. “You have a disconnect to your family, and it is really a scary thing to send your kid away when they are that young. You kind of miss out on seeing them turn into a young man or young woman. For me, to not send my kid away to play, it is invaluable.”
Not only do they have an opportunity to play locally, but to play at a high level locally.
Rurak’s son, Tayz, is a 17-year-old on the 18U team, and the access Tayz has means a lot to Dean. “Having Paul Gaustad coach him, who understands the mental and systems to the game, then a Cory Doiron, who is our other coach and a minister giving back to the community, it is just great access for the kids to really grow up into great young men. They get to learn from great character people.”
Needless to say, local hockey in Portland is in good hands and has been taking tremendous strides over the last several years.
Introducing four members of the 18U Team
#8 Trystan Swiger: 17-year-old forward:
Q: How has your season been so far?
A: “It is going well. Our first season in the NAPHL, we are playing well. Our team is improving, getting some wins here and there, playing fast and hard. It has been a good experience.
Q: How was the win for you against Shattuck?
A: “It was electric and a good time. Everyone was hyped, happy, and it was a good feeling. They were ranked in the top (40), pretty exciting.”
Q: How did playing at the Portland Winterhawks training camp help prepare you for your season?
A: “It got me prepared for the pace and ready to battle mentally. It gave me an edge on maybe some of the other guys.”
Q: What are you hoping to gain from playing locally in Portland?
A: “It is nice not having to move away from home. I got fortunate to have good competition and a good team to play with. They are a bunch of good friends with too that I get to play with throughout the year.”
Q: What are your hockey aspirations as you continue to progress?
A: “To move up to juniors and then maybe college, and then hopefully NHL, but we will see.”
Q: How was it playing in the Alumni game and playing against your coach?
A: “It was a lot of fun and was exciting. I had a little bit of trouble on the faceoffs against Paul (Gaustad), but it was good to play with all the boys and some ex-teammates.
Q: How was the pace of the Alumni game compared to what you are used to?
A: “It wasn’t too far off, pretty close, didn’t slow down at all with those older guys out there.”
Q: What has been the highlight to your season?
A: “Beating Shattuck as it was a good win for the team and got spirits up. Also playing in the NAPHL and doing well competing with some of the top teams is really exciting.”
#11 Bennett Turley: 17-year-old forward:
Q: How was playing in the Alumni game for you?
A: “It was really electric, really fun, got to see some of my old teammates. It was really fun playing against our coach and some of the guys we skate with on Thursday morning. It was just fun to compete against those guys. I had my chances, my linemates had chances. It was a lot of fun and competitive.”
Q: How was the pace of the game?
A: “I thought it was pretty fast. We just didn’t have the small details there tonight.”
Q: Seems like you and Trystan have some good chemistry on the ice?
A: “We were linemates all last year and some this year. I’ve known him for a while, been pretty good buddies.”
Q: What has been a highlight of your season so far?
A: “Like Trystan said, beating Shattuck, that was a really big motivational boost for our team after starting off slow. Beating them was huge for our team.”
Q: What are your goals for the season?
A: “Our goal for our team is to win the NAPHL and go into regionals and get to nationals. I think we can do it. We are competing well.
Q: What is it like for you to play locally in Portland?
A: “It is fun, but we are also a little bit underlooked. We are kind of the underdog.”
Q: How did playing at the Portland Winterhawks training camp help prepare you for your season?
A: “I felt pretty confident going into the season and had a pretty good start. I made some good connections with my linemates. It helped me start off the season pretty well.”
Q: What are your hockey aspirations in the future?
A: “I definitely want to go to juniors, but I obviously have a lot of things to work on still. So I’m going to keep grinding, going to the gym, keep pushing and try to get to the next level.”
Q: I noticed there was no one in the shooting lane when Paul Gaustad took a slap shot towards the end of the game. No one wanted to get in front to block his shot?
A: “Yeah, nobody got in front of his shot, but Luke Neilson saved it. No rebound too.”
Q: Will Gaustad make you guys skate for not getting in the shooting lane?
A: “Oh, I don’t know. Paul is a serious guy, so I can’t tell.”
Q: What do you want to highlight about the rest of the season?
A: “We are the underdogs. We will keep working. Don’t underestimate us.”
#13 Mark Shchukin: 18-year-old forward:
Q: How has your season been so far?
A: “I would say personally, I set a few goals for myself and have done a good job for the most part reaching those. It has been tough.”
Q: What is a highlight to your 2019-2020 season?
A: “I would say winning our first NAPHL game. That was huge for us. Coming in, being underdogs in the league, it was good for us.”
Q: What is the best attribute to your game?
A: “Probably creating offense from nothing and just keep working. Working with the boys and grinding on the ice.”
Q: How was it playing in the alumni game?
A: “That was actually a lot of fun, one of the most fun moments of the season so far for me.”
Q: How was it playing against your head coach?
A: “It is kind of scary. He is a scary-looking guy, very intimidating, but we shut him down.”
Q: I noticed there was no one in the shooting lane when Paul Gaustad took a slap shot towards the end of the game. No one wanted to get in front to block his shot?
A: “Yeah, not at the end.”
Q: Is he going to make you skate for not selling out to block the shot?
A: “Hopefully not, but we will see.”
Q: Luke Neilson stopped a lot of shots at the end of the game there. What can you say about his performance tonight?
A: “He is one of the younger guys on this team, and he really stepped up for us in that game. He was big for us tonight.”
Q: Anything you want to continue to work on the rest of the season, and what are your hockey aspirations?
A: “I’m just working on my game, being a complete player, trying to move up to the next level and hopefully pro. After the season, I want to try to make a junior team and then see after that.”
#3 Shai Blattner: 16-year-old defenseman:
Q: How is your season so far?
A: “It has been really fun. We get to go and travel around the country with some close friends who I’ve been playing with for years. It is something really special that you have to hold onto for as long as you can.”
Q: What is a highlight to your 2019-2020 season?
A: “(Beating Shattuck) was a huge moment for sure. I think as a team we felt that was really powerful. We had been working really hard at practice and Shattuck has a big reputation around the country as being a powerhouse, and to go out there being from Portland and beat them really gave our work more meaning. We work really hard out here and it is for sure paying off.”
Q: What does it mean for you to play locally in Portland?
A: “It is really important to me. I’ve moved around a lot during my childhood, but being able to stick around somewhere and stay there and know I have a place to play is really important for me. It is really important to keep up with the guys you know, play with your friends as you grow up.”
Q: How was it playing in the Alumni game?
A: “It was really fun. I’ve played with some of the older guys before. They are super nice, always been friendly. Got to play with some old teammates as well. Of course, it is just another chance to play a game, which is always fun.”
Q: How about playing against your head coach?”
A: “His stick is really long, he’s a big body, so he is hard to play defense against. It is always fun to see him out there.”
Q: What is the best attribute to your game?”
A: “Probably my passing. I see the ice really well, and I like moving the puck.”
Q: What are your hockey aspirations moving forward?
A: “As I move forward, I’m looking to play Division 1 College Hockey. First, I’m looking at playing juniors and accomplish that.”
Q: Goals for the rest of the year?
A: “As a team, we are looking to win the regional tournament at the end of the season and also with the NAPHL league. As a team, it is something to keep working towards. Although, if we are losing games now, at the end of the season, that is what we are really aiming for. Personally, I’m just looking to keep playing well and having fun.”
