A new WHL season in Winnipeg is days away, and there’s a lot of excitement around this year’s squad.
After a strong showing in the Regina Bubble earlier this year, the ICE have high expectations. Along with Brandon and Edmonton, this team is one of the favourites to represent the Eastern Conference in the WHL Finals.
However, before they can get there, there are some questions Winnipeg will have to answer as the season moves along. Some solutions are easy to find, others will take time – all are essential to success for the ICE this year.
QUESTION ONE: WHO’S THE NEW PEYTON KREBS?
Ok, so this first question is a little disingenuous because there is no replacing Peyton Krebs. Krebs was the WHL’s best player last year and looks set for stardom in Sin City. He was the face of the franchise in every way – as a player, person, and leader.
Finding the new Peyton Krebs isn’t a question of who is going to fill all the shoes he wore. It’s more a question about who on the team is going to put on what pair of shoes Krebs left behind.
Zach Benson and Conor Geekie can put on the scoring shoes. Both young guns scored close to a point-per-game pace in their first year, and are projected to grow with more opportunity and responsibility this year.
Meanwhile, guys like the team’s trio of 20-year-olds, (Nolan Orzeck, Cole Muir, and Jakin Smallwood) are already ready to fully control the leadership of the locker room. It’s a fair bet one of them will wear the “C” on their jersey this year, and they’ll all be relied on by head coach James Patrick to be a force for teaching the rookies what donning the ICE sweater represents.
In summary, the best way the Winnipeg ICE can replace the impact of Peyton Krebs’ departure is through using their culture of team-first respect and high expectations to get everyone to take a step up and find a way to fill the void left behind by their leader.
QUESTION TWO: HOW QUICKLY WILL THE TEAM ADJUST TO BEING BACK ON THE ROAD?
The season opener in Brandon will be the first time the Winnipeg ICE goes on a road trip in 569 days. That’s a long time between bus trips, and it will take some getting used to again for the team.
Winnipeg does get to start with their shortest road trip (two hours, 15 minutes), but being able to make road trips routine quickly will be big towards a teams’ early success this season.
Veterans will likely be quick to adapt, but the rookies will likely take some more time. Some of them may not have even been on a trip as long as the 13-hour drive to Edmonton the team will take in February. This is another area where the older guys will have to help their new teammates adjust to the major junior lifestyle.
Another area of importance: building bonds on the road. Playing cards on the bus, eating meals together, making the inside jokes that carry the team through the grind of the midseason – all of these activities are essential for creating chemistry and fostering friendships that can translate to on-ice excellence.
QUESTION THREE: WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED AT AN ICE HOME GAME?
The first part of what to expect is easy: excited fans ready to watch WHL hockey live for the first time in almost 20 months.
ICE players will be able to feed off that energy at home while their opponents try to shut it down. Some players, like Benson and Brandt Young, will get to experience the passion of their fanbase for the first time. The atmosphere is set to be unforgettable in the WHL’s return to Winnipeg Saturday night.
The main question for ICE home games is one that can’t be answered right now: how will the team react to the ever-changing pandemic? There will be COVID protocols in place: masks, vaccination requirements, and social distancing will change everything from checking in to cheering on the team. However, Manitoba has already shown they will lock down the province if cases creep too high, and until the pandemic is endemic, Winnipeg and the WHL will need to keep one eye on the COVID numbers.
There’s only one certainty – so long as the doors to the Max Bell Centre are open, the fans will file through, ready to cheer on the Winnipeg ICE as they chase down a WHL Championship.
