Last Season: 28-32-6-2 64 points
2018-2019 was a series of ups and downs for the Kamloops Blazers. After missing the playoffs in 2017-2018, the Blazers shuffled the deck by hiring general manager Matt Bardsley from the Portland Winterhawks and head coach Serge Lajoie from the University of Alberta’s men’s hockey team. The Blazers jumped out of the gate by sweeping the Kelowna Rockets in a home-and-home series before losing the next seven consecutive games.
No need to panic?
Kamloops then won the next four games to put themselves a game below .500 and back in contention in the B.C. Division. Unexpectedly, the early twists and turns were a sign of things to come. The Blazers went on five losing streaks of at least four games throughout the regular season and were by all accounts dead in the water after a 5-0 loss to the Vancouver Giants on March 6th. Not only did the loss dampen any post-season aspirations, but the Blazers also lost 20-year-old goaltender Dylan Ferguson to injury in the process.
Hands off the extinguisher
Galvanized by rookie Dylan Garand’s presence in net and late-game heroics from sophomore Connor Zary, Kamloops went on to collect 11 points in their final six games of the season, setting up a win-or-go-home tiebreaker with the Rockets.
Accustomed to playing what were essentially elimination games down the stretch, the Blazers used the pressure and sellout crowd to their advantage and beat the Rockets 5-1, scoring three goals on special teams including two short-handed markers. The seventh tie-breaker in WHL history resulted in Kamloops meeting the Victoria Royals in round 1 of the playoffs.
In a series that included suspensions, broken glass and a bouquet of injuries, the play of Royals netminder Griffen Outhouse was ultimately too much for the Blazers to overcome. While the experience of playoff hockey was undeniably positive to the team’s development, their inconsistent play still left a few important questions unanswered.
Following the six-game series with Victoria, goaltender Dylan Ferguson, defenceman Jeff Faith, and captain Jermaine Loewen all graduated from the junior hockey ranks. Later in the off-season, the Blazers announced a pair of roster moves that included Travis Walton joining the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL and the release of Finnish defenceman Jonas Sillanpää.
A new season, a new direction
Serge Lajoie’s tenure as head coach in Kamloops lasted just one season, and GM Matt Bardsley went back to the drawing board. A month after directing his first WHL Bantam Draft in Kamloops, Bardsley turned the ship around and found an experienced head coach in Shaun Clouston. Clouston joined the Blazers after spending the last 16 seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers in a variety of roles, including assistant coach, associate coach, head coach, and general manager. Joining Clouston this upcoming season are backup netminder Rayce Ramsay, Switzerland’s Inaki Baragano, and the full-time play of 16-year-old Logan Stankoven.
Moving up the board
While Clouston becomes familiar with life in the Western Conference, he will also be doing his best to attract NHL scouts to the Sandman Centre to catch a glimpse of the draft-eligible players suiting up this season.
Leading the charge is third-year center Connor Zary, who was the only Blazer to finish above a point-per-game last season. Zary, who is already being projected as a first-round selection in the upcoming NHL entry draft, will spearhead a dangerous 1-2 punch with Stankoven.
Following Zary are forwards Josh Pillar and Kyrell Sopotyk. Both forwards from Saskatchewan had a strong finish to the season and will be looking to pick up where they left off on September 20th. After scoring three goals in the final five games of the regular season, Sopotyk entered the playoffs on fire. Including the tiebreaker against Kelowna, the left winger finished the playoffs with four goals in seven games. Over the summer, Sopotyk put an emphasis on power skating while improving his overall skills. As for the upcoming season, the Aberdeen, Sask., native has a good feeling: “I think we have a strong group of players here. [We’re] gonna have a big season, and I want to be a leader here.”
Two more draft-eligible players that could find themselves on the NHL’s radar are imports Inaki Baragano and Martin Lang. Baragano, a right-shot defenseman from Switzerland, was acquired by the Blazers in the first round of the CHL Import Draft this past June. Lang, who is returning for his sophomore campaign in Kamloops, had a busy summer representing the Czech Republic in international play before attending the Carolina Hurricanes rookie camp.
Depth up front
If the Blazers possess one thing this season, it’s depth at forward. Jermaine Loewen’s absence on the left wing may be the most noticeable omission, but the offense should have no problem filling the net. The most productive line through preseason has been the trio of Stankoven, Orrin Centazzo, and 20-year-old Zane Franklin. The young center has relished the opportunity with his two older linemates: “You have to learn from the veterans — any little tips they give me that I can put in my game plan.”
Since Clouston took over as head coach in Medicine Hat in 2010-2011, the Tigers have finished top-10 in goals seven times. Through those nine seasons, the Tigers finished first in the Central Division three times and only missed the playoffs in 2015-2016. Between a strong cast of returning players and an offensively-minded coach at the helm, expect the Blazers to eclipse last season’s total of 64 points much earlier than mid-March
