Friday night could be a defining game for the Victoria Royals in terms of character. The Royals are not only tasked with regrouping from demoralizing collapse Wednesday — a blown 4-0 first-period lead in a 5-4 loss to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington — but they must do it against the Winterhawks (28-8-3) in Portland. The Royals must also contend with Chaz Lucius making his ʼHawks debut after recording seven points in seven games in helping lead the U.S. to the bronze medal this month in the world junior championship at Halifax.
Lucius joins an already potent Portland lineup after coming out of the NCAA Big Ten University of Minnesota Golden Gophers to be signed to an NHL entry-level contract by the Winnipeg Jets, who assigned him to the Winterhawks after he began the season in the pros with two goals and five points in 12 games in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose. The Winterhawks took Lucius in the fourth round of the 2018 WHL prospects draft and retained his rights.
The decision was no doubt made easier for the Jets in knowing Lucius is going to a good junior organization. The Winterhawks, an honourable mention in this week’s CHL top-10 poll, have mastered the difficult art in major-junior of sustained excellence. Major junior, which relies on a draft to restock its teams, is generally cyclical for most clubs. It builds to a productive winning stint as the core of the roster ages, before graduating, followed by a period of rebuilding as the process starts anew.
The peak-valley system is so entrenched that the Winterhawks are among only two WHL teams, along with the Everett Silvertips, to make the playoffs every season since the Royals came into the league in 2011-12. The third team on that list, perhaps surprisingly, was the Royals until last season. But the Winterhawks go beyond that and have not missed the playoffs since 2008-09. The Silvertips, remarkably, have never missed the playoffs since joining the league in 2003-04. But it is Portland with the winningest record in the WHL over the past decade with a .676 win percentage entering this season.
“The Winterhawks every season always seem to be in the top-third and not even in the middle,” said Royals GM and head coach Dan Price, giving Portland its due.
“They develop their draft picks very well, especially the late-round picks, and they have had very good players come out of the seventh to 12th rounds.”
Price also noted how patient the ʼHawks are in holding onto the rights of a long-ago pick such as Lucius in the hopes it will eventually pay off. In this instance, it has.
A total of 24 Winterhawks have been selected in the NHL draft over the past decade. That list will grow with Portland blue-liners Luca Cagnoni and Carter Sotheran the 34th- and 89th-ranked North American skaters for the 2023 NHL draft and Jan Spunar the 11th-ranked North American-based goaltender.
The Winterhawks are 2-0 against the Royals this season with a 3-1 victory in Portland last month and 5-1 win in November at Victoria.
Meanwhile, far from being disheartening, Price described Wednesday’s collapse in Kennewick as “just a setback — another plot point and just another chapter in the story.”
Certainly, the book is long. But the pages inevitably grow shorter. The 2022-23 story is well into the second half of chapters with ninth-place Victoria one point out of the final Western Conference playoff berth with the eighth-place Kelowna Rockets holding three games in hand.
Not making things easier is the zig-zag road trip to Kennewick in eastern Washington across to Portland and an overnight trip back to eastern Washington for a Saturday tilt in Spokane against the Chiefs followed by another overnighter in the bus and across the border for a Sunday matinee in Kelowna.
“There are so many variables in building a schedule, including concerts and arena availability,” said Price, saying he understands the reasons for the back-tracking travel.
“It’s a grind, for sure, and a good test of our mental toughness in pushing through tiredness and soreness.”
