Digging into Blazers’ last-place season, plans for transactions, improvement

A LOOK BACK

Clouston smiled when asked for his general assessment of the campaign.

“Oh, man,” he said. “It was a long season.”

He analyzed the schedule in segments, starting with a disappointing start that impacted front-office decisions.

The Blazers played host to the 2023 Memorial Cup and went all-in to try and win the major junior national championship, assembling a veteran-laden roster that featured many NHL-drafted players who either exhausted junior eligibility or moved on to the pro ranks in time for 2023-2024 season.

Clouston dispatched 10 draft picks last January in a trade with the Everett Silvertips to acquire NHL prospects Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer, a monumental deal that helped pave the way for a fourth consecutive B.C. Division title, but did not spur the club to league or national titles.

Cupboard restocking was inevitable and it began perhaps sooner than most expected, with the new-look Blazers languishing in last place in the Western Conference.

On Nov. 24, Kamloops traded 19-year-old captain and Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect Fraser Minten to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for 18-year-old forward Jordan Keller and two first-round draft picks.

“When we hit the deadline, we kind of went all-in to try to recoup as many picks as we could and start building draft capital for the future,” Clouston said.

Kamloops dealt 19-year-old forward Connor Levis to the Vancouver Giants, 19-year-old forward Shea Van Olm to the Spokane Chiefs and 20-year-old forward Dylan Sydor to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The return in draft picks from transactions since Nov. 19 is mammoth and includes three first-round picks, five second-round picks (one of them conditional, triggered if Portland Winterhawks’ defenceman Tyson Jugnauth toils in the WHL next season), four third-round picks and two fourth-round picks, along with a fifth- or sixth-round pick and a ninth-round pick.

Consequential impact followed the reset. Defeat came often and lopsided losses were not uncommon.

The Blazers are taking stock in a period that followed the trade deadline, when their transformed, youthful club gelled and enjoyed a promising stint of competitiveness, but late-season injuries to remaining veterans were too much to overcome and the club sputtered to the finish line on an eight-game losing streak.

“Not the season a lot of us intended for, but I thought we grew a lot as a team down the stretch and built a lot for next season,” said Blazers’ leading scorer Emmitt Finnie, who on Tuesday (March 26) inked an entry-level NHL contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

“We’ve got to have a big off-season from a lot of guys.”

THE FORWARDS

Clouston said he expects to add one or two overage forwards to bolster the roster up front.

“For some of the players that went into last year’s off-season with the message, ‘You’ve got to get better and have a great summer,’ the message didn’t sink in,” he said.

“There were some players that found this year just too hard. That message has been delivered again.”

The group of 2006-born forwards (who will be 18 next season) was unable to gain consistent traction and has much to prove heading into the off-season.

Finnie, with 19 goals and 59 points in 2023-2024, and Jordan Keller, who tallied 51 points, including a team-leading 22 goals, are expected to carry significant load in the 2005-born age group (19 next season), along with Kai Matthew.

Blazers’ brass is bullish on the 2007-born group, which includes Nathan Behm and Andrew Thomson, each of whom had 10 or more goals in their 16-year-old campaigns, along with Tommy Lafreniere and Zach Pantelakis.

Hudson Closson is also part of that age group and the 6-foot-2, 185-pound left shot from Duncan will be pushing to make his WHL debut next season.

Ty Bonkowski played two games this season as a 15-year-old and made the most of limited action.

“I’ve seen players completely transform themselves in five months,” Clouston said, noting increased efforts will be made by the club this summer to monitor progress.

“The message to the players is we’ve got a lot of time this summer.”

THE DEFENCEMEN

European rearguards Matteo Koci and Vojtech Vochvest are among those interested in club strategy for the CHL Import Draft, which will take place in July.

The club has no qualms with either player, but it has the second overall pick in the import draft and can carry a maximum of two import players.

“Can we get a player that we really like that we think is a better situation for us than one of our imports or do we like the progression of those guys and they come back at 19 and they’re good players and each bring different qualities?” Clouston said, noting decisions on overagers and goaltending are intertwined with plans for the import draft.

“That will be the challenge there.”

Ryan Michael is expected to return for his 19-year-old season to help anchor the blue line, along with NHL Draft prospect Harrison Brunicke and Kalan Anderlini, both of whom made strides in their 17-year-old campaigns.

Isa Guram played 10 games this season as a 16-year-old and aims to push for more ice time in 2024-2025.

Dryden Deobald and Kaden Meyer are among 2008-born roster hopefuls.

Vochvest hopes to be part of the equation and said he is thankful for the experience of learning a new language and culture, along with the North American game.

He picked up a nickname this season on Mark Recchi Way.

“My nickname, Canelo,” Vochvest said with a laugh, referencing his likeness to famous Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez. “I’ll never forget about it. Thanks, Toledo.”

Blazers’ trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson, who coined the nickname, retired after the 2023-2024 season with nearly 2,000 WHL games under his belt.

THE GOALIES

Dylan Ernst is entering his overage season and wants to finish his career in Kamloops.

“I want to be here next year, but I know it’s a business,” said Ernst, who posted a record of 13-21-1-3 in 2023-2024, along with a goals-against average of 3.69 and .887 save percentage. “I’m going to work my hardest this summer and come to camp and be a completely different goalie, hopefully.”

Ernst has competition in Jesse Sanche, who is entering his 18-year-old season, and Logan Edmonstone, who will be 17 next season.

Sanche recorded a mark of 6-17-1-0 in 2023-2024, with a 4.66 GAA and .872 save percentage, while Edmonstone was 0-4, with a 4.79 GAA and .890 save percentage.

“We purposely created some openings at 20, so we have the opportunity to look at everything,” Clouston said. “We’ve got the import draft coming up. We’ve got three or four additions that can be made this summer. We think we’ve got three goaltenders that, at times during the season, showed well. They have proven they can be competitive.”

THE GRADUATES

Clouston praised each of the graduating 20-year-olds — Ashton Ferster, Blake Swetlikoff and Logan Bairos — for providing leadership during a trying time for the club.

Bairos captained the team following the departure of Minten and finishes with 221 career WHL games on his resume — all of them with the Blazers.

“When you get to the rink and you clean out your stall, it kind of kicks in a little bit that you’re not coming back, so it’s a sad time, for sure,” Bairos said. “I’ve been joking with all the guys. I wish they had an over-overage, so I could come play again with the Blazers, but obviously that’s not the case.

“I’m really proud of my time here. Now I’m moving on to the next chapter in hockey.”

EXPECTATIONS

Clouston said better results next season hinge on off-season transactions and player improvement during the summer.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Tim [assistant GM Tim O’Donovan] and Aaron [director of player personnel Aaron Keller] and the coaching staff and building and improving and getting back to the top,” Clouston said. “We believe we can be a playoff team [next season].”

Clouston said no coaching changes are expected and the scouting department will be reviewed after the WHL Prospects Draft this spring.

“Ultimately, there is an evaluation process that’s ongoing,” he said. “It’s a competitive business. So right now, we like our scouting group.

“We’ll head into the draft with the group we have and at the end of that process, we’ll evaluate everything in our scouting department.”

by Marty Hastings

Digging into Blazers’ last-place season, plans for transactions, improvement

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