Image credit: CFJC Today/Anthony Corea

By Marty Hastings

BURGEONING BLAZERS

With eight wins in past 11 games, Blazers finding reasons to believe; Zahejsky’s debut imminent

Nov 13, 2024 | 6:30 PM

Less than a month ago, the Kamloops Blazers were mired in a four-game losing skid and heading south on a road trip to Portland sitting last in the WHL’s Western Conference standings.

The club has experienced growth since then and has won eight of its past 11 contests to climb into a tie for sixth place in the conference with the Vancouver Giants (9-5-3-0), who are scheduled to host the Blazers (10-9-1-0) on Friday (Nov. 15) in Langley.

Head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston offered reasons for recent ascension, including a healthier lineup, improved play in the defensive zone, a more robust transition game, willingness to block shots, better discipline, burgeoning belief, astute leadership from veterans and solid special teams and goaltending.

“During this stretch, it’s been great, but we’re not dominating anybody,” Clouston said. “We’re just kind of barely on the other side of that edge, where games could go either way and we get an extra save or bounce or we stick with it long enough and we’ve won some games.

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“We’ve pushed to get there and we have to see that we’ve got enough players willing to continue to do that and find one more level. If we can do that, then yeah, we’re pretty competitive.”

Blazers’ fans anxious to see what the club has in Vit Zahejsky — the second overall pick in the 2024 CHL Import Draft — may not have to wait much longer.

Clouston said the 2007-born forward from Czechia who suffered a broken ankle before the season was expected to be cleared to play on Wednesday (Nov. 13).

“I’m very excited,” Zahejsky told CFJC Today on Wednesday. “Like 10 weeks I had the cast and it’s so hard for me watching the games. I’m very excited.”

Zahejsky could be in the lineup this Friday against Vancouver, but Clouston did not rule out delaying his debut until Sunday, when the Blazers are scheduled to play the Wild (6-10-2-0) in Wenatchee.

“If it’s not Friday or Sunday it will be for sure next week,” Clouston said. “It’s getting really close.”

Defenceman Ryan Michael and forward Kai Matthew, both 19, have made an impact since returning from injury in October.

“Mikey is a bit of an unsung hero,” Clouston said. “He’s not the big offensive guy, but he’s competitive, he’s strong, he defends well, makes good decisions with the puck, [has] good gap [control] and [a] good stick and he’s been a huge part or our success.”

Matthew took a while to find his feet and was held off the scoresheet for seven games, but got off the schneid with a game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Friday (Nov. 8) at Sandman Centre.

“Coming back from injury, it’s always tough to get back into the groove of things,” Matthew said, noting his club’s practice habits are improving. “Once you can kind of get that monkey off your back, it releases a lot of pressure and it just allows you to play a bit more freely.”

Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Emmitt Finnie has thrust himself onto the Team Canada radar ahead of the World Junior Hockey Championship, racking up 19 points in his past 10 games, and Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospect Harrison Brunicke has been a steadying presence on the back end since returning from a pre-season stint with his NHL club.

“We’ve had a lot of buy-in from all of our guys,” Finnie said. “We’re sticking to the structure a lot more these last 10 games or so. If we keep doing that, we’re going to get a lot more wins.”

Clouston was asked for insight on how active his club might be ahead of the WHL trade deadline. He said focus for now is on development and his next significant roster-related hurdle is world juniors, with Brunicke, Finnie and defenceman Matteo Koci among those vying for national team duty.

Roster tinkering took place earlier this week, when Clouston traded 2007-born forward Zach Pantelakis to the Regina Pats in exchange for a pair of fifth-round WHL Prospects Draft picks.

“It was a situation where both sides were on kind of the same page,” Clouston said. “We’ve got a lot of really good [2007-born players], so depth there. Was there going to be enough opportunity for him moving forward? Did the player buy in and believe he could pass somebody in the lineup and get more? That’s the challenge at this level. It’s the best junior league in the world and players want to play and then they want lots of opportunity and we felt that Zach was getting enough opportunity. From their side, they were looking for more. It just came down to if we can’t provide what the other side thinks they need, then maybe it’s best if we find another opportunity for him.”

The Blazers are scheduled to play next at home on Nov. 23, when the Everett Silvertips come to town for a 6:00 p.m. start at Sandman Centre.

“We’ve had some games where we can really see how good we can really be, with healthy guys and just playing our style of hockey,” Matthew said. “We’re super excited and we’ve got big hopes coming up.”