Image credit: Anthony Corea/CFJC Today

By Marty Hastings

WHL PREVIEW

Associate coach Hay to take Blazers’ reins for one game, talks of need for winning streak

Feb 10, 2025 | 4:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — General Manager and Head Coach Shaun Clouston is out of town attending WHL meetings, so his injury-riddled Kamloops Blazers will lean on Associate Coach Don Hay while trying to snap a four-game losing skid against the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday (Feb. 11) at Sandman Centre.

“It’s always fun to be the head coach and have a little more control, but I’m pretty happy doing what I’m doing in my assistant coach’s role,” said Hay, the winningest coach in WHL history, with 752 victories under his belt.

Hay said the Blazers fared well in defeat on the weekend, but willingness to block shots, spirited effort and good goaltending were not enough to get past the Everett Silvertips and Prince George Cougars at Sandman Centre.

Western Conference leading Everett (37-9-4-3) won 4-1 on Friday (Feb. 7) and Prince George (30-15-4-2) prevailed 3-2 on Saturday (Feb. 8).

“Both games, we got down early quickly,” Hay said on Monday (Feb. 10) before practice. “That’s got to be one of the themes for tomorrow night. We don’t want to get behind early. We want to get the lead and play with the lead.

The Tattle of Hastings

THE TATTLE OF HASTINGS: Olynyk talks TRU WolfPack legacy, fight against cancer, life as sports dad

1h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: May 22, 2025

18h ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Is there any future for Canada Post?

May 22, 2025

“When you’re missing your leader on offence, Finnie, it’s hard to create scoring opportunities.”

Finnie, nursing an upper-body injury, is likely to be out of the lineup for a few weeks and overage forward Oren Shtrom, who was hurt this past weekend, is not likely to return prior to the Family Day contest versus visiting Spokane, according to Hay.

In the meantime, Jordan Keller continues to be a threat on the man advantage, with a league-leading 16 power play goals this season.

“He’s a big part of our team and it’s not great news, obviously,” Keller said when asked about the captain’s absence. “Everybody’s got to step up in these games, myself included.”

Logan Edmonstone is expected start his sixth consecutive game on Tuesday, with No. 1 goaltender Dylan Ernst injured and not likely to return to action until at least next week, according to Clouston.

Edmonstone, 17, posted a .926 save percentage over two games last weekend.

“It helps a bit with the confidence, knowing that if something doesn’t go good I can just tackle that in the next game,” Edmonstone said of extended opportunity between the pipes.

“I think I can be a top goaltender, for sure. It’s just the consistency part [I] need to bring that all good goalies bring. I’m just trying to do my best. It’s a great opportunity to try and take advantage to show what I can do and what I can bring to the team.”

The Blazers are likely to welcome Matteo Koci back into the lineup on Tuesday, but another top-four defenceman, Ryan Michael, will be sidelined with an injury he suffered this past weekend.

“It’s been tough,” Michael said of his club’s recent injury woes. “It’s what teams all across the league have to deal with. It’s unfortunate we’ve had some pretty tough luck this year, but we’re all about the ‘next man up’ mentality.”

The Blazers (18-28-4-0) are 10th in Western Conference standings and one point back of the Wenatchee Wild (18-28-4-1) and Seattle Thunderbirds (19-28-2-1), who are tied for eighth place.

Tri-City (25-21-4-1) is in seventh place, but has a 14-point lead on Seattle and Wenatchee.

“We have to go on a streak,” Hay said when asked what needs to happen for his club to reach the post-season. “We have to win more than two games in a row, put together a three-, four- and, hopefully, five-game winning streak and this is a good week to do it.”