On eve of WHL season, Blazers talk expectations, assess B.C. Division

“There’s somewhat of a plan and we’re into year three of that plan,” Clouston said. “It’s not easy. It’s not overly fun, at times, but we knew it was going to be hard. I think we were a better hockey team last year than two years ago. The mindset (this season) is we’re going to do everything we can to get in the playoffs, believing that we can do that, and then kind of go from there.”

The organization made significant changes to its staff in the off-season, with assistant coaches Steve Marr and Brayden Toma coming in to replace associate coach Don Hay and part-time assistant Chris Murray.

Changes to an NCAA rule paved the way for three notable off-season roster moves, with the Blazers adding first-round NHL Draft prospect J.P. Hurlbert of Allen, Tex., and junior A transfers Cooper Moore and Josh Evaschesen.

They join a potentially dynamic forward group that includes Keller, Chicago Blackhawks’ draft pick Nathan Behm, Edmonton Oilers’ draft pick Tommy Lafreniere and Vit Zahejsky, a highly touted 2024 CHL Import Draft pick whose potential is unknown after an injury stunted his growth last season.

“I think we’re a lot deeper this year,” said Keller, whose club tallied the fewest number of goals in the Western Conference last season. “I think with our top six, we’re going to have a lot more scoring, hopefully, this year.”

Defenceman Harrison Brunicke may miss a significant portion of the campaign, a world juniors hopeful and Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospect who is likely to remain with the NHL club through its pre-season schedule and perhaps longer.

Overagers Ryan Michael and Rhett Ravndahl are expected to shoulder a heavy load while younger defencemen mature.

“Yeah, we have a bit of a younger D-corps, but I think we’re looking real good,” Michael said. “I think guys are working really hard. A few new additions, but I think they’re fitting in.”

The Blazers enter the season with a pair of 18-year-old goaltenders competing for the No. 1 job — returnee Logan Edmonstone and 2025 CHL Import Draft selection Ivans Kufterins.

They are likely to share the net in the early stages of the season, with Edmonstone pegged to start in the home opener on Saturday.

Clouston was asked for his thoughts on the competition in the B.C. Division.

“You look at the rules, you look at the opportunities and we feel like we did what we could, without a ton of focus on what everybody else is doing,” Clouston said. “So, to be sincerely honest, I’m not totally sure what everybody else has been able to do. You take a look or you see an announcement and there’s a lot of other teams that have added a player, maybe it’s a Minnesota high school player or a player from the B.C. junior league, so there are probably a lot of teams that feel they did well in the off-season, too. Only time will tell where teams sort of stack up in that process.”

The Kelowna Rockets are playing host to the 2025 Memorial Cup.

“Kelowna is going to be building up, for sure, for the Memorial Cup run, but we know that we’re going to play them lots and do the best we can to prepare for that,” Keller said. “Penticton, nobody really knows how they’re going to be, but they’re going to have four [20-year-olds] and they’re going to be an older team. It’s going to be an interesting year and we’re really looking forward to it.”

by Marty Hastings

On eve of WHL season, Blazers talk expectations, assess B.C. Division

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