Clouston says Blazers wrestling with early-season grind; Hurlbert sensational

The grind of the Western Hockey League campaign is setting in, with the Blazers (4-4) scheduled to play the fourth contest of their six-game East Division swing on Wednesday (Oct. 15) in Moose Jaw against the Warriors (4-3-1-0).

Kamloops dropped the first two games of the road trip – 5-2 in Prince Albert on Friday and 3-0 in Saskatoon on Saturday – to run its losing streak to four games, but bounced back with a 4-3 overtime victory on Monday in Regina.

“Guys were really excited at the start of the year. Some of that wears off,” Clouston said. “We played in Seattle (Oct. 3). You have to bus through the night and play Portland the next night (in Kamloops). It takes a couple of days to get out here (to Saskatchewan). I think we have 10 or 11 players who haven’t played in the league before, so there’s kind of a learning curve.”

J.P. Hurlbert is not one of the WHL newcomers struggling to adapt.

The 17-year-old forward from Allen, Tex., has been a sensation since his defection from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, racking up nine goals and 20 points in eight games to lead the Canadian Hockey League in scoring.

He tallied four points in the comeback victory on Monday in the Queen City, assisting on each of his team’s markers.

Hurlbert said he does his best to ignore outside noise, but he has social media and notices his name climbing up 2026 NHL Entry Draft boards.

“I mean, you see something, it’s nice,” Hurlbert said of positive media coverage. “It’s always uplifting. But, from a negative standpoint, too, you just kind of maintain. You never can get too high. I never get too low. I just kind of stay flat. All you can do is put a smile on your face and you appreciate it, but it’s just on to the next game.”

The Blazers are thin on defence, playing without 19-year-old Harrison Brunicke – who is toiling with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL – and injured 20-year-old Rhett Ravndahl.

Much is being asked of four first-year rearguards, two of whom are 16.

“We definitely are younger on the back end, but I still think all of us are here for a reason,” said Blazers’ captain Ryan Michael, a 20-year-old defenceman. “The younger guys are great players. They’ve been working hard. And for our team, I think it’s all about breaking out quick. The quicker we can break pucks out, it’ll just help us.”

Clouston agrees with Michael and said quicker breakouts will happen when his club regains some of the zest it seemed to have in abundance during its 3-0 start to the campaign.

“There’s a tendency to think, ‘The D aren’t getting us the puck. What’s going on?’” Clouston said. “But you look at it and remind the players that early on in the season, we were connected. We were surrounding pucks. We were winning the races back to our own zone, which gives the D a lot of options.

“It’s always a process, but the guys seemed excited this morning. I think we’ll be ready to go tonight.”

INJURY NEWS

Clouston said Rhett Ravndahl is expected to return from a lower-body injury in 10-to-14 days.

Meanwhile, the Blazers’ bench boss said he recently received good news on import forward Vit Zahejsky, who suffered a serious lower-body injury last month.

Zahejsky is likely to resume skating in January and may return to the lineup in February.

by Marty Hastings

Clouston says Blazers wrestling with early-season grind; Hurlbert sensational

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