WHL Portland Winterhawks

First-Year Hawks Eager to Taste Postseason Action

Published on April 22, 2022 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland, Ore. - The 2022 Western Hockey League Playoffs are officially here.

After a 1,119-day span since the Winterhawks' last postseason game, the puck will drop in Portland tonight for game one of the opening-round series against Prince George. Only five members from the 2018-19 team that last skated in the playoffs will compete for the Winterhawks again in this year's playoffs.

For context, 21-year-old co-captain Clay Hanus has the most playoff experience with six postseason games, meaning there are many players set to make their WHL playoff debut this weekend.

Western Hockey League playoff hockey is unlike anything the players have experienced to date, and Winterhawks rookie Luke Schelter is looking forward to the opportunity to compete for his first Ed Chynoweth Cup.

"This is a crazy energy. I've never experienced something like this. It's such a big stage in the WHL," Schelter said with a grin. "I've won a few championships before, but they were small, they were over the weekend tournaments, but this is a bigger stage with seven-game series. It's going to be fun, it's going to be energetic and I'm super excited for it."

It takes 16 wins over the course of two months to win a WHL championship. No day is guaranteed anymore. Teams have to continue winning games to advance and avoid an early start to the off-season. Schelter has a handful of championship game experience, winning a BEAST tournament with Mount St. Charles Academy U15 program in 2020 and playing in the championship game with the Northstar Knights U16 at the NAPHL's Dixon Cup last year and with the Colorado Thunderbirds bantam program a few years back.

"The playoffs in youth hockey aren't much different compared to the regular season," Schelter added. "It becomes a hard checking game and everybody is dialed in so there are not a lot of mistakes, so I'm just focusing on not making mistakes and trying to make the best plays out there."

The difference is, most youth events finish within a single week and WHL teams still might be playing in their first of potentially four best-of-seven series over that same span. The pressure is on, but the Winterhawks can't help but to marvel at the opportunity to play hockey into the summer months.

"I'm a little nervous," said Aidan Litke, one of five Portland rookies to surpass 30 points this season. "First time playing in playoffs so it's going to be a real cool experience and should be really fun."

Winning makes playoffs even more fun and Portland is a winning franchise. Over the last ten years, the Winterhawks lead all WHL teams with 67 playoff wins, eight more than the next closest Club. The team will have to lean on their younger talent if they want to secure another playoff win this weekend at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Aidan Litke (center) celebrates with James Stefan (left) and Cross Hanas (right) after scoring his first of 17 goals this season on October 9, 2021 at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. (photo: Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds)

Litke got a taste of what it's like to play for a championship in 2018 when he played for RINK Hockey Academy making it all the way to the finals against OHA Edmonton, a team that boasted many current WHL players like Everett's Olen Zellweger, Kelowna's Colton Dach and current Winterhawks teammate Jonah Bevington.

Those big game experiences will undoubtedly help on Friday night when the Winterhawks drop the puck for Game 1 and everyone needs to stay on the same page.

"If we play like we can and everyone's competing and everyone's doing their roles, I feel like we'll be fine and we can win any night," Litke said.

The Winterhawks have momentum entering the playoffs with a perfect 6-0-0-0 record in April and as the team looks to chase its fourth WHL Championship, it will need their first-year players to play a big role like they did during the second half of the season.

"We've just got to stay confident and stay positive," Schelter said. "I'm just excited. Super excited."

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from April 22, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central