WHL Portland Winterhawks

Six Winterhawks Alumni Competing at 2024 IIHF World Championship

Published on May 23, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland, Ore. - The Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club is proud to recognize six alumni who have been participating in the 2024 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, which began on May 10, 2024. Three alumni have advanced out of the round-robin play and will compete in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, May 23.

PLAYER TEAM YEARS IN PORTLAND

Rodrigo Abols Latvia 2015-17

Joachim Blichfeld Denmark 2016-19

Rihards Bukarts Latvia 2015-16

Joel Hofer Canada 2018-20

Seth Jones U.S.A 2012-13

Nino Niederreiter Switzerland 2009-11

Quarterfinal play opens with Hofer and Canada taking on Slovakia and Niederreiter and Switzerland battling Germany, with both games beginning at 7:20 A.M. on Thursday, May 23. Jones and the U.S. then face off with Czechia at 11:20 A.M. looking to secure their spot in the semifinals.

Hofer, the most recent WHL graduate of the bunch, has enjoyed a nice tournament with Canada. Hofer donned the Maple Leaf for his second consecutive season at the IIHF World Championships and he went 1-0-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .867 save percentage sharing the net with fellow St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington. Hofer won a WHL Championship in 2018 with Swift Current and later helped the Winterhawks capture its fourth Scotty Munro Trophy as regular season champions during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

Jones, a former WHL Champion and Jim Piggott Trophy recipient, is in the midst of a strong tournament for the United States, pacing all American blueliners with five assists in seven games. He recently completed his third season with the Chicago Blackhawks and produced 30+ points for his third consecutive campaign.

Niederreiter is once again a part of Switzerland's leadership group at the IIHF event and has produced at a near point-per-game pace with six points in four games. Finishing his first full season with the Winnipeg Jets, Niederreiter scored 18 goals and 34 points in 77 games during the 2023-24 NHL campaign. The Swiss winger has played 13 seasons in the NHL and laced up for 887 regular season contests.

In addition to the three quarterfinalists, the Winterhawks also featured three more alumni in the round-robin contests.

Joachim Blichfeld was amongst the team leaders in points for Team Denmark as he netted two goals and five points in six tournament games. He wrapped up his second season with the Växjö Lakers Hockey Club in Sweden and produced 27 points in 50 games. He is committed to the Lakers for the 2024-25 season. Rodrigo Abols also finished another season overseas in Sweden, playing his first year with Rögle BK, and enjoyed a strong World Hockey Championship. He scored twice and tacked on two helpers in seven tournament games for Latvia. Abols has produced 163 points in 266 career games in the Swedish Hockey League and he will play his second season with Rögle in 2024-25. Fellow countryman Rihards Bukarts netted one goal and one assist during the event in Czechia.

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Western Hockey League Stories from May 23, 2024


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