Wednesday Night in the Dub Preview: Jugnauth and the Winterhawks Welcome the Hitmen

Sports stats



Portland Winterhawks

Wednesday Night in the Dub Preview: Jugnauth and the Winterhawks Welcome the Hitmen

November 13, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Wednesday nights just got better, hockey fans.

The Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Hitmen are the first teams to be highlighted in the Western Hockey League's new Wednesday Night in the Dub program- a new, free-to-watch Game of the Week featuring top NHL prospects and Draft-eligible talent.

Calgary is rolling into Portland after collecting three of a possible six points on their U.S. Division road trip.

Most recently, the Hitmen picked up an overtime win against the Seattle Thunderbirds before falling to the league-leading Everett Silvertips and earning a single point in an extra-time loss to the streaking Tri-City Americans.

Top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Ben Kindel has found the back of the net in every match on this stateside swing and continues to pace his team with 12 goals and 12 assists in 18 games this season.

Portland is finding its form- and looking for a third-straight victory.

The reigning WHL Western Conference champions are coming off one of their strongest wins of the season, which saw captain Kyle Chyzowski pot two goals and two assists against the Wenatchee Wild.

For fans unfamiliar with these teams, be prepared for a strong showing from two of the top offensively-minded defencemen in junior hockey.

Carter Yakemchuk, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, is coming off a year that saw him set a new franchise record for single-season goals by a defenceman with 30 tallies. It's certainly a tough act to follow up, but he's humming along at a near-identical scoring pace with five goals (four of which have come on the powerplay) and 10 assists for 15 points in 13 games since returning to major junior.

On the other side, Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth is proving just how potent he can be over a full season.

After leaving the University of Wisconsin to join the Winterhawks in early 2024, Jugnauth put up 41 points (seven goals, 34 assists) in 41 games and was just shy of a point-per-game in the postseason as Portland reached the 2024 WHL Championship Series.

With the bulk of Portland's Western Conference-winning blueline graduated to the pro ranks, Jugnauth has carried the torch with five goals and 13 assists (11 on the powerplay) in 15 games.

Between the pipes, both teams have seen fresh faces take over this season.

Sixteen-year-old Eric Tu stole the starting job in Calgary after a series of impressive performances, highlighted by a 31-save shutout against Prince George- the second-highest scoring team in the league- on October 14.

He'll go up against the reigning WHL Goaltender of the Week Ondrej Stebetak, a projected fourth or fifth-round 2025 NHL Draft prospect who backstopped Czechia to a silver medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer.

All Wednesday Night in the Dub featured games will be free to stream on WHL Live and the WHL's YouTube Channel.

STAT PACK

Calgary Hitmen Portland Winterhawks

Record 7-7-3-1 (5th Central) 8-7-2-0 (4th U.S.)

Leading Scorers Ben Kindel (12G, 12A, 24PTS)

Oliver Tulk (6G, 15A, 21PTS)

Carter Yakemchuk (5G, 10A, 15PTS) Kyle Chyzowski (12G, 13A, 25PTS)

Tyson Jugnauth (5G, 13A, 18PTS)

Diego Buttazzoni (6G, 10A, 16PTS)

Leading Goaltender Eric Tu (4-3-2-1, 3.17GAA, .898 save percentage) Ondrej Stebetak (6-4-1-0, 4.07 GAA, .885 save percentage

Powerplay 21.2% (16th) 30% (1st)

Penalty Kill 81.1% (4th) 80.4% (5th)

NHL PROSPECTS

Calgary Hitmen

F- Carson Wetsch (San Jose Sharks)

D- Axel Hurtig (Calgary Flames)

D- Carter Yakemchuk (Ottawa Senators)

Portland Winterhawks

D- Tyson Jugnauth (Seattle Kraken)

D- Carter Sotheran (Philadelphia Flyers)

Top 2025 NHL Draft Eligibles (per NHL Central Scouting)

Calgary Hitmen

F- Brandon Gorzynski (C)

F- Ben Kindel (B)

F- Sawyer Mayes (W)

F- Robin Svancara (W)

D- Reese Hamilton (B)

Portland Winterhawks

F- Ryan Miller (W)

G- Ondrej Stebetak (C)

SOUND OFF

Carter Yakemchuk:

On facing Tyson Jugnauth for the first time:

"Whenever a defenseman can contribute like he can offensively, that makes it tough to play against. It's almost like they've got four forwards on the ice sometimes, so I think he'll be a guy we look to shut down in the game, and I'm really excited to play against him."

On Calgary trending up on a U.S. Division road trip:

"We've played really well so far on this road trip. I think last night in Tri-City was a good game for our team, and I think we played well, just didn't get the results. I think, you know, throughout each game of the season, we keep getting better, so it's been really exciting so far."

Tyson Jugnauth:

On facing Carter Yakemchuk for the first time:

"He's got high-level skill, but I think also he's not afraid to play hard and mix it up with some guys, which makes him a lot harder to play against because he can play both sides of the puck. Obviously, he's got a big shot and can move around well in the offensive zone, so that's something we'll have to limit on Wednesday."

On what it will take for Portland to snag a win:

"We just need to keep playing like we have been the last couple games. In Wenatchee, I think we played some of the better hockey we have for the last 10 games or so. I think if we just keep playing like that, there's not a lot of teams that can skate with us. We're a hard-working team, and we're wearing down other teams when we're at our best, and I think if we just keep doing that, we'll have success."

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from November 13, 2024


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.

Other Recent Portland Winterhawks Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central