2012-13 record: 57-12-1-2 (Won championship; lost to Halifax in Memorial Cup Final)
After two years of coming up a game short and a regular season that saw them dominate like few others before them, the Portland Winterhawks finally cashed in on their third try, winning the Ed Chynoweth Trophy by beating Edmonton in the Finals and made the Memorial Cup Tournament, coming up a few goals short in the Final against Halifax. Mac Carruth, Troy Rutkowski, and Taylor Peters will be moving on, with the Peters departure posing the biggest question of who the face-off specialist will be for this season. Carruth was a major player in goal once he came back from the AHL early last season, not only solidifying the goaltender spot last year, but also helping out this year's starter Brendan Burke with his confidence. The Winterhawks led the league in goals (334) and were second behind Edmonton in goals given up (169). Brendan Leipsic and Nic Petan, the leading scorers in the league last year, are expected to return, but the third leading scorer in the league Ty Rattie is expected to move on, as there's not much left for him to prove on the WHL level. Shane McColgan and Garrett Harr will occupy two of the overager spots and on whether Tyler Wotherspoon returns will determine if all of the overager spots are spoken for. Oliver Bjorkstrand will return as one of two Import players, but Anton Cederholm will take the other spot formerly occupied by Kiril Vorobev. Seth Jones was a sure-fire one and done, but since he was taken by Nashville, that could change as to whether he returns (optimistic homer alert).
Prediction: First in the West
Except for Kelowna, every team in the West is likely heading into a rebuilding year on some level. While Portland will lose some key pieces, they also return some key players, as well, as Petan, Leipsic, Bjorkstrand, Burke, and possibly Derrick Pouliot are close to sure-fire returns. The quest for four straight Western Conference titles will be a little more difficult, but until Portland can no longer defend that title...
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