A Deep Dive Into the Portland Winterhawks

In the Rose Quarter, right next door to the Moda Center, is the Veterans Memorial Coliseum: home of the Portland Winterhawks. As you may have heard, the Portland Winterhawks — a junior ice hockey team and member of the Western Hockey League (WHL) — have closed out their 68-game season and are in the playoffs.The Portland Winterhawks aren’t only present in our local sports scene, they’re thriving. This season, they were the number three team in the WHL and first in the US division; they’ve been clinched for the playoffs since February. In hockey, being clinched means a team has scored enough points to be guaranteed a playoffs spot.

For the readers unfamiliar with hockey, here’s a bit about the game. Each team has six players on the ice: a center, two forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie. The players don’t stay on the ice for long periods of time, with the average shift length in the National Hockey League (NHL) being 40-45 seconds, making the game fast paced along with its high-contact nature. 

Not only is the team’s standing impressive, but so are the players. WHL players span from ages 15-20 and can get drafted as young as 14. The draft in hockey is very similar to drafts for other sports like the National Football League (NFL); players are scouted by the teams, and each team picks players they want in a draft. Once a player’s been signed, they’re officially part of the team but often do not begin to play with them right away. The Winterhawks have received a lot of attention during the most recent draft as they had drafted the first ever American girl, second girl overall in the WHL’s history: Morgan Stickney, who is a 16-year-old goalie, and while she hasn’t played in a game yet, she practices with them. 

Josh Zakreski, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, Canada, has been playing for the Winterhawks for three years. While in Portland, he lives with a host family; a living situation shared by many of his teammates who also live with host families throughout the school year and hockey season, returning home during the summer. 

High-school-aged players still go to school, though they aren’t always attending in person due to game schedules. When they’re on the road, the team uses homework and online school resources to stay caught up. Either way, their schedules are packed. “You [have] to get up early, go to school, and afterward [we] go to the rink, practice, work out … [have] meetings. It’s a long day for sure,” says Zakreski. WHL teams are held to academic standards, each having an education advisor responsible for watching over the players academically, as well as helping them achieve their goals in school. The players have many people they can reach out to, including coaches, counselors, and teachers. 

The Winterhawks are a fun team to watch with athletes and fans alike feeling the strength of the community. “We have a really tight group of teammates,” says 19-year-old Kyle Chyzowski, one of the team’s alternate captains. Zakreski agrees, saying that the team is like a second family. The team also hosts fun events or themed nights, such as the “Teddy Bear Toss” or the nights where they let the blinds down to have natural light in the arena, which was March 2 this season. 

However, there are still many challenges for the athletes. Not only is hockey incredibly physically demanding and time-consuming, but there are specific challenges that come with moving to a new state, or in most cases, a new country. 

Zakreski says there are pros and cons to living in Portland: it’s hard to move away from your family and have so many responsibilities. “My family obviously is back home, so that’s really tough.” Zakreski continues, saying, “Same with my friends, they’re all back home.” Chyzowski agrees, “Being able to be more mature, being able to cook, say on top of school and hockey. It’s pretty tricky, but I’m used to it now.”

While they can fly under the radar for most Portlanders, the Winterhawks do have a large, loyal fanbase. Bailey Barrett, a sophomore at Franklin, and her family have been Winterhawks fans her whole life. “It’s really fun to watch, especially the fights — fights are really fun!” says Barrett. She believes that, “Overall, the last few years have been really good.” She’s planning, along with thousands of other Portlanders, on going to a game during this year’s playoffs. Barrett recommends to anyone who might be interested in hockey or learning about the sport to “Go to games, they’re all really fun and the community is great.”

The Winterhawks have home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs, and beat the Victoria Royals four to one in the first five games of the series. After four wins, they had the best of seven games and moved on to the next round against the Everett Silvertips. This year’s playoffs will end with the Championship Series in May; best of luck to the Winterhawks!