Seattle Times - Sea Lions 2022-2023 Season Preview
Dec 8, 2017 4:05:27 GMT -5
bjernagris (PHI), Travis (DET), and 1 more like this
Post by brob89 (NSH) on Dec 8, 2017 4:05:27 GMT -5
The Seattle Times – Sean Quinton
A few years ago, when the Seattle City Council first approved the $600 million dollar renovation of the KeyArena, which was the significant first step involved in bringing an NHL Franchise to our rainy corner of this country, excitement was sky high. Knowledgeable fans knew what to expect of the first season in the league. Management, it turns, didn’t, and subsequently traded away what would become the 1st overall draft pick for a player they would later trade for a lower pick in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft. GM Lawblaw had a good track record coming over from the perennial powerhouse Ottawa Senators (which is possibly the reason why he still has a job), but it has seemed like the learning curve in his first year in charge of the Sea Lions has been pretty steep. Let’s hope year two offers an opportunity to take something of a step forward. I’d suggest he start by not trading away the team’s most valuable assets. Excitement in the city has been tempered by the challenges of the first year along with missing out on the elite young talent available in the draft, but there are still some interesting story lines for us to follow in year 2.
Major Offseason Changes:
In:
Matthew Tkachuk (Trade), Austin Wagner (Trade), Julius Honka (UFA), Leevi Aaltonen (Trade), Calvin De Haan (Trade), Mikhail Bitsadze (UFA)
Out:
Patrick Bajkov (Trade), Adam Tilander (Trade), Jordan Staal (UFA), Fabian Zetterlund (Trade)
The offseason generally has two main focal points, the draft and Free Agency. While the draft was hard to watch given that Seattle could have been picking 1st overall instead of 16th, the team still made a splash in the first round moving the 22nd overall pick to Carolina for Matthew Tkachuk. The biggest moves of the offseason, however, came during free agency, where GM Lawblaw was able to sign up arguably the two most coveted players available. In Julius Honka, the Sea Lions have a bona fide franchise player who is still only 26 years old to build around for years to come. As for the 23 year-old former first round pick of the Ottawa Senators, Mikhail Bitsadze, he is a young player who has excelled in Russia’s top league and will be given the chance to do the same here. It is looking like he will be asked to Center the top line in Seattle, something he has not done up till now in his pro career. Time will tell the wisdom of that decision.
Projected Lineup:
Tkachuk- Bitsadze - Sokolov
Pastujov - Hugg - Mascherin
Aaltonen - Bellerive - Foegele
Wagner - Trochek - Anderson
Z. Lauzon - Honka
Schemitsch - McKeown
Sandin – De Haan
Montembault
Vejmelka
Goalies:
Goaltending was a big issue for the Sea Lions for a large part of last season, but once the tandem of Montembault and Vejmelka came together things seemed to settle down. Neither goalie was exceptional, and neither goalie was horrible. On a team with greater ambitions, perhaps these two would not have the opportunity that they do here. But for now the net is theirs to lose. They will likely face a lot of shots, so if the Sea Lions are going to have a chance at success this year then one of these two goalies will need to take over the #1 spot with his exceptional play. Don’t hold your breath.
Defense:
There were plenty of weaknesses in Seattle last season, but none was bigger than defense. There was decent production from the back end, coming from the likes of Schemitsch, McKeown, and to a lesser degree, Sandin, but there were significant struggles defensively. Unquestionably, the biggest acquisition of the offseason was Julius Honka, but arguably, picking up Calvin De Haan on the cheap via a cap alleviation trade from Hartford may have the greater impact on Seattle’s biggest weakness. Perhaps the biggest transition for Seattle from year 1 to year 2 is this: there biggest weakness formerly is likely now their area of strength. If what we’re seeing in the preseason translates to the regular season, Tommy Schemitsch who lead all Seattle defensemen in scoring last season, may not even get on the first powerplay unit, let alone the first defensive pairing.
Offense:
One of the things that gave Seattle fans hope last year was the 1, 2, 3 punch at the Center position with Stepan, Staal, and Horvat. And while Horvat never actually played at Center, as the Season went on, it was clear that those three players did provide a solid backbone for this team. If not for the defensive woes, this team would have been in the mix fighting for a playoff spot. Those players are gone. And now centering the top 3 lines there are zero top 6 Centers. Mikhail Bitsadze is a winger and he will play center for the first time in his professional career on the first line. Rickhard Hugg, the team’s new captain, will center the second line, but it remains to be seen if he can raise his game to accept that responsibility successfully. The team actually has a solid crop of wingers with Sokolov, Mascherin (last year’s leading scorer after Stepan and Horvat left), Tkachuk, and Pastujov. But without solid play at center, it diminishes significantly what those wingers can accomplish. Perhaps the most intriguing forward on the Sea Lions at present is the young Fin Leevi Aaltonen. He was ranked #1 overall in his draft year, but he dropped to #3 and was drafted by Ottawa. He has since been traded 3 times. The potential seems to be there, but can he put it together and find the next gear in his game? That’s a big question. And no small amount of Seattle’s hopes for the future depend on the answer to that question.
2018-2019 Outlook:
There are a lot of things to be excited about with this new Sea Lions season, and lots of reasons for fans to come to the games. The playoffs, however, will likely not be one of those things. There are simply way more questions than there are answers for this team in their sophomore season. But hey, it’s not all bad if we can somehow keep hold of our picks.
A few years ago, when the Seattle City Council first approved the $600 million dollar renovation of the KeyArena, which was the significant first step involved in bringing an NHL Franchise to our rainy corner of this country, excitement was sky high. Knowledgeable fans knew what to expect of the first season in the league. Management, it turns, didn’t, and subsequently traded away what would become the 1st overall draft pick for a player they would later trade for a lower pick in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft. GM Lawblaw had a good track record coming over from the perennial powerhouse Ottawa Senators (which is possibly the reason why he still has a job), but it has seemed like the learning curve in his first year in charge of the Sea Lions has been pretty steep. Let’s hope year two offers an opportunity to take something of a step forward. I’d suggest he start by not trading away the team’s most valuable assets. Excitement in the city has been tempered by the challenges of the first year along with missing out on the elite young talent available in the draft, but there are still some interesting story lines for us to follow in year 2.
Major Offseason Changes:
In:
Matthew Tkachuk (Trade), Austin Wagner (Trade), Julius Honka (UFA), Leevi Aaltonen (Trade), Calvin De Haan (Trade), Mikhail Bitsadze (UFA)
Out:
Patrick Bajkov (Trade), Adam Tilander (Trade), Jordan Staal (UFA), Fabian Zetterlund (Trade)
The offseason generally has two main focal points, the draft and Free Agency. While the draft was hard to watch given that Seattle could have been picking 1st overall instead of 16th, the team still made a splash in the first round moving the 22nd overall pick to Carolina for Matthew Tkachuk. The biggest moves of the offseason, however, came during free agency, where GM Lawblaw was able to sign up arguably the two most coveted players available. In Julius Honka, the Sea Lions have a bona fide franchise player who is still only 26 years old to build around for years to come. As for the 23 year-old former first round pick of the Ottawa Senators, Mikhail Bitsadze, he is a young player who has excelled in Russia’s top league and will be given the chance to do the same here. It is looking like he will be asked to Center the top line in Seattle, something he has not done up till now in his pro career. Time will tell the wisdom of that decision.
Projected Lineup:
Tkachuk- Bitsadze - Sokolov
Pastujov - Hugg - Mascherin
Aaltonen - Bellerive - Foegele
Wagner - Trochek - Anderson
Z. Lauzon - Honka
Schemitsch - McKeown
Sandin – De Haan
Montembault
Vejmelka
Goalies:
Goaltending was a big issue for the Sea Lions for a large part of last season, but once the tandem of Montembault and Vejmelka came together things seemed to settle down. Neither goalie was exceptional, and neither goalie was horrible. On a team with greater ambitions, perhaps these two would not have the opportunity that they do here. But for now the net is theirs to lose. They will likely face a lot of shots, so if the Sea Lions are going to have a chance at success this year then one of these two goalies will need to take over the #1 spot with his exceptional play. Don’t hold your breath.
Defense:
There were plenty of weaknesses in Seattle last season, but none was bigger than defense. There was decent production from the back end, coming from the likes of Schemitsch, McKeown, and to a lesser degree, Sandin, but there were significant struggles defensively. Unquestionably, the biggest acquisition of the offseason was Julius Honka, but arguably, picking up Calvin De Haan on the cheap via a cap alleviation trade from Hartford may have the greater impact on Seattle’s biggest weakness. Perhaps the biggest transition for Seattle from year 1 to year 2 is this: there biggest weakness formerly is likely now their area of strength. If what we’re seeing in the preseason translates to the regular season, Tommy Schemitsch who lead all Seattle defensemen in scoring last season, may not even get on the first powerplay unit, let alone the first defensive pairing.
Offense:
One of the things that gave Seattle fans hope last year was the 1, 2, 3 punch at the Center position with Stepan, Staal, and Horvat. And while Horvat never actually played at Center, as the Season went on, it was clear that those three players did provide a solid backbone for this team. If not for the defensive woes, this team would have been in the mix fighting for a playoff spot. Those players are gone. And now centering the top 3 lines there are zero top 6 Centers. Mikhail Bitsadze is a winger and he will play center for the first time in his professional career on the first line. Rickhard Hugg, the team’s new captain, will center the second line, but it remains to be seen if he can raise his game to accept that responsibility successfully. The team actually has a solid crop of wingers with Sokolov, Mascherin (last year’s leading scorer after Stepan and Horvat left), Tkachuk, and Pastujov. But without solid play at center, it diminishes significantly what those wingers can accomplish. Perhaps the most intriguing forward on the Sea Lions at present is the young Fin Leevi Aaltonen. He was ranked #1 overall in his draft year, but he dropped to #3 and was drafted by Ottawa. He has since been traded 3 times. The potential seems to be there, but can he put it together and find the next gear in his game? That’s a big question. And no small amount of Seattle’s hopes for the future depend on the answer to that question.
2018-2019 Outlook:
There are a lot of things to be excited about with this new Sea Lions season, and lots of reasons for fans to come to the games. The playoffs, however, will likely not be one of those things. There are simply way more questions than there are answers for this team in their sophomore season. But hey, it’s not all bad if we can somehow keep hold of our picks.