When the Portland Winterhawks take the ice this weekend to host the Everett Silvertips and the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Rose Garden they will be skating with three potential members of Canada’s junior national team, including this week’s top player in the Canadian Hockey League.
Portland’s Joe Morrow, Brad Ross and Ty Rattie were among 41 players invited Monday to Team Canada’s selection camp for the 2012 World Junior Championship. Rattie was on the same day named the Western Hockey League’s Player of the Week, an honor duplicated by the parent-league CHL on Tuesday.
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Portland looks for 8th–straight home win
When the Portland Winterhawks take the ice this weekend to host the Everett Silvertips and the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Rose Garden they will be skating with three potential members of Canada’s junior national team, including this week’s top player in the Canadian Hockey League.
Karl Kuchs / Vanguard StaffTop class Canadian: The Winterhawks Brad Ross (middle, #18) weaves his way across the ice between two defenders.
Portland’s Joe Morrow, Brad Ross and Ty Rattie were among 41 players invited Monday to Team Canada’s selection camp for the 2012 World Junior Championship. Rattie was on the same day named the Western Hockey League’s Player of the Week, an honor duplicated by the parent-league CHL on Tuesday.
Rattie, an 18-year-old right winger, scored seven goals and served up five assists to total 12 points over the last four games. On Sunday alone, Rattie recorded a career-high four goals with an assist in Portland’s 6-2 victory over Swift Current, in what he described simply as “a real good night.”
Though modest off the ice, Rattie displays the confidence of the WHL’s top scorer when the skates are on. He leads the league in overall goals (27) and power play goals (14), while ranking third in points (50). Rattie was the St. Louis Blues’ second-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Morrow, 19, has 24 points this season to rank third in points among WHL defenseman. He has scored in each of his last five games and was the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.
Ross, also 19, plays left wing and ranks third on the Portland squad in scoring, with 34 points. He was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.
This weekend, the Winterhawks (17-9-1-1 record, 36 points) look to add to a seven-game home winning streak and move up in the Western Conference standings, where they rank third overall and second in the U.S. Division. Portland sits just two points behind the division-leading Tri-City Americans.
The defending Western Conference Champion Winterhawks have won eight of their last 10 games and have not dropped a game on home ice since Oct. 14.
“We’ve had a tough stretch of games,” head coach and general manager Mike Johnston said after Friday’s 5-3 victory over Spokane. “Right now, if you look at the record and look at where we’re at, I think we’ve played pretty well considering we’ve had a heavy schedule. Now [the other teams] have to catch up and have a tough schedule.”
Portland hosts Everett (5-17-0-4) on Friday and Seattle (11-12-0-1) on Saturday. The first puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. both nights at the Rose Garden.
Saturday is also the Hawks’ annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans can donate stuffed animals to charity by throwing them onto the ice after Portland scores its first goal of the game. The teddy bears will be delivered to charities, hospitals and needy children for the holidays.
