Winterhawks announce 2024 Neely Cup Training Camp rosters
Portland, Ore. – The 2024-25 season officially begins next week as the Portland Winterhawks host its annual Neely Cup Training Camp with on-ice sessions from Thursday, Aug. 29 to Saturday, Aug. 31.
Due to ongoing renovations inside Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Winterhawks will host this year’s camp at Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood, Ore. The Winterhawks previously announced the 2024 Neely Cup will be closed to the public due to capacity limitations at Sherwood Ice Arena. Fans are encouraged to stay up-to-date by following the action on Winterhawks.com and the team’s social media channels.
In total, 77 players aged 15 to 20 years old will participate in this year’s training camp. The Neely Cup is unique as the camp is divided into four competitive teams that each feature a mixture of Winterhawks veterans, NHL drafted players, and prospects who have yet to make their WHL debuts. This year we welcome members of the 2024 WHL Draft class to Portland for the first time, including newly-signed prospects Jordin St. Louis (2024, Rd. 1) and Nikita Mikhailov (2024, Rd. 12).
The Winterhawks have named the 2024 Neely Cup teams after four alumni who all developed in Portland and furthered their careers both on and off the ice – Oliver Bjorkstrand, Chase De Leo, Joe Mahon, and Brett Ponich.
Bjorkstrand is one of the game’s biggest stars and he enters his tenth professional season. Last year, Bjorkstrand represented the Seattle Kraken at the NHL All-Star Game and enjoyed a career-best, 59-point season. Bjorkstrand has also had success in the American Hockey League (AHL), winning a Calder Cup Championship in 2016, and on the international stage with Denmark throughout his playing career. The veteran of 545 NHL games was a star for the Winterhawks from 2012 to 2015. He helped Portland win the 2013 WHL Championship during his rookie season and produced back-to-back 100-plus point campaigns to end his junior career, including being named the WHL’s Player of the Year in 2015 after capturing the Bobby Clarke Trophy for most points (118) in the league.
De Leo has also enjoyed a wealth of success in professional hockey. Like Bjorkstrand, De Leo is also preparing for his tenth season of professional hockey. The La Mirada, Calif. product has dressed in 501 career NHL/AHL games and this past season he became the San Diego Gulls’ all-time leading scorer (186 points and counting) in their AHL history. Before his illustrious pro career, De Leo played four seasons with the Winterhawks from 2011 to 2015, aiding the Hawks to back-to-back-to-back WHL Finals appearances in 2012, 2013, and 2014. His 251 career WHL points are currently the fourth most in Winterhawks history by a U.S.-born skater.
Joe Mahon may have played just one season in Portland, but it was certainly a memorable one. A teammate of Bjorkstrand and De Leo during the 2012-13 season, Mahon hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup in May 2013 as a WHL champion. Mahon, a fan favorite in Portland, appeared in 45 combined regular-season and playoff games, scoring three points and 137 penalty minutes. The Calgary, Alta. native finished his junior hockey career with the Calgary Hitmen and Calgary Mustangs (AJHL) before embarking on his next chapter. After taking a few years away from hockey, Mahon returned to Portland and built a successful business as a custom home builder. He stayed involved in hockey locally and began to pursue a career in officiating. He worked his way up the officiating ladder in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL), British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and WHL, and in 2021, he was selected to attend the annual NHL Officiating Exposure Combine. Thanks to his strong performance at the event, he earned the opportunity to work American Hockey League games, including the 2022 AHL Conference Finals, and called the lines for his first NHL game on November 1, 2022. Joe and his wife Hannah currently reside in Portland and even help billet the next wave of Winterhawks while Joe continues his officiating career.
Ponich played four seasons with the Winterhawks from 2007 to 2011 and was the team captain during his final two years in the Rose City. The 6-foot-7 defenseman appeared in 249 career regular-season games with the Winterhawks and earned a second-round selection by the St. Louis Blues in the 2009 NHL Draft. After a five-year pro career in the AHL/ECHL, Ponich decided to move closer to home and attend the University of Alberta-Augustana to pursue his undergraduate degree. Following undergrad, the Edmonton, Alta. native earned his medical degree from the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine and began his plastic surgery residency in Calgary in 2022. In a story published for Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta, Ponich wrote “Recently, I had the fortune of performing a solo and unassisted otoplasty on a 14-year-old female who had been bullied extensively in school for her ears. When I removed her dressing in follow-up, she immediately burst into tears and exclaimed, ‘I love them so much!’. The feeling of being able to deliver that for her was the exact feeling I used to get stepping onto the ice, under the bright lights, in front of 15,000+ screaming fans. I couldn’t wait to do it again.” When he’s not busy working 36-hour shifts during his residency, Ponich enjoys time with his family and coaching hockey players at the Columbia Valley Hockey School, a program he founded.
ROSTERS (Click each to view/download)
*Diego Buttazzoni was held off a Neely Cup roster as he recovers from an injury (day-to-day).
SCHEDULE
All games will be played at Sherwood Ice Arena and will consist of two 25-minute periods and a 3-on-3 game immediately following. Visit Winterhawks.com to keep track of standings and view the game highlights following each day of competition.
Thursday, August 29:
3:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. • Team Bjorkstrand vs. Team De Leo
5:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. • Team Mahon vs. Team Ponich
Friday, August 30:
3:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. • Team Mahon vs. Team Bjorkstrand
5:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. • Team De Leo vs. Team Ponich
Saturday, August 31:
8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. • Team De Leo vs. Team Mahon
10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. • Team Ponich vs. Team Bjorkstrand
4:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. • Consolation Final (3rd vs. 4th)
6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. • Neely Cup Championship (1st vs. 2nd)
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