WHL Cup Preview: Team Manitoba

 

For a province whose motto is ‘Glorious and free’, Manitoba’s 20-man squad at the 2017 WHL Cup will embody that on the ice.

For a province that has produced names like Nolan Patrick, Brett Howden and Jett Woo, head coach Dan Eliasson isn’t ready to place the moniker of ‘game-changer’ on any of his 2002-born players at this year’s tournament.

Make no mistake, Manitoba’s highest picks from the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, including top-10 selection Seth Jarvis and fellow first-rounder Daemon Hunt, will be formidable to face. But to Eliasson, he’s expecting his team to utilize the chemistry they’ve developed in quick order to reach for the top this year.

Like their neighbours to the west, Manitoba has remained without a tournament win since the inception of the WHL Cup back in 2009. Eliasson, an experienced coach in his own right, believes this year can and will be different.

“I really like the balance we have on the roster,” said Eliasson. “We’re not going to be over-dependent on one or two guys.

“Our top lines might not be as ‘high-end’ as some of the other provinces, but I think you’re going to see a lot of consistency from top to bottom throughout our roster.”

Manitoba found themselves on the podium last year, winning a bronze medal and will be hungry to improve on their performance with a new roster of players. For all the talk of depth, the team’s leader wasn’t the first or second Manitoban selected in the 2017 Bantam Draft, but the 17th.

Centre-winger Landon Roberts of Souris, Man. will be this year’s captain and is already holding himself and his team to high expectations.

“I definitely think we can make the finals this year,” noted Roberts, a sixth-round selection of the Tri-City Americans. “We’ve got a lot of skill this year. Even though Alberta and B.C. have a lot of first-rounders, I just feel we have a lot of depth on our team as well.”

Eliasson brings a wealth of coaching experience to the tournament, including a Telus Cup victory in 2011 and time with Team Canada West from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Having overseen Manitoba’s entry into previous WHL Cups, Eliasson was ready to give it his all again with a new group of players.

“Based on the roster, I don’t think the formula for success changes,” continued Eliasson. “Nobody wins the tournament in the round robin. At the same time those games are an opportunity for you to make sure that team’s getting better day-by-day.”

All four provincial teams have hosted selection camps and secured ice times to choose the rosters they want to represent them. From there, each team will have a limited amount of ice times to ensure their roster can work as one productive unit and not 20 different pieces come next week.

Even at the tournament, things become a matter of who can have the best five games from Wednesday to Sunday, a facet Eliasson understands.

“You don’t have a lot of time with these guys to put those pieces in place,” the Winnipeg Sharks coach added. “We want to prepare ourselves for Saturday and Sunday games so we can put our best foot forward on the weekend.”

The focus for both Eliasson and Roberts is on the week ahead. That being said, the Tri-City Americans prospect also views this tournament as part of his quest to join the WHL ranks.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity to play against a bunch of other awesome players,” Roberts noted. “It’s just giving me another step forward to get into the WHL.”

“If they want me to be on the first line and try to score goals, then I can do that. But if they want me to go third line and grind, I’m fine with anything.”

Manitoba opens the tournament Wednesday, October 18 with a 3 p.m. MT battle against British Columbia.

For more information on the WHL Cup, visit prospects.whl.ca