Camp Confidential: Local Talent in the Spotlight
September 2, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Portland Winterhawks News Release
Jr. Winterhawks Neely Cup
There is nothing like seeing homegrown talent at Western Hockey League camps. Players from local programs often earn invites to skate alongside their local WHL club, and though Portland doesn’t boast academies like some of the B.C. markets, the Jr. Winterhawks program boasts a handful of talented skaters ready to make their mark at Neely Cup.
Neely Cup invitees Danny Carl, Cooper Jones and Alex Mason each played for the Portland Jr. Winterhawks last season, while Fritz Berback-Rosengreen, Billie Jacobson-Couch, Holden Pajor and Rylan Oster also come to camp having spent time playing in Portland previously.
“It’s really nice,” Cooper Jones said of attending his first WHL camp. “The drive is like 25 minutes, so I get to go back home and sleep in my own bed and stuff and the experience is really cool. It’s definitely something different.”
Jones played last season on the Jr. Winterhawks Under-14 AA team is now preparing to play in Boston this fall. He moved east a week ago to attend American Hockey Academy so he can continue to advance his playing career, but first, he has one final hurrah in the Rose City.
“Getting to play with the guys that you watch is something very different that you don’t get to do very often. The whole experience is very professional, it’s really cool,” Jones added. “I always idolized the captains, like Dominic Turgeon, Keegan Iverson, and Matt Dumba who’s playing in the NHL. I liked (Dumba) a lot because he was D and he played here.”
Jones, the West Linn-raised defenseman, played peewee hockey with Alex Mason and Danny Carl in Portland and the trio will get another crack at playing together this week.
“I was at the Winterhawks 18-U camp last week and I met the (Portland Winterhawks) coaches. It was really nice because I got to really experience some of the off-ice and on-ice drills and then I come here and it’s very similar,” Danny Carl said of playing at the Neely Cup.
His primary focus is honing his craft before the under-18 season begins in a few weeks.
“Just learning from the older players,” Carl said on what he’s hoping to get out of camp. “Like if there is something that they do and they’re good playmakers, I can pick up on that and just improve.”
Some former Winterhawks who turned pro are practicing with the four Neely Cup teams, including Derrick Pouliot, Tyler Wotherspoon and Keoni Texeira. Jones said he was trying to be like a sponge and soak in the advice during his first skate of the week running drills alongside Pouliot, who ranks 15th all-time in assists as a Winterhawk.
“(Pouliot) was talking about my gap control. He was saying just keep it close, you don’t need to back up, just take (your opponent) to the wall and you can make the drill a shorter shift,” Jones said.
Applying those subtle tricks into games is something Beaverton native Billie Jacobson-Couch (pronounced KOOCH) knows well.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Jacobson-Couch said. “I was dreaming of playing in this tournament when I was little and now finally getting to put on a Winterhawks jersey and represent them for the week is pretty surreal. I’m excited to be here.”
Jacobson-Couch has played for the Jr. Winterhawks from the day he learned to skate to his final season in Portland as a 13-year-old. He now lives in Eden Prairie with his mom so he could play in the hockey hotbed of Minnesota and is currently preparing for his first varsity season.
Having the comfort of playing in the VMC before, and even working here alongside former head equipment manager Mark “Peaches” Brennan and his staff, will surely give Jacobson-Couch a leg up on the competition.
“I used to do the water bottles for the Winterhawks. When I was really young, my dad was on the ice crew here so I used to fill up the water bottles during intermissions and help the trainers and all that. I basically worked for (the Winterhawks),” Jacobson-Couch said.
He’s a versatile player ready to tackle the three hours of daily ice time, something he’s grown used to in Eden Prairie.
“It’s definitely fast-paced, and you have to stand on your toes a lot. You can’t doze off when they are explaining drills or anything like that. You always have to stay focused and play with urgency,” Jacobson-Couch said.
It’s certainly a jump in pace for many Jr. Winterhawks, but they’re holding their own through two days of action. So while you’re watching Winterhawks veterans and signed prospects strut their stuff this weekend, keep an eye on the local talent as they look to make an impact for their hometown team.
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