It is almost time to hear those famous words in Portland, Let's Play Hawkey! One week from today, the 2010 - 2011 version of our Portland Winterhawks will host Vancouver for their season home opener. Unless you have traveled this preseason, this will be your first chance to see the Hawks in action.
Coming into this season, expectations for the Hawks have never been higher, but this team has some questions to answer...
1 - Who is going to replace Doyle and Sbisa at the Blueline? Those were two vets back there and with Doyle being a 20 and Sbisa already signed with the Ducks... It looks like the team is going to keep 9 defensemen...
2 - Goaltending... while it appears Mac is going to be the guy, who is going to back him up? Ian is rehabbing his shoulder again and Hamilton has had moments between the pipes in Everett and TC... I think the Hawks are still looking at options... until next season with the youngster Burke is in town...
3 - Scoring is still going to be a possible issue... with Francis gone, who is going to setup Walker? With Nino possibly sticking with the Islanders, the Ross, Nino and Ryan line maybe be Ross, Ryan and ??? and with the leadership on the checking line coming from Schneider, will Taylor Peters be the guy to fill that center checking roll?
4 - Overage players, Portland has 4 on the roster as of today... Who stays and who goes? Injuries always play a role in answering that question...
Portland opens in Seattle on Saturday, a team Portland swept last year. Portland should get off to a strong start again this year, depending on who is back from camp of course. More on that later this week, but until Saturday Night in Kent, hope for a title run is running higher then ever.
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