Seattle Kraken: Portland Winterhawks alumni who could come back to the PNW
Defensemen
Braydon Coburn, Tampa Bay Lightning
Braydon Coburn has 232 points in 964 games with the NHL since the 2005–06 season. His plus/minus in the NHL is 49. In February of 2005, while still playing with the Winterhawks, he tied a record for most goals scored in one game by a defenseman (4).
Derrick Pouliot, St. Louis Blues
The former CHL Defenseman of the Year hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a top-10 draft pick. Since being selected eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, Derrick Pouliot has bounced around to several NHL teams. In 202 NHL games played, he has 48 points and a -35 plus/minus.
Luca Sbisa, Winnipeg Jets
In 2008, Philadelphia selected Luca Sbisa 19th overall in the draft. At 6-3, 205-pounds Sbisa has good size, but his lack of speed has forced him into a bottom pairing/ seventh defenseman role for most of his career. After Philly, Sbisa played for the Ducks, Canucks, Golden Knights, and Islanders before landing in Winnipeg last season. In 548 NHL games, he has 113 points with a plus/minus of -18.
Dennis Cholowski, Detroit Red Wings
The Langley, BC native was the 20th overall selection in 2016 by the Red Wings. Still in the early stages of his NHL career, Dennis Cholowski has played only 88 NHL games with 24 points and a -49 plus/minus. He played in the WHL’s All-Star games in the 2017-18 season. While with the Winterhawks, he played 69 games with 66 points and a plus/minus of 29.
Goalie
Adin Hill, Arizona Coyotes
Adin Hill was drafted in 2015 by the Coyotes, 76th overall. He is currently the number three goalie in Arizona. Injures to the Coyotes top two goalies the previous several seasons resulted in HIll getting chances the to step in. Over 30 NHL games, he has a .907 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average. In the 2014–15 season with the WHL, he earned the award for best save percentage on .921.
Check back with us later in the week for part two of our series.
Which Winterhawks alumni do you think will come back to the Pacific Northwest to play for the Seattle Kraken? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.