Orzeck moves up to No. 1 pairing

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This article was published 28/09/2021 (1817 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Monday morning, four days before his club’s regular-season opener in Brandon, James Patrick reminded everyone within earshot that he was still very much in teaching mode.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” said the head coach of the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice during a break in practice at the Rink Training Centre.

Fortunately for Patrick, it’s a question that comes up only occasionally these days after almost a month of training camp and pre-season practices. He has a well-drilled veteran team familiar with his philosophy and workout requirements.

And now, with the imminent return of defenceman Carson Lambos (Minnesota Wild) and right-winger Connor McClennon (Philadelphia Flyers) from the NHL, the Ice has the majority of components in place as it sets off in pursuit of the franchise’s first division title in 17 years.

Joining Lambos on the club’s No. 1 defence pairing will be 20-year-old Nolan Orzeck, who distinguished himself in last spring’s Regina hub after Lambos left due to a medical ailment.

Orzeck didn’t last long before being sidelined himself with a knee injury but his development into a better all-round defender was established early in the hub.

“It was unanimous from the staff everyone felt he was our best defenceman when he got hurt in the bubble,” said Patrick. “Carson basically played one game … but for those next 10 games I thought (Orzeck) was always our best D. Geez, I thought he played so well.”

Orzeck, a 5-11, 170-pounder from Calgary, isn’t a big physical presence but his game has matured. He takes fewer chances even though he is a tremendous skater and will be among the first over the boards in all special teams situations. Patrick loves his instincts and quick thinking in pressure situations.

“He looks like he’s right where he was last year,” said Patrick. “I’ve liked his camp. I feel like he’s really matured into a leader on our team. He’s a real solid and respected guy (by) the rest of his teammates and he’s in his fourth year in the league.”

Orzeck’s 133 career regular-season games make him the most experienced blue-liner on the squad. Third-year man Ben Zloty is next with 81 games.

“I was the oldest D-man on the team last year and so I’m kind of going in with the same mindset — being a leader and just helping out the younger guys on the team if they have any questions or just anything they want to talk about,” said Orzeck.

“It just kind of feels like yesterday that I was the young D-man coming into the league and looking up to all the older D-men that we had and just seeing how they handled themselves at the rink and off the ice. It went by pretty fast. Now I’m in that role and just kind of embracing it here.”

Fortunately, Orzeck’s knee did not require surgery and he was back on the ice for training only weeks after the end of the WHL hub.

“It feels good, almost feels stronger than it was before,” said Orzeck. “I was happy with that and I talk to my trainer a lot back home. He just wanted to make sure that it was healthy and ready to go, so we did lots of single leg workouts and just tried to strengthen it up to be ready to go this year.”

Ice players expect to be pushed every night and Orzeck accepts the challenge of being considered a frontrunner. It comes with the territory.

“We know we have lots of talent but we’ve gotta work hard and teams are gonna be playing us hard because they know we got a good squad,” said Orzeck. “We’re just gonna have to be ready to work hard every day.”

BLUE-LINES: Winnipeg dealt the WHL rights to forward Hayden Pakkala to the Prince Albert Raiders Monday, getting a ninth-round 2021 draft pick in return. Pakkala, a 17-year-old from Okotoks, Alta., was without a point and a plus-2 in three pre-season appearances for the Ice… Goaltender Gage Alexander, projected as the No. 1 man for the Ice, remains in camp with the Anaheim Ducks.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14