Blue Jackets pick Oliver Bjorkstrand leads Portland Winterhawks back to old form

The Portland Winterhawks are finally back to old form following a disastrous start to the season. An eight-game winning streak has put them only three-points back of the Everett Silvertips for top spot in the U.S. Division.

It was ultimately shocking to see Portland only pull off one victory in its first 10 games on the season under new GM-head coach Jamie Kompon. They did lose a handful of their top players such as Nashville Predators pick Brendan Leipsic and Pittsburgh Penguins first-rounder Derrick Pouliot to the pros in the offseason and had nine veterans away at NHL camps, but a start like that didn’t seem possible for a team that made it to the WHL finals the year before.

“The start of the year was a time of transition for us,” says Kompon, who took over from Penguins new bench boss Mike Johnston. “We had nine guys at NHL camps and they were getting adjusted to me after having Mike Johnston here for five years. I think I see the game the same way Mike does, but it was still a time of transition for the players. And it’s tough to get going when many of your key players are away. We were without many of our top forwards and had to adjust to that.”

Portland started to show its old form in November by winning nine of 13 contests; however, a three-game losing streak in late December put the Oregon-based club a step back from catching its divisional rivals. It wasn’t that surprising to see the Winterhawks have a hiccup during the time of the world junior championship because they were without three of their top players: Oliver Bjorkstrand (Denmark), Nicolas Petan (Canada) and Chase De Leo (USA).

Bjorkstrand’s red-hot stick is the biggest reason why Portland has been able to get on a roll following the world junior tourney. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft choice carried over his excellent tournament play by ripping up the Dub with 14 goals and 30 points in 12 December games. His best effort came against the rival Silvertips on Jan. 31 when he scored three goals and three assists in a 6-3 win.

“When I got back from the world juniors I think I just had a lot of speed because it’s a fast tournament and I was used to playing at that pace,” says Bjorkstrand, who has 35 goals and 70 points in 40 matches. “I’ve been taking the puck and using my speed to beat players and have been able to put up good points.”

Albeit Bjorkstrand has impressed Kompon since the start of training camp, the 6-foot, 170-pound wing has elevated his game even more since the prestigious tourney in the eyes of his head coach.

“I’ve been impressed with him all year long,” says Kompon. “He’s such an elite player and he plays a complete 200-foot game. But since coming back from the world juniors, he’s played with even more confidence because he carried over the speed he had in that tournament to his play here. That tournament meant so much to him and his country that I think it got his adrenaline going and just pushed him that much more.”

Bjorkstrand gives some of the credit for his success to Petan, his linemate. He has teamed up with the Winnipeg Jets second-round pick, who notched four goals and 18 points in nine contests last month, to give Portland one of the top 1-2 punches in the league.

"It's great playing with him (Petan) and being able to make plays with him out there," says Bjorkstrand. "He makes such nice passes and creates a lot of offense for us."

Kompon’s roster moves nearing the trade deadline have also played into the team’s recent winning streak. He decided to ship Arizona Coyotes goalie pick Brendan Burke to the Calgary Hitmen as part of a decision to give Adin Hill the puck-stopping reigns. The move has paid off as Hill has looked rock solid in net with a .928 save percentage in his last 14 games. In addition, he added a quality puck-moving blueliner to his back end by acquiring overage Adam Henry from the Saskatoon Blades.

“Hill has been getting better and better every game for us,” says Portland’s architect. “He wanted to carry the ball and he has done a really good job for us. We felt it was time to give Burke a chance elsewhere to get a fresh start and it made sense for us with Hill ready… Henry has been a huge addition because he brings veteran leadership to our team and adds skill to our defence.”

The Winterhawks ultimately remain an underdog in this year’s playoff picture because Kelowna Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton separated his club from the rest of the Western Conference at the trade deadline by acquiring Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey in a pair of trades from the Prince Albert Raiders. But when taking into account that Portland has a 3-1-0-0 record against Kelowna this season and knocked them out of the post-season three times in the last four years, it would be unwise to write off the Winterhawks from a fifth straight trip to the WHL finals.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen