Ex-Hawks Neiderreiter, Johansen, Glass and Bjorkstrand to strut their stuff in Seattle

Former Winterhawks standout Nino Neiderreiter, now with Nashville in the NHL, will be in Seattle next Tuesday when the Predators take on the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena (courtesy Nashville Predators)

Nino Neiderreiter, Ryan Johansen and Cody Glass will be inhabiting familiar territory when the Nashville Predators visit the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Predator trio will be met by another former Winterhawk forward, Oliver Bjorkstrand, who plays for the Kraken.

Four ex-Hawks, all front-liners, on the ice in an NHL game?

“Crazy,” says Neiderreiter, the left wing from Switzerland who leads the Predators (3-6-1) with five goals. “But there are a lot of good players coming out of Portland.”

Neiddereiter and Johansen played together for two seasons in Portland (2009-11) on teams that had 11 players go on to play in the NHL. Besides the aforementioned duo, there were Ty Rattie, Joe Morrow, Craig Cunningham, Sven Bartschi, Brendan Leipsic, Derrick Pouliot, Tyler Wotherspoon, Nic Petan and Luca Sbisa.

Nino came to Nashville this season after four years with Carolina. Ryan is in his eighth season with the Predators and 13th season overall.

“When I got here and Ryan and I saw each other, it took us back to Winterhawks days and how much fun it was,” says Neiderreiter, 30 and in his 12th NHL campaign. “We had the good fortune of learning a lot about what it takes to succeed in hockey there.”

Neiderreiter and Jacobsen have played on the same line several times this season.

“Ryan is an unreal teammate,” Neiderreiter says. “He is a terrific playmaker. He is a big, strong guy, a great hockey guy. It’s a pleasure to play with him.”

Neiderreiter, Jacobsen, Glass and Bjorkstrand are four of the best offensive players in the Winterhawks’ 46-year history.

The former pair arrived during a low time in Winterhawks history and a change of ownership after successive seasons of 17-52, 11-58 and 19-48. Mike Johnston took over as coach and general manager and, with a push from rookies Neiderreiter and Johansen, won 44 games and reached the second round of the playoffs. Neiderreiter had a team-high 36 goals and 60 points while Johansen contributed 25 goals and 69 points.

“Nobody thought we were even going to make the playoffs,” Neiderreiter says.

They were even better the next year, winning 50 games while reaching the WHL finals. Nino had a team-high 41 goals and 70 points. Johansen collected 40 goals and team-high 92 points.

Bjorkstrand was a scoring machine for the Hawks, leading them in scoring in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 regular seasons. The first year, he lit the lamp 50 times to go with 59 assists on a team that won 54 games and reached the WHL finals. In 2014-15, the native of Denmark led the WHL in goals (63) and points (118) points despite playing only 59 regular-season games. The Hawks won 43 games and reached the league semifinals.

Glass played with the Hawks from 2015-19, scoring 94 goals in 239 games. He twice led the team in scoring, totaling 102 points in 2017-18 and 94 points as a 17-year-old in 2016-17. Glass was on playoff teams every year but never advanced beyond the second round.

Three of the players were taken in the first round of the NHL draft — Johansen No. 4 to Columbus and Neiderreiter No. 5 to the New York Islanders in 2010, Cody Glass No. 6 to Las Vegas in 2017. With size (6-0, 175) an issue, Bjorkstrand went to Columbus in the third round in 2013.

Johansen, Neiderreiter and Bjorkstrand have enjoyed distinguished NHL careers.

The 6-3, 220-pound Johansen, 30, has 181 goals and 352 assists in 797 games. The 6-2, 220-pound Neiderreiter’s numbers are 186 goals and 188 assists in 742 games. Bjorkstrand, 27, has 112 goals and 126 assists in 393 games through eight seasons, including a career-high 28 goals and 57 points last season with the Blue Jackets. Only eight players chosen ahead of him in the 2013 draft have scored more goals.

Neiderreiter (five goals, one assist), Johansen (four goals, two assists) and Bjorkstrand (one goal, five assists) have all played 11 games this season.

The 6-3, 205-pound Glass, 23, is still finding himself in his fourth NHL season. He has bounced back and forth between the NHL and the minors each season. His NHL totals: 10 goals, 15 assists in 82 games. Glass has one goal and one assist in eight games this season.

Neiderreiter credits coaches Johnston and Travis Green — who later went on to serve as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for 4 1/2 seasons — for the Hawks’ success during his time in Portland.

“The best thing we had going was great coaching,” Neiderreiter says. “Mike put us in some good working boots. He was hard enough. He wanted us to succeed. He put some pieces together and it worked.”

When Neiderreiter arrived in Portland from Switzerland, he was aware the Hawks had been WHL weaklings.

He figured the fans may have bailed.

“I didn’t quite know what to expect and wondered how big a turnout we would have,” he says. “If you don’t win, people are not going to come see you play. But we had a good team, had some full houses in the (Memorial) Coliseum and good crowds in the Rose Garden.

“I loved it in Portland. It was a blast. The city was great. The people were great to me. It’s an absolutely beautiful city and a great place to play junior hockey.”

Nashville is Neiderreiter’s fourth team. It’s been 12 years since, after just turning 18, he became the youngest player ever to play for the Islanders. Three days later, he scored his first career goal.

Neiderreiter was 24-20-44 with Carolina last season, his fourth 20-goal season and first since 2016-17, when he had a career-high 32 goals with Minnesota. The veteran left wing also has 15 goals in 82 playoff games.

“I remember the first time I went to Portland training camp (in 2009),” Neiderreiter says. “I looked around and I saw some of the best junior hockey players. A short time later I called my agent and said, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for here. It’s too good for me.’ He said, ‘Give yourself a few days to get used to it and you’ll be fine.’

“Now here I am, 13 years later. It feels surreal. It’s definitely a dream come true. A big thank you to Portland for giving me a chance to succeed.”

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