Veteran Leadership Emerging

Although the Chiefs continue to lag in the Western Hockey League West standings, they were better last week than they’ve been all year.

One reason is the emergence of veteran leadership.

With eight points in his last eight games, Cam Severson is the force the Chiefs expected when he came back from a brief stint in camp with the San Jose Sharks. An early-season ankle injury held the 20-year-old forward back, but Severson found his “A” game.

On the flip side, the Chiefs lost another veteran who recently put it together after a string of disappointing efforts. Brad Ference, who’s in Winnipeg this week for selection camp with Team Canada, could miss up to eight games, including time off, should he make the World Junior Tournament team.

Players returning from the world juniors usually get a week to make up for the Christmas break they forfeit. The tournament is Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Winnipeg.

As the quarterback of the power play, Ference is the player the Chiefs can least afford to lose.

Spokane’s success on the power play has been lame of late. Ference’s absence promises to make it that much tougher to score on the power play.

So the Chiefs find it imperative that other veterans take advantage of scoring chances.

Severson is doing that. Another big veteran forward, Curtis Suter, has become a threat in front of the net. Ty Jones has averaged a point a game.

The gradual awakening wasn’t lost on Kamloops captain Ajay Baines, whose team had its 26-game unbeaten streak put to an end Friday night in Spokane.

Baines said he expects the Chiefs to improve in the second half of the season.

“They have a great lineup,” Baines said. “They’ve had injuries and players out. That’s why they’re where they are (last) in the division. They’re going to come up and challenge now.”

As for Spokane ending the Blazers’ unbeaten run, Baines said, “It’s really tough to take. We were so close to the (league) record.”

Having said that, Baines was ordered to continue the interview outside the locker room.

Funny, the last time the Blazers were in Spokane, they won, and there was no problem with players interviewing in the room afterward.

Severson compared this year’s runaway leader in the West - the Blazers - to last season’s championship team in Portland.

“I don’t think they have the talent Portland had last year - or we had - but they’re more of a team,” Severson said. “They have three really good lines and good goaltending. It’s a team game and they’ve come together as a team.”

Around the WHL

Todd McLellan wasted no time mustering his Swift Current Broncos out the morning after last Wednesday night’s 6-0 loss in Spokane. The Swift Current coach and GM had the Broncos skating at 6 a.m. Thursday. The wakeup call worked. Swift Current rebounded to knock off the Tri-City Americans Friday night in Kennewick.

A lot has happened to Eric Bonanno since he was the Chiefs’ public address announcer in the early 1990s. He bought an America West League club in Billings, Mont., and eventually became president of the league. Just last month he sold the team and is now GM of the Lake Charles (La.) Ice Pirates in the Western Professional League. The man behind the bench in Lake Charles is former Tri-City Americans coach Bob Loucks. Ex-Chiefs with the Ice Pirates include right wing Randy Favaro and defenseman Joel Boschman. Bonanno, 31, spent time last week on the beach. He’s 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, where the weather has been fabulous. “I love it. You never hurt your back shoveling sunshine,” Bonanno said.

NOTES The Chiefs gave KHQ-TV sports director Greg Heister a turn at the mike in Saturday night’s game in the Arena. Heister is the club’s first choice to replace Mike Lindskog as P.A. announcer, when Lindskog leaves to work full-time with the Spokane Indians. Mike Lencucha’s shutout streak ended last week at 120 minutes, 43 seconds, the second-longest string of scoreless minutes by a goaltender in Chiefs history. In his last four starts, the Spokane netminder has a 1.42 goals-against average with a .935 saves percentage. Lencucha will start Friday night against Seattle.