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Spokane Chiefs

Spokane Chiefs season outlook: Progression on backend will strengthen chances for improvement

Spokane's Tyson Helgesen, left, finds himself with a loose puck and Seattle's Alexander True (16) in scoring position Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 at the Spokane Arena. Goalie Garret Hughson, above, blocked the shot. The Spokane Chiefs were leading the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 in the middle of the third period. JESSE TINSLEY jesset@spokesman.com (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Josh Horton joshho@spokesman.com
Spokane's Tyson Helgesen, left, finds himself with a loose puck and Seattle's Alexander True (16) in scoring position Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 at the Spokane Arena. Goalie Garret Hughson, above, blocked the shot. The Spokane Chiefs were leading the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 in the middle of the third period. JESSE TINSLEY jesset@spokesman.com (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

This is the fifth of an seven-part online series wrapping up the Spokane Chiefs’ 2016-17 season, as well as looking forward to next year. Today: The defensive unit.

Wednesday: The 20-year-old situation.

Friday: Young leadership emerges.

Saturday: The Goaltenders.

Sunday: Forward depth will be key.

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In terms of development, the most important group for the Spokane Chiefs is its defense.

By the end of the season, three 16-year-olds — Ty Smith, Luke Gallagher and Matt Leduc — were playing significant minutes in the Chiefs’ backend. Smith played on the Chiefs’ top pairing alongside Tyson Helgesen for most of the season.

“I think Ty’s going to take a huge step in the offensive points part of things,” Spokane general manager Scott Carter said. “I think he got more comfortable toward the end of the season.”

And although all three figure to be important pieces for the Chiefs moving forward, it’s a group of incoming 19-year-old defenseman that will be instrumental to the Chiefs’ defensive core.

Dalton Hamaliuk, Jeff Faith, Jake Toporowski and Nolan Reid are all entering their penultimate Western Hockey League season.

Hamaluik and Faith are big and physical, while Reid is more offensive minded. Toporowski dealt with injuries for most of last season. None of the four stood out as a star.

There’s a chance that Spokane, in the spirit of building young talent, could trade one of those four to open up a chance for playing time for a prospect. But whether that decision will be made will be made later in the season.

“I think we’re going to start the season with all four and see how it all materializes,” Carter said. “If our team looks really competitive and looks like we are a really playoff solid team, I don’t mind having an older defense core.”

Coming Tuesday: A look at the upcoming prospects.