2020 Vision

The Thunderbirds are going to miss playing the Central Division. In two separate trips out there this season, the T-birds posted four wins in six games. In late October they beat Red Deer and Calgary with a lone loss to Edmonton. To start off the New Year Seattle took two of three this past weekend, beating Lethbridge and Swift Current while losing to Medicine Hat. To take four of six on the road from a very competitive division was no easy task, but mission accomplished.

This most recent trip was made tougher by the fact it was three games in three nights, in three different arenas. Remember too, the trip east didn't start in Kent, but in Portland New Year's Eve, after a tough 3-2 loss to the Winterhawks. That was game one of five straight on the road. So far the T-birds are 2-2 with the remaining game of the five away contests coming up Friday in Kennewick against the Tri-City Americans. A win would give them an above .500 mark for the five game road stretch. It would also keep them in eighth place, the second wild card spot, in the Western Conference standings. In fact, a win Friday would give Seattle a four-point cushion over the Americans. Tri-City does have a couple of games in hand on Seattle so winning the head-to-head matchups are critical.

The T-birds will look both up and down at the standings going the rest of the way. While, for the moment, they have caught and passed Tri-City in the standings, they are also just five points back of the Vancouver Giants for the first wild card spot but the Prince George Cougars (as well as Tri-City) will be looking to make up ground on Seattle. The T-birds have ten games remaining against those three teams. Friday's game and a January 28th game remain against the Ams while the T-birds still have four games left on the schedule against both the Giants and Cougars.

It was great to finally see Mekai Sanders get into a regular season game. After missing the entire first half rehabbing an injury suffered in preseason, he made his debut down in Portland New Year's Eve. The Gig Harbor native got into three of the four games last week. Some rust was expected after not seeing game action since early September but you could see him get more comfortable with the speed of the game with each shift. It's hard to judge off just three games the total Sanders hockey package, but you can see he is a hustle player. Now that he's healthy he'll battle to get into the lineup with the other young players on the roster the rest of the way. That competition for ice will make him and the other rookies, better players. He is the sixth 16 year old to play for this team. In fact, Seattle has utilized nine players age 16 or younger at various times this season.

It was nice to see the Thunderbirds offense break out with a 14 goal weekend. They also allowed 14 and that's the first thing head coach Matt O'Dette brought up when I asked him about the offensive explosion. Yes, the 14 goals over the three games was nice to see, but he said they have to limit chances at the other end. That's the reaction I'd expect from the coach. Your best defense is usually a good offense, but more specifically, the better you manage the puck, the more puck possession you have and the fewer chances the opponents get. Getting up ice is still an area the young T-birds are working on improving. With that being said, Seattle did face two of the more prolific offenses in the WHL when they took on Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

It may not necessarily show in the league rankings, but Seattle's special teams are improving as well. The utilization of five forwards seemed to give the power play some jump. I'll be curious to see if that continues especially with the return of defenseman Simon Kubicek from World Juniors competition. Kubi took advantage of lots of ice time representing the Czech Republic at that tournament. He was especially effective on the power play. Hopefully he can find the same success on the power play for Seattle going forward. The T-birds are still being assessed too many penalties, whether deserved or not. That skews their work on the penalty kill, but since returning from Christmas they have blocked a busload of shots when shorthanded.

I thought Seattle's three 16 year olds who have been in the lineup most games this season, all had solid weekends on the Central Division swing. Conner Roulette ended up with four points (2g, 2a) and was +4. Roulette now leads the team with a +9 rating. Lucas Ciona chipped in a couple of assists on the road, but his worth was really in his physical play and his penalty killing. And while Kai Uchacz didn't record a point, he too was excellent on the PK but also gave the coaches strong shifts on the fourth line.

Another rookie, 17 year old Matt Rempe, is quietly putting together a solid first season. He is nearly a point a game players with 18 points (5g, 13a) through 22 games. After serving out a one-game suspension, he returned to the lineup for the last two games out east and earned three assists and a +3. He was often part of the T-birds five forward power play unit as well, planting himself in front of the opponent's crease.

The WHLL trade deadline is Friday at 2 PM PST. I don't think Seattle is moving anyone in or out but if the right deal presents itself, General Manager Bil Laforge will not hesitate. Stay tuned!

My T-Birds three star for the weekend:

Third Star: Lots of different directions I could go with this choice but I'm going with Ciona. It wasn't just that he picked up two assists. I really liked his total game, playing with some sandpaper. He's fitting in well on a line with Max Patterson and Payton Mount.

Second Star: W Conner Bruggen-Cate. the 20 year old has a six game scoring streak going that included a four game goal scoring streak. Like Ciona though, it was The Network's complete game that stood out, especially his work on the PK. I don't know how vocal he is in the room, but on the ice the example he sets with his hustle should be easy for the young players to follow.

First Star: W Andrej Kukuca. It was a year ago at this time, when he returned to the team after representing Slovakia at the World Juniors, that Kukuca caught fire. Hopefully history is repeating itself. With 16 points in his last 11 games he now leads the club in both goals (15), assists (20) and points (35). In the four recent road games he earned seven points (4g, 3a) including his first WHL hat trick.