A December to Remember

Happy Holidays T-Birds Nation!  The Thunderbirs gift to you? A terrific first half and a number one ranking in the CHL Top Ten poll.  The best news about the gift? you don't have to wait until Christmas morning to unwrap it. It is yours to enjoy right now.

Seattle just finished a stretch playing six games over nine days. They played the first four of those six games absent five of their best players including their top three defenseman. They played the last two still without four of their best players in the lineup. How'd they do? They went 5-0-0-1 and were one major faux paus away from a clean six game sweep.  

In those six games, without their leading goal scorer on hand, they scored 28 goals. That's just under five goals per game (4.7). With their number one goalie away, they allowed just ten goals in those six games, or 1.67 goals per contest.  The kids are alright.

The first three of those six games they failed to score a first period goal but came back to take the lead in all three, even the game they lost in the shootout.  Challenged by the coaching staff to come out with better starts, they outscored their opponents 9-0 in the first period in the last three games.  

One month ago the Thunderbirds executed the trade that brought Nolan Allan to Seattle from Prince Albert. To make the deal the T-Birds gave up some of their depth as forwards Gabe Ludwig and Brayden Dube, along with defenseman Easton Kovacs, headed to the Raiders.  They then dealt d-man Niko Tsakumis to Everett because he desired more playing time.

To fill the gap Seattle traded with Swift Current for Ty Hurley, signed Ashton McNelly and recently recalled Simon Lovsin and Spencer Michnik.  Those players have done a solid job of filling the back end of the roster, especially with players away.  They have combined for three assists in 18 games with a +8 rating. Michnik won his first WHL start.  It may not seem like much but they've been valuable in keeping the Thunderbirds train on the track the last couple of weeks.

The Thunderbirds have released the only Import player on the roster, Swiss defenseman Kai Knak.  Nice, polite young man. Unfortunately it was the the wrong place, or maybe just the wrong time for Knak to be a Thunderbird.  With the acquistion of Luke Prokop and Allan, the quick development of youngsters like Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, the versatility of Ethan Mittelsteadt, there was just no ice time available for him.  

I think his adjustment to both the smaller ice surface in North America and the more physical style of play was the biggest culprit.  I think with another team, one that could afford to be more patient and give him more ice, he could develop his game here. Seattle just didn't have that for him this season. There were nine defensemen ahead of him on the roster. 

Seattle got to the WHL Championship Series last spring with the league's ninth best power play, and that was because of a strong second half.  They were lower than that most of the first half of the season in those power play rankings. Will history repeate itself?  I still think the one missing ingredient is a strong net front presence.  There were a lot of rebounds while they had the power play this weekend. They just didn't get to them.  This is where they really miss a player like Matt Rempe.

Seattle's goal differential after 29 games is +60. Only Saskatoon at +63 has a better goal differential at the break. Only 22 of Seattle's 127 goals have been scored on the power play.  That's border line insane. By comparison, 36 of Saskatoon's 125 goals are power play goals. 

The Thunderbirds don't have even one player in the top ten in league scoring. In fact their top scorer, Jared Davidson is 19th in scoring in the league.  Seattle has only two players in the top 30 (Crnkovic is 24th). Yet they are number two in goals scored, behind only Winnipeg (The Ice have played one more game). Winnipeg has three of the top 15 point producers.  What Seattle does have is depth, depth, depth.  

My T-Birds Three Stars for the past six games:

Third Star: D Jeremy Hanzel. With three of your top six defenseman unavailable for most of those six games, you need a veteran anchor on the back end.  Hanzel provided just that.  He chipped in with a goal, four assists and was +12, not to mention his solid work on the penalty kill. That's a solid six games.

Second Star: G Scott Ratzlaff.  Yeah, he'd like a do over on that play behind the net late in the game down in Portland, but that error aside, he's been terrific taking over the number one job in net in the absence of Thomas Milic.  He was 4-0-0-1 with a 1.57 GAA and .947 SVPCT in his five starts. Ratlzlaff is now second among goalies in the WHL with a 2.05 GAA and number one in the league with a .927 SVPCT.

First Star: C/W Gracyn Sawchyn.  He's playing his best hockey going into the break and that is saying something because he's been so good since the start of the season.  He picked up ten points in the six games (2g, 10a). He was nearly 50% in the faceoff circle (7/17).  He finished with a Gordie Howe hat trick in the 5-1 win up in Everett Saturday night. As assistant coach Matt Marquardt said, he has a little Henrik Rybinski in his game. When I think of Rybinski, I think of a relentless effort and that does indeed apply to Sawchyn.  

A Third of the Way

Seattle has played 22-games, essentially one third of the season.  They sit with a 17-4-1-0 record and have the second best winning percentage in the WHL.Their goal differential is +40. A good start, but there is a long way to go. A season ago after 22 games the Thunderbirds were 13-6-3-0. Their goal differential was 0.

The Thunderbirds started the month of November off well enough. They beat the Prince George Cougars November first at home, 6-3. It was a nice response after they had lost their first game of the season three nights earlier up  in PG.

But then Seattle lost two in a row. Not just any two losses in a row, but two losses to rival Portland. It was two losses that saw them outscored, 10-4.  It was two defeats that saw them surrender six power play goals while going just 2-for-17 with the man advantage.  Those two setbacks to the Winterhawks came at the end of a five game stretch where the Thunderbirds went 2-3 and gave up 21 goals. 

Were they showing cracks in their armor? Had their weak points been exposed?  Well, over their next nine games the T-Birds went 7-1-1-0. They allowed just 14-goals in those nine games and four of those came in one clunker of a loss, their 4-3 setback last Sunday in Kennewick to the Tri-City Americans. In games versus teams with winning records, Portland twice, Kamloops, Everett and Calgary they gave up a grand total of six goals.  Meanwile the Thunderbirds scored thirty times over that stretch. I'd say that is a terrific response to a few games of adversity.

And still, as we head toward the Christmas break, there is much room for improvement. While the penalty kill is starting to resemble the PK that finished second in the WHL last season, just a hair behind the eventual league champion Edmonton Oil Kings, the power play has not arrived at a level of consistency that the team needs. Even after a 3-for-6 night Saturday against Victoria, there are some wrinkles that need ironing out. 

The power play struggled a bit the first half of last season too though. I remember after the Svejkovsky acquisition, talking about how his addition would improve an inconsistent power play unit. It did as Seattle eventually finished ninth in that category a season ago.  That Svejkovsky trade didn't come until December 27th and because of Covid, Svejkovsky didn't play his first game with Seattle until Januaary 21st. 

There are seven games to play before the Christmas break. Four are one the road, including the next three. Three are at home.  Some of those games are going to be played with Seattle absent some of their best players.  Expect Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan, Reid Schaefer and Thomas Milic to be invited to Canada's World Junior selection camp.  That takes place December 9-12th. Expect some of those four, if not all of them, to be away from the Thunderbirds for nearly a month.  

It may be a month where Seattle has to weather the storm, so to speak. The goal is to get through to the other side still in a strong playoff position. The back end of the roster has gotten lots of ice time the first couple months of the season.  December and early January is where that has to pay off.

Seattle's strong November and positive start to December has been fueled by a number of elements but two things jump out the most.  The play in goal of Thomas Milic and Scott Ratzlaff and the acquisition of defensemen Luke Prokop and Nolan Allan.  

Yes, Prokop played just three games before suffering an injury that has put him on the sidelines, but don't underestimate the valuable leadership he has brought to the team.  He may not be playing but he is a voice in that room. Meanwhile Allan has been just what he has been advertised as, a strong, physical defender who is tough to play against. He can chip in offensively but his defensive zone game has been outstanding.  The Thunderbirds have killed off 30 of 32 penalties over the last eight games and Allan is a big reason why.

Meanwhile the WHL trade deadline is about a month away.  Are the Thunderbirds done dealing?  I highly doubt it. Now, there is still the possibility that Brad Lambert is sent to Seattle.  He will play World Juniors for Finland, then the NHL Winnipeg Jets will decide whether to keep him in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose or assign him to the T-Birds. 

The Moose have played 18 games this season. Lambert has played in 11 of those and has three points (1g, 2a) and is -7. He missed some time with an illness. He hasn't scored recently.  All three of his points came in his first four or five games. Winnipeg is under no obligation to send him to the T-Birds though.  He's eligible to stay all season in the AHL. I'm just spitballing but I think he sticks with the Moose.  Personally, I'd put his chances at coming to Seattle at about ten percent and that might be generous.

But what the deal Seattle made to acquire his rights this summer from Saskatoon tells me, is that the Thunderbirds were looking for another high impact forward. So if not Lambert, I expcect them to seek someone else.  The Thunderbirds have a first and second round draft pick in their back pocket. If Lambert comes, those picks head to Saskatoon.  If he doesn't they'll use them to acquire a different player. Maybe they don't find a trade partner. I think they will. We should know about the 10th of January.

My T-Birds three stars for the last nine games:

Third Star: W Kyle Crnkovic. He's currently riding a six game point streak with eight points over that span (4g, 4a). Three of his four goals have been game winners. He's a +10 since November 9th.

Second Star: D Kevin Korchinski.  Korchinski seems to be finding his groove.  He's doing what he does best. Get the puck on his stick and get it up ice and put the Thunderbirds on the attack.  He is now tied for the team lead in scoring with 28 points. He has back-to-back two assists games and his four assists shy of 100 in his WHL/T-birds career. He's only played 111 regular season games.

First Star: G Thomas Milic Milic is 5-0-1-0 over his last six starts and coming off his first shutout of the season. He hasn't allowed more than two goal in a over a month. His GAA in that time frame is 0.99 and his save percentage is .967

Taking a Liking Two

Not all wins are created equal but all wins are equal in value.  When you add them up, an 11-3 win is the same as a 2-1 win in overtime.  They are both worth two points in the standings.  Seatle has played Everett twice and won both times. Once 11-3 and once 2-1, and 2+2=4.

So you've gone through a slow schedule to start the season. You play just 11 games over a month's time.  Then boom, three games in four nights and the pace is picking up.  Screeeech!  Throw on the brakes!  You're back to playing once over the course of ten days. Hard to get game consistency or rythm from that. It is, as they say, what it is, but it will have an affect on your performance. 

It's like driving on I-5. You're zooming along at the speed limit and then you hit a patch of congestion in Federal Way and have to slow down. You have your foot on the accelerator and all of a sudden you have to pump the brakes. You'd rather be back on the gas pedal but you have to be patient until traffic clears. 

That and a few other things came together Saturday night to affect the Thunderbird effort against Everett. First, give the Silvertips their props. They are dealing with some injury issues. They weren't shorthanded but did have a few key pieces missing from the lineup.  They had a game plan and stuck to it, making it difficult for Seattle to get into the interior of the offensive zone much of the game.  

As the game wore on though, the Thunderbirds did a better job of getting traffic to the house. Give credit to Everett's goalie Braden Holt.  He held Seattle at bay as long as he could. In the end, Seattle was able to find a few cracks.

The midweek trade that brought Nolan Allan into the fold had an impact on Seattle's forward depth.  The trade of Gabe Ludwig and Brayden Dube was felt in that game.  Their departure left the T-Birds with just 12 forwards.  They did add Ty Hurley in a separate trade but he was not available Saturday night. The Thunderbirds essentially used two d-men (Mittelstadedt and Pickford) on their fourth line. In reality, Seattle just rolled three lines most of the night.

Getting Coster Dunn back from injury and inserting Hurley into the lineup will help but it's very possible between now and the trade deadline T-Birds GM Bil LaForge looks to acquire another impact forward.

The Thunderbirds played the game without another of their big, recent acquisitions as defenseman Luke Prokop was out of the lineup with a lower body injury. I don't mean to minimize Prokop's impact because, when healthy he's going to be a key player if Seattle goes deep this postseason. But what a game young 16 year old Hyde Davidson had, essentially stepping into Prokop's ice time. 

He won so many key puck battles in the defensive zone.  His stick, it seems, is always in the right position and he doesn't shy from physical contact. He also doesn't hesitate to join the offensive push.  Look, I'm no expert, I'm just an observer. But I've been around the organization and the league for over 20 years and I've seen players like Thomas Hickey, Brenden Dillon, Shea Theodore, Ethan Bear and Kevin Korchinski come through those doors. You knew when you watched them play early on in their T-birds careers you were watching something special.  Hyde Davidson is in that mold.  Bryce Pickford, while a different sytle of player, is in that mold as well.

When you have young talent like that already in the system, you can afford to trade draft picks. By the way, most of the picks Seattle has traded recently, were picks they acquired from other teams in trades made over the last four seasons. Like the pipeline, the draft pick cupboard is not bare.  Seattle has not mortgaged their future for a 2023 Cup run. The Thunderbirds still are in possession of first and second round picks in both 2023 and 2024.  

Props to Nolan Allan. Traded to Seattle midweek, he got in his car in Prince Albert and drove 18 hours across Western Canada to get to his new team. Most likely he was skating on fumes and adrenaline Saturday.  Once he settled in you saw how good he is at closing down on puck carriers.  

In the five games before the acquistion of Prokop and Allan Seattle had surrendered 21goals. In the four games since, they allowed just six and only five in regulation.  In the five games before the trades Seattle was shorthanded 21 times and gave up eight power play goals.  In the four games since the T-Birds have killed 12/13 penalties.  

Yes. The power play is struggling. Just 4 for their last 36.  There's is too much talent out their for that to keep up. Maybe the Crnkovic power play goal opens the dam.  At the very least, just keep shooting. Those power play goals are probably going to come off a rebound or a deflection. Once they get a fewe in, the confidence will return.  Right now I see too much hesitiation.

My T-Birds Three Stars for Saturday:

Third Star: D Kevin Korchinski.  I've actually loved his last two games.  Complete efforts in both the OT loss to Calgary and the OT win over Everett. He's controlling a lot of the play, carrying the puck up ice and being strong on the puck in the defensive zone. It appeared he was shadowing Everett's Olen Zellweger much of the night Saturday, especially when the Silvertips were on the power play. Zellweger is Everett's catalyst and a tough player to defend when he's on the puck. Korchinski did a good job of taking awasy his time and space.

Second Star: W Kyle Crnkovic. It had been five games since Crnkovic had scored a goal and he came into Saturday's game with just one goal in his last nine.  That's the life of a goal scorer. It's a streaky business. Hopefully his power play goal starts another goal scoring streak. It wasn't just that he scored a goal, but the way he scored it, slipping through the defense and then taking enough off the shot to offer a change of pace that froze the goalie. He nearly scored a gain, late inthe game, shorthanded.  Don't let that distract from that fact he played a 200 foot game and created a number of neutral zone turnovers.

First Star: G Thomas Milic.  Milic led the Seattle offense with....two assists? Yep, that's right. he had an assist on both Seattle goals. He allowed just one goal against on 22 shots and it was a bit of a flukey one at that.  Only four goals allowed in his last three starts, stopping 78 of 82 shots.  Remember when his goals against average was close to 4.00 and his save percentage around .890? Well things are more Mili like at 2.80 and .906.

Corner Turned?

In an overtime loss, did the Thunderbirds finally find their identity? Did we see Seattle play with the type of intensity that was so key to their successful 2021-22 season?  Time will tell but a good portion of that game Saturday versus Calgary reminded me of the second half of last season.

It was relentless, shift to shift, pressure.  It was a majority of the puck posession. They constantly disrupted Calgary on their breakouts, They slowed the Hitmen entry into the offensive zone. Over a stretch from the start of the second period until Seattle scored their third period goal, the T-Birds had a 21-4 shot edge and it was no mirage. In fact, if not for a few posts and crossbars, it would have been even more lopsided. The Calgary goalie stole that game. 

A slow start by Seattle may have cost them the W too. The Thunderbirds first period was sluggish and Calgary took advantage to score the games's first goal.  Seattle shook off the bus legs and were fairly dominate the rest of the game.  Had Seattle started the game the way they started the second period we're probably talking about a 1-0 win rather than a 2-1 OT loss.

Travel affects every team in the league. Seattle was coming off two long bus rides to Kamloops and Spokane.  It's just the nature of Junior hockey. But this was the perfect storm if you will. Calgary had traveled west and was in Kent Thursday.  They hadn't played since the previous Friday. They were here resting up while the Thunderbirds traveled back and forth to Spokane. The Hitmen were riding a five game winning streak and a hot goalie. There will be a point this season where the T-Birds will get that advantage but the schedule gave a distinct edge to the Hitmen even though it was a Seattle home game.

Zero for eight on the power play and just 3-for-their-last-31 with the man advantage. That's a main culprit in the Thunderbirds being just .500 (3-3-1-0) over their last seven games.  You probably think that can't be so with all the fire power on this roster.  But Seattle went through a similar stretch with their power play last year at this time. It's just something they need to work out. Remember too, Seattle wsa without one of their top power play weapons for three games in Jared Davidson.  That will disrupt your power play success.

They fixed it a year ago with the acquistion of Lukas Svejkovsky. The trade for  Luke Prokop should help get the power play on track this season.  Remember, since he joined the team Wednesday in Kamloops, Seattle has had just one full, non game day practice due to their travel schedule.  Once Prokop gets more fully integrated into the systems the power play (knock on wood) should improve and they have a week of practices ahead before their next game.

Another similarity to last season? The goals Seattle is allowing.  The last four goals surrendered in regulation have all been, essentially breakaway goals.  The Thunderbirds are not giving up a lot of scoring chances, but the ones they are allowing are too high quality. I remember talking about this very thing a year ago.  Seattle tightened that up when Sam Knazko arrived.  Prokop should help fix that area too.

Don't skip over that point though. Seattle has only allowed four goals in regulation in their last three games.  Things are improving as the young back end gets more and more playing time.  They held Kamloops to one goal Wednesday. In their next game, the Blazers scored six against Kelowna. Seattle limited Spokane to just two goals Friday night.  The Chiefs had scored seven in their previous game before losing to the T-birds, an 8-7 overtime setback to Portland. Then, after losing to Seattle the Chiefs but up seven again in their very next game, Saturday versus Tri-City.

One common demonitor over that stretch? Goaltending.  Seattle goalies Thomas Milic and Scott Ratzlaff have been exceptional. Each earned a star in their road wins. I'm biased but I think Seattle has the best 1-2 punch in net in the Western Conference.  

Big picture? Seattle earned five of six points in the three games in four nights played this past week. Two of those games were on the road and there were a lot of miles in between all three games.  They played each of those games with players missing due to injury or away from the team.  This is why I think this team is starting to find their identity. 

Seattle needs the Mekai Sanders we saw Saturday.  He was flying, he was creating chances, he was delivering big checks.  Remember, he missed eight months. it took a couple of games but it appears Mekai is back!  Get Gabe Ludwig and Coster Dunn back form injury, the return of Tij Iginla from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge and Seattle's depth is restored

My T-birds Three Stars for the Week.

Third Star. C/W Sam Popowich. Three really good efforts in all three games. He had a Gordie Howe hat trick for the week with a goal, an assist and a fighting major. He is such a key piece of the puzzle for the T-birds because he can play effectively on all situations.  

Second Star: G Thomas Milic.  He was the show Wednesday in Kamloops, making 38 saves in the overtime win, then went toe-to-toe with Calgary's Brayden Peters in the OT loss Saturday. A couple of crucial third period saves allowed Seattle to earn a point. 

First Star: C/W Jared Davidson.  He missed three games due to injury but returned Friday and picked up where he left off. He is now riding a ten game point streak (7g, 14a).  He is tied for seventh in the league in scoring but of the top scorers only Logan Stankoven has played fewer games (11 to Davidson's 12). He's averaging just under two points per game.  

 

Watch for Falling Rocks

 You earn you losses just as much as you earn your wins and no question the Thunderbirds earned each of their three losses on the season, just as they earned their ten wins.  

Not too sound too cliche but the T-bird right now have to believe in the phrase, what doens't kill us makes us stronger.  Are they disappointed that they've dropped three of their last four games? Of course. But they knew there would be bumps along the way.  The road was not going to be clear from here to the playoffs next spring.  They're still 10-3 despite still looking for their A game.

It is a process. Just like last season was a process.  Right now the team is in the exact spot they were at this time last season.  They had a similar record and were in third place in the U.S. Division behind Everett and Portland.  I'm not saying things will go exactly as they did in 2021-22 but it does show you that it is a long season and how you start isn't how you'll finish.

This team is currently the yougest team in the WHL. They have just two 20-year olds on the roster and only one of them played this weekend.  They are playing three rookies on the blueline almost every game. They are going to take their lumps.  Of the five youngest rosters in the league, only Seattle, the youngest of them all, has a winning record. Wait until they have a half season under their belt. they're only going to get better.

One thing Seattle has done in the past decade is let their young players play.  They throw them to the wolves and let them learn on the job.  It will make they that much better by season's end and into the playoffs.  

The Thunderbirds special teams are definitely out of sorts right now. The power play certainly missed Jared Davidson this weekend. But 2-for-15 on the weekend, with both goals scored while skating 5-on-3, is not just the result of Davidson's absence.  Shooting opportunities were passed up.  Don't be afraid to take the shot because you're worried it might get blocked. So many power play goals are scored off rebounds or deflections. Th esliver lining is that they generated 15 power play chances against Portland.

The penalty kill was tops in the WHL a season ago. But some key components from that top ranked PK have moved on.  Seattle doesn't have Henrik Rybinski or Ryan Gottfried any more. So it might take time for players to settle into those roles.

Seattle had a very defined leadership group last season.  I said at the end of last season's playoff run that their hasn't been a better captain in my tenure with the Thunderbirds than Tyrel Bauer.  But Rybinski and Gottfried were big parts of that leadership group as well. You don't replace that overnight.  It's is very possible that a little adversity will bring a leader or two forward for this group.

My T-Birds three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Stars: The goalies.  Seattle allowed ten goals in two games but with the exception of maybe the first goal Friday in Portland, you can't lay blame at the feet of Scott Ratzlaff and Thomas Milic.  Seattle continues to give up way to many ten bell scoring chances against. These two are doing all they can to give the team in front of them a chance. They're just being forced into making too many highlight reel saves.

Second Star: Sam Popowich. Seattle's Swiss Army knife.  He's all effort.  Can play up and down the lineup and be on the ice in all situations.  He reminds me of Donovan Neuls in that regard.  Teams don't win without a few Popoiwich's on the roster.

First Star: Mekai Sanders. Welcome back!  After an eight month rehabilitation he's back on the ice and playing with the same controlled abandoned that makes him such an effective player.  the orginal prognosis was for him to be out potentially a year.  He put in the work to get back four months early.  His return will make the Thunderbirds an even deeper forward group.

Cougin' it?

 I’ll be honest, I wasn’t disappointed when the Thunderbirds two road games in Prince George last season got cancelled due to the pandemic. I dread that bus ride.  Yep, even more then the bus rides out to Alberta and Saskatchewan. I’m just not a fan. I don’t know exactly what it is because at times the scenery is spectacular. I just dread it every season.  But here’s the funny thing, I actually like Prince George. 

It's a nice city and you run into the friendliest residents. But more importantly, the CN Centre has, in my humble opinion, the best pressbox in the WHL. Great sightlines, enough space in the booth, close to the action and easy access from there to the locker room. I rate it a 9.8 out of 10.  The only reason I don’t give it a 10 is because the stream out of the faucet in the pressbox men’s room comes out at a 45-degree angle and the water pressure is that of a firehose. I can’t believe that I’m the only one who has come out of that men’s room with water all over the front of his pants.

I don’t sleep through the night on the long ride home. It’s more like a series of naps.  There is no four-lane interstate on most of this trek. It is instead, a mostly winding two lane highway and you pass through a number of towns which necessitates the bus occasionally slowing down and, in some cases, stopping at a red light or a stop sign. It is these sudden changes in the speed of the bus, along with the curves in the road, that will usually jar me out of a light sleep. 

So, I get to see the bright lights of such British Columbia hamlets as Quesnel, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake and Cache Creek. Then there is the driver switch at Hope, with a Tim Horton’s stop for good measure. And once you get to that point the border is not that far away, so there’s no sense in trying to get in another forty winks.  

So by the time I get back to the rink in Kent, my brain is pretty much in a fog, or at least more of a fog than usual. 

I think I’ve sufficiently recovered from the bus ride back from Prince George though to coherently put down some thoughts on the two games this past weekend against the Cougars. 

The two games up at the CN Centre were a mixed bag.  Once Seattle got going Friday there were much the better team and the final score of 5-4 wasn’t indicative of the way the Thunderbirds controlled most of that contest.  The Cougars scored a couple of times in the final minute, including a 6-on-4 goal with one second left to make it look more respectable up on the scoreboard.

The narrative from a Prince George perspective after that game seemed to be that they gave the Thunderbirds, ranked number three in the CHL Top Ten Poll, too much respect.  I wonder if, after beating Prince George in Friday’s game, if Seattle didn’t give the Cougars enough respect in the Saturday rematch?

Seattle was flat all night in the second game.  As head coach Matt O’Dette said, they were out of sync and didn’t execute the game plan.  The Cougars were a determined team. They wanted to show they can hang with the Thunderbirds.  Still, it was a 1-1 game late in the second period and a very winnable game for Seattle.  The T-birds just didn’t elevate their game.  

They did have a better third period, when compared to the first two, outshooting Prince George 12-5.  Cougars’ goalie Ty Young denied Seattle on a number of grade A scoring chances.  And when Seattle couldn’t find the back of the net Prince George capitalized on their chances and Seattle miscues.

As O’Dette has said on a number of occasions this season, Seattle has a certain identity they want to play with. It’s what got them to the WHL Championship Series last spring.  Despite the 9-0 start, we haven’t seen that T-birds identity consistently through the first month of the season and it was definitely lacking in the loss.

But credit Prince George. They were focused on handing Seattle their first loss.  They played to their identity in earning the win.  They have a couple of high-end forwards who were their best players.  Their goaltending is top notch.  They are very much like Vancouver, a team that gave Seattle three tough games earlier this season. 

In the end the Thunderbirds are 9-1 to start the season despite not hitting their stride yet. The nine-game winning streak to start the campaign is already longer than any winning streak over the last decade.  They are going to get better as the season progresses.    But there will be bumps in the road. It is how they respond to those road bumps that will reveal this team’s true character.

My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star: D Niko Tsakumis. He didn’t record a point in either game but he stood out for me both nights because he constantly made the right play with the puck.  Seattle has a very young group of defenseman and the more they play the better they get.  Tsakumis’ play this past weekend will earn him more ice time going forward.

Second Star: D Jeremy Hanzel. The elder statesman among Seattle’s defensemen.  In my estimation, the 19-year-old has been the T-birds most consistent blueliner through the first ten games. Like Tsakumis, he made the right play with the puck all weekend.  I can see a similar path for him as with former T-bird Brenden Dillon. Like Dillon, Hanzel wasn’t drafted into the WHL. So far, like Dillon, Hanzel hasn’t been drafted into the NHL, although that could change next summer. Like Dillon, I think some NHL team will give him a chance.

First Star: C Jared Davidson. It’s crazy to think, that on his way to a 42-goal season last year, Davidson didn’t score his first goal until game nine, meaning those 42 goals came in just 58 games (he missed one game due to injury). Through nine games this season, he already has scored seven times, including three over the weekend in Prince George. He is on pace for 52 goals.  

The Young and the Restless

The pace is about to pick up.  After playing just eight times over the first month (30 days) of the new season, the Thunderbirds open a stretch where they will play eight games in 16 days, starting when they travel north to Prince George this coming weekend. 

The Thunderbirds should be chomping at the bit.  I think you could see they are frustrated with the slow start to the season in regards to number of games played. Four times this past month they played just once on a weekend. It's hard to get any rythm, any chemistry or consistency. when you play just one game over the course of twelve days. Yet here they are at 8-0-0-0.

As a result you get a sluggish first half of the game as we saw Saturday night in their 8-3 win over Spokane. They did get out to a two goal lead but weren't playing with any sense of urgency. They weren't crisp with their passing game. They weren't hard on pucks in the D-zone. It wasn't until they surrendered that lead early in the second period that they picked up the pace.

The Thunderbirds have had lots and lots of practice time, but what looks good on the practice ice, doesn't always translate to the game.  But you don't know that until you play the games. Game speed, game scenarios, are much different than a practice session. Seattle just hasn't had the opportunity to play many games yet. As a result, they're still working on their team chemistry. They're still trying to find out the best line combinations.

Seattle's five NHL drafted players are all off and running. Through the first eight games of the season that group has accumulated 58 points (23g, 35a) and are a combined +48.  The teams's best players are leading the way most every game night.

But as I have written about in the past, despite all the experience on the roster, thanks in large part to long playoff run last spring, the T-Birds are still one of the youngest teams in the WHL.  The average hockey age on the team is 17 years old. That means Seattle's young players have to contribute now. Some nights they may be the differnce between getting a win and taking a loss. We forget some of these players are just entering their second year in the WHL, others are true, first year rookies. 

Against the Chiefs Seattle had six rookies and four second year players in the lineup. By comparison, Spokane had four rookies and three second year players on the ice.  Yet it was those young Seattle players who helped spark the team to the win.  Together they contributed nine points (2g, 7a) and were +13 on the night. Seattle's youth wasn't a hinderance to getting the win, they were an eqaul part of earning it.

Lots has been said about the elite players from the 2020 WHL Prospects draft with Regina's Connor Bedard at the head of that class.  But the 2021 draft ain't too shabby either.  We saw the first overall pick from that draft, Berkly Catton, in the lineup for Spokane and he had two assists and was dangerous all night.  Second overall pick, Jordan Gavin, has 12 points in ten games with Tri-City.  But Seattle's top three picks from that 2021 draft are holding their own.  

Tij Iginla went ninth overall and he's just now hitting his stride and has four points in just seven games.  Meanwhile two second round picks, defensemen Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, are logging regular minutes and look like they will anchor the Seattle blue line for the next four seasons. 

We forget defenseman Sawyer Mynio is just starting up his second season.  He was a regular in the lineup last year as a 16 year old, both in the regular season and the playoffs.  With two goals and six assists, he is averaging a point a game through the first month of this season. He's not flashy, but he's steady. he knows when to jump up and join the rush but he takes care of the defensive zone first. He's a good skater.  He has a heavy, lethal shot.  He's currently listed at 6'1", 173 lbs.  He's not done growing.  

If he continues on his current trajectory, I'm confident he'll hear his name called next summer at the NHL Draft. On a team with a Kevin Korchinski, it could be easy to forget there is a Sawyer Mynio. I don't think NHL scouts will.

What is it you hear often in hockey circles? Our goalie is so good, we feel comfortable playing in front of him. Translation? We're willing to take chances and gamble because our goalie will bail us out. Against Spokane the T-Birds felt too comfortable playing in front of Thomas Milic. They were sloppy with the puck in the D-zone, but time and time again Milic bailed them out. 

My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star: G Thomas Milic. See above.  That could easily have been an 8-6 or 8-7 game if he wasn't at the top of his game. Two really solid efforts in his last two starts. In just over a month he should be heading to camp with Team Canada looking to earn a spot on their National team for the World Junior Championship tournament. 

Second Star: C Tij Iginla. The confidence level in his game has shot up ten fold the last few outings.  Scoring that first WHL goal a week ago seems to have done the trick.  Strong on the puck all night against the Chiefs.  His assist on Seattle's last goal is top ten Plays of the Week material.  He won a faceoff, got knocked to the ice but never quite battling for the puck. he made a perfect pass from the seat of pants to set up the goal.

First Star: C Jordan Gustafson.  Since returning to the T-Birds from training camp with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, I think he has been Seattle's most consistent player. You get that same 100 percent effort at both ends of the ice every game. He earned his three assists against Spokane.  He was 12/20 in the faceoff circle and two of Seattle's goals were a direct result of a Gustafson faceoff win.  

Oh Postive

This weekend was like one of those Oprah shows where everyone in the audience finds a gift under their seat.  "You get a point, and you get a point...".  The Thunderbirds broke out the offense in two games, striking for 18 goals in a pair of lopsided wins.

Ten different players scored a goal this past weekend, led by four from Lucas Ciona.  Of the 20 skaters who dressed in either of the two games, 16 earned at least a point.  And it just wasn't about scoring or getting an assist.  It was about playing to the Thunderbirds identity.  

No one exemplified that more this weekend than Gabe Ludwig.  Ludwig was one of the players who got a point, assisting on a late power play goal Friday against Edmonton, but it was his play all over the ice that showed what it is to play the T-bird way. he was constantly in the mix on puck battles. He went to the drity areas as he was grinding out every shift.  

Another player who stood out was 16 year old defenseman Bryce Pickford. He would probably be best described as an offensive defenseman but he plays the 200 foot game the Thunderbird coaches covet.  He can be physical when need be, and he makes good reads on plays in the defensive zone. His hockey IQ is tremendous for such a young player as I watched him break up more than a few scoring opportunities for the opposition.  Seattle found a gem in the second round of the 2021 WHL Prospects draft with the Pickford selection.

At the end of the day, the Thunderbirds are winning because their best players are being their best players most nights. Of their top eight scorers, five are NHL draft picks. Two are eligible for the NHL draft for the first time next summer and one is a 20 year old point producing machine. I would still argue not one of them has hit their stride yet.  

Everett's Angel of the Winds Arena has always been a tough place to play for Seattle, even more so the past five years. Coming into this season the T-birds were just 3-9-1-1 in that building over that span. Don't look now though because Seattle has won their last two road games in Everett.  The commmon denominator in those two wins? Lucas Ciona.  Last March 5th in a 4-3 Thunderbirds win he had the game winning goal. Saturday he had a six point night, including a hat trick.  His stat line from his last two road games against the Silvertips reads: 4g, 3a, 7 pts +7.  

When you outscore two opponents by a combined 18-3, goaltending can get lost in the wash. This weekend both Scott Ratzlaff and Thomas Milic were outstanding. Together they stopped 58 of 61 shots. That's a .951 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average. They surrendered just one even strength goal. Ratzlaff stopped a penalty shot and Milic made a number of top notch saves early against Everett with Seattle getting into penalty trouble.  In doing so, he helped settle the team down until they got going. 

There are a lot of new faces in the WHL officiating crews, especially it would appear among the referees. I think that is why you get a games with double digit power play chances. The new officials are going to call it by the book until they get used to the WHL level. Seattle also has to be more disciplined.  As Sam Popowich told me after the Everett game, playing with a large lead can be a challenge. Players have to stick to the systems and not veer off or take short cuts looking for easy points.  

With Everett looming on the schedule, Seattle didn't look past a struggling Edmonton team. Instead they put the hammer down and beat the Oil Kings, 7-0. If the T-birds want to get off to an 8-0 start they can't look past Spokane next Saturday either. I have a feeling they won't.

The Thunderbirds have compiled their 7-0-0-0 start to the season with a roster that has an average hockey age of 17. That makes them one of the youngest teams in the league. I haven't included 19 year old Mekai Sanders in that breakdown because he hasn't played yet this season.  He would only bring that average age up slightly (17.2).  But I also didn't count 17 year old Sam Oremba who has been traded after playing in two games. he would bring that average age down slightly (17.1). So it s a wash.

My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star:  D Jeremy Hanzel. Three points on the weekend including his first goal. he finished at +3.  Such a clever bank pass to spring Jared Davidson on his shorthanded goal Friday night.  That's how you kill a penalty.  He has points in four straight games. He leads the team with a +11.

Second Star: C Jared Davidson.  He had a six point weekend with two goals and four assists.  He was also 25 of 36 in the faceoff circle, a 69 percent success rate.  A reliable player in all situations and continues his role as a team leader. There were a couple of instances this weekend I can recall where he was on the ice with a young group and helped the T-birds get out of trouble by winning puck battles deep in the defensive zone.

First Star: W Lucas Ciona.  Statistically the best weekend of Ciona's Thunderbids career with nine points and his first WHL hat trick. He's now tied for second in league scoring with 14 points.  He does a lot of the grunt work for the Seattle power play by screening the goalie and retrieving pucks. Most of his goals will come from within a few feet of the net but he's getting better shooting off the rush and from distance.  He's also gained a lot of confidence pushing the puck up ice and skating it through the neutral zone.  

History in the Making

For the first time in franchise history, the Seattle Thunderbirds have opened the season with four consecutive wins.  The closest they had come to this previously was the 1998-99 season when they started 3-0-1 (remember ties?).

The Thunderbirds will try to make it 5-0 when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers Tuesday at the accesso ShoWare center.  It won't be easy. So far on their trip through the Pacific Northwest, the Tigers are giving the U.S. Division all they can handle. Friday they handed Everett their first loss of the season with a 6-3 win. They then took Portland to overtime Saturday before falling, 4-3.  

Funny thing about the T-bird hot start? They've been far from perfect and we definitely haven't seen them play their best hockey yet. In fact, far from it. There's lots of room for improvement. Every game has been a nailbiter and Seattle's sheer talent advantage has pushed them over the top.

What are the issues in the early going? Well, for one they haven't had a lot of time together as a group.  With so many players away at NHL camps they didn't get a chance to spend a great deal of time together working on their systems, their special teams or their chemistry.

Also, as head coach Matt O'Dette has said, they are working on reestablishing their identity that made them such a tough out the second half of last season and through their long playoff run. Even with so many returning players, they are not the same team that went all the way to Game Six of the WHL Championship Series back in June.

Six key components from the roster of the 2022 Western Conference Championship team are no longer here, including three of your top six defensemen (Bauer, Knazko and Gottfried) and three of your top six forwards (Rybinski, Svejkovsky and Rempe).  That's both a loss of a lot of offensive weapons and leadership.

Do they have the talent to replace those players? Yes, but it takes time to get those players acclimated to the Thunderbirds way.  They have eleven new faces on the team to start the season and outside of Kyle Crnkovic, they are all young (18 years old and younger) and mostly inexperienced at the WHL level.  

With the loss of those veteran d-men from a season ago, Seattle's back end is young.  Most nights there are two if not three rookie defensemen in the lineup including two 16 year olds. The eye tests will tell you those two are going to be elite d-men by the time their WHL careers are over but right now they are going through growing pains. They're going to make mistakes as they get their on the job training. In the end, the good will far outweigh the bad.

I would also expect that Seattle will get their opponents best effort every night.  There is a target on the Thunderbirds back. They're the defending conference champs and they are ranked in the top five of the CHL Top Ten Poll.  Opposing teams want to knock you off your perch.

Meanwhile, there are times when Seattle is not getting out of their own way.  They are taking too many penalties.  They survived it this weekend with the two road wins, but that was playing with fire.  The T-birds strength last season was puck possession and dominating at 5-on-5. It was a relentless forecheck that would wear an opponent down, forcing them into taking penalties.  That's what they need to reestablish.

And again, not to beat a dead horse, but the T-birds are not yet whole.  They still have room on the roster for a third 20 year old.  They currently have room for a second Import.  With the recent trade of Sam Oremba they now have the draft capital (two* 2023 first round picks and two 2024 first round picks) to fill those spots with high end talent. Of course if Brad Lambert shows up at some point they solve the Import situation (and their stock of first round picks is reduced to three). While that is looking less and less likely, it's not a closed door.

My T-birds Three Stars for the Weekend:

Third Star: W Lucas Ciona.  Ciona came up big on three goals this weekend.  He set up Jordan Gustafson's goal in Kelowna Friday with a nice give and go feed out of the corner.  Saturday he made a strong drive to the net before dishing the puck off to Gracyn Sawchyn on Seattle's second goal against Vancouver.  Then in overtime, he retrieved a puck and got it back on the sticks of the team's playmakers. He then went to the net to screen the goalie on the game winning goal.  

Second Star: G Scott Ratzlaff.  Seattle continues to give up way too many Grade A scoring chances, even if they're not giving up a lot of shots in total.  Saturday in Langley Ratzlaff was making big time saves, especially as Seattle paraded to the penalty box and gave the Giants eight power play chances.

First Star: D Kevin Korchinski.  Back from NHL training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks and he picks up four points (1g, 3a) in his first two games, including an overtime game winner. With a team going through early season growing pains, he can be a difference maker.  When the puck is on his stick, you expect something good to happen. A nice security blanket to have. 

A Banner Night

Home openers,with pregame banner raising ceremonies and all the other pomp and circumstance that comes with it, and Teddy Bear Toss games both share a lot common traits.  There is a lot of anticipation and emotion involved.  Players are excited and feed off the crowd.  The adrenaline is really flowing. We saw that last night in Seattle's 6-4 win over the Vancouver Giants.

The team was really amped up from the start, especially with five players back from NHL training camps and inserted into the lineup for the first time this season. The crowd at the accesso ShoWare Center was in full throated, midseason form.  

That combination led to the Thunderbirds jumping out to a quick two goal lead just ninety seconds in. Halfway through the game Seattle was up 5-1.  Then they kind of let off the gas.  Maybe the adrenaline wore off or they got comfortable with the sizeable advantage. Once they did that they spent much of the rest of the game, especially the third period, on their heels.  They never really got that momentum back. 

Credit the Giants.  A lot of teams, when they fall behind 5-1 in a hostile environment, will just wilt. Vancouver never did. They stuck to their systems and continued to play hard. They made a game of if over the final 28 minutes. Hopefully a lesson learned. The Thunderbirds, for all their talent...and in the end it was their talent that got them the victory...they are still a relatively young team.

Case in point? The Thunderbirds blue line corps.  Seattle started three rookies on the back end, two 16 year olds and a first year 17 year old d-man.  Their best d-man on the night may have been an 18 year old with limited WHL experience. Was Seattle's young blue line the reason their four goal lead nearly melted away?  No. It was a team effort. But you have to expect mistakes and growing pains from such a young group.

With the two 16 year old d-men, Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, I'm reminded a little bit of another pair of 16 year defenseman and their development with the T-birds back in the 2011-12 season.  Then head coach Steve Konowalchuk kept throwing Shea Theodore and Jared Hauf out on the ice every night, usually together. He put them out in all situations.  He put them out late in games. 

The results most nights weren't pretty. Combined Theodore and Hauf played in 125 games that season and were a -68. But we know the results of that experiment.  Theodore turned into a first round NHL draft pick and, at age 20, Hauf helped lead Seattle to the 2016 Western Conference Championship.  

Here's the difference though for Davidson and Pickford.  They are surrounded by a much more talented group of players. That 2011-12 T-birds team finished 25-45-1-1 and missed the playoffs. Burke Gallimore led the offense that year with 40 points.  Heck, Theodore was the third leading scorer on that team with 35 points.  Last night Davidson and Pickford combined for three assist and were +3. Their growing pains aren't going to be as painful as the ones Theodore and Hauf experienced and their potential is off the charts.

I thought one of the issues for Seattle after building the big lead was too many forwards trying to take short cuts or trying to do too much on their own.  That won't sit well with Matt O'Dette.  Stick to the systems!  When you have a team down as the Thunderbids did, finish them off. 

Seattle put enough quality chances on goal the first half of the game to score 7-8 times in the first period alone.  Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman, a 2020 Vegas Golden Knights draft pick, kept it from being a complete blowout before the first intermission. He gave Vancouver an opportunity to comeback and put a late scare in the Thunderbirds. Still, as well as he played, Seattle still produced a five spot against him. 

The Thunderbirds haven't figured out their line combinations yet. They haven't been together as a complete team yet either.  They are integrating returning players back into the lineup. They have a young D corps. Their special teams have not impacted either of their first two games.  They are awaiting the return of Kevin Korchinski. They have only two 20 year olds. But here they are, 2-0. 

My T-birds Three Stars for the weekend:

Third Star: C Jared Davidson.  First game back from NHL camp with Montreal and he's already had a big impact with a goal and an assist. Took him ten games a season ago to record his first goal, enroute to a 42-goal campaign. He scored in his first game this season. Can he hit 50?

Second Star: W Kyle Crnkovic.  Seattle traded for his offense and through two games he has delivered with a pair of goals, an assist and a shootout goal.  He has delivered the goods.  For a guy known for his offensive accumen, I appreciate his commitment to a 200 foot game.

First Star: C Jordan Gustafson.  I thought he had jump from the get go and was one of the few players who played a complete sixty minute game. His assist on Lucas Ciona's goal was a thing of beauty and showed his ability to read the ice. He's an underrated skater and puck handler.  

The Marathon Begins

One down, 67 to to go. The Seattle Thunderbirds opened the 2022-23 season with a road win, beating the Vancouver Giants in a shootout, 4-3, Friday up in Langley, B.C. 

Seattle accomplished the win with a roster deplete of a good chunk of their firepower.  Well over 100 goals and 300 points off last year's roster were missing from the lineup as the Thunderbirds played shorthanded with six key players still away at NHL training camps. It's a good thing the WHL is slow walking the start of the season. Seattle plays just twice the first two weeks.  

I was told not to expect the majority of those missing players back in time for the home opener next Saturday. I would suspect their NHL teams would like to get many of those players into at least one preseason NHL game.  

I like a player who takes accountability without even being asked. I ran into T-Birds goalie Scott Ratzlaff on his way to the team's postgame meal after the opening night win.  Ratzlaff got the win with 25 saves and two more in the shootout. Without even being asked though, he offered up that it wasn't his best game and that he felt he was trying to do too much.  I did think he struggled at times with what is usually for him a strength, his puck control, but he also made enough timely saves to help the team to victory.

It's good to know that he holds himself to such a high standard that he's not going to be satisfied even if he got the W. He only allowed three goals in regulaton and two of those were of the power play variety, but he left me with the impression he wanted to to get right back to work at that moment and improve on his performance. 

Vamcouver played the game without their number one offensive weapon, Ottawa Senators 2021 second rounder Zack Ostapchuk, but they still had the older team on the ice and were able to dress three 20 year olds (Seattle had just one). The game still had a bit of a preseason feel to it with plenty of rookies and newcomers up and down the rosters of both teams. Fifty-seven percent of the Thunderbirds lineup was age 17 or younger. Seventy percent of the Giants lineup was age 18 or older.

If you are Seattle though, you have to feel pretty good that you could go on the road with essentially your B team and get the two points. Any points gained with this lineup in such flux is a bonus for the Thunderbirds here in the early going. I mean, their first line last night was what essentially would be their third line when they have their full slate of players available. Yet that line of Kyle Crnkovic, Gracyn Sawchyn and Nico Myatovic, was the best line on the ice last night.

Seattle dressed four rookies among their six defensemen. Jeremy Hanzel, with 87 games played, was the veteran of that group at age 19. 18-year old Easton Kovacs, he of the 58 WHL games, was the second most seasoned blue liner for Seattle. Prior to Friday night the trio of Niko Taskumis (11), Bryce Pickford (2) and Hyde Davidson (1) had a combined 14 games of regular season WHL action under their belts.  Kai Knak was making his WHL debut. The T-Birds also had 17 year old rookie defenseman Ethan Mittelstaedt in the lineup but he was used as a tenth forward. 

Despite the inexperience, they held their own.  They made mistakes, showed signs of progress and did enough good to help create the win. 16 year olds Davidson and Pickford, a pair of 2021 second round draft picks, hold a lot of promise, but they are just 16. Even when Kevin Korchinski returns they are still a very young D corps. Will adding some experience on the back end be the area the Thunderbirds look to address between now and the trade deadline?  Do they think Ty Bauer is coming back?  Questions still to be answered.

How many times in his coaching tenure with the Thunderbirds has Matt O'Dette had an incomplete roster, yet still managed to compete every night and, quite often, get his team to victory lane?  Last season Seattle dealt with a ton of injuries, yet by June there they were in the league championship series. Last night he's got six of his best players away from the team. They get the win anyway. A coach can't go out their and stop pucks or score goals. He can't kill penalties, but he can give the players the tools to do that. 

One of those tools is preparation and more often the T-birds are well prepared every night. Another is motivation and O'Dette gets his players to believe in each other, to believe in the systems they employ and to believe in themselves. There's a saying that hard work trumps talent, but if you can combine talent and hard work, then you have something.  O'Dette gets the most from his team because he gets them to combine their talent with hard work.  He won't let them take shortcuts.

Opening night was a prime example. With so many players not available the players that were here could have gone off script, strayed from the systems.  It didn't happen.  He put young players in positions to succeed.  O'Dette has had his staff turn completely over since his first day as head coach. Gone are assistant coaches Kyle Hagel and Castan Sommers, replaced by Matt Marquardt and Carter Cochrance. Brad Guzda has taken over for Ian Gordon as goalie coach.  Yet the process remains the same. 

It's tough to be the next coach, after the previous coach has pushed the franchise up the mountain top to a WHL title, as Steve Konowalchuk did. But O'Dette has put his own stamp on this team and he's a big reason they went as far as they did last spring and a big reason for any success they have this season.  Don't short change him because of the talent he has on the roster. Someone still has to conduct the orchestra. Give the conductor his due.

My T-Bird Three Stars for Opening Night:

Third Star: W Kyle Crnkovic.  Just one assist but he was absolutely robbed twice on the power play. He finished at +2. Brought here for his offense, he led the team with five shots on goal, then buried his shootout attempt. When Seattle needed a shift to settle the team down, he was out there. As the oldest player in the lineup, he brought a calming enfluence with him to the ice.

Second Star: W Nico Myatovic.  Building off a strong rookie campaign, Myatovic is off to a terrific start, registering a goal and an assist opening night.  The coaches always raved about his work ethic last season and even though it was a short one, it looked like he took that work ethic to the offseason.  He looks bigger and stronger then just three months ago.  NHL scouts are taking notice.  

First Star: C Gracyn Sawchyn.  As debuts go, it doesn't get any better.  A goal, an assist, +2 and the shootout winner that made the highlight reels.  Seattle used a second round pick to obtain his rights from Red Deer. They still might have gotten away with highway robbery.  He's probably worth more.  Try to peel your eyes away from the offensive numbers and watch his complete 200 foot game.

So Begins the Waiting Game

With a 6-5 shootout win over Everett Saturday in Kennewick, the 2022 preseason has come to an end for the Thunderbirds. Next up, the regular season which begins Friday on the road with a game in Langley against the Vancouver Giants.

Seattle finished the preseason with a 4-0 record. they won via a shutout. They won be coming from behind. They were winners in overtime and they won with a shootout.  They relied heavily on their youth, particularly in the last game where four of the five regulation goals were scored by players going into their 17 year old seasons, including a pair of rookies.  Four of their goals against Everett came from players who were not on the roster fulltime a season ago.

They were able to win all four games without taxing any of their goalies.  All four signed goalies got a start, played the distance and got a win. At no point did the Thunderbirds dress more than one 20 year old during the preseason schedule.  As a result younger players like Coster Dunn, Gracyn Sawchyn and Sawyer Mynio were able to step up and shine through. 

They accomplished that unblemished preseason record with a young defensive corps.  The oldest d-man on the roster, 19 year old Jeremy Hanzel, played in just one of the four games.  The Thunderbirds played the preseason with a blueline group consisting primarily of 16 and 17 year olds.  

With many of their most potent offensive weapons resting or away at NHL camps, the T-birds still scored five goals per game. Again, winning in the preseason doesn't mean a heck of a whole lot, except winning is a habit coaches want to instill in their players and the preseason is a good place to start the process.

And now we wait. We wait not just for the regular season to get going or for that home opener the following week, but we also wait for the answers to a number of burning questions. First and foremost, the status of Brad Lambert.

As you know, at the end of June General Manager Bil Laforge sent a number of draft picks, including a conditional 2023 first rounder, to the Saskatoon Blades to acquire Lamberts rights.  Then in July, Lambert was drafted in the first round by the NHL's Winnipeg Jets.  He is currently in their training camp. 

Lambert does have options.  He played pro hockey last season in Finland and could return there, although he has not signed a contract with any of the Finnish teams. He could have a terrific camp with the Jets and make their roster and play in the NHL.  He's also eligible for the American Hockey League, so a spot on the roster of the Manitoba Moose is a possibility. Playing in Kent with the Thunderbirds is the fourth option.

An official with the Jets made a comment after the NHL Draft this summer, that seemed to indicate their preference would be that Lambert come play for the Thunderbirds. But that was two months ago. Things certainly could have changed in the interim.  We'll see.  If he eventually does make his way to Kent, don't be surprised if Lambert sticks around Winnipeg for a while first, either with the Jets or with the AHL club, the Moose. All of it is out of the Thunderbirds control.

What happens if Lambert doesn't end up with the T-birds? Well that leaves the team with an open Import slot (maybe Sam Knazko comes back as a 20 year old?) and the conditional 2023 first round draft pick reverts back to the Thunderbirds and they have plenty of ammunition to go make a trade for a high end forward at the January 2023 WHL trade deadline.  Either way, I see it as a win-win situation for Seattle.

Another question that needs answering is how long do NHL clubs hold on to recently drafted T-birds?  For instance, do the Chicago Blackhawks or Edmonton Oilers give extended looks to Kevin Korchinski and Reid Schaefer?  I woud suspect both those clubs want to see those players, each a first round draft pick, participate in at least one NHL preseason game.

Meanwhile Seattle currently has just two 20 year olds listed on their roster.  They came into training camp with just one, Jared Davidson, then traded Conner Roulette to Saskatoon for 20 year old Kyle Crnkovic.  Assuming Davidson is back soon from NHL training camp with the Montreal Canadians (he's unsigned, so no reason to think he won't be, knock on wood) that still leaves a spot on the roster for one more 20 year old. 

My guess is the Thunderbirds are in a holding pattern with that third 20 year old spot, in the off chance that either Ty Bauer or Matt Rempe are returned by their respective NHL teams.  Both Bauer and Rempe are signed and thus eligible for either the AHL or the ECHL, but you never know.  Back in 2017 Seattle wasn't anticipating the New York Rangers returning signed 20 year old Ryan Gropp to Kent, but they did and Gropp helped the T-birds capture the Chynoweth Cup that season.

What if both are returned? Then Seattle has a problem, a good problem, but still a problem as they would have too many 20 year olds.  Should that happend, they most likely facilitate a trade of one of those players and recoup some draft capital. The fact Seattle traded for Crnkovic makes me think the T-birds aren't counting on those players being returned. At least not both of them.

If neither are returned then what?  How long does Laforge roll with just two 20 year olds in the lineup? I think he feels confident in his roster that he can wait out the situation.  Once he's fairly confident that neither Bauer or Rempe are coming back, I believe he'll look for someone to fill that last spot.  There will be a few options as more than one WHL team is currently carrying more than three 20 year olds.  

The only question is whether the T-birds trade to fill that last overage spot or claim someone off waivers.  But in the end I think they'll want three overagers because when you have a team built for a long playoff run, you want that veteran leadership both on and off the ice.

Preseason Musings

It's only preseason where, in the big scheme of things, wins and losses don't really matter, but when you want winning to be your culture, it matters a lot.

The T-birds went to Everett for three games in three days of preseason action and came away with three wins. They did it using a slightly older lineup and they did it by using a slightly younger lineup.  They weren't perfect. It's hard to be when you're mixing up your roster each game, but they found a way to compete, execute and win each game. 

The wins didn't help them climb the standings or secure a playoff spot. There are no points for wins in the preseason. No cup will be lifted after the last preseason game next weekend. The real win this time of the year is when you learn how to win, and a lot of young players learned how to win at the WHL level in those three games in Everett.

Seattle will enter the 2022-23 regular season with a lot of experience missing off their back end. 20 year old defenseman Ryan Gottfried has graduated out of the program and both Ty Bauer and Samuel Knazko appear headed to the AHL, rather than back to Seattle for their 20 year old season.  Chase Lacombe was not brought back for what would have been his 20 year old year. 

Seattle's oldest returning defenseman is 19 year old Jeremy Hanzel. Seattle did select Kai Knak in the Import draft and traded for Easton Kovacs.  Combined, those two 18 year olds have 57 games of WHL experience and it all belongs to Kovacs.  So some of Seattle's youngest defenseman are going to be called upon to play.  

Now, 2022 second round draft pick Kaleb Hartmann is not elible to play this season because he's just 15. but the T-birds did select a couple of defensemen in the second round of the 2021 draft and both of those 16 year olds, Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, could find their way onto the opening night roster. Each of them played in all three games this weekend and they look like top end talent.  Combined, they earned a goal and two assists and were +6 in the three games in Everett.  

But there are a couple of other young defensemen who might be flying under the radar. Both are entering their 17 year old season. Both were picked in the 2020 draft.  We didn't get to see Niko Tsakumis this weekend as he's dealing with a minor injury.  Last season in 11 games with the T-birds he earned two points (1g, 1a) and finished +3.

Ethan Mittelstaedt got into 16 games last season as a 16 year old, scoring a pair of goals and finishing at +3 as well.  Mittelstaedt played in two of the three preseason games this weekend in Everett and I really like what I saw from him.  He plays like he believes in himself.  He reads the ice well.  He's strong on the puck.  He plays with physicality. He ended the weekend with two assists. 

All of those d-men will get plenty of playing time next weekend to state their case.  Both Kevin Korchinski and Hanzel are headed to NHL training camps. Korchinski of course, was the 7th overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft, selected by the Blackhawks. he'll head to Chicago this week.  It appears Hanzel has an invite to camp with the Edmonton Oilers.

If you had any questions about why the T-birds traded for Kyle Crnkovic, and I know some of you did, because I got asked a lot, those questions were answered this weekend.  Yes, he's an offensive playmaker, but he plays a 200 foot game.  He essentially takes the role Lukas Svejkovsky had last season. He'll play in all situations and in particular, be a key component to the power play  

But why give up Conner Roulette? Why not keep him and still acquire Crnkovic?  Well, because the T-birds also added 17 year old Gracyn Sawchyn in the offseason. His hockey IQ is off the charts. Again, it is only preseason but I'd be shocked if, in what will be a deep 2023 NHL Draft, Sawchyn isn't selected in one of the first two rounds. He has the potential to be that good.  He really stood out in the two games he played up in Everett this past weekend.

Meanwhile, the hopes are high that Brad Lambert comes to Kent after training camp with the Winnipeg Jets. He's a first round NHL pick and right away is probably one of your top three forwards. You've got Davidson, Schaefer and Ciona to go in that top group as well. And you have Sam Oremba and Nico Myatovic, both ready to take big steps this season in their first year of NHL draft eligibility.  

Sam Popowich is the team's Swiss Army knife forward. You can play him up and down the lineup. Add to that, at some point Mekai Sanders will be back in the lineup and he'll need minutes too. Gabe Ludwig and Coster Dunn are versatile third/fourth line guys. At age 16, Tij Iginla has to play in two-thirds of the games per WHL rules. Seattle may also want to keep Simon Lovsin around. The 16 year old showed well up at Angel of the Winds Arena.

As talented as Roulette is, there was a real possibility that he wasn't going to be among Seattle's top six forwards and that wouldn't be fair to Roulette, who is going into his 19 year old season and trying to earn an NHL contract. In Saskatoon he'll get the first line minutes he needs. If he had stayed with the T-birds he may have been relegated to the third line.  And if at some point the T-birds feel they need to add another high end forward for a long playoff run, GM Bil Laforge will not hesitate, but for now, I think he feels pretty good about his group, even without Roulette.

Best game of the weekend? For me it was Sunday's. The T-birds iced their youngest roster of the weekend. Many of those young players were playing in their third game in as many days. Seattle fell behind 2-0 after the first period to Tri-City.  But they stuck to the game plan, they didn't stray off their good habits and won in overtime, 5-4.

Before the weekend action kicked off, Seattle signed 2021 draft pick, goalie Spencer Michnik, to a standard WHL Player Agreement. Michnik got the start Sunday and earned the win.  The stat line may not look anything but ordinary with 26 saves on 30 shots. But two of the four goals allowed were power play goals including a 5-on-3 score.  I thought he settled in and played well. He's just 16 and is only going to get better. He's listed at 6'2" which already makes him the tallest goalie on the roster.  I think he has room to grow and would not be surprised if he's 6'4" or taller before he's done sprouting. 

Post Training Camp Vibes

While there are still many unanswered questions about the Thunderbirds heading into the 2022-23 preseason portion of the hockey calendar, there is one question answered following this past weekend's training camp. The Thunderbirds continue to do a masterful job of scouting and keeping the cupboard full so they can acheive their stated goal of consistently competing for championships. Has Seattle spent some draft capital recently to acquire players like Lukas Svejkovsy, Brad Lambert and Kyle Crnkovic? Yes, but there is still plenty of talent in the pipeline.

Because of Covid, this was the first training camp for the T-birds 2021 draft class. But three players from that draft, Tij Iginla, Hyde Davidson and Bryce Pickford, have already played in meaningful games for Seattle. In fact Pickford even suited up and played in eight playoff games last spring. Iginla probably would have made it into the lineup for a postseason game or two had he not been dealing with a minor injury.

At training camp all three of those players looked the part of signed WHL prospects taken high in that 2021 draft by the T-birds.  Simon Lovsin, who like Davidson and Pickford, was taken in the second round of that draft last December, is signed as well. He's going to get a long look during the preseason games in Everett and Kennewick. But if training camp is any indication, he's going to be a solid player for the T-birds.

We're a bit spoiled at the moment with the goaltending tandem of Scott Ratzlaff and Thomas Milic. Seattle doesn't have a signed, young goalie though. Well, I guess technically Ratzlaff is just entering his 17 year old season, so he qualifies as young by WHL standards but he plays like a seasoned vet.  But at some point Seattle will have to address the future at that position. The T-birds did draft Spencer Michnik in the fifth round last December and picked Aaron Sachs in round two of the 2022 U.S. Prospects Draft as well. So it will be interesting to keep an eye on those two or any other goalie prospect on their radar.  

Five other members of the 2021 Thunderbirds draft were at camp to begin making their case they belong in a Seattle jersey at some point. 

Meanwhile, Seattle has already signed their top three picks from the 2022 draft. General Manager Bil Laforge actually moved up six spots in round one of the draft, surrendering a third round pick in the process, to take Braeden Cootes tenth overall.  I can see why. Cootes was a standout at training camp and even earned third star honors in the annual Blue-White game. Right behind him are a pair of second round selections, Kaleb Hartmann and Kazden Mathies.

In recent drafts, Seattle has been able to harvest top talent in mid to late rounds. Reid Schaefer is the latest example. Schaefer was selected in the eighth round of the 2018 WHL Draft only to go in the first round of this summer's NHL Draft.Who among the 2021 and 2022 Thunderbirds drafts will be the next Schaefer?

What is Seattle getting in Gracyn Sawchyn? Sawchyn was the first ever player selected in a WHL U.S. Prospects Draft, chosen by Red Deer back in 2020. The T-birds used a second round pick to aquire his rights and then signed him to a standard WHL Player Agreement this summer.

I think when NHL Central Scouting Services puts out their Ones to Watch list for the 2023 NHL Draft, Sawchyn will be listed as either an A or B skater.  Seeing him on the ice for the first time at camp this past weekend, it is easy to see he is a highly skilled player. He's going to be an offensive option in this lineup. But what I liked about his game is that he has a little sandpaper to him, some grit and can be a bit of an agitator.  

A couple of other players really intrigue me.  One is Brayden Dube.  Dube was a second round selection of the T-birds in the 2020 draft. He was the last cut coming out of camp last fall.  He has always been a point producer at every level he's played.  in 2019-20 he put up 130 points in 36 games at the U15 level.  Last season with the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL, playing with an older roster, the 16 year old put up big points, 46 in 49 games playing Junior A.  I think that point production at those other levels can translate for him in the WHL. 

The other player is Coster Dunn. Dunn was taken by Seattle in the seventh round of that same draft that saw Dube go in round two.  He played 11 games last season for the T-birds and showed flashes as he finished with two goals and one assist.  He looked so much more confident in training camp this past weekend. His game reminds me a little bit of Nico Myatovic (himslef a sixth round 2019 pick, by the way).  Maybe not as strong yet, but like Myatovic he posesses a huge upside and is a willing student. 

Let's not forget the forgotten man in all of this, Mekai Sanders.  Sanders is doing some skating but not able yet to take contact as he rehabs from the injury that cost him much of the second half of last season. He's told me he is ahead of schedule. I initially heard late December or early January for Sanders to get back in the lineup, so if he's back late November or early December, that's a huge boost for the T-birds.  I had a scout tell me that if Seattle had Sanders in the lineup during the WHL Championship Series against Edmonton, they might have been able to get that series to Game Seven.  That's how much they value his presence in the lineup. He's fast, he's physical and has a non-stop motor.

There are other players to watch as we go through preseason the next two weekends. Can newcomers Easton Kovacs and Kai Knak help solidify a very young D group. Are Sam Oremba and Sawyer Mynio ready to take the big step up from 16 year old rookies to second year players, as they enter their first season of NHL Draft eligibility?  At camp Oremba sure looked like he added another gear to his skating ability.

If you're trying to piece together a roster that will carry Seattle through the 2022-23 season, remember teams usually carry 13-14 forwards and 7-8 defenseman along with their two goalies. I would guess at the start of the season they will carry some extra players, as they await the return of players from NHL camps, but at some point the roster will be pared down to 23.  There are some hard decision to be made, for sure.

We start to answer a lot of these questions next weekend in Everett. Hockey is back!

Where Do We Go From Here?

What a great two days for the Thunderbirds with four players, and a potential fifth player, selected in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal. Kevin Korchinski going seventh overall to Chicago makes him the highest drafted T-bird since Thomas Hickey was taken fourth overall by the LA Kings back in 2007.  Reid Schaefer goes from late round WHL draft pick to late first round NHL draft pick, ending up with his hometown team, the Edmonton Oilers.  

If Brad Lambert, who was chosen 30th overall by Winnipeg, ends up in Seattle next season that would give the T-birds three NHL first round picks on their roster. Then there is Jordan Gustafson, who I think was a steal by Vegas, going in round three. A complete, 200 foot, all situations player.

The feel good story of the draft has to be Jared Davidson, picked by the Montreal Canadians at the top of round five. Davidson came to training camp with Seattle in 2018 as a 16 year old camp invitee. Never drafted or listed by the T-birds, he was invited to camp partly at the suggestion of the son of the T-birds goalie coach at the time, Ian Gordon. You see, at age 15, Davidson was the captain of a team that Gordon's son played on and Gordon's son suggested his dad bring Davidson to Seattle for a look see. 

So, when you add in Conner Roulette and Lucas Ciona, Seattle goes into next season with as many as seven NHL Draft picks on the roster. I know what you're thinking. Well, the T-birds were a young team in 2021-22. They surprised everyone by advancing to the WHL Championship Series before falling in six games to the veteran laden, NHL draft pick heavy, and built for a title, Edmonton Oil Kings. With all that playoff experience now under their belts and with so many players returning, surely this means that Seattle will be the favorites in the WHL next season, right? A straight shot to another long postseason run in 2022-23!

Tap the brakes folks. A contender? For sure. One of the favorites? Most likely.  A sure fire lock for another Championship Series appearance? Not quite.

First, while the Thunderbirds return a terrific core group of players that won the Western Conference Championship, their roster losses, while minimal, are significant.  Chiefly, they lose their second and fourth leading point producers in Lukas Svejkovsky and Henrik Rybinski.  Together those two combined for 105 points in just 80 games (43g, 62a).  That's 1.3 points per game out of the lineup. 

And while Ryan Gottfried wasn't a significant point producer, he was a steady presence on the blue line, a top penalty killer on a unit that finished second in the league in that category, and a terrific shot blocker. In addition, do not underestimate the leadership all three of those 20 year olds provided.  To a lot of the young players on the team, Gottfried was looked upon as their "big brother".

Seattle finished the year with just five 19 year olds on the roster. Most, if not all of them, could be absent when next season begins. Three of them, Matt Rempe, Ty Bauer and Sam Knazko, are signed NHL draft picks.  I'd say there are two chances any of those three are back next season, slim and none.  Sending a signed 20 year old back to the WHL, ala Ryan Gropp, is the exception, not the rule. I fully expect all three to be playing in the American Hockey League next season. If they return, it is an unexpected bonus.

Then there is Davidson. Now that he's drafted could he be in the AHL next season? Quite possibly.  42 goal scorers don't grow on trees and at age 20, he's eligible.  Now I think Montreal has a deep talent pool and they may not need Davidson in Laval, but you never know. 

The other 19 year old who could be a 20 for next season is Chase Lacombe.  But Seattle just added two more defensemen to the fold this offseason, acquiring Easton Kovacs in a trade with Lethbridge and selecting Kai Knak in the Import Draft. That gives the T-birds a deep pool of young defensemen going into the 2022-23 campaign. You have Kevin Korchinski, Jeremy Hanzel, Sawyer Mynio, Niko Tsakumis, Ethan Mittelstaedt, Bryce Pickford and Hyde Davidson also in the mix. And I'm not sure of the status of Leon Okonkwo Prada. 

Knak just signed, but Lambert is still a question mark. Is LOP still in the mix for an Import slot? Because Lambert is a first round NHL pick, I believe the T-birds still retain Okonkwo Prada's rights and can bring him to training camp.  Either way, all those young defensemen are going to need ice time. Is there room for Lacombe and/or LOP?

At the very least, the T-birds are shopping for two, possibly three 20 year olds to fill out their 2022-23 roster.  

Teams that make deep playoff runs and win titles at the WHL level usually are led by a strong, deep group of 19 year olds.  Look at Edmonton.  Their Chynoweth Cup winning roster featured ten 2002 born, or 19 year old, players.  Seattle is in good shape in that regard with eight 2003 born players eligible to return next season at age 19. Will they, at some point, look to add another 2003 born player to the fold? 

So how do the T-birds get a little older? Where do they get those 20 year old players to fill out their roster?

Okay, you say, Seattle has a stockpile of high draft picks to make trades and acquire those seasoned players from the WHL's non-contenders.  Seattle did have an extra 2023 first round pick but no more. They used it, along with a second round pick, to acquire Lambert's rights from Saskatoon.  Now, if he doesn't come to Seattle, the pick reverts back to Seattle.  Right now though that pick is in limbo. The T-birds also used a first and a second last December to acquire Sjvejkovksy from Medicine Hat.

 Meanwhile, most of the other draft picks acquired in those trades with Kelowna, have been spent over the last two drafts. Those young players selected are in the system but too young to have a significant impact on the coming season and there are rules in place about trading young, signed prospects.

What it means is, by using those draft picks and already signing those players, Seattle has accumulated a lot of talent to carry them through the foreseeable future. Young players like Pickford, Gracyn Sawchyn, Tij Iginla, Braeden Cootes, Hyde Davidson and Kaleb Hartmann and many more, are already T-birds. I think this means LaForge will not hesitate to trade away future first and second round picks if necessary to help make a long run next spring.

But here's the caveat. Kamloops is hosting the Memorial Cup in 2023.  They already have a good team but will be looking to add top end players. They don't want to go into the Cup as just hosts, but as WHL Champions.  Kamloops has an extra 2023 first round pick to dangle.   In the Eastern Conference, Winnipeg, much like Edmonton this spring, is built for next season. They too will be looking to add a final, high caliber piece or two to their roster. Teams like Moose Jaw and Portland will be in the hunt as well. The non-contending WHL teams know this. That means the price to trade for available, top end talent will be high. Seattle found that out in just acquiring the rights to Lambert.  

How high?  Well, be prepared for sticker shock.  Let's just look at what the Oil Kings did to strengthen their roster for their 2023 run to the Cup. Starts off pretty inexpensively with a swap of 4th rounders and throwing in a 7th rounder to Seattle for Simon Kubicek.  To acquire Luke Prokop Edmonton sent two prospects, a 2nd round pick and a 4th to Calgary. Not long after, they would send a 2nd and a 4th to Lethbridge for Cole Miller. Not bad. but then the price goes up.  They sent two prospects, two 1st round picks, a 3rd and a 6th to Prince Albert for Kaiden Guhle.  

They were done, right?  Nope! In January they sent Jacob Boucher and two more first round picks to Vancouver for Justin Sourdif.  That's five players, four 1st rounders, three 2nd rounders, a 3rd, three 4ths, a 6th and a 7th in exchannge for five players.  And they weren't bidding against themselves. Those prices were high because other teams were trying to acqire those players.  It will be the same scenario for next season and the prices could be higher because Kamloops is hosting the Memorial Cup. In fact, Seattle may have set the price when they made the deal with Saskatoon for Lambert.

Lastly, while it would seem following up this season with another strong run next season would be inevitable for the T-birds, nothing is guarenteed.  Before this last season began  the Vancouver Giants thought of themselves as a serious challenger for the Chynoweth Cup.  They had a veteran team that included twelve 19 year olds and five NHL draft picks. Among them were two first and one second rounder.  

Yet for various reasons, including many injuries, they barely squeeked into the playoffs with a losing record as the 8th seed. They went from being potential deadline day buyers to selling off two of their best players. While they did pull off the first round upset of Everett, they were quickly dispatched in Round Two. 

Seattle has their work to do.  Right now, they are a very good but incomplete team.  They have talent to build around and some assets to spend but nothing is a sure thing.  If the first half of the season goes as well as we think it will, I expect Seattle to be buyers at the January trade deadline. It just means we're once again in for a wild ride!

Never Say Never

Someone opined the morning before Game 6 in Edmonton that, were the T-birds able to come back from being down three games to one in the WHL Championship Series, this team would have been the stuff of legends.  They would have been talked about for decades. 

They would have come from behind in their last three playoff series.  They would have won eight straight do or die games.  They would have won six of eight elimination game on the road, including four in a row. And they would have won Games 5, 6 and 7 of the Championship Series in their opponent's barn.  

Alas, while they came close, they fell just short, falling in Game 6 and losing the Chynoweth Cup to the Oil Kings four games to two.

Maybe they won't be hockey or WHL legends, but they will be Thunderbirds legends.  Had they pulled off the fete I would have placed the 2021-22 team at the top of the class in T-birds history. Yes, even ahead of the 2017 team which won the franchise's first ever championship, which is saying something considering how good that team was.

As it is, they are probably right on that team's heels for best in franchise history. Great things were expected from that 2017 version of the T-birds.  Nobody outside the T-birds organization had this version getting to Game 6 of the league final this season. Certainly not in the fashion they did it, time after time refusing to go quietly into the night, with their season on life support seven times.

You'll hear a lot of talk outside of the organization that this team overachieved. You'll hear they exceded expectations and weren't built to win this season but were expected to compete for a title next season or the season after that. But inside the T-birds room, they would say none of that is true. In fact, they will tell you that falling short of the Cup means they didn't meet their expected goal of winning it all. Because from day one, this team confidently believed they could win the whole enchilada. 

And that's the way they should view it.  Certainly they accomplished a lot in 2021-22, including a Western Conference Championship. But the goal for this franchise should always be to compete for the crown and win it.  You can't have the mindset of, we're playing for next year, because next year is not guarenteed. Tell the graduating players that winning this season wasn't the goal. That's a slap in the face to all their hard work and their dream of hoisting the trophy. They're not here next season.  This was their year.

If General Manager Bil Laforge was waiting for next season, he wouldn't have spent a first round draft pick and more to acquire Lukas Svejkovsky.  But he saw the Western Conference was wide open.  He saw he had a talented group of players. Young? Yes, but with the skill to win against anyone. He saw this team battle throught Covid and injuires and still said, we're in it to win it.  And they almost did.

What they accomplished this season and what they almost accomplished was no fluke. It wasn't luck.  It was hard work paying off.  In the end they were the second best team in the WHL and that is something to be proud of, the stuff of legends

Thomas Milic was the T-birds playoff MVP, no question.  I would like to think that his 25 game postseason performance will get him drafted into the NHL next month but it's no sure thing.  It will certainly get him an invite to an NHL camp next fall.  He went up against four drafted or signed goaltenders and, in my opinion, outshined them all. 

I'd hate to think Ty Bauer's last game as a T-bird was just a couple of shifts in the first five minutes, and then an early exit as a result of a questionable five minute major that led to a two game suspension.  In the 21 or so years I've been with the franchise, he's been the best captain I can remember and Seattle has had some great leaders wearing that C.

Sam Knazko coming over from Finland in late November was a bit of luck, but his arrival meant Seattle didn't have to spend more valuable draft capital to seek a high end defenseman at the trade deadline.  He quickly solidified the T-birds back end.

Matt Rempe saved his best for last.  What a terrific postseason he had with eight goals, including a first round, overtime series clincher.  And I think he's only scratching the surface of his potential.  He's still learning to play with his size and frame. 

My T-birds Three Stars are Seattle's three 20 year olds.  

Third Star: D Ryan Gottfried.  Gotts came in a trade early in the 2019-20 season.  He was the second of two defenseman Seattle traded for as injuries decimated their back end.  He was the one who stuck. He made himself into a reliable reargaurd. He was especially adept at blocking shots and killing penalties and he was a great role model for Seattle's young group of d-men.

Second Star: W Lukas Svejkovsky.  He only played six months as a T-bird but Seattle got from him exactly what they were hoping for when they made the trade to acquire him right after Christmas, instant offense.  In 33 regular season games as a Thunderbird he accumulated 36 points (22g, 24a). In 24 playoff games he earned another 28 points (11g, 17a). He was the final piece to the puzzle in their drive to the Championship Series.

First Star: C Henrik Rybinski.  The tone setter for this team.  A heart and soul guy.  He never gave you less then 100 percent on any shift.  He played the last two games of the Championship Series while dealing with an upper body injury.  If he was going down, he was going down swinging.  In Seattle's two, game-seven postseason wins he had seven points (2g, 5a) including a game winner in the Western Conference Championship Series. 

It's going to be a very interesting offseason for Seattle.  Lots of talent coming back but some holes on the roster to fill.  Stay tuned!