Build Back Better 'Birds

The annual CHL Import Draft is the big "If". The picks are great "if" the players report.  The picks are great "if" they live up to the hype from your European source or the player's advisor/agent.  So, until you see the player report or get a live look at him in action at training camp, you just never know what you've got.

That being said, it would appear the Thunderbirds selected a couple of solid prospects out of Czechia with their two picks in the 2024 CHL Import Draft. Seattle went with a couple of 2025 NHL Draft eligible players in Matej Pekar and Radim Mrtka. Pekar is a center who put up good offensive numbers back in Czechia, including playing as a sixteen year old in 18 games at the U20 level. I saw someone post that they thought Pekar was one of the best players at the 2023 Five Nations tournament last December.

Mrtka is a defenseman, a 6'6" 200 lb defenseman. He just turned 17 on June 9th.  His numbers won't wow you but like Pekar, he played at the U20 level quite a bit last season as a 16 year old. He has quite a bit of international experience, representing Czechia on the world stage. And if hockey webites are to be believed, both these players should hear their names called at next summer's NHL Draft.

When the picks were made I scoured the internet for draft ratings on both players. Some of these sites seem to be one guy in his basement just throwing names at a wall and seeing what sticks. Others are collaborative efforts to compile as much information as possible and give an honest assessment. I took the aggregate of four or five of the more reputable sites and it seems these two Czechs should be picked next summer between rounds two and five.

The bigger tell though for me, with these two selections by Seattle, is what it says about the direction of the T-Birds.  Seattle could have selected older Import players (age 18 or 19). They could have opted for a couple of players already NHL drafted that would have a more immediate, but shorter term (one season) impact. These two players are, as mentioned earlier, 2007 born players. They are entering their 17 year old seasons.  If they report, the T-Birds could potentially have their services for the next three seasons. 

The Thunderbirds currently have ten 2007 born players signed to standard WHL Player Agreements. Those ten players are Braeden Cootes, Kaleb Hartmann, Kazden Mathies, Antonio Martorana, Sam Charko, Brayden Holberton, Caleb Potter, Grayson Malinoski, Tai Riley and Jaxson Pawlenchuk.  All but Riley and Pawlenchuk have played in at least one WHL game.

The addition of Pekar and Mrtka, should they come over to North America, gives Seattle a dozen 2007 born players to build around. They'll all be 19 year olds in the 2026-27 season.  As many as three years for this group to play together beginning this fall, with six of them already one year into their WHL careers. This is how Seattle constructed two Ed Chynoweth Championship rosters, by building around a core group and then supplementing through trades and other drafts.

That's why the build back better group doesn't just include the '07s.  First, the Thunderbirds have a 2006 group that includes Hyde Davdson, Simon Lovsin and Nishaan Parmar. The T-Birds have also signed five players (Vanek Popil, Colton Gerrior, Jaxson Dikur, Finn Bagley and Brendan Rudolph), chosen in the 2023 WHL Draft, the 2008 born group. It's even possible they could sign one or two more players from that class.

Meanwhile the top four selections from the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft (Brock England, Mathew Hilderman, Grayson Tash and Marcus Laraque) and the T-Birds first pick in the 2024 WHL U.S. Priority Draft (Ewen Willers) have all put pen to paper and signed their player agreements. 

In total that is 27 players to build around for the future. The odds that all these players stick together for 3-4 years are slim.  There will be trades made. Some won't develop as hoped for. A camp invite could earn a roster spot ahead of a drafted player or there may be a listed player on the teams protected list that they convince to come this way. These imports may not report and Seattle has to do it all over again next summer.  But the core group is there, the core that the T-Birds believe can get them back to hoisting an Ed Chynoweth Cup.