Another Season for the Books

 

What constitutes a successful season? Someone would argue that success goes only to the team that wins the Cup. Everyone else is in second place. You  know, to the victor goes the spoils.  That's a bit of a myopic view, especially at this level of hockey. The roster turnover is so rapid at this level that it is quite impossible to compete for, let alone win, a championship every season.

So, success looks different for every team depending on where they are in their "championship window". If the T-Birds hadn't won the Chynoweth Cup in 2023, I think a lot of fans would say that team came up short of a successful season.  The expectations for that team were to win a league title. But they met their expected goal, thus the season is deemed a rousing success.

The year prior, 2022, I don't think winning the WHL title was expected. They weren't the favorite that season.  They were considered a contender though, then upset a couple of higher seeded teams in the postseason and they made it to the league championship series before losing in six games to the favored Edmonton Oil Kings. Still, the T-Birds finished that season with the seventh best record in the league and made it within two wins of taking the Cup. I think, as a result of exceeding expectations, that too was a season of success.

So where does this season fall on the "successful season" scale? Is it a success because of how the team started and how they finished the regular season?  It was an unbelievable second half, but we also can't discount the first half. Or does the second half make up for the first half? I think the answer lies in between.  The T-Birds used the first half to find out who they were, to figure out what parts of the roster were working and where changes, whether through addition or subtraction, needed to be made. It's like fiddling around in the kitchen with a cake recipe until you get the ingredients right.

The T-Birds were 11-19-2-1 heading into the Christmas break.  They went into that break, having dropped two in a row and five of seven.  They promptly came out of the break and lost their first three games. They began 2025 with a record of 11-22-2-1, eleven games below the break-even mark after a 6-4 loss at home New Year's Eve. They then lost three of their first four games in the new year. 12-25-2-1 at the WHL trade deadline on January 9th.  A season low point of thirteen games below .500. with just 28 games left.  Doubtful anyone was putting the season into the "success" category at that point.

But the season isn't 40 games long, It's 68.  The cake isn't done baking until the oven timer goes off, and even then, you have to check it to make sure it is baked all the way through. The T-Birds finished the season by going 18-8-1-1, a winning percentage of .642 over that 28 game stretch.  Only six of those games were against teams with a record below .500. And even with some veteran additions to the roster for the second half push, they still accomplished that second half success with one of the youngest rosters in the WHL. They then pushed the team with the WHL’s best regular season record to six games in round one, including a double overtime thriller, before bowing out.

I guess the best way to describe the season is to say while overall, finishing with a sub .500 record usually doesn’t lend one to call the campaign an overall success, there were many successes along the way that left everyone with a good feeling about the just concluded hockey year.

A young team got a year of experience. They took their lumps but after bumping into a few walls, they found their path.  They learned to battle for and achieve something, a playoff spot. And they got a lesson in playing playoff hockey and passed that test. Maybe it wasn’t an A on that test, maybe just a solid B, but it should be enough for them to graduate to the next level.

There will be questions to answer before next season. Who will be the three 20 year olds? Is the organization satisfied going into next season with just two 19 year olds? Who will pick up the scoring slack created by the departure of Pilling? And who steps into the leadership vacuum now that Schuurman and Pakkala have moved on? How many of the seven signed 2009s will they carry on the roster next season, outside of Brock England? These questions will all be answered in due course, but let’s spend some time enjoying the successes that came from the 2024-25 season.

All Gas no Brakes

The Seattle Thunderbirds left it all out on the ice in Game Six. If you're going to go out, empty the tank, and they did. I'm sure it's a  tough pill to swallow though.  They did everything but score. Every bounce or deflection turned the puck right when they need it to go left, often inches away from forcing Game Seven. As the eight seed they didn't wilt under the pressure.  They played their opponent, the one seed, toe to toe but came up short. There is no shame in that. No one to lay blame on. That's just playoff hockey. There is always a winner and there is always a loser.

Was there a key point in the series where the balance may have tipped (no pun intended) against them? There are always moments in every game where, when you dissect it afterwards, you says to yourself "if only". Of course, if you spend too much time going over every moment with a fine tooth comb, you'll drive yourself crazy.  

Some might point to the final four minutes of the first period of Game Five. Seattle took four minor penalties and Everett cashed in with three power play goals.  At the time Seattle was winning and driving the play. It definitely changed the complexion of that game, but I'm not sure about the series.

To me, I would go back to the second period of Game Four. Seattle had started the series by getting the road split in Games One and Two. In fact they came close to winning both games in Everett that weekend before the 'Tips pulled out an overtime win in the second game. Still, off that road split the T-Bird came home and came from behind for a 6-3 win in Game Three. Old Mo was certainly on their side.

Game Four started the way Seattle needed it to start. They got the lead. They were playing much as they had played in the first three games. They had bought in and were playing a playoff brand of hockey. They were being physical and wearing down their opponent. They had to have left the ice after that first period of Game Four feeling good about their game, even if it was just a one goal lead. 

But I think Everett realized their season was at stake. The team that finished with the best record in the regular season was in danger of falling behind in the series, three games to one. They probably knew if they ended up in such a hole, the chances of climbing out were bleak.

Give the Silvertips credit. Their desperation mode kicked in and they dominated period two.  The young T-Birds didn't have the proper response and before you could blink Seattle was on their heels and couldn't get back on their toes. Seattle lost that game, 6-2, and I'm not sure if they completely got back to the way they had played the first three games, the rest of the series.  There were moments and definitley chances. Yes, the end of the first period of Game Five felt like falling off a cliff, but I think the second period of Game Four is where the complexion of the series changed. Before that period I thought Seattle was in control. Those twenty minutes got Everett back in it. When you have your opponent down on the mat, don't let them back up.

Does getting six games of playoff experience really push the needle for the young Thunderbirds going into next season? I think it does and you only have to look at the play of two rookie defenseman in the series to see it matters.  Both Tai Riley and Vanek Popil took huge steps in their hockey maturation versus Everett. 

Has Scott Ratzlaff played his last game as a T-Birds? It sure seems that way.  But Seattle has found a way to put a quality player in the crease. Whether through draft or trade, they've had solid goaltending for a long stretch.  Trust the process.  

Seattle doesn't get to the postseason this year without their three 20 year olds.  I really enjoyed Nathan Pilling embracing being a T-Bird since he came over after Christmas in December of 2023. I know he's made an NCAA commitment and if that's where he ends up next season he'll thrive,  but I've got to believe his heart wants a pro contract. 

The T-Birds don't turn their season around without the second half additions of Hayden Pakkala and Brayden Schuurman. A young team needed some veteran guidance and those two gave them that.

This series reminded me a bit of the 2013 first round playoff series against Kelowna. Seattle was a seven seed, Kelowna the two seed.  The Rockets had 28 more wins and 50 more points during the regular season than the T-Birds that year.  Seattle won the first three games in overtime before the Rockets came back to win the final four, but it took overtime in the final two games to do it. But Seattle wore down the Rockets in that series. Kelowna went into round two a beat up team and got swept by Kamloops. It will be interesting to see how healthy Everett will be in round two against Portland.