THUNDERBIRDS

Mailbag: Previewing the T-Birds’ season on the eve of training camp

Aug 23, 2016, 11:10 AM

Mathew Barzal expects to be one of the WHL's best players this season (T-Birds photo)...

Mathew Barzal expects to be one of the WHL's best players this season (T-Birds photo)

(T-Birds photo)

After one of the shortest offseasons in franchise history, the Seattle Thunderbirds are back on the ice this week. Training camp is here and the T-Birds will be in action Wednesday to begin preparing for a Western Conference title defense.

The team returns a ton of talent from the roster last year and 2016-17 promises to be another strong season. There are questions, however, as some key pieces have moved on.

So on the eve of training camp, we took to Twitter to see what questions you had about the team and the upcoming training camp. Here are some of the top questions that we got:

@asutliff asked about Mathew Barzal’s potential of returning to Seattle considering he is clearly aiming for staying in New York with the Islanders.

This is certainly the No. 1 question on the minds of most T-Birds fans this summer. At 19 years old, Barzal is on the cusp of his NHL career, for sure. His options for this coming season are sticking with the Islanders or being returned for one last run with Seattle. The answer is a far from clear. The Islanders made it to the second round of the playoffs last season and have made some moves this summer to pick up veteran players, like Andrew Ladd, in what appears to be a move for winning now. They also have four centers on their roster which would mean that if Barzal were to stay he’d have to beat out one of those guys or play on the wing. If New York had missed the playoffs and was in the middle of a rebuilding phase, Barzal would almost be a sure thing to stick. The Islanders, however, are a strong club and can afford to send him back. That being said, if he goes into training camp and lights it up, they may see the benefit of keeping him now. Reading the tea leaves on the internet, you’ll find just as many people who are saying he’ll stick as saying he’ll be returned. Don’t be surprised if he starts the season in New York and plays in a few regular season games before the Islanders decide what to do. So there is no clear answer here and T-Birds fans are going to have to play the waiting game. Obviously if he returns, Seattle becomes a strong contender to get back to the finals. If he doesn’t return, the team will still be competitive but the rest of the U.S. Division will have closed some ground.

@thatmikahjerome asked about the backup goalie situation and who is the favorite to win the spot going into camp.

We touched on the goalie situation a while back and it will be one of the more interesting battles to watch in camp. Logan Flodell will be the starter and his position is locked in as camp starts. Rookies Ryan Gilchrist and Carl Stankowski will be the fighting for the backup position. Neither of the two rookies have seen any regular-season WHL action so this could be up for grabs. At 16 years old, Stankowski was a second-round pick and is considered one of the top goalies for that age group, but the real possibility of him not getting enough playing time may hurt his chances. Gilchrist is a year older, bigger, and perhaps better suited for the backup role this season. Both will most likely get a start in Everett over Labor Day weekend so we’ll get to see them in game action, but that won’t be the only determining factor. T-Birds coach Steve Konowalchuk and his staff will also be evaluating them during scrimmages and practices over the next couple of weeks.

@Frazic asked what the T-Birds will do with their third over-age spot.

Seattle enters training camp with one open 20-year-old slot after Josh Uhrich announced he would not be returning to the WHL this year. A defenseman would make sense as it looks like the T-Birds will have at least one rookie in their top-six rotation, and losing Jared Hauf and Jerret Smith from the defense means they will be a younger group in general this year. The problem is that the over-age market is weak across the league right now and if there isn’t a definite upgrade at defense available, don’t expect general manager Russ Farwell to reach for one. The team may just look to see who the best option is, regardless of position. With the lack of 20 year olds out there, don’t be shocked if the team goes into the season with just two as they wait to see what develops.

@Dish47 asked what new faces should we keep an eye on during camp.

As far as guys who will have an impact on this season, it will be interesting to see how former first-round pick Elijah Brown looks as well as new Finnish import Sami Moilanen. Also keep an eye on a few blue-liners; players like Jared Pelechaty, Reese Harsch and Kabir Gill have looked good in the past and could be vying for a spot in the third defensive pairing. The first two days will also give us a look at the T-Birds prospects that they picked up in last spring’s Bantam Draft. Defenseman Jake Lee was the team’s first pick and he’ll be in action throughout the weekend.

Training camp begins Wednesday morning at the ShoWare Center and concludes Monday with the annual Blue-White scrimmage. All sessions are free to the public.

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