THUNDERBIRDS

Six takeaways from the Thunderbirds’ Blue-White game

Aug 30, 2016, 11:31 AM | Updated: 12:20 pm

The T-Birds picked up a strong draft class after their excellent 2015 campaign. (T-Birds photo)...

The T-Birds picked up a strong draft class after their excellent 2015 campaign. (T-Birds photo)

(T-Birds photo)

Thunderbirds training camp concluded Monday night with the annual Blue-White game, an intrasquad scrimmage that saw Team White come away with a hard-fought 5-1 victory. Below are some of my thoughts from the game, which is the only training camp contest that features three 20-minute periods and full intermissions between each stanza.

Sami Moilanen can contribute immediately. The Thunderbirds filled their second import spot this summer with Finland’s Sami Moilanen. A tad undersized at 5 foot 9, 175 pounds, Moilanen plays bigger than he is. He spends a lot of time in the corners and isn’t afraid to throw his weight around. He’s a good skater, has a nice shot, and showed impressive hand-eye coordination in batting a puck out of the air and into the back of the net. Even though the goal was called off, the play was still noteworthy.

Seattle’s 2016 draft class is going to be a good one. We had good looks at a number of Seattle’s 2016 draftees, including Jake Lee, Eric Fawkes, Alex Swetlikoff, Layton Ahac, Nakodan Greyeyes and Cole Schwebius. Lee, Seattle’s first-round pick, has already signed and has good size to go along with solid offensive instincts from the blue line. Schwebius, Seattle’s eighth and final pick, is a goaltender who could challenge for a spot in the coming years. I came away very impressed with Swetlikoff, who didn’t look out of place playing against players four and five years his senior. The Kelowna, B.C. native was listed at 5 foot 11 last year and is more than 6 feet tall this year, so he continues to grow. It’s a toss-up guessing who may or may not sign, but each of these players looks like they could have a WHL future if they want one.

Bryan Allbee looks like a new player. When Allbee was acquired, it was thought that he’d be a power-play specialist after coming over from a troubled Kootenay team. With one of the league’s best defensive groups, Allbee didn’t see a lot of ice time. He was bounced between forward and seventh defenseman and I wondered what his spot might be on the team this year as a 19-year-old. In camp, he looked far more confident than he did in the second half of last season. He wasn’t afraid to carry the puck through the neutral zone and threw a couple of huge hits, including more than one that made some of his opponents get up slowly. Allbee doesn’t figure to be an enforcer, but he looks like he can certainly hold his own. If he continues to play this way through preseason, he should have a spot on defense locked up.

Cade McNelly and Luke Ormsby are going to make a lot of enemies in this league. McNelly was an unknown coming into camp, but he has certainly made a name for himself. Both before and after the whistle, McNelly was mixing it up with someone every time he was on the ice. He wasn’t afraid to back down from anyone, including those much larger and older than him. At 15, he’s not eligible to make the team this year, but his upward trajectory could get him a serious look next year. We saw a glimpse last year of Ormsby, the local kid from Monroe, Wash. who played in four games and recorded one assist and two penalty minutes as a 16-year-old. Like McNelly, he wreaked havoc all over the ice, often attracting two or three opposing players to him after the whistle. With no Evan Wardley or Jared Hauf on the roster this year to keep opponents honest, players like Ormsby will be counted on to agitate, assuming he makes the team.

Garan Magnes is doing everything he can to win a spot. Magnes, 19, is in pretty much a do-or-die preseason for the T-Birds. He’s seen very limited ice time in his career with both Edmonton and Seattle, and giving him a spot on this team with so many young up-and-coming forwards could be difficult. However, Magnes has looked good in camp playing with some of the team’s more established forwards and could be a guy who can play all three forward positions. He still has something to prove, but keep an eye on him during preseason action. It seemed that he was always around the puck when he was on the ice and was creating chances for his teammates.

Chase Sakic could be a player on this team … eventually. The most familiar name at training camp in most hockey circles, the son of Joe Sakic had a strong training camp, but at only 5 foot 6, he remains undersized for the WHL. This will be his 16-year-old year, making him technically eligible for the team this season, but it seems unlikely we’ll see him in Seattle immediately. He’d need to play in at least 40 games, per WHL rules for 16-year-olds, and with no guarantee he makes the team, he may choose to delay his decision. Seattle would surely love to have him locked up, but the cards are stacked against him securing a spot with the T-Birds’ depth up front.

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