THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds prospect camp an experience for players and family

Aug 24, 2017, 2:47 PM | Updated: 3:01 pm

Seattle prospect Payton Mount saw his first WHL action Friday (Brian Liesse/T-Birds)...

Seattle prospect Payton Mount saw his first WHL action Friday (Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

(Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

KENT –Thunderbirds training camp is a chance for the team’s young prospects to get a feel for what the WHL experience is like.

The prospects are 15 and 16-year-olds who travel from all over Western Canada and the United States, with their parents, to spend a week in Kent for their first step towards what they hope will be a long hockey career. For 2017 first-round draft pick Payton Mount, it’s a great experience as he gets to play in the ShoWare Center for the first time.

It’s a big moment for the player for sure, but what about his family?

Payton’s father, Angus, is in the stands this week with his wife Heidi and 12-year-old Adam. So far, Angus says he hasn’t had too many nerves watching his son compete.

“No nerves from Dad, but Mom has had some nerves,” Angus said after Thursday’s morning sessions. “There’s been a few gloves thrown down and Mom gets a little nervous about it.”

As a hockey parent used to small, cold rinks, playing at the ShoWare Center has been special.

“I don’t know if the players know how lucky they are to be in a facility like this,” Angus said. “This is probably state of the art for the WHL. We’re used to small, little rinks with just the parents and the relatives, but now you have fans and they’re super fans. It’s exciting.”

The Mounts hail from Victoria and say that as the Bantam Draft approached they were hearing from a number of WHL teams that were interested in selecting Payton. When the Mounts heard it was Seattle who took him, there was excitement that it was a Western Conference team so that seeing him would be a lot easier. He also says it meant cancelling his Victoria Royals season tickets.

Once Payton was drafted, a decision had to be made.

WHL draftees have to decide if playing major-junior in the WHL is the best option for them, or, if going the NCAA route is the best. Angus says that they took a hard look at what was going to be right for Payton.

They could have waited longer to make the decision but Seattle was able to get Mount signed early this past summer.

“We sat down with our player adviser and we weren’t sure,” Angus said. “First we wanted to wait and see what team and what the fit was like. My wife came down and we went around, went to the high school to make sure it was a good fit. We talked to (Seattle general manager Russ Farwell) in Calgary at the prospect’s camp and about midway through the camp I asked Payton if this is what he wanted and he said ‘absolutely, I want to be part of this team’.”

By signing with Seattle, Payton is committed to playing in the WHL with the Thunderbirds. Once signed, he is not eligible to play NCAA hockey. However, WHL players are eligible to receive a scholarship from the league to attend college when their junior careers have ended – provided they have not signed a pro contract somewhere.

According to his father, Payton is confident he has made the right decision.

“He wants a shot to try and play hockey at the highest level,” Angus said about his son. “He’s a very smart kid and he knows that if he doesn’t, no problem. He’ll switch gears and go to school.”

Angus says that one of the biggest factors in determining where he would play was about the program and development, not so much wins and losses. That was true in the family’s decision to join the Delta Hockey Academy in Vancouver and with coming to Seattle.

The Thunderbirds recent success doesn’t hurt but Angus and Payton are aware that good WHL teams all go through transition as they lose players.

“Congratulations to Seattle for what they did but we knew down the road, usually that changes,” Angus said. “They lose some players and there’s change. We were more interested in the coaching and the philosophy of the team. The culture, like they’re talking about this week. That’s why we came down, it seems like a great unit. Payton has looked at the returning players that will be around the next few years and he thinks it’s going to be a great team.”

Payton spent last year playing for Delta Hockey Academy and scored 30 goals on 67 points in just 30 games. He will return to Delta to play out his 15-year-old season on their Midget Prep squad, which will give him a chance to play with and against guys a little older.

Payton has had a strong showing so far in camp for the Thunderbirds. He has displayed a great deal of speed, play-making ability and finish. The competition will get stiffer on Thursday as he’ll most likely be asked to stick around and work with the older, returning players and potentially stay with the team through next weekend’s preseason games in Everett.

The Mounts won’t know for sure as the coaches usually wait to determine who sticks around longer but past practice is that first-round draft picks play in the Everett tournament. If history holds true, the T-Birds know they’ll have at least three fans rooting them on.

“I wouldn’t miss that,” Angus said of the Everett tournament. “Whether he plays a shift or two, it will be exciting.”

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