Thunderbirds general manager Russ Farwell ready to start the cycle over

Seattle Thunderbirds owner and general manager Russ Farwell is coming off of one of the shortest summers in his hockey career.

After winning the first WHL Championship in franchise history and making only the second Memorial Cup appearance, Farwell got right into the off season. There was a spring camp a week after the Memorial Cup and then before he knew it, he was looking for a new head coach.

With that quick turnaround, was he able to celebrate the success?

“You enjoy it but it did shorten things up,” Farwell said.

This wasn’t the first time that Farwell has experienced winning. As general manager of the Medicine Hat Tigers he won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 1987 and 1988. But, Seattle has been where he has spent the bulk of his career.

He was first the Thunderbirds general manager from 1988 to 1990 before heading to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. He came back to Seattle in 1995 and has been here ever since. Winning the league title with this club had to be special.

“Here, it was hard,” he said. “It’s hard here because there seems to be more distraction and it’s been harder to do it here. If you’re in a small town in Canada it’s a little more focused. The league’s getting harder to win, there’s 22 teams and its tough. It was sweet and good for that group because of all the things they played through. It was gratifying.”

The Thunderbirds are a team in transition this year as the core from the championship club have moved on to the pro ranks and the Thunderbirds will be icing a much younger club. There will be growing pains for sure as players are thrust into bigger roles.

This isn’t anything new to Farwell, who says that you should embrace the cycle.

“You can’t lament and say ‘oh boy we lost (Ethan) Bear’,” he said, citing one of the key players Seattle is losing. “I knew Bear was going to be 19 for three years before that. He played at 16 and did as well as he did, he’s going on to the pros and that’s a good thing. It’s always good to bring in the new guys and see them go.”

Farwell says he’s looking forward to seeing the development of some of the new, younger players that will be on the roster this year. He mentioned guys like 16-year-old Samuel Huo, Graeme Bryks, Tyler Carpendale, and Holden Katzalay.

He also has a couple of key returning forwards.

Most notably are Elijah Brown and Matthew Wedman. Both players are key guys heading into the season and will be asked to help solidify Seattle down the middle. Wedman is the older, bigger guy who Farwell says has just scratched the surface of his potential.

“Weds shoots the puck so well,” Farwell said. “We haven’t seen that in games but I watch him practice and he can really unload that thing quick and hard. I hope that translates. Hopefully, he can find some room in the high slot and get some shots because if he started to score he’d get some confidence and take off.”

Brown was Seattle’s first-round draft pick in 2015 and the speedy center also shows a lot of potential.

Farwell says that he possesses some of the same quickness and speed that the Thunderbirds had in the departed Scott Eansor.

“Brown has that same ability,” Farwell says. “His first two steps are huge and he can beat guys one-on-one. When he’s on his game he gets the puck down the ice, which is so important to us. We don’t have quite as much quickness there.”

Seattle will have an experienced back end this year, which should help offer some stability early in the season while Farwell and head coach Matt O’Dette figure out who can play where up front. There is one newcomer on the back end in 16-year-old rookie Jake Lee.

The 2016 first-round pick got a brief taste of the WHL last season but will be in the mix this year to play more regularly. Farwell says Lee is ready physically for the WHL but still has to hone his mental skills for what is a tough position to play at just 16.

“The best guys play,” Farwell said. “(Jarret) Tyszka played, Bear played, we threw (Shea Theodore) to the wolves but the top guys play. I think Jake is one of those guys and the thinking is the next step for him. Physically he’s ready to play.”

With the home opener just a few days away, Farwell and the Thunderbirds are missing one big piece. Goalie Carl Stankowski is out with an injury and not expected back for a month.

Farwell is optimistic that the goalie’s rehab is progressing in a positive manner and once healthy, will provide them with a quality backstop for several years to come.

“Once we get through his health issues, we’ll be in pretty good shape,” Farwell said. “I think he’s a driven, focused guy. The pressure of the playoffs didn’t rattle him then it’s not going to bother him to play every night. Just physically, we need to watch him and not wear him out. We’ve got to get through the month of October.”

Seattle will be a different team than it has been the last couple of seasons. It is starting the new cycle of bringing in young players, both on the roster this year and coming down the pike next season. Farwell is familiar with this cycle and is looking forward to seeing how the new group he has coming, pan out.

“I think we are at a start,” he said. “Most of our most talented guys are those youngest guys. You get to watch them grow.”

We will all get to watch them grow, starting Saturday night at the ShoWare Center.

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