Thunderbirds start second half playoff push with new faces

They say that travelling forever changes you. Seeing new sights, experiencing new cultures and getting away from your comfort zone can change a person to their core.

The Seattle Thunderbirds recently traveled and have returned a different team. They didn’t go overseas or spend a semester at sea, rather, they spent 12 days barnstorming through the Canadian prairies.

Seattle’s change isn’t a spiritual one, although, the team does have a new energy, but more a physical change. As in five new players brought in via trades and signings by General Manager Bil La Forge, all while the team was on the road. The new faces meshed well as the Thunderbirds went 4-2 on the swing and have won three straight.

Friday night they travel once more, to Kennewick, to begin a push to make the playoffs.

Most of the new players hail from the Eastern Conference so Friday’s game will be an eye-opening lesson on the different style of play that is the norm in the U.S. Division. Sean Richards, whom Seattle acquired from Everett, is obviously familiar, but so is Keltie Jeri-Leon.

Jeri-Leon arrived in the trade with Lethbridge for Liam Hughes, but he spent a season playing for the Tri-City Americans and is familiar with both sides of the league.

“The difference in the divisions is a complete difference,” Jeri-Leon said. “The U.S. Division is so much more physical and out east it’s not as much. I think we took a lot of teams by surprise by how physical we were and how hard we were on pucks.”

Jeri-Leon is 19-years-old and brings a lot of speed with him. On the road he played in the top-six forward lines with Seattle and ended up on the top line along with Nolan Volcan and Matthew Wedman.

He fit in well and already has a goal and an assist with the Thunderbirds.

“Playing along with ‘Volcs and ‘Weds, its super easy to play,” he added. “I like the mentality here that’s its speed, finishing checks and getting opportunities. I feel like I’ll fit in real well.”

Henrik Rybinski is another of the new players, picked up in a trade with Medicine Hat.

While he hasn’t found the back of the net yet, he’s contributed with four assists in his five games as a Thunderbird. Rybinski was playing with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express prior to the trade and was on his way to practice when he heard the news. First Medicine Hat called, and then Seattle.

He was then on his way from Vancouver to Saskatchewan to join his new team. Growing up he had played with defenseman Owen Williams but didn’t know any other of his new teammates, and didn’t get a full practice in, but says getting on the score sheet helps him feel like he’s a part of the club.

“It’s really confidence boosting that I’ve done that, but I’ve got to keep it going,” the 17-year-old Rybinski said. “It could just be beginner’s luck, I don’t think it is, but it helps a lot. I was scared coming into the team. They traded for you, they gave away a lot for you and you have expectations. To get those points really helps.”

It can be a jarring experience to be traded and then have to spend the first two weeks with your new team in hotels and the bus.

You don’t know where you’re going to be living or who your billets are going to be. For young hockey players, that can be tough, but all the new guys say that starting on a long road trip was a positive.

“Road trips are a great time,” Jeri-Leon said. “That’s where the memories come from and how guys bond so quickly. A couple games in and you get more comfortable, rooming with guys, it was good.”

Zach Ashton is another of the new faces. The defenseman was picked up from the Saskatoon Blades and found himself back in Saskatoon a few days later.

He played well in the first game against the team he had been with a week earlier and even picked up his first WHL goal.

“It’s always nice to have someone who wants you to come here and them wanting me here is a good feeling,” Ashton said of the trade. “But obviously it’s sad leaving all the familiar faces in Saskatoon. All the guys in the room have helped. They’re really great guys and have made me feel like part of the team right away.”

Ashton, and his new, new teammates have spent the last week getting to know Kent, their billets, their team and the facilities.

They’ve been impressed so far.

“I’ve never been here, everything here is unreal,” Ashton said. “I’ve been missing a lot out here. Its outstanding, you can tell it’s still pretty new, the dressing room is first class stuff.”

Not only is the style of play in the U.S. Division different than in the East, but so are the crowds. Only two of the new guys have played games in the accesso ShoWare Center before but one of them has taken in a game.

“I remember when I was 15 when Medicine Hat was playing and I came down and watched a game,” Rybinski said. “That was the team that won the whole thing and they beat Med Hat and the fans were just crazy. They got their goal chant going, it was great.”

When the Thunderbirds take on the Tri-City Americans Friday night they do so one point out of a playoff spot. They have a tough road ahead as the schedule isn’t kind to them.

The new players have infused the club with a new energy, and they may just end up a better team in the end. They have more depth and are younger, perhaps hungrier.

Beating the Americans would be a nice continuation of what the team started on the road and bode well for Seattle’s playoff hopes. The next night, Saturday night, the new players will get to play in front of a home crowd for the first time.

A full house is expected Saturday as the Thunderbirds host their annual Teddy Bear Toss event against the Victoria Royals. Most of the new guys have yet to experience a loud accesso ShoWare Center behind them.

“I’m super stoked,” Rybinski said. “It’s going to be really fun especially since it’s the teddy bear game. I can’t wait to see all those bears fly down, pretty early hopefully. It’s going to be different, I’ve heard the fans are really rowdy down here, and I’ve seen it. Back in Med Hat it wasn’t like that so I’m excited.”

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