Nolan Volcan leaves Thunderbirds after legacy of winning

It was a snowy winter’s night in Red Deer when Nolan Volcan first hit the ice as a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Seattle was on its eastern swing in 2014 when a slew of injuries required some call ups. Having been drafted in the second round the previous spring, Volcan was just 15-years-old but it didn’t take long to realize that the Thunderbirds had a player on their hands. He didn’t register any points that night but the tenacity and energy that would become hallmarks of his game shown through in his limited ice time.

Volcan played in three games on that trip, three games that didn’t go well for the Thunderbirds.

“We got pumped every game,” Volcan said with a chuckle. “I remember that, it was tough. A lot of injuries and not close to a full lineup. It was pretty cool to play my first game in Red Deer and on that Alberta swing.”

He appeared in 318 more regular season games over the next five years, as well as a franchise record 55 playoff games, and the results kept getting better. Volcan was a key part in the two Seattle clubs that won the Western Conference and the 2017 WHL Championship. His Seattle, and WHL career, came to an end last Saturday as the Thunderbirds were eliminated in Game 6 against the Vancouver Giants.

A high energy guy, Volcan spent his first three years on a line with Donovan Neuls and Scott Eansor. The three were tenacious, fast and would take on the opponent’s top lines nightly.

“Scotty’s a great player, same as Donny,” Volcan said. “It was definitely different, we were out there against a lot of top lines. Playing against a lot of great players at a young age in that shut down line. It was awesome having such an impact on the game and playing with Scotty, seeing how hard he works every night. It kind of rubbed off on me and made me realize you have to go 100-percent every shift.”

The Thunderbirds selected Volcan with their second-round pick in the 2013 Bantam Draft. He remembers staying home from school in Edmonton to watch the draft with a friend. He got the call and found out it was Seattle that had taken him, the same franchise his father, Marty, spent a year with in 1984.

After winning the championship in 2017, the younger Volcan got to share the moment with his Dad after Game 6 in Regina, as the two posed for a picture holding the Ed Chynoweth Cup between them.

“That was cool,” Volan said of the moment. “Especially in Regina, that game was pretty crazy going down two there. Just getting to share that moment with him. Not a lot of guys get to experience that so to have him there, that was awesome.”

This past season was maybe his best, but for less than obvious reasons.

The Thunderbirds have been a team in transition the past two years as they move from the Championship team through a rebuilding phase. Volcan has been the bridge between the two and this year got to wear the Captain’s ‘C’ on his sweater.

His leadership was huge as the Thunderbirds rebounded from a tough first half to get back into the playoff race.

“A lot of older guys might have raised an eyebrow to what was going on, but those guys bought into the vision that we had for the team,” Seattle’s head coach Matt O’Dette said. “They took the ball and ran with it. That just shows character. The care and the pride that he has in being a T-Bird just showed through.”

That pride was shining brightly as Volcan returned quickly from a tough wrist injury.

He was hit along the boards in a mid-February game in Portland. It looked innocent enough but Volcan hunched over in pain. He slowly skated off the ice, holding onto the injured wrist. It didn’t look good.

“My hand was in a weird position and snapped back, just cracked,” he said of the play. “I knew right away it felt weird. I thought maybe it was just a sprain, but I had to go and get surgery. It happened quick and obviously I wanted to come back as quick as I could because we were in a playoff push.”

Somehow, he only missed nine games and returned to finish the season. Playing each night with a cast under his glove, he came up big.

During a crucial game in Kamloops,down the stretch, he scored a big third-period goal to seal a must win. A week later he scored twice in a critical 2-1 win over the Everett Silvertips. He finished the year with 27 goals, 30 assists for 57 points in 58 games.

His contributions go beyond goals and assists, however. He set the tone. He was the leader and it had an impact on some of Seattle’s younger players.

“He’s a pretty vocal captain in the room and leads by example on the ice,” Seattle’s 2018 first-round pick Kai Uchacz said. “He’s a hard-working guy and has talent too. Just a great guy overall.”

Uchacz represents the future for the Thunderbirds.

He got to watch and learn from guys like Volcan over the last month of the season. The junior hockey cycle churns every spring and a new generation takes over from the past. While he’s on the way out, Volcan likes what he sees for the future of the franchise.

“It’s pretty different going from the best team in the league to a middle of the pack team but that’s junior hockey,” he added. “I kind of see the team at the same place when I came in, lost in the first round to Portland in six games my 16-year-old year. If everything falls into place, I’m sure there’s going to be another finals appearance coming up soon.”

As he packed up his locker this past Monday, Volcan wasn’t sure what his hockey future has in store.

Wherever he ends up playing, his time in Seattle will always be a happy memory, one that was highlighted by a championship banner that will forever hang in the accesso ShoWare Center. It’s a memory that he, nor his fans, won’t soon forget.

“The fans, that’s another thing I think we’re lucky to have here,” Volcan added. “The crowds we get here, they’re great and every home game is easy to get up for.”

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