Thunderbirds’ first-round pick Jake Lee is looking to the future
Aug 25, 2016, 4:27 PM
He can’t join the Thunderbirds full-time for another year, but defenseman Jake Lee is excited to get his first taste of the WHL.
Seattle’s first-round pick in last spring’s Bantam Draft is in training camp with the team looking to make an early impression. So far, he’s enjoying the experience.
“It’s awesome,” the 15 year old said on Thursday. “It’s definitely a warm feeling. I like this place.”
The T-Birds selected Lee, who hails from Sherwood Park, Alberta, with the 18th pick in the draft in May. It didn’t take too long for the 6-foot-1 defenseman to make up his mind on whether or not he wanted to play in the WHL. He signed with Seattle a few weeks after being drafted, saying that the WHL route was always the top choice for him.
“I’ve always wanted to go with the WHL,” Lee said. “You get free school tuition; you really bond with the team so it felt like the right path for me.”
Draft day can be a nervous one for athletes at any level and it wasn’t any different for Lee. He knew the T-Birds were interested in him but still there was no promise that they would pick him. Additionally, the Bantam Draft is held on a school day, during school hours, so it can be a distraction to a young player.
“I was in the middle of a social test,” Lee said with a chuckle. “I should have stayed home. I rushed through the thing way too quick. I looked at the draft after and I was pumped.”
After the draft, Lee and his family paid a visit to the ShoWare Center for Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Seattle won that night and Lee was impressed with the loud and rowdy Seattle fans.
He said that he’s never played in front of a crowd like that and while the T-Birds won that game, they weren’t the only ones to walk away winners that night. Lee and his family bought a 50-50 raffle ticket and hit the jackpot of over $5,000. As it turns out, Lee has a knack at winning raffles.
“I just have a sense about these things,” he said. “I also won a PS4 in January. I just sense it, it’s a gift.”
Since he’s a Canadian citizen, he and his family had to give up 30 percent of the winnings for taxes, but Lee said that they are looking to donate a portion of it to the Fort McMurray Fire recovery. The Fort McMurray fire was a large wildfire that ravished a large portion of Lee’s home province of Alberta, destroying over 2,000 homes and leaving a huge financial impact on the residents.
On the ice, Lee is a big, puck-moving defenseman who has shown well during the rookie scrimmages so far at training camp. He’s manned the blue line for Team Grey, which won each of its first three scrimmages handily. He said when he’s on his game he is an offensive defenseman who likes to model his play after Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings.
Lee, and his prowess for winning raffles, will continue on into the main camp with the returning players this weekend, most likely playing in some games during the Everett preseason tournament. After that, he’ll return home to Alberta where he’s looking to play with the Sherwood Park Midget team. There he’ll look to continue his development and come back to Seattle next fall in hopes of making the T-Birds opening day roster.
