After busy week concludes with Import Draft, T-Birds roster loaded with NHL talent

It’s been a busy week for Thunderbirds general manager Russ Farwell.

He, along with five other T-Birds staff members, flew down to Florida last week to attend the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, where four T-Birds players were selected.

The staff returned to Seattle Saturday night, and on Monday announced the signing of 17-year-old defenseman Brandon Schuldhaus, who many thought played well enough in training camp last year to make the team as a 16-year-old.

Farwell was back at it this morning, selecting 6-foot-6, 213-pound forward Gustav Olhaver in the Canadian Hockey League’s annual import draft.

Olhaver, who was selected in the seventh round, No. 191 overall by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, is looking forward to coming to Seattle to hone his game and prepare him for a future in North America.

“I am real excited to come to Seattle and develop as a player,” Olhaver said through a press release on the team’s website. “I’m a tall forward that can get to the net and be hard to move. I can play a physical game and am smart with the puck. I am happy for the opportunity to play with Seattle.”

Farwell’s assessment of the versatile Swedish forward’s skillset was in line with what Olhaver had to say about himself, and Farwell expects him to be an immediate contributor on a team with major playoff aspirations.

“He’s got hand skills and makes plays down low and he’s a great big guy who understands trying to exploit that,” said Farwell. “Getting a guy who could contribute right away was attractive. We weren’t really looking to just add depth or a young guy. We wanted a guy who could fit in on a line and contribute.”

Prior to the Import Draft, the big news was the commitment of Schuldhaus, a Houston native who spent last season playing with Shattuck St. Mary’s AAA club, a program that has produced a number of future NHL talents, including superstars Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. In 31 games with the elite program, the left-handed shooting defenseman had 12 points and 24 penalty minutes.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Schuldhaus’ signing came at an opportune time for Seattle, as it meant they could turn their attention to strengthening their forward ranks on Tuesday. Unlike the Bantam Draft, the Import Draft allows a team to find players who can contribute right away.

“(Schuldhaus’ signing) did influence our plans,” acknowledged Farwell. “If we knew we were getting a guy who could have an impact, we would have taken either a forward or defenseman. But with Schuldhaus committing that pointed us a little more towards a forward.”

With a roster now replete with NHL draft picks, the time for the Thunderbirds to make noise is now. In addition to Olhaver, Seattle’s roster will contain four more NHL draftees, and many others who will be getting looks from professional clubs.

“There’s a new wrinkle in this whole deal in that the day after the draft, there’s a scramble for teams to invite free agents to both their spring camps and their rookie camps,” said Farwell of those Thunderbirds who have not yet been drafted. “We have four, five, maybe six guys who I think will be invited to pro camps. I’ve already had teams calling and asking, ‘Can I get this guy’s number?’ or ‘Who is this guy’s agent?'”

Farwell has received calls on forwards Lane Pederson, Jamal Watson and Scott Eansor, as well as defensemen Jerret Smith and Jared Hauf, all of whom he has been told will receive an invite from at least one NHL club. Alexander True has also drawn interest, but with him living in Denmark, it’s more difficult for teams to keep in frequent communication with him.

That makes a roster that could have over 10 players with NHL potential, more than any T-Birds team in recent memory.

Leading that pack are Mathew Barzal and Ryan Gropp, the Nos. 16 and 41 picks overall by the Islanders and Rangers, respectively. Some projected Barzal being picked as high as sixth overall, so it was a bit of a surprise that he fell to 16th, where the Islanders were happy to trade some valuable assets to move up and grab him.

Barzal admitted his surprise at being picked by the Islanders, who entered Friday night without a first round pick and had very limited contact with the Coquitlam, British Columbia native prior to draft night.

Farwell, who also spent time as an NHL general manager, was able to provide a unique perspective on the Islanders’ interest in Barzal.

“The Islanders rely a great deal on a personality inventory,” said Farwell. “They have a lengthy questionnaire that they do and they weigh it heavily. They don’t do a lot of personal interviews, so that one didn’t come as a surprise to me.”

The Rangers, like the Islanders with Barzal, didn’t speak to Gropp much prior to the draft, but Farwell knew they had interest in the skilled winger.

“I know they talked to Steve (Konowalchuk) two or three times and they did a lot of homework on him. We knew they had interest.”

Keegan Kolesar and Ethan Bear were also picked this weekend by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers, respectively.

Kolesar reportedly was very impressive in his interviews with teams after performing well at the NHL Combine, causing teams to start looking into trading up when he made it into the third round. Bear, Farwell says, may have dropped a bit due to his size, even though he’s proven himself at every level.

“A number of teams told me they really coveted Kolesar and teams were trying to trade picks to move up when he slipped down to where he was,” said the former Philadelphia Flyers GM. “(For Bear), when you’re a less-than 6-foot defenseman, you have to prove yourself constantly. He’s done that, but it’s working against him and may have contributed to why he slipped a bit.”

With such a successful week in the books, the future continues to grow brighter and brighter for the Thunderbirds. Seattle becomes a more desirable place to play not only because of the opportunity to suit up with elite talent, but also because the staff has done an admirable job at preparing players for the highest level of competition.

“It helps (with recruiting), but it’s not just the fact that they got picked,” Farwell continued. “Steve’s done a great job of instilling a positive culture and a real work ethic with our team, which lets the guys progress. Then guys do get picked and the momentum builds and one thing leads to another, but having a healthy environment is the first step. He has the guys working hard for it and everything with our team is really positive right now.”