How the 2014-15 T-Birds were built: The 2011 Bantam Draft

This is part four of a series of articles looking at how the current T-Birds roster was built through the draft and various trades over the past five years.

Part 1: The 2009 Bantam Draft
Part 2: The 2010 Bantam Draft
Part 3: The 2010 Import Draft

The 2011 Bantam Draft started with a bang for the T-Birds, as they grabbed highly-touted Kamloops, B.C., prospect Ryan Gropp with the No. 6 pick in the first round.

The selection of Gropp did not come without its own bit of controversy, however. It was well-known that his father, Brent, had a successful college hockey career at Colorado College and that Ryan may end up choosing to go the college route as well. When his hometown Kamloops Blazers passed on the local kid and instead selected defenseman Jordan Thomson despite struggling offensively the season prior, it seemed that the consensus was that Gropp was ultimately going to play in the NCAA.

Gropp chose to attend training camp with the T-Birds as a 15-year-old and was impressive, but did not sign a contract or play in any preseason games. When the end of the 2011-12 season rolled around the T-Birds had missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year and Gropp’s non-commitment fueled the negative fire in the T-Birds faithful. How could a team struggling so mightily take such a great risk in selecting Gropp with their first pick when they had no guarantee he’d ever suit up for them, especially when it seemed his parents were encouraging him to play NCAA hockey?

Thunderbirds general manager Russ Farwell was adamant that he’d gotten enough of an impression at draft time that Gropp wasn’t committed either way, and therefore felt comfortable enough betting that the T-Birds would be able to convince him to play with them.
In the summer of 2013, over two years after he’d been drafted, Gropp still had not signed with Seattle and most were chalking him up as a lost cause. When he committed to the University of North Dakota on July 4 that year, the 6 foot 3 wing seemed to confirm what everyone had already assumed would happen.

Committed to the University of North Dakota! Very excited for the opportunity #sioux

— Ryan Gropp (@Gropper8) July 5, 2013

The hope by many just a few months prior was that Gropp would be influenced by the signing of his good friend Mathew Barzal, a highly-touted prospect in his own right that Gropp would excel playing with. Disappointment came with Gropp’s commitment to the NCAA in July, but those negative feelings would be short-lived.

In October of 2013, after a hot start to the season by the T-Birds, Gropp reversed course, left the BCHL’s Penticton Vees who he’d spent the last year-plus with, and signed with Seattle.

Excited to join the @SeattleTbirds Can’t wait to lace up and hit the ice. Looking forward to the new opportunity!

— Ryan Gropp (@Gropper8) October 16, 2013

It was a huge coup for the Thunderbirds, as Gropp has scored 92 points in 112 regular season games since joining the team. He currently stands atop Seattle’s points leaderboard with 50 on 24 goals and 26 assists this season.

When the NHL Entry Draft rolls around this summer, Gropp, who has a late birthday and therefore will be selected a year later than most other 2011 bantam draftees, figures to be picked by an NHL club anywhere between the late-first and third rounds. He’s become a dynamic offensive player with outstanding speed and has one of the best shots among those eligible for the draft this year. Add in that he’s also improved his physical play in the corners and in front of the net and Gropp becomes a very intriguing professional prospect.

Seattle had nine selections in total in the 2011 Bantam Draft, but Gropp has been the only one to make a significant direct impact for the T-Birds.
The T-Birds’ second-round selection that year, Austin Douglas, played in a total of 13 games for Seattle before being included in the trade that brought Taran Kozun, one of the WHL’s premier goalies, to Seattle.

Michal Holub and Carter Folk, selected in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, were both traded to Lethbridge during the 2013-14 season. Holub, who had left the team in search of a trade after not receiving the playing time he hoped for, was included in a trade deadline deal for Russell Maxwell. Holub’s WHL career did not pan out as he had hoped, as Lethbridge reassigned him to the BCHL earlier this season.
Folk, sent to the Hurricanes in the blockbuster trade at the beginning of the year as part of a package for wings Jaimen Yakubowski and Sam McKechnie, was mostly thought of as an enforcer type during his brief stint in Seattle, but has actually shown some offensive touch this year in Lethbridge, scoring 11 goals and 10 assists in 59 contests.

The only other player selected that year to impact the T-Birds was Kevin Wolf, a big defenseman from St. Paul, Minn. Wolf played in 50 games over parts of three seasons with Seattle, registering four points on one goal and three assists to go along with 31 penalty minutes. Wolf was never able to consistently crack the top-six defensemen in Seattle and was reassigned to the Alberta Junior Hockey League at the beginning of this season after suiting up in just three games.

While Gropp was the only player to ever get significant playing time in Seattle from the 2011 draft, he’s been a huge acquisition for the team, and also demonstrated a shift in the mindset regarding Seattle around the league. With Barzal and Gropp in the fold at the end of 2013, the Emerald City once again has established itself as a a desirable place to play for the league’s top prospects. Add in the fact that Douglas was part of the trade that brought Taran Kozun to Seattle and it’s clear how the 2011 draft made an enormous impact on the 2014-15 roster.

Notable 2011 draftees that did not play in Seattle

Jordan Ross, forward (ninth round, 181st overall): A late selection who was never able to make the T-Birds roster, Ross spent the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons with the Tisdale Trojans of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. In 2013-14, he played for the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, a team that current T-Birds defenseman Turner Ottenbreit played for in one game that same season. After spending the first 13 contests of this season with the Terriers, Ross joined the WHL’s Prince George Cougars and has registered four points and 20 penalty minutes in 24 games.