How the 2014-15 T-Birds were built: The 2010 Bantam Draft

This is part two 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

The 2009-10 season wasn’t a pretty one for the Thunderbirds. They missed the playoffs for the first time in six years, finishing with a ghastly 19-41-7-5 record, good for second to last in the Western Conference in front of only the dreadfully bad Prince George Cougars, whose 28 points that season is the lowest total for a team in the past six seasons.

There would be some silver lining after the awful season, however, as that May’s Bantam Draft would eventually serve as a key turning point and a big part of the success the team would see just a couple of short seasons later.

Seattle would be awarded the fourth overall selection in the draft and would use it on 6-foot-4 defenseman Jared Hauf, a player they believed would grow to be an imposing physical presence on the team’s blue line. After surrendering the third-most goals in the Western Conference that year, defense would be the primary focus in the draft.

Hauf hasn’t been one to produce points in his almost four full seasons in a T-Birds uniform, but his absence is one that is felt whenever he’s out of the lineup. Like defensive partner Evan Wardley, there aren’t many individuals who can match up with Hauf physically, and when the two are on the ice together, opposing forwards hear footsteps whenever they have the puck or skate through the neutral zone. Take one of them out of the lineup and not only are you missing a top-four defenseman, but also one of the few players on the roster who can energize the bench with a big hit.

The Calgary native, now 19 and having grown to 6-6, has improved in each of his seasons in the league and gives head coach Steve Konowalchuk the option of playing his line against the opposition’s top players should he want to free up another defenseman who would be taken with Seattle’s fourth selection in the same draft.

In the second round, Seattle selected another huge rearguard, 6-6 Taylor Green, a native of Port Coquitlam, B.C. Green played one mostly unremarkable full season as a T-Bird, registering seven points in 65 games as he split time between forward and defense.

Without a place on Seattle’s roster prior to the 2013-14 season, Green was traded to Brandon for a conditional fifth-round draft choice in 2014, which eventually turned into forward Wyatt Bear. Bear, already 6-2 and 207 pounds as a 15-year-old, appeared in three games earlier this season and could be an impact power forward in a couple of years.

Early this season, Green was traded from Brandon to Moose Jaw, but after only six games with the Warriors, he elected to leave the team and has since caught on in the British Columbia Hockey League.

The Thunderbirds had two third-round choices that year, the aforementioned second of which would end up being one of the best defensemen in Seattle Thunderbirds history.

That second pick, of course, was Shea Theodore, who recently became Seattle’s all-time leader in points by a defenseman. The impact that the Aldergrove, B.C., native has had on Seattle’s blue line is unquestionable.

Over the past two seasons he’s averaged over a point per game, quarterbacked the top power-play unit and maintained a combined plus-30 rating in 107 regular season games despite usually being matched up against the opposition’s top scoring lines.

In February, Theodore was named the Western Conference’s best skater by a combination of players, coaches, management and broadcasters. In 2013-14, he was the league’s top scoring defensemen and likely would be again this year had injuries, a professional training camp, and international tournaments not kept him out of 29 contests.

During his 16- and 17-year-old seasons, his offensive prowess was evident, but his play in his own zone and decision-making abilities sometimes left witnesses scratching their heads. After being selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the gaffes in his own zone have been greatly reduced. With the tutelage of defensive coach Matt O’Dette, experience in the professional ranks at the Ducks’ past two training camps and a brief stint with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, Theodore has become one of the league’s best two-way defensemen.

After Theodore, Seattle’s next selection came in the fifth round and was used on goaltender Justin Myles. Like Green, Myles never made much of a name for himself in Seattle, but was ultimately flipped for a player who would make an enormous impact for the Thunderbirds – goaltender Taran Kozun.

The trade for Kozun should be remembered as one of the best trades in recent memory for the T-Birds, if not the best general manager Russ Farwell has made over the past decade. Along with Myles, Seattle also sent 2011 second-round selection Austin Douglas and a fourth-round choice in the 2015 Bantam Draft to Kamloops for the then-19-year-old Kozun.

Since being acquired, all Kozun has done is establish himself as one of the league’s best goalies, winning 44 games while posting eight shutouts and a 2.40 goals against average in parts of two seasons. Kozun was crucial in helping the T-Birds beat the Everett Silvertips and advance to the second round of the playoffs last year, allowing only 11 goals in five games, six of which came in Seattle’s only loss of the series in Game 4.

Neither Myles nor Douglas have been able to make an impact in the WHL. Myles never suited up for Kamloops as he constantly battled injuries and was traded last summer to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Just a few months later, Myles officially retired from the league.

Douglas played in 22 games for Kamloops, but prior to the season left the WHL and has bounced around the Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leagues.

The only other selection from the 2010 draft to play in Seattle was right wing Daniel Wray, who appeared in 31 games during the 2012-13 season, registering one assist and 42 penalty minutes. He is now playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The 2010 Bantam Draft would ultimately give Seattle two important defensemen who play very different styles, a goaltender who has been vital to the team’s success the past two years, and a forward who figures strongly into the team’s future plans. So far in 2014-15, Seattle has allowed the third fewest goals in the Western Conference, and the assets acquired all the way back in 2010 are a big reason why.

Notable 2010 draftees that did not play in Seattle

• John Edwardh, center (seventh round, 136th overall): The 2014-15 season marks Edwardh’s first season with UMass-Lowell of the NCAA. Prior to joining the River Hawks, Edwardh spent two seasons with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, registering 99 points on 50 goals and 49 assists in 112 contests. In his first campaign with UMass-Lowell, he has 11 points in 24 games.

• Brad LeLievre, forward (seventh round, 144th overall): LeLievre currently suits up with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the North American Hockey League. He’s played in 146 games in the NAHL and has 53 points. While he hasn’t become an impact player, LeLievre is a native of the Seattle area, formerly calling the Mill Creek area home. LeLievre was believed to be the first player from Snohomish County ever taken in the WHL Bantam Draft.