When the Thunderbirds announced that they had signed Lloyminster, Alberta native Ryan Gilchrist to a WHL standard player agreement on Feb. 20, it appeared that the goalie situation for the near future was settled.
For the second year in a row, Seattle will open the playoffs with a rivalry matchup, this time against a Portland Winterhawks team that finished second in the U.S. Division and third in the Western Conference.
In the fifth part of a series looking at how the current Thunderbirds roster has taken shape, we focus on the 2012 Bantam Draft, where Seattle brought in Mathew Barzal with the first overall pick.
In the fourth part of a series looking at how the current Thunderbirds roster has taken shape, we focus on the 2011 Bantam Draft, which included the selection of highly-touted wing Ryan Gropp.
In the third part of a series looking at how the current Thunderbirds roster has taken shape, we focus on the 2010 Import Draft, where Seattle found a couple of trade pieces it turned into valuable members of the 2014-15 squad.
In the second part of a series looking at how the current Thunderbirds roster has taken shape, we focus on the 2010 Bantam Draft, which brought star defenseman Shea Theodore to the team.
The National Hockey League's Boston Bruins announced today that they have signed former Thunderbirds forward Justin Hickman to an entry-level contract.
In the first part of a series looking at how the current Thunderbirds roster has taken shape, we focus on the 2009 Bantam Draft, including defenseman Evan Wardley.
If the WHL playoffs were to begin today, all five teams in the U.S. Division would qualify, with fourth-place Spokane and fifth-place Tri-City grabbing the Western Conference's two wild-card spots. Unlike any other division in the league, the U.S. Division is currently in the midst of a tight race that could see the standings change significantly before the regular season concludes in March. Eighteen points separate first-place Everett from fifth-place Tri-City, with Portland, Seattle, and Spokane falling second, third, and fourth in the division.
The Thunderbirds season took another strange turn, 18-year-old backup goaltender Danny Mumaugh electing to end his hockey career this weekend. Seattle has recalled 17-year-old Logan Flodell to replace him.
Tuesday morning, NHL Central Scouting released their 2015 midterm rankings of players eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft. Four T-Birds made the list: center Mathew Barzal, wings Ryan Gropp and Keegan Kolesar, and defenseman Ethan Bear.
The Thunderbirds had to learn how to play without forward Mathew Barzal, but now that he's on the verge of returning from a broken knee, they're in great shape to move up the WHL standings.
In a surprising series of moves Monday afternoon, the Thunderbirds announced that Latvian import forward Roberts Lipsbergs -- who spent the last two seasons with the team and was most recently with the ECHL's Stockton Thunder -- will be returning to Seattle.
With a six-game winning streak on the line, the Thunderbirds were unable to generate any offense, falling 4-0 to the Winterhawks Sunday evening at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
On Christmas Eve, Seattle's Taran Kozun was straightforward about the importance of the games immediately following the WHL's holiday break. "The games right after the break will probably decide what we do," said the 20-year-old goaltender just one week ago in regards to whether Seattle would be buyers or sellers at the league's Jan. 10 trade deadline.
In his final WHL season, Taran Kozun is having a year to remember. The 20-year-old netminder currently ranks first in the league with a 2.24 goals-against average and is tied for fourth with a .917 save percentage.
The Thunderbirds didn't know much about defenseman Turner Ottenbreit when they acquired him via trade, but he's proven to be an integral piece of the puzzle this season.
Seattle has been missing key contributors for each of its 27 games so far this season, and it's likely that the World Junior Championships will thin the roster even more.
It's rare that a team in the Western Hockey League is able to put its entire roster on the ice night in and night out as a regular starter or two is usually always missing due to injury, international tournaments, tryout camps, or something else that will prevent them from suiting up.
The Thunderbirds reassigned 17-year-old Logan Flodell to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, leaving them with the standard two goalies in Taran Kozun and Danny Mumaugh.
