T-Birds training camp: Monroe’s Luke Ormsby looking to make roster

KENT — The T-Birds wrapped up the second day of training camp Wednesday with six more rookie scrimmages.

Like he did on Tuesday, Luke Ormsby was center stage again. The 16 year old from Monroe, Wa. was in the middle of seemingly every play during his time on the ice. He created chances, caused havoc by playing physical and got under the skin of his opponents.

Ormsby was a 9th round draft pick of the T-Birds in the 2014 Bantam Draft and has come into his second camp with Seattle looking to make the team. With a team as deep as the T-Birds are this year there aren’t a lot of spots open for a forward to make the team and while it’s still early, Ormsby is off to a good start.

“I felt good going into (camp),” he says of his first two days. “After going to the first camp you kind of gain some confidence going into the second one.”

After two strong days with the younger prospects his job will get tougher the rest of the week. Starting on Thursday, Ormsby will take part in scrimmages with the older, returning players. Agitating and being physical with his own age group is one thing, but Ormsby says he’s not going to change anything the rest of the week.

“(Just) play my game, can’t change anything,” he says. “Just keep playing how you are, keep the intensity up and be physical.”

Ormsby says his favorite NHL player is Vancouver Canucks’ pest Alex Burrows. Watching him play this week its easy to see why that is. Both players are physical, play hard and find a way to annoy the other team. He doesn’t know yet what his chances are to make the team, but doing so would be a huge thrill for the lifelong T-Bird fan.

“My main goal is to make the team this year,” Ormsby says. “Ever since I was a little kid I’ve wanted to play for Seattle. I used to come watch games, (We had) season tickets and things like that, it’s my goal this week.”

Ormsby played last year in Arizona with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes who play in the Tier 1 Elite Minor Midget league. It’s one of the top leagues in the U.S. and Ormsby says there is elite talent throughout the league. While he has enjoyed playing there, he says his type of physical play is better suited for the WHL.

“They don’t like it too much back home but I know in the WHL its the style,” he says of physical play. “That fits my style too.”

You can catch Ormsby and the veteran players on Wednesday, starting at 3 P.M. All the scrimmages take place on the ShoWare Center ice and are free for the public to attend.

Other Day 2 observations:

Tyszka shines again

The T-Birds top pick from last year’s Bantam Draft looked strong on Wednesday. He is a tremendous stick handler and looked to jump into the play offensively all day. The defenseman even showed some edge to his game as he got into a scrap and was a physical presence during the afternoon sessions.

Stankowski saves

Goalie Carl Stankowski looks more and more like a potential goalie of the future. He was big in net again on Wednesday and showed tremendous quickness. He made several sharp glove saves in the afternoon and ended his day by blanking three shoot out attempts to give his Grey Team a 2-1 win. Stankowski was Seattle’s second round pick in May’s Bantam Draft and was the first goalie selected.

Elijah Brown finds his legs

After a first day that was highlighted by taking a huge open-ice hit, Brown looked sharp on Wednesday. The T-Birds’ top pick from this past spring’s draft showed flashes of what made him a first round pick. His best play started behind his own net where he back-checked and took the puck away from an opposing forward. He then finished off the ensuing rush with an impressive back-hand, top-shelf finish, showing off some impressive hands.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide.

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