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On the Road with the Seattle Thunderbirds: A FOX 13 News Special
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Seattle Thunderbrids are red hot winners of 18 of their last 20 games. For five months, FOX 13 News Anchor Bill Wixey and Photojournalist Michael Driver were embedded with the team working on this 30 minute special.
KENT, Wash. - After making a run to the Western Hockey League's Championship Series as an underdog last season, the Seattle Thunderbirds enter this year’s postseason under vastly different circumstances.
The Thunderbirds are loaded with NHL talent that carried them to a franchise record 54 victories this season and the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
"It's unreal hockey. It's the most fun hockey ever and it's exciting," captain Lucas Ciona said.
Seattle took an already talented roster and supercharged it throughout the year. The Thunderbirds lost in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings in last year's WHL Championship Series after making a run to the finals as the 4-seed in the conference.
First-round picks Kevin Korchinski and Reid Schaefer, third-rounder Jordan Gustafson, fifth-round pick Jared Davidson and Ciona, a sixth-round selection, all returned from last year's runner-up squad. The group already had sights set on another strong season only to see the team significantly add to the group as the season progressed.
The Thunderbirds made multiple trades to add star power to their lineup for their championship run. NHL first-round picks Brad Lambert, Dylan Guenther and Nolan Allan, second-round pick Colton Dach and third-rounder Luke Prokop all were brought in to chase a title.
"All those guys coming in, piece by piece, it's like 'OK, now we're really going for it, we've got a real genuine shot,'" goaltender Scott Ratzlaff said. "So I think it's nice to kind of just bring all the puzzle pieces together to go for that run."
RELATED: On the Road with the Seattle Thunderbirds: A FOX 13 News Special
Prokop was acquired from Edmonton in November, Allen from Prince Albert in December, and Dach from Kelowna in January. Lambert was sent down to Seattle from AHL Manitoba in January and Guenther joined the team from the Arizona Coyotes in February.
"I think adding players like guys just really helps your team," Korchinski said. "You can't have enough of those kinds of guys that have that experience, whether it's in the World Juniors, WHL playoffs, the finals of the Memorial Cup. Adding those guys has been awesome for us. So we've got the experience to go the distance and that's going to really help us in the playoffs."
Guenther's addition was the cherry on top for the Thunderbirds. Last year's No. 9 overall pick in the NHL Draft appeared in 33 NHL games this year with the Coyotes scoring 15 points on six goals and nine assists. Seattle acquired the rights to Guenther from the Oil Kings in January with no guarantee he'd be sent down to play for them by Arizona.
"We didn't have high hopes when the trade was made. We didn't know how it would play out so we didn't really bank on him coming here," head coach Matt O'Dette said. "So it was a big pleasant surprise for him being sent here and he's been great for us since he's been here."
Guenther scored the game-winning goal for Team Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships in January in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Guenther was joined by Thunderbirds teammates Korchinski, Allan, Schaefer, Dach and goaltender Thomas Milic in leading Canada to the gold medal. Since joining Seattle, Guenther has racked up 29 points with 13 goals and 16 assists in 20 games played for Seattle. His 1.45 points per game trails only the 1.46 points per game of Lambert for the best mark on the team.
"Super dangerous player," O'Dette said. Great shot. He's been a great all around player. He competes hard, plays well defensively and then just super dangerous offensively. So it brings all those things to the table and we're lucky he's on our side this time."
Guenther and Prokop were both part of the Oil Kings team that beat the Thunderbirds team that defeated the Thunderbirds in last year's WHL Championship Series.
"I mean playing them last year I kind of know what it's like here. I know the culture," Guenther said of joining the Thunderbirds. "I know a lot of the guys who play here, they're from the Edmonton area, so I'm familiar with them. And it's a hard-working team and I think that's one of the staples here every day, every practice. And I think that's what's allowed us to have so much success. Obviously with the players that we have in the room and playing on the ice, it's been a lot of fun here."
In addition to the talent along their skaters, Milic and Ratzlaff have been terrific in goal for the Thunderbirds as well. Milic leads the WHL with a .928 save percentage and a 2.08 goals against average. Ratzlaff finished the year second to Milic with a 2.15 goals against average and was fourth in the league in save percentage at .918.
"They work so hard every day. Having them behind us, we have the utmost confidence in them, especially if there's a fast break or anything like that it's just you have all the confidence in the world with those two guys," Ciona said.
The depth of the Thunderbirds talent goes beyond the guys who have already been drafted as well. Forwards Gracyn Sawchyn and Nico Myatovic, defenseman Sawyer Mynio, and Ratzlaff are among likely candidates to be drafted in this year's NHL Draft. Left wing Kyle Crnkovic is an over-ager acquired from Saskatoon in August that is fourth on the team in points with 30 goals and 38 assists on the year.
Meanwhile, WHL rookie Tig Iginla has NHL pedigree as well. Iginla, 16, is the son of former NHL Hart Trophy winner and Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla.
"This is what you want as a coach. You want to have a team like this, a team that can make a run at a championship," O'Dette said.
The Thunderbirds aren't going to be able to sneak up on anyone this year. They're the No. 4 ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League rankings, which includes the WHL, Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The Winnipeg Ice (No. 3) and the Kamloops Blazers (No. 9) also in the top 10 from the WHL.
The Thunderbirds posted an 18-0-0-1 record over a 19-game stretch from early February through last week's top-seed clinching victory over the Blazers.
"There's a little bit of pressure to live up to expectations but I think we got the group here that can do it," said Davidson, who reached 100 goals for his Thunderbirds career last week.
Seattle kicks off their playoff run Friday against the 8-seed Kelowna Rockets. A conference title will earn the Thunderbirds a spot in the Memorial Cup, which is the top prize in junior hockey. It includes the winner of all three Canadian leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) and the team from the host venue, which this year is the Kamloops Blazers.
The Blazers, the 2-seed in the Western Conference, would provide a serious challenge in the conference finals if the Thunderbirds can reach that point. Then a potential matchup with the Winnipeg Ice in the Championship Series could await. Both Kamloops and Winnipeg have their share of NHL talent as well.
"We're the team to beat at this point," Milic said. "Everyone's going to bring their "A" game every night for us. I think that we're capable of winning every game this season so I think as long as we come into it with a pretty consistent mentality that every team is going to bring their best, you know, we'll bring even better."