WHL gearing up for shortened season giving Seattle Thunderbirds chance to be scouted

WHL gearing up for shortened season giving Thunderbirds chance to be scouted

The Seattle Thunderbirds will take to the ice later this month for a shortened season. Q It Up Sports' Ian Furness reports.

KENT, Wash. - Before major junior ice hockey players can play on a professional sports team, they must first be seen and scouted playing in a venue like the one housing the Seattle Thunderbirds. Even during a pandemic, any chance to be on the ice in front of a crowd or not is important to these players.

This season, five U.S. Western Hockey League teams will play a shortened, 24 game season. Normally this time of year the ice is about to come out, but instead, it is fresh and ready for the season to start.

The seats inside accesso Showare Center in Kent, however, will remain empty when the Seattle Thunderbirds take the ice. But many ask "why play the games without fans?" The answer is simple: this is where NHL teams, like the expansion team, the Seattle Kraken find their next prospects.

"We’re really excited to have the Kraken going the NHL. The opportunity for them to see guys in their own backyard that have the ability to be selected in the draft right away," said Thunderbirds General Manager Bil La Forge. "We’re going to make the best with what we have and play the cards we’re dealt. We’re going to put a good group of young players on the ice right now starting March 19th, and they’ll see that these are potential future NHL-ers and guys that could wear the Kraken jersey at some point."

139 WHL alumni started this season on a roster in the National Hockey League, 11 from the Thunderbirds. Some current players like defenseman Trevor Bauer, and center Matthew Rempe, have already been drafted by NHL teams.

But for others, like left wing Conner Roulette who is a top prospect for this summer’s draft, playing these 24 games is the chance to be seen by the NHL scouts including those for the Kraken are imperative.

"I think I’m just willing to show that how much I have improved during the off-season. Obviously, it was tough just with the restrictions and all that. Do it every day and be consistent, but I think just as an individual and from my perspective, I put in enough work in as I could," said Roulette.

Goaltender Thomas Milic, who like Roulette is draft-eligible, is also hoping to impress the NHL scouts in this shortened season.

"Obviously, the draft is always something that’s in the back of my mind as a quote-on-quote smaller goaltender. I think one of the biggest things for me is holding my feet for longer and making sure I’m beating passes on my feet and not getting beat early. So I think that using my skating and my edge work to my advantage is really going to help out with that," said Roulette.

So the answer as to why play these games in an empty rink without fans and with the WHL owners losing money each night is simple: so the league known for developing some of the top stars in the NHL doesn’t miss a chance for its players to take the next step towards that dream of playing in the national hockey league. And maybe for some, trading a Seattle Thunderbirds jersey for one that says Seattle Kraken.

Four of the Thunderbirds' games can be seen on JOEtv on March 20th vs. Portland, March 26th at Spokane, and on March 27th and 28th vs. Portland.

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