Sunday, May 14th, 2017. A hockey game was being played in Regina, Saskatchewan at the Brandt Center. It was early into overtime of Game 6 of the WHL championship series between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Regina Pats when defenseman, Aaron Hyman moved the puck to Keegan Kolesar on the boards near center ice. The puck was then tipped to a streaking Alexander True who entered the Regina zone, cut to the slot and took a wrist shot. Pats goaltender Tyler Brown was able to stop the shot but True managed to corral the rebound and put it past two sprawling Regina defensemen to win the game and secure Seattle’s first Western Hockey League Title in franchise history. That’s right folks, coming in at number 17, is import Alexander True!
Hailing from Kobenhavn, Denmark, True, the big two-way forward was selected in the 2014 import draft in the first round, 48th overall. True came to the club after they had years with fan favorite imports, Roberts Lipsbergs and Alex Delnov. He had large shoes to fill. Luckily for Seattle, he was up to the task.
True’s first season in Seattle would come in 2014-2015, where he suited up for 38 games and chipped in 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists). True took some time to adapt to the smaller ice surface in North America, but over the next two seasons, he blossomed into one of the premier two-way forwards in the Western Hockey League.
Alexander played 65 games with Seattle the following season and improved his point total by more than double. He produced 32 points in his sophomore year by scoring 14 goals and setting up 18 more. While the production was good for a second-year import, it was his special teams and two-way play that really shined for True. He was a good face off man, responsible defensively and one of the best penalty killers on the team.
In an injury plagued season for Seattle in 2016-2017, “Alex” enjoyed a career season statistically and proved himself an effective top six forward. He centered Seattle’s second, and even first line at times, when they were missing one of either Mathew Barzal or Scott Eansor. It was during that year’s playoffs that he would actualize his offensive potential. True also represented team Denmark at the World Junior Championships for the second consecutive year, and served as the Danish captain.
During Seattle’s second consecutive march to the WHL championship series, True exploded offensively. Through 20 postseason contests Alexander contributed 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points, including the most important goal scored in franchise history. Although the playoff MVP ultimately went to co-captain, Mathew Barzal, there was a case to be made for True, who played a huge role in driving the Seattle scoring. For my money, there was reason to consider bringing Alex back as a two-spotter (overage and import) the following season. However, during the off-season, the undrafted True earned himself an AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda – minor league affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
Through his first season in the AHL in 2017-18, Alex produced. He put up 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points. That was enough to earn him an NHL entry level contract after the season. He followed up a great rookie campaign with a season that catapulted True up the Sharks depth chart. Alexander led the Barracuda in scoring during the 2018-2019 season, as he finished with 24 goals, 31 assists for 55 points. With upcoming roster turnover likely coming for San Jose over the off-season, there is a path for Alexander to get a taste of the NHL next season, adding himself to the long list of Thunderbirds NHL alumni.
