The Thunderbirds (2-3-0-0) are coming off a less than ideal weekend. They went 1-2-0-0, including an 8-1 drubbing at the hand of the Kamloops Blazers, and a 5-1 loss to the returning WHL defenseman of the year Ty Smith, and the Spokane Chiefs. However, the weekend ended well, as the T-birds, led by a Conner Roulette hat trick, pushed past the Victoria Royals. Roulette collected four goals during the week, giving him the team lead in goal scoring.
The upcoming weekend will see the Thunderbirds play twice. First, on Friday, they play host to the Kelowna Rockets (4-2-1-0) and welcome a trio of former T-birds — Dillion Hamaliuk, Jake Lee, and Cole Schwebius. Those three are making their return to the Accesso ShoWare Center following that huge draft day trade with this year’s Memorial Cup hosts. Hamaliuk is tied for the team lead for the Rockets in points with eight (4G, 4A). Lee is tied for the team lead in points among defenders (1G, 3A). Roman Basran has appeared in six games, with a record of 4-1-1-0 with a strong 1.80 GAA and a .933 SV%.
Saturday, Seattle makes their first trip up Interstate 5 to face their northernmost in-state rival, the Everett Silvertips (4-2-0-0). The ‘Tips are coming off a strong weekend on the road, where they dispatched the Blazers and Chiefs and had a midweek win over the Victoria Royals. Bryce Kindopp has led the way for the Silvertips and the Western Hockey League offensively, scoring eight goals and adding six assists for 14 points in six games played for Everett. Dustin Wolf has appeared in five games so far, posting a 2.37 GAA to go along with a .924 SV%.
Lightning Strikes:
- A pair of Seattle Thunderbird defensemen were highlighted on the NHL Central Scouting list. Simon Kubicek received a “B” ranking, which could see him selected at the NHL Entry Draft somewhere in the second or third rounds. Tyrel Bauer received a “C” rating. He is predicted to go anywhere between the fourth and sixth rounds. The NHL Entry Draft takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, on June 26th, 2020.
- A scoring change from Saturday night’s contest against the Victoria Royals gave Payton Mount a fourth assist on the evening, moving him into sole possession of the team lead in total points with six (1G, 5A). If Mount’s production can continue, look for him to join Simon Kubicek and Tyrel Bauer on the list of draft eligible players to watch.
- Today is the overage deadline for WHL teams to get to the limit of three. As of right now, Seattle is carrying four: Matthew Wedman, Andrej Kukuca (overage and import), Conner Bruggen-Cate, and Jaxan Kaluski. Head coach Matt O’Dette and general manager Bil La Forge have a tough decision to make today by 2:00 PM MDT.
