Seattle Thunderbirds - 2016 Fan Guide

Supplement published by the Auburn, Covington/MapleValley/BlackDiamond, Kent and Renton Reporters

2015-16

2015-16

U.S. DIVISION CHAMPIONS

WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

PROMOTIONS, ULE, SEASON SCHED ATION, TICKET INFORM & MORE!

2015-16

2015-16

U.S. DIVISION CHAMPIONS

WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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Welcome to Kent!

BEST SALON IN KENT 2012-2016!

• Joico • Paul Mitchell • All Natural Handmade Soaps

…and to the Western Conference Champion Seattle Thunderbirds 20162017 season as the T-Birds pursue a return to the WHL Championship!

• Himalayan Salt Lamps • and much more!

This season starts with an exciting celebration at the first home game of the season as the T-Birds will raise a U.S. Division Champions Banner and a Western Conference Champions Banner.

Mayor Suzette Cooke

Ethan Bear, Keegan Kolesar and Scott Eansor, leading scorers for the T-Birds last season, return this year as the T-Birds defend their Western Conference Championship. Also returning are Nolan Volcan, Donovan Neuls, Alexander True, Jarrett Tyszka, Turner Ottenbreit and the hero of Game 4 of the Western Conference Championship, Matthew Wedman.

Watch for new Finnish forward Sami Moilanen, who the T-Birds selected in the annual Import Draft, and center Elijah Brown, the 2015 first overall Bantam Draft pick, to do big things.

Returning this year is the T-Birds’ popular 2-for-Tuesday promotion, where fans can enjoy 2-for-1 tickets along with $2 concession specials!

The very popular Pub Nights, Turkey Shoot and Ham Shoot are always fun nights.

If you’re a new visitor to ShoWare Center, you should know we are very proud of this 8 year-old state-of-the-art arena. The 6,125 seats, 20 suites, and incredible Heritage Club seating section have unmatched hockey sightlines throughout.

While you’re in town, grab a bite at Kent Station, a contemporary, open air urban village with a variety of options for pre and post-game gatherings, but don’t leave your car there during an event as they will be towed. Walk a couple blocks south of the Center to discover the charm of historic downtown Kent where even more entertainment and dining choices await you. ■

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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3

In his final WHL season, Keegan Kolesar still has unfinished business forward Ryan Gropp.

Despite some heavy losses, Seattle returns an elite group of talented players, including Kolesar, who has already signed his Entry-Level Contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets after they drafted him in the third round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

In perhaps the greatest season in Seattle Thunderbirds history, the team fell just short of accomplishing their ultimate goal. After an incredible run that saw them close the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league, followed by an improbable 12-1 record through their first 13 playoff games, the T-Birds found themselves going head to head with the juggernaut Brandon Wheat Kings.

Seattle ended up losing the WHL Championship four games to one, but it was much closer than those numbers would indicate. Seattle lost each of the series’ first three games in sudden death overtime, won the fourth, then kept Game 5 tied entering the third period before eventually falling.

After a season that lasted nearly nine grueling months, it was a bitter pill to swallow for the Thunderbirds. Among those devastated by the way the season ended was Keegan Kolesar, who is using the image of the opposing team celebrating on his home ice as fuel for this season.

“We have a younger group and a lot of new faces,” said Kolesar about how different the team will look this season. “In the time I’ve been here I’ve seen guys come and go. The older guys always step up. I’m going to be leaned upon a lot. I want to have a big role on this team. I want to be a leader that the guys can count on to get the job done.”

Last year acted as sort of a breakout season for Kolesar, who hails from the same province – Manitoba – as the Wheat Kings who ended Seattle’s playoff run. After a sophomore campaign that saw him notch 19 goals and 19 assists in 64 games, Kolesar improved dramatically en route to a career year where he tallied 61 points on 30 goals and 31 assists in 64 contests.

“We’re not too happy that we lost last year,” said the 6-foot-2, 220-pound right wing. “It really fueled us for the summer. You see a team like Brandon, who was in our exact same position.

They lost the year before to Kelowna and then they went on to win it. We have high expectations for our team coming in here and we have a good core group of guys that have gone through this before.”

Without a doubt, training with professionals from the Blue Jackets organization has helped Kolesar know the areas of his game he needs to improve, both on and off the ice.

The 2014-15 Brandon Wheat Kings, like the Thunderbirds of last season, were a young team loaded with talent that many expected to make a strong push a year later. Like Brandon, Seattle made it to the Championship series a year earlier than many predicted. Like Brandon, Seattle expects even bigger things to come the season after.

most

“We’re a strong team with a foundation that hates to lose,” said Kolesar, speaking of himself and his veteran teammates. “We’ve been here a long time and we know what it takes. Our core veteran group here knows how hard it will be but that it will all be worth it in the end.”

As is so often the case with junior hockey, this Seattle team will face some turnover and look much different than it did last year. Gone from the core group are talented goalie Landon Bow, defensemen Jared Hauf and Jerret Smith, and

4

Barzal led Seattle in scoring last year and would certainly make a major difference in the makeup of the team, but Kolesar acknowledges that the T-Birds must prepare as though he isn’t coming back and will stick with the Islanders.

“It’s tough to lose great players,” admitted Kolesar of the loss of Gropp and potential loss of Barzal. “Right now, we’re preparing like (Barzal) won’t be here. We can’t have any question marks and we have a lineup that can win. We can’t rely on one or two guys to be here for us to win. Our mindset is that we’re going to have a winning team right from the start.”

With or without Barzal, expectations remain high for both Kolesar and this team. It’s tough to find a better combination of skill, size, strength, and determination than what you see in Kolesar, whose skillset has Columbus drooling at the possibility of the elite power forward that he could eventually become in the NHL. Until then, he remains focused on one goal – bringing a WHL Championship and Memorial Cup to Seattle for the first time in their history. ■ For Thunderbirds updates all season long, follow Tim on Twitter @tpigulski

“The Photo by Brian Liesse - Seattle Thunderbirds

important thing I’ve learned (with Columbus) is how to train properly,” said Kolesar, who will be eligible to play for Blue Jackets or the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’ American Hockey League affiliate, next season. “You notice that none of these guys take a day off. They’re in the weight room the day after games. I’ve gone to Development Camp twice now and picked up a lot of new techniques and drills that I can do to help my game and help me become a better player.”

Kolesar will be joined by a number of veterans who were part of Seattle’s run last year, but the question mark on everyone’s mind is whether or not Mathew Barzal, a center drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round of the same 2015 draft that saw Kolesar and Gropp taken, will return.

2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

2016 2017 seattle thunderbirds

fan guide

a special supplement of Sound Publishing and Kent Reporter publisher POLLY SHEPHERD advertising NICOLE SCHULTES

MARIE SKOOR

CAROL BOWER design JULIE BLACK KENT

REPORTER

www.seattlethunderbirds.com

.com

By TIM PIGULSKI, 710 ESPN Seattle mynorthwest.com/category/thunderbirds/

2016-17 SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS

253-239-7825 WWW.SEATTLETHUNDERBIRDS.COM

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5

Finals loss serves as motivation for T-Birds “Anytime you’re down or something you just think of that,” Neuls said. “If you’re at the gym and it’s a hard day, you just think of that.”

By ANDY EIDE, 710 ESPN Seattle mynorthwest.com/category/thunderbirds/ The images from May are still fresh in everyone’s mind. As the clock hit zero, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ bench emptied on to the ShoWare Center ice to celebrate winning the WHL Championship, their sticks, gloves and helmets tossed in every direction. At the other end of the ice the T-Birds stood and watched, bent over from exhaustion, both physical and mental.

There’s reason to believe that taking one more step isn’t out of reach for Seattle this year.

It’s more than just a slogan on a t-shirt as the Thunderbirds return a strong and deep squad again in 2016-2017. They have speed and grit up and down the lineup along with several top-end, NHL prospects.

Whether they get there or not remains to be seen, and this season’s script is still in its early stages. However, with the experience and motivation gained last year, the team knows what it wants and where their talent is capable of taking them.

After a spectacular season, they had come up short and just like that, it was all over.

It has to sting. It has to linger.

“I still don’t think I’m over it,” Seattle forward Donovan Neuls said during training camp.

The t-shirts the T-Birds wore during this season’s training camp read ‘Good enough is never enough’ on the back of them -- a sentiment borne from coming so close to winning it all.

“I’ll be honest, it took a little while,” defenseman Turner Ottenbreit said about getting over the finals loss. “Because we knew we worked so hard all year long to get to that point. To have it end like that…it left a sour taste in our mouth.”

“It’s a lot of hard work and we’ve got to come together as a team and gel,” Ottenbreit said. “We’ve got to believe in ourselves and each other. Our focus has to be just good isn’t good enough.”

To hear Ottenbreit repeat the team’s slogan this year should come as no surprise. Head coach Steve Konowalchuk has a close knit group of players who all seem to be pushing in the same direction.

Ottenbreit will be one of the leaders, along with Neuls, Leth and many others.

“You got a taste of it a bit,” Leth adds.

“Now you’re coming back and you can tell in the locker room, everyone got that taste and wants more.”

As the new season starts the T-Birds not only hope to get over the tough loss last spring, but to learn from it. Get better because of it rather than wallow in it.

To have them all on board, armed with the experience and motivation they gained last year can only be a positive – something to help them get through the tough times that every season inevitably has.

“You can’t dwell on something like that,” 20-year-old Cavin Leth said. “We had a lot of great success last year and we can’t hold that in our mind … you’ve got to move on, learn from it.”

Losing stinks but if you can get up from it and use it to improve, it may prove to be a valuable, albeit painful, learning experience.

It was that mindset that fueled the T-Birds as they dispersed home last spring and began their summer regimens.

Whether in the weight room or on the ice skating, they looked to get a notch stronger or a step faster.

Knowing what its like to almost get there, it wasn’t hard to keep focus during the off season.

6

“I just want to finish what we started last year. It feels like a job unfinished,” Neuls said. ■

Twitter @andyeide

For Thunderbirds updates all season long, follow Andy on

Photo by Brian Liesse - Seattle Thunderbirds

2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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CENTER

6

DEFENSE

ALEXANDER TRUE

DEFENSE

BRANDON SCHULDHAUS

How Acquired: Selected by T-Birds in 1st round, 48th overall in 2014 Import Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’5 Weight: 199 Birthday: July 17, 1997 Hometown: Copenhagen, DEN

BRYAN ALLBEE

How Acquired: Drafted 5th round, 103rd overall, in 2013 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’4 Weight: 197 Birthday: February 23, 1998 Hometown: Calgary, AB

1

How Acquired: From Kootenay Ice on January 4, 2016, for a 5th round Bantam pick in 2017.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’0 Weight: 196 Birthday: July 11, 1997 Hometown: Prince George, BC

9

GOALIE

19

CENTER

CARL STANKOWSKI

CENTER

CAVIN LETH

How Acquired: Drafted 2nd round, 37th overall, in 2015 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2018 Shoots: Left Height: 5’9 Weight: 159 Birthday: March 9, 2000 Hometown: Calgary, AB

DONOVAN NEULS

How Acquired: From the Swift Current Broncos on January 4, 2016, for defenseman Sahvan Khaira.

NHL Draft: Free Agent Shoots: Left Height: 6’0 Weight: 192 Birthday: April 11, 1996 Hometown: Taber, AB

LOW COST!

How Acquired: Drafted, 8th round, 157th overall in 2012 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 5’10 Weight: 183 Birthday: October 24, 1997 Hometown: Grenfell, SK

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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11

25

CENTER ELIJAH BROWN

27 CENTER

IAN BRISCOE How Acquired: Drafted 5th round, 104th overall, 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 5’10 Weight: 172 Birthday: February 5, 1999 Hometown: Winnipeg, MB

LEFT WING

ETHAN BEAR

How Acquired: Drafted 1st round, 15th overall, in 2015 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2018 Shoots: Left Height: 5’8 Weight: 160 Birthday: January 5, 2000 Hometown: Edmonton, AB

8

14

DEFENSE

How Acquired: Drafted, 2nd round, 25th overall, in 2012 Bantam Draft. NHL Draft: By the Edmonton Oilers in 5th round, 124th overall, in 2015 NHL Draft.

Shoots: Right Height: 6’0 Weight: 205 Birthday: June 26, 1997 Hometown: Ochapowace, SK

5

How Acquired: From the Edmonton Oil Kings on January 10, 2016, for a 7th round pick in the 2017 Bantam Draft. NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’0 Weight: 199 Birthday: April 11, 1997 Hometown: Edmonton, AB

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DEFENSE

RIGHT WING

JARRET TYSZKA How Acquired: Drafted 1st round, 16th overall, in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’3 Weight: 191 Birthday: March 15, 1999 Hometown: Langley, BC

2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

GARAN MAGNES

KEEGAN KOLESAR How Acquired: Drafted, 1st round, 20th overall in 2012 Bantam Draft. NHL Draft: By the Columbus Blue Jackets in 3rd round, 69th overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Shoots: Right Height: 6’2 Weight: 223 Birthday: April 8, 1997 Hometown: Winnipeg, MB

www.seattlethunderbirds.com

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23

GOALIE

34

RIGHT WING

RIGHT WING

LOGAN FLODELL

LUKE ORSMBY

How Acquired: Drafted in 3rd round, 47th overall, in 2012 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 5’11 Weight: 166 Birthday: February 10, 1997 Hometown: Regina, SK

How Acquired: Drafted 9th round, 192th overall, in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 5’10 Weight: 181 Birthday: February 14, 1999 Hometown: Monroe, WA

17

LUKE OSTERMAN

21

RIGHT WING

39

CENTER

MACKENZIE WIGHT

How Acquired: Drafted, 8th round, 167th overall in 2012 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 6’1 Weight: 205 Birthday: June 20, 1997 Hometown: Stillwater, MN

LEFT WING

MATTHEW WEDMAN

How Acquired: Drafted, 7th round, 149th overall in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 6’0 Weight: 177 Birthday: February 4, 1999 Hometown: Chilliwack, BC

How Acquired: Drafted 2nd round, 38th overall in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’3 Weight: 166 Birthday: May 26, 1999 Hometown: Edmonton, AB

NIC HOLOWKO How Acquired: Signed by T-Birds to WHL Standard Player Agreement August 28, 2014.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’1 Weight: 190 Birthday: June 26, 1997 Hometown: Burnaby, BC

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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FRESH CHOICES

7

LEFT WING

DEFENSE

NOLAN VOLCAN

REECE HARSCH

How Acquired: Drafted, 2nd round, 27th overall in 2013 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 5’9 Weight: 191 Birthday: July 4, 1998 Hometown: Edmonton, AB

How Acquired: Drafted, 8th round, 170th overall in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 6’3 Weight: 194 Birthday: January 7, 1999 Hometown: Grand Prairie, AB

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RIGHT WING

GOALIE

SAMI MOILANEN

RYAN GILCHRIST How Acquired: Signed by T-Birds to WHL Standard Player Agreement February 20, 2015.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’4 Weight: 188 Birthday: May 21, 1998 Hometown: McLaughlin, AB

8

How Acquired: Selected by T-Birds in 1st round, 49th overall, in 2016 Import Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 5’8 Weight: 182 Birthday: January 21, 1999 Hometown: Sipoo, FIN

4

CENTER SCOTT EANSOR

HAPPY

HOUR

DEFENSE TURNER OTTENBREIT

How Acquired: Signed by T-Birds to WHL Standard Player Agreement May 13, 2013.

NHL Draft: Free Agent Shoots: Left Height: 5’9 Weight: 185 Birthday: January 3, 1996 Hometown: Englewood, CO

KENT’S BEST

How Acquired: From the Saskatoon Blades for Adam Henry on September 29, 2014.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Left Height: 6’3 Weight: 1200 Birthday: July 9, 1997 Hometown: Yorkton, SK

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DEFENSE

RIGHT WING

TYSON TERRETTA

WYATT BEAR

How Acquired: Drafted 7th round, 147th overall, in 2015 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2018 Shoots: Right Height: 6’2 Weight: 184 Birthday: February 22, 2000 Hometown: High River, AB

10

How Acquired: Drafted, 5th round, 102nd overall, in 2014 Bantam Draft.

NHL Draft: Eligible 2017 Shoots: Right Height: 6’0 Weight: 215 Birthday: May 2, 1999 Hometown: Hodgson, MB

2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

K E N T S TAT I O N

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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2016-2017 FAN GUIDE

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For the T-Birds, GO T-BIRDS! It’s Time to go with the Flo

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Who was the most valuable player in Seattle’s run to the Western Hockey League Final last spring? Mathew Barzal would probably get the majority of fan votes if they were posed that question. Certainly Landon Bow would figure in the conversation. You can make arguments for players like Scott Eansor and Ethan Bear too.

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How about Logan Flodell? I know what you’re thinking, the backup goalie? MVP? You’re kidding, right? Okay, I get it, he’s probably not in your top ten. But let’s not forget the important role he played in the team’s success last season, and if the team is going to repeat that success again this go ‘round, Flodell will have to be a key cog once more.

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Believe it or not, Flodell played in over half the team’s games a season ago. He saw action in 42 of the 72 regular season games and compiled a more then respectable 22-13-4-0 record. His 2.78 goals against average was 10th best in the WHL. He added a .901 save percentage and recorded three shutouts.

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Yes, you say, but most of those numbers were compiled the first half of the season, before the trade deadline acquisition of Bow that helped push the Thunderbirds back atop the division standings. That’s true, but Flodell finished off his season with three starts late in the year and went 2-0-1-0.

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By THOM BEUNING, T-Birds play-by-play voice thombeuningsinthecorners.blogspot.com/

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It’s February 6th and Seattle is at home in a key divisional matchup with the team they are chasing for the top spot, the Everett Silvertips. The night will not only end with a frustrating defeat and a slip two more points back in the standings, but Bow will come up hobbled in the second period. In a season with far more ups than downs, with many more highs than lows, this game may have represented the darkest point.

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Seattle is now double digits behind Everett and they’ve lost their number one goaltender at a crucial point in the season. Coming up on the schedule is a seven-game stretch including two against defending champion Kelowna and matchups with conference leading Victoria, division foes Portland and Spokane as well as rematch with the division leading ‘Tips. With Bow on the shelf for three weeks, it will be up to Flodell to carry the load between the pipes.

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Now, all great stories about an unassuming hero rising up to save the day start with a little bit of adversity don’t they? Flodell got rocked in the first of those seven straight starts, staggered by a seven-goal onslaught by the Rockets. He was on the canvas and the mandatory eight count had started. You can give up and lie there or you can grab the ropes and pull yourself back up and start swinging.

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Ah, you say, mop up duty after the team had already clinched the U.S. Division banner. Where’s the pressure in that situation? Okay, I see you’re not convinced yet on how important Flodell was to this team’s 2015-16 success. So let’s talk about that U.S. Division banner and, as you watch it unfurl from the ShoWare Center rafters opening night how, without Flodell, the T-Birds may never have won it.

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Flodell got back up. “I definitely thought that I had to get the team the wins that we needed, because we wanted to win the division. That was our goal.” He explained. “I just took the challenge. Landon got hurt. The challenge was to win as many games as I could (with Bow out), I think I did that.”

The very next night at home he repelled the Rockets and registered his first career shutout. 31 shots, 31 saves. Four nights later he posted another win in a wild, down to the wire, overtime victory over Portland. The next night it was 33 saves in a 4-2 win over the Royals. A week later he limited Spokane to just a goal in a 2-1 win. Twenty four hours after that he was bombarded early, 14 shots in the first period and 14 more in the second. He hung tough, making 26 saves over those CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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first 40 minutes, and gave his team every chance to pull out the “W” but eventually a late goal in Everett gave the Silvertips a 4-3 win.

One more game and Bow would be back. One more chance for Flodell, with only 13 games left in the season, to help chase down Everett. Two crucial points. Flodell put the exclamation point on the end of the seven-game run with a win at home over Vancouver.

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Now, Seattle still trailed Everett in the standings after the win over the Giants but the gap had narrowed. Flodell’s win at home over Vancouver would propel Seattle onto an 11-game winning streak.

Bow returned and the rest, as they say is history.

is like

So what does this have to do with the Thunderbirds winning the U.S. Division? Well, Flodell went 5-2 in those seven starts, earning Seattle 10 points. How many points did Seattle win the division by? 10 points.

skating on thin ice — Not a good idea.

So, okay, maybe he’s not the MVP. And Seattle still would have made the playoffs without those five wins. And sure, Flodell didn’t see a minute of action in the postseason, but without him they probably don’t win the U.S. Division either.

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Fast forward and it is now late August as the Thunderbirds gather for training camp. Landon Bow is long gone, signing a pro contract and graduating out of the WHL. For the first time since Seattle selected him in the third round of the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, Flodell, at 19, enters camp as the oldest goalie on the roster, the only returning goalie. The only goalie with any WHL experience. No Bow, no Taran Kozun, no Taz Burman, Justin Myles or Danny Mumaugh.

The job is his. “Obviously it’s awesome to know you have the shot to be the starting guy and being older, you definitely have to be a leader for the younger goalies,” he said.

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This was Flodell’s fifth training camp with Seattle going back to his 15-year old year, yet he’s only been a full-time member of the team for the last season and a half. Twice he was sent back to get more playing time at a lower level. Is he ready for the grind of potentially starting 50 to 60 games?

“I’ve been through four or five camps now. It’s been a tough go but it’s been a great experience. I’ve just been getting stronger and faster every year and that’s what you want as a goaltender.”

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He knows that 50 to 60 games is a heavy workload but he did get into those 42 games a season ago and he’s ready for more and not lacking for confidence. “I want to play as many games as I can. I want them (his teammates) to know they have a shot to win every game.”

Ian Gordon has been Seattle’s goaltending coach for the past three seasons and knows Flodell well.

“He’s probably thought he was ready (to be a number one goalie in the WHL) a year ago.” Gordon said, adding Flodell has always believed that he will succeed but the organization did not want to rush his development. As a result, Flodell has had to bide his time, either by playing Junior A in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, or by being a back up to a pair of 20-year olds in Seattle. Gordon thinks that has only helped to motivate Flodell. He references that sevengame stretch last February as well as the final week of the regular season in March as proof his goalie is on the right track.

Gordon explained, “What he can build on…his last nine, ten games that he played. He played extremely well (7-2-1-0). That was probably some of his best hockey.”

He also says Flodell has learned from his predecessors Kozun and Bow. “Just watching the consistency of what they provided, he’s seen it from Taran, he’s seen it from Landon and (how) there are expectations that come from it. He believes he is ready for whatever situation is thrown at him this year.”

Flodell knows a lot of eyes will be on him this season, especially early on. He’s no doubt aware that over the past five seasons the team has traded to acquire a goaltender four times. It’s his aim to make sure it doesn’t happen a fifth time. He doesn’t want fans to think he’s overconfident, just confident that he’s ready for his turn to be the number one goalie.

“Definitely a bit higher,” he said about his confidence level. “I still have to work hard no matter if I’ve got the number one spot or not. We have to work hard in practice, we have to work hard in games and off ice too. It’s the work ethic that gets you in games.”

He then added, “It’s gonna be a lot of work and that’s what I trained for this summer. It’s gonna show… how hard I worked this summer… and I’m definitely excited for the experience.” ■ For Thunderbirds updates all season long, follow Thom on Twitter @ThomBeuning

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Free Parking Is available both onsite at ShoWare Center as well as in lots in close walking distance throughout downtown Kent. Additional free parking is available across James Street at the Regional Justice Center Garage after 6:00 PM, and at the James Street Park & Ride. There is no event parking permitted at Kent Station, at Kent Commons or in the North Park Neighborhood.

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