Seattle Thunderbirds

Seattle Thunderbirds
City	Kent, Washington
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	U.S.
Founded	1971
Home arena	ShoWare Center
General manager	Bill Laforge
Head coach	Matt O'Dette
Website www.SeattleThunderbirds.com
Franchise history
1971–73	Vancouver Nats
1973–77	Kamloops Chiefs
1977–85	Seattle Breakers
1985–present	Seattle Thunderbirds

The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, a city south of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center. The team is coached by Matt O'Dette and the general manager is Bill Laforge.

History

Canadian founding

The team was founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) but moved to Kamloops, British Columbia, to become the Kamloops Chiefs in 1973.

Seattle Breakers

In 1977 the team moved to Seattle and was renamed the Seattle Breakers. The Breakers played in the Seattle Center Ice Arena, known to most local fans as the Mercer Arena, which had a seating capacity of 4,139. Through eight seasons, the Breakers finished with a record of 225-319-32 and playoff record of 11-21, although they twice played in the West Division Finals. [1]

The Modern Era

In 1982 the Breakers acquired future NHL great Ken Daneyko from Spokane. They made the playoffs and lost in the Divisional final.

After the 1984-1985 season, the Breakers were sold to new owners and renamed the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The 1986-1987 season saw the addition of Glen Goodall, who would remain with the team through 1990. Goodall would go on to set the Western Hockey League career records for most games played (399), goals scored (262), assists (311) and points (573).[2] He is still the Thunderbirds leader in goals, assists and points.[3] His jersey, number 10, is the only one to be retired by the Thunderbirds.

The 1989-1990 season was the best regular season in Thunderbird history, and arguably the greatest team the franchise has ever iced. Seattle finished the season at 52-17-3, which included a 44-8-3 record in their final 55 and the #1 ranking in the final Canadian Hockey League Regular Season Top Ten poll. The team finished 33-2-1 at home tying a WHL record for most home wins. Goodall won the Most Valuable Player award finishing with 76 goals and 87 assists for 163 points, and Petr Nedved won Rookie of the Year. Seattle placed 3 scorers in the top 6 in the league Glen Goodall 2nd with 163 points, Victor Gervais 3rd with 160 points and Petr Nedved 6th with 145 points. Peter Kasowski came over in a trade from Swift Current and finished 13th with 129 points. Goaltender Danny Lorenz finished his career with a WHL record most career saves and minutes played. The team was so popular that they began to play home games in the Seattle Center Coliseum, which could seat over 12,000 for hockey and was frequently sold out. The Thunderbirds defeated the Tri-City Americans 5 games to 2 in the division semifinals, before losing to the eventual Western Hockey League Champion Kamloops Blazers 5 games to 1 in the division finals.

In 1992 the Thunderbirds hosted the Canadian Hockey League championship, the Memorial Cup, but lost in the semi-finals.

The 1996-1997 team, led by Patrick Marleau, finished the season with a record of 41-27-4. They won the Western Conference by beating the Prince George Cougars 4 games to 2. Seattle was beaten by Lethbridge 4 games to 0 in the WHL championship series.

The 2002-2003 season saw the team advance to the conference finals on the back of Brooks Laich, who was named the Western Conference MVP with 41 goals and 94 points. After convincing wins in the early rounds of the playoffs, the Thunderbirds lost to the Kelowna Rockets four games to one. [4]

Arenas

The Thunderbirds originally played at Mercer Arena, with a small number of attractive regular-season and many playoff games being held at the nearby Seattle Center Coliseum. The T-Birds also hosted the 1992 Memorial Cup at the larger Coliseum. They moved full-time to the renovated Coliseum, which had been renamed KeyArena, in 1995. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, KeyArena's post-renovation sight lines were better suited for basketball. The arena floor was just barely large enough to fit the rink. It was so far off-center that the scoreboard hung over a blue line instead of center ice. Additionally, so many seats in the lower level were obstructed that half the lower level was curtained off.

Due to growing fan and team dissatisfaction with KeyArena, in 2009 the Thunderbirds moved to ShoWare Center, 20 miles south in Kent, where they became the anchor tenant. [5]

Logo

The team's logo depicts a Native American carving of a thunderbird with the word "Seattle" etched into it, framed by two hockey sticks. It is similar to the logo of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. [6]

Season-by-season record

Season	GP	W	L	T	OL	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs
1977–78	72	32	28	12	–	359	316	76	4th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1978–79	72	21	40	11	–	299	334	53	4th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1979–80	72	29	41	2	–	297	364	60	3rd West	Lost West Division final - Defeated by Victoria 4-0
1980–81	72	26	46	0	–	318	393	52	3rd West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Portland 4-0
1981–82	72	36	34	2	–	339	310	74	3rd West	Lost West Division final - Defeated by Portland 4-2
1982–83	72	24	47	1	–	319	418	49	4th West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Portland 4-0
1983–84	72	32	39	1	–	350	379	65	4th West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Kamloops 5-0
1984–85	72	25	44	3	–	320	416	53	5th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1985–86	72	27	43	2	–	373	413	56	4th West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Kamloops 5-0
1986–87	72	21	47	4	–	328	430	46	5th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1987–88	72	25	46	2	–	313	436	52	5th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1988–89	72	33	35	4	–	315	276	70	5th West	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
1989–90	72	52	17	3	–	444	295	107	2nd West	Lost West Division final - Defeated by Kamloops 5-1
1990–91	72	42	26	4	–	319	317	88	3rd West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Spokane 5-1
1991–92	72	33	34	5	–	292	285	71	4th West	Lost West Division final - Defeated by Kamloops 4-2
1992–93	72	31	38	3	–	234	292	65	4th West	Lost West Division quarter-final - Defeated by Kamloops 4-1
1993–94	72	32	37	3	–	283	312	67	4th West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Kamloops 4-2
1994–95	72	42	28	2	–	319	282	86	3rd West	Eliminated in round-robin - Eliminated in round-robin 0-4
1995–96	72	29	36	7	–	255	281	65	5th West	Lost West Division quarter-final - Defeated by Kamloops 4-1
1996–97	72	41	27	4	–	311	249	86	2nd West	Lost final - Defeated by Lethbridge 4-1
1997–98	72	31	35	6	–	286	278	68	6th West	Lost West Division quarter-final - Defeated by Portland 4-1
1998–99	72	37	24	11	–	279	236	85	3rd West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Tri-City 3-1
1999–00	72	34	27	8	3	250	221	79	3rd West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Prince George 3-0
2000–01	72	30	33	8	1	262	299	69	6th West	Lost West Division semi-final - Defeated by Spokane 3-0
2001–02	72	21	40	6	5	235	313	53	4th U.S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final - Defeated by Kootenay 4-0
2002–03	72	44	22	3	3	280	224	94	1st U.S.	Lost Western Conference final - Defeated by Kelowna 4-1
2003–04	72	24	31	8	9	192	198	65	5th U.S.	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
2004–05	72	43	24	2	3	204	144	91	1st U.S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final - Defeated by Kelowna 4-3
Season	GP	W	L	OL	SL	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs
2005–06	72	35	31	1	5	186	211	76	2nd U.S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final - Defeated by Portland 4-3
2006–07	72	37	21	3	11	209	186	88	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final - Defeated by Vancouver 4-1
2007–08	72	42	23	5	2	241	179	91	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final - Defeated by Tri-City 4-1
2008–09	72	35	32	1	4	222	234	75	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final - Defeated by Spokane 4-1
2009–10	72	19	41	7	5	172	255	50	5th U.S.	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
2010–11	72	29	37	3	3	219	285	64	5th U.S.	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
2011–12	72	25	45	1	1	173	292	52	5th U.S.	Out of playoffs - Out of Playoffs
2012–13	72	24	38	7	3	210	286	58	4th U.S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final - Defeated by Kelowna 4-3
2013–14	72	41	25	2	4	238	249	88	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final - Defeated by Kelowna 4-0
2014–15	72	38	25	4	5	218	201	85	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final - Defeated by Portland 4-2
2015–16	72	45	23	4	0	228	186	94	1st U.S.	Lost final - Defeated by Brandon 4-1
2016-17	72	46	20	4	2	253	206	98	2nd U.S.	Won Chynoweth Cup Eliminated in Round Robin Memorial Cup
2017-18	72	34	28	8	2	250	258	78	5th U.S.	Lost US Division Semi-final
2018–19	68	31	29	6	2	231	245	70	5th U.S.	Lost Western Conference Quarter-final
2019–20	63	24	32	4	3	175	240	55	4th U.S.	Playoffs cancelled
2020-21	23	10	12	0	1	67	82	21	3rd U.S.	Playoffs cancelled
2021–22	68	44	18	4	2	271	179	94	3rd U.S.	Lost Final
2022–23	68	54	11	1	2	300	155	111	1st U.S.	Won Ed Chynoweth Cup Lost 2023 Memorial Cup final
2023–24	68	27	38	2	1	191	260	57	5th U.S.	Did not qualify

WHL Championship history

• 1996–97: Loss, 0-4 vs Lethbridge

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	107	1989–90
Most wins	52	1989–90
Most goals for	444	1989–90
Least goals for	172	2009–10
Least goals against	144	2004–05
Most goals against	436	1987–88

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Glen Goodall	76	1989–90
Most assists	Victor Gervais	96	1989–90
Most points	Glen Goodall	163	1989–90
Most points (rookie)	Petr Nedved	145	1989–90
Most points (defenseman)	Craig Channell	88	1981–82
Most penalty minutes	Mitch Wilson	436	1981–82
Most shutouts (goalie)	Bryan Bridges	13	2004–05
Best GAA (goalie)	Bryan Bridges	1.79	2004–05
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Career records

• Most goals, individual: 262 – Glen Goodall, 1984–90
• Most assists, individual: 311 – Glen Goodall, 1984–90
• Most points, individual: 573 – Glen Goodall, 1984–90
• Most penalty minutes, individual: 929 – Phil Stanger, 1980–83
• Best goals against average, goaltender: 2.28 – Bryan Bridges, 2003–06
• Most shutouts, goaltender: 20 – Bryan Bridges, 2003–06
• Most saves, goaltender: 7727 – Calvin Pickard, 2008–12
• Most games played, Goaltender: 241 – Calvin Pickard, 2008–12

NHL alumni

Several National Hockey League players started with the Thunderbirds:

Totals include both the Seattle Thunderbirds and Seattle Breakers.

Glenn Anderson Doug Barrault Rick Berry Zdenek Blatny Lonny Bohonos James Camazzola Shawn Chambers Ben Clymer Ken Daneyko Kimbi Daniels Brenden Dillon Peter Dineen Steve Dykstra Craig Endean Shane Endicott Brennan Evans Brent Fedyk Zack Fitzgerald Wade Flaherty Stanislav Gron

Chris Herperger Matt Hervey Thomas Hickey Jan Hrdina Tim Hunter Jamie Huscroft Chris Joseph Mike Kennedy Alan Kerr Jon Klemm Rob Klinkhammer John Kordic Greg Kuznik Brooks Laich Doug Lidster John Lilley Danny Lorenz Dwayne Lowdermilk Brian Lundberg Jamie Lundmark

Stewart Malgunas Patrick Marleau Glenn Merkosky Tomas Mojzis Dave Morissette Petr Nedved Chris Osgood Mark Parrish Ed Patterson Jame Pollock Deron Quint Errol Rausse Jeremy Reich Scott Robinson Cody Rudkowsky Oleg Saprykin Cory Sarich Chris Schmidt Andy Schneider Corey Schwab

Brent Severyn Mike Siklenka Trevor Sim Matthew Spiller Turner Stevenson Garret Stroshein Robbie Tallas Nate Thompson Lindsay Vallis Wayne Van Dorp Ryan Walter Joe Ward Chris Wells David Wilkie Mitch Wilson Brendan Witt Dody Wood Brad Zavisha

See also

• Seattle Totems

External links

• Seattle Thunderbirds official homepage
• Seattle Hockey History