Thunderbirds clinch Western Conference top seed, set franchise wins mark
It’s been a season to remember for the Seattle Thunderbirds and now, the Club can revel in some newly-minted history.
With Seattle’s 6-3 win Tuesday versus the Kamloops Blazers, the Thunderbirds earned win number 53 of the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season, breaking a 33-year old franchise record dating back to the days of Petr Nedved and Glen Goodall.
Seattle also secured the top seed in the Western Conference ahead of the 2023 WHL Playoffs, which the Thunderbirds will open Friday, March 31 versus the Kelowna Rockets (7:05 p.m. PT, accesso ShoWare Center).
Armed with a total of 10 NHL prospects, and six members of Canada’s gold medal-winning World Junior squad, Seattle boasts an impressive roster, helped by the mid-season acquisitions of first-round NHL picks Nolan Allan (Chicago Blackhawks), Dylan Guenther (Arizona Coyotes) and Brad Lambert (Winnipeg Jets).
The 143 goals surrendered to this point in the season by the Thunderbirds are a League low, with both Thomas Milic and Scott Ratzlaff earning nods on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.
Seattle has collected points in 19 straight games, posting an 18-0-0-1 record during that span, and have three games remaining in the regular season beginning Wednesday with a rematch against the Blazers (7:00 p.m. PT, Sandman Centre).
With five days remaining in the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season, the Thunderbirds (109 points) are two points behind the Winnipeg ICE (111 points) in the race toward the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, an honour bestowed upon the Club with the best regular season record, and an honour which Winnipeg won a year ago.
