Hockey Challenge weekend is upon us and it isn't too late to make a donation. If you make it in my name that would be great... but any donation is very much appreciated.
I have been led to believe that I am very close to my $1500 fundraising goal but I won't know my final numbers until probably next week. My team is very close to raising over $30,000 collectively.
My team (Team IEB) is playing at 1:55 tomorrow afternoon against the Microsoft Mystery Team.
I will not be playing in the Celebrity Game this year but I will be playing in the Top Contributors game at approximately 7:30 on Sunday following the TBirds and Silvertips game.
The Tbirds are in Tri-City tonight riding the wave of a TWO! game winning streak.
Seattle still has a lot of work left to sneak into the playoffs but this winning streak is a step in the right direction and if they can get 3-6 points out of this weekend they just might be in it.
Hockey Challenge 2014
Recent Articles
2.21.2011
A bunch of notes...
Seattle wins at home last night coming from 2 goals down to forge overtime and eventually pick up the two points in the shootout. This was a massively important win for the Tbirds as they cling to hopes of the playoffs.
- Here is my version of an "I told you so..." Dave Sutter has improved so much over the course of the season and especially over the course of the past month. At the beginning of the season he wouldn't have even attempted one-timer slap shots and last night he executed a couple of pretty nice looking ones. Give this kid some more time and he should be pretty solid next year.
- Nice to see Seattle have some fight last night and we got to witness the closest thing to a "liney" as I have seen in a while. Of course we didn't actually get 5 fighting majors out of the thing... but hey... it was nice to see the boys sticking up for their teammates.
- Anyone who says that this team has quit playing hard and quit playing for Rob Sumner isn't paying attention. They may not be playing very well and the good outings are few and far between but I think it would be pretty hard to conclude that they have quit considering the way they continued to play hard after falling behind 3-1.
- WHL officiating this season has been horrific on the whole. The WHL is a development league for officials as well as players and it seems like on general observation that there have been a lot of new referees this season... and the results are showing. Let's hope they improve...
- Incredible penalty kill by Luke Lockhart, Marcel Noebels and Brenden Dillon in the first period that saw each one of them give up their bodies to block shots on a 5-3 PK. An incredible shift that inspired the crowd and their teammates. Unfortunately... I did notice that Noebels left the ice after that shift and did not return for the 2nd and 3rd periods... I hope he is ok.
- Last night was another example of why you should never pay attention to the "3 stars" of the game. Bruins goaltender Lucas Gore was not good in the first period and was lucky to escape without giving up a goal while his 64 save shot total might have been inflated by 10-20 shots. I'm not sure who is handing out the shots at ShoWare but they really need to get it under control. Pickard faces a ton of shots... but I'm pretty comfortable saying that his save totals are a tad inflated as well. Don't get me wrong... Gore recovered and played just fine... but as a fellow goaltender I would bet you that he would say that he could have played better, especially in the first period.
Seattle still has a ton of work to do to get into the playoffs but the 2 points tonight were huge.
Next weekend is the 2011 Hockey Challenge. I will NOT be playing in the Celebrity Game. I just can't seem to convince the team that I'm a Celebrity... haha
I will be playing in the Top Contributors game that follows the Tbirds game on Sunday. It isn't too late to get in your donations for this awesome cause and I want to thank everyone who has already donated and those of you that will donate between now and Saturday.
- Here is my version of an "I told you so..." Dave Sutter has improved so much over the course of the season and especially over the course of the past month. At the beginning of the season he wouldn't have even attempted one-timer slap shots and last night he executed a couple of pretty nice looking ones. Give this kid some more time and he should be pretty solid next year.
- Nice to see Seattle have some fight last night and we got to witness the closest thing to a "liney" as I have seen in a while. Of course we didn't actually get 5 fighting majors out of the thing... but hey... it was nice to see the boys sticking up for their teammates.
- Anyone who says that this team has quit playing hard and quit playing for Rob Sumner isn't paying attention. They may not be playing very well and the good outings are few and far between but I think it would be pretty hard to conclude that they have quit considering the way they continued to play hard after falling behind 3-1.
- WHL officiating this season has been horrific on the whole. The WHL is a development league for officials as well as players and it seems like on general observation that there have been a lot of new referees this season... and the results are showing. Let's hope they improve...
- Incredible penalty kill by Luke Lockhart, Marcel Noebels and Brenden Dillon in the first period that saw each one of them give up their bodies to block shots on a 5-3 PK. An incredible shift that inspired the crowd and their teammates. Unfortunately... I did notice that Noebels left the ice after that shift and did not return for the 2nd and 3rd periods... I hope he is ok.
- Last night was another example of why you should never pay attention to the "3 stars" of the game. Bruins goaltender Lucas Gore was not good in the first period and was lucky to escape without giving up a goal while his 64 save shot total might have been inflated by 10-20 shots. I'm not sure who is handing out the shots at ShoWare but they really need to get it under control. Pickard faces a ton of shots... but I'm pretty comfortable saying that his save totals are a tad inflated as well. Don't get me wrong... Gore recovered and played just fine... but as a fellow goaltender I would bet you that he would say that he could have played better, especially in the first period.
Seattle still has a ton of work to do to get into the playoffs but the 2 points tonight were huge.
Next weekend is the 2011 Hockey Challenge. I will NOT be playing in the Celebrity Game. I just can't seem to convince the team that I'm a Celebrity... haha
I will be playing in the Top Contributors game that follows the Tbirds game on Sunday. It isn't too late to get in your donations for this awesome cause and I want to thank everyone who has already donated and those of you that will donate between now and Saturday.
2.14.2011
Vacation
I was on vacation this past weekend marking my 3rd decade of existence on this planet. I guess the Tbirds won last night... nice... I'm having a hard time caring these days.
I'm much more focused on raising money for the Hockey Challenge than worrying about whether Seattle can gain the 8th seed and get smashed out of the playoffs in 4 or 5 games by Portland, Spokane or Tri-City.
Of note... Pickard made 57 saves in the win last night and I heard that Dave Sutter absolutely crushed Collin Valcourt in a rare fight. It's nice to know that in a year where we are rarely winning games (especially in the 2nd half) we can still win just about every fight we are in.
15 games left and Seattle has some work to do if they have visions of getting into that 8th spot in the Western Conference. 9 of those games are at home... which should be a good thing but when your home winning percentage is .370 I'm not sure how good that really is.
I'm much more focused on raising money for the Hockey Challenge than worrying about whether Seattle can gain the 8th seed and get smashed out of the playoffs in 4 or 5 games by Portland, Spokane or Tri-City.
Of note... Pickard made 57 saves in the win last night and I heard that Dave Sutter absolutely crushed Collin Valcourt in a rare fight. It's nice to know that in a year where we are rarely winning games (especially in the 2nd half) we can still win just about every fight we are in.
15 games left and Seattle has some work to do if they have visions of getting into that 8th spot in the Western Conference. 9 of those games are at home... which should be a good thing but when your home winning percentage is .370 I'm not sure how good that really is.
2.09.2011
Another Loss
I got bored of listening to this crapfest about 30 minutes into the game. If anything interesting happened after that you guys will have to tell me about it.
On a brighter note... PLEASE donate to the Ronald McDonald House on my behalf. If you love me or you hate me please support an awesome cause.
At last check... I had only raised about $900 towards my $1500 goal. Help me get there.
On a brighter note... PLEASE donate to the Ronald McDonald House on my behalf. If you love me or you hate me please support an awesome cause.
At last check... I had only raised about $900 towards my $1500 goal. Help me get there.
2.08.2011
Yawn
This season is dragging on me.
I was able to witness my first ever victory in Everett last Friday night. What a fun time that was. I went up there with no expectations and wound up seeing a pretty good game.
Seattle was not good for the first two periods of the game but they were able to hang in there and hang around before getting the 2 goals in the 3rd period to tie the game and getting the overtime winner. Marcel Noebels was the story of the game for Seattle. He was absolutely fantastic getting 2 goals and assisting on the goal by Burke Gallimore.
Saturday was obviously a bit of a different story. Spokane looks like a team that could really make a run in the playoff this year. I have been very impressed by what I have seen out of them lately at ShoWare and on television.
Seattle wasn't very good on Saturday and I want to be very careful not to make too many excuses for the final 5-1 result but I feel like something needs to be noted about the officiating.
The league should be embarrassed. Trent Knorr and Dan Cowley were awful with the whistle and it wasn't just bad for Seattle it was awful for both teams. It just so happened that Spokane was able to cash in on 4/8 power play chances while Seattle was 0/6 on theirs.
I just don't have the energy to recap every single missed call because there were a bunch.
Seattle looks pretty determined to miss the playoffs at this point and it has become quite depressing.
I was able to witness my first ever victory in Everett last Friday night. What a fun time that was. I went up there with no expectations and wound up seeing a pretty good game.
Seattle was not good for the first two periods of the game but they were able to hang in there and hang around before getting the 2 goals in the 3rd period to tie the game and getting the overtime winner. Marcel Noebels was the story of the game for Seattle. He was absolutely fantastic getting 2 goals and assisting on the goal by Burke Gallimore.
Saturday was obviously a bit of a different story. Spokane looks like a team that could really make a run in the playoff this year. I have been very impressed by what I have seen out of them lately at ShoWare and on television.
Seattle wasn't very good on Saturday and I want to be very careful not to make too many excuses for the final 5-1 result but I feel like something needs to be noted about the officiating.
The league should be embarrassed. Trent Knorr and Dan Cowley were awful with the whistle and it wasn't just bad for Seattle it was awful for both teams. It just so happened that Spokane was able to cash in on 4/8 power play chances while Seattle was 0/6 on theirs.
I just don't have the energy to recap every single missed call because there were a bunch.
Seattle looks pretty determined to miss the playoffs at this point and it has become quite depressing.
1.31.2011
Travis Toomey Suspended
I don't have details yet but I can see that this is listed under the WHL Discipline page.
- 1/31/11 Travis Toomey Seattle Tbd under supplemental discipline versus Everett on January 30
Everett must have sent something in and the league agreed. I honestly don't remember anything but I do noticed that Toomey got a charging call at the 20:00 mark of the game and I had already walked out at that point. Expect him to be out for the game tomorrow.
- 1/31/11 Travis Toomey Seattle Tbd under supplemental discipline versus Everett on January 30
Everett must have sent something in and the league agreed. I honestly don't remember anything but I do noticed that Toomey got a charging call at the 20:00 mark of the game and I had already walked out at that point. Expect him to be out for the game tomorrow.
Frustrating Weekend
Another frustrating weekend to be a Tbirds fan.
I'm really not sure what to say at this point. The team is missing Travis Bobbee and Ryan Button and as a result they are asking Brenden Dillon to play nearly 30 minutes a night and that just isn't going to work. Not to mention the fact that Dillon took a pretty big shot from Ryan Harrison last night slamming his shoulder into the post. He did return to the game but also remarked on the post game interview that it was pretty banged up.
Quick note on the Harrison "hit". I did think it was a penalty and a pretty poor decision by Harrison but I also thought Dillon lost an edge and went down harder than expected and Dillon confirmed that in the post game interview as well. Kind of a tough break for Harrison but when you put a player in that position the possibilities exist that dangerous things can happen.
I don't really want to get into another debate about "what" or "who" the problem is with the Tbirds... I will just say that whatever is happening isn't working and something has got to give. Something needs to change in order to get things turned around.
Not much time for the Tbirds to feel sorry about themselves as they are back to work on home ice tomorrow night.
One final note...
Dear Rob,
Calvin needs a game off. He is a warrior... so of course he isn't going to "want" a night off. He needs a game off to watch the action and hit the refresh button. I know we need every single point possible right now but Salmon is capable and you aren't winning right now anyways. Rest him against Edmonton and he'll be ready to play another 19/20 the rest of the way. Carry on.
Regards,
Some stupid blogger
I'm really not sure what to say at this point. The team is missing Travis Bobbee and Ryan Button and as a result they are asking Brenden Dillon to play nearly 30 minutes a night and that just isn't going to work. Not to mention the fact that Dillon took a pretty big shot from Ryan Harrison last night slamming his shoulder into the post. He did return to the game but also remarked on the post game interview that it was pretty banged up.
Quick note on the Harrison "hit". I did think it was a penalty and a pretty poor decision by Harrison but I also thought Dillon lost an edge and went down harder than expected and Dillon confirmed that in the post game interview as well. Kind of a tough break for Harrison but when you put a player in that position the possibilities exist that dangerous things can happen.
I don't really want to get into another debate about "what" or "who" the problem is with the Tbirds... I will just say that whatever is happening isn't working and something has got to give. Something needs to change in order to get things turned around.
Not much time for the Tbirds to feel sorry about themselves as they are back to work on home ice tomorrow night.
One final note...
Dear Rob,
Calvin needs a game off. He is a warrior... so of course he isn't going to "want" a night off. He needs a game off to watch the action and hit the refresh button. I know we need every single point possible right now but Salmon is capable and you aren't winning right now anyways. Rest him against Edmonton and he'll be ready to play another 19/20 the rest of the way. Carry on.
Regards,
Some stupid blogger
1.30.2011
Slide reaches 7 and Seattle reaches the bottom
The losing streak ran to 7 games last night as the Thunderbirds fell to the Winterhawks 5-2.
The effort by Seattle was much better than the 7-0 trouncing they suffered on Friday night in Everett but a Seattle team already short on talent and missing Travis Bobbee and Ryan Button just doesn't have the horses to compete with top teams like Portland.
I don't get the anger by fans... I really don't understand what the hell some fans expect. Yeah... these are dark days for the Tbirds. Games aren't really much fun to go to right now.... but for sake of rationality... look at the honest facts.
Everyone around me seems to be a bench jockey right now... blaming coach Rob Sumner for the team's failures. Give me a break... this team had 15 year old Shea Theodore as their 3rd PP defensemen last night. That isn't because Rob is throwing in the towel, it's because with Button and Bobbee out he is quite frankly your 3rd best option for offense from the blue line. That is a staggering reality people.
Speaking of Theodore. He has a good chance at a bright future but like all players that Seattle has now and in the past... hard work ethic and the desire to improve will determine how far Theodore goes.
Shocking to see no fights last night but from my vantage point it looked like a lot of talking and not a lot of glove dropping on the part of the Portland Winterhawks. They talk a big game but they don't seem too willing to drop gloves with the Seattle heavyweights. I could be way off base but that's what it looked like to me.
Seattle now finds themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference and without a pretty quick and miraculous turnaround they look determined to finish out of the playoff race for the second year in a row. Quite frankly... with the current state of this team and the level of talent on this roster I wouldn't mind missing the playoffs and getting a higher draft pick.
I'd also love to have Portland gain the #1 seed and have Seattle grab the #8 spot just to see another Portland-Seattle playoff series despite the fact that Seattle would be clear and large underdogs.
The effort by Seattle was much better than the 7-0 trouncing they suffered on Friday night in Everett but a Seattle team already short on talent and missing Travis Bobbee and Ryan Button just doesn't have the horses to compete with top teams like Portland.
I don't get the anger by fans... I really don't understand what the hell some fans expect. Yeah... these are dark days for the Tbirds. Games aren't really much fun to go to right now.... but for sake of rationality... look at the honest facts.
Everyone around me seems to be a bench jockey right now... blaming coach Rob Sumner for the team's failures. Give me a break... this team had 15 year old Shea Theodore as their 3rd PP defensemen last night. That isn't because Rob is throwing in the towel, it's because with Button and Bobbee out he is quite frankly your 3rd best option for offense from the blue line. That is a staggering reality people.
Speaking of Theodore. He has a good chance at a bright future but like all players that Seattle has now and in the past... hard work ethic and the desire to improve will determine how far Theodore goes.
Shocking to see no fights last night but from my vantage point it looked like a lot of talking and not a lot of glove dropping on the part of the Portland Winterhawks. They talk a big game but they don't seem too willing to drop gloves with the Seattle heavyweights. I could be way off base but that's what it looked like to me.
Seattle now finds themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference and without a pretty quick and miraculous turnaround they look determined to finish out of the playoff race for the second year in a row. Quite frankly... with the current state of this team and the level of talent on this roster I wouldn't mind missing the playoffs and getting a higher draft pick.
I'd also love to have Portland gain the #1 seed and have Seattle grab the #8 spot just to see another Portland-Seattle playoff series despite the fact that Seattle would be clear and large underdogs.
1.27.2011
Bantam Picks Part 2
Ok... Part 2.
The thesis of this whole project is... A lot of things are wrong with the Seattle Thunderbirds right now but the drafting and overall talent level appear to be the biggest issue.
Bantam Draft 2008
1st - Connor Sanvido - Much tougher to make a call on these kids that are 17 and younger because they still have time to improve. However, at this point you would have to call Sanvido a bust. Sanvido couldn't crack the roster as a 16 year old and now has 35 career games and just 3 points. A player who possesses the ability to score but currently doesn't have the skating ability to get himself open to use that scoring touch. I think we have to be patient and give him more time before calling him a bust.. but the clock is ticking. Players they could have picked... Myles Bell, Mitch Holmberg, Zach Yuen, Tyler Wotherspoon, Daulton Siwak, Zach Franko.
2nd - Tanner Muth - Muth came to camp as a 16 and looked like he was going to be a solid player. But he struggled throuh his 16 year old season and had only 5 assists with a -38 rating before being traded in the offseason to Swift Current for one year of Travis Bobbee. Bobbee has been a nice player but you wound up with only 2 seasons out of this pick... one bad and one good from Bobbee. Muth is a little better in Swift where he has 2 assists and is -6 in 22 games. Players missed... not very much here. Lukas Sutter, Brady Brassart, Liam Liston.
3rd - Ryan Armbruster - Armbruster was a bruising, fighter type defender who was close to making the team as a 16 year old and now likely won't play in the WHL. Not a lot really missed here. The 2008 draft doesn't have a lot of breakout players yet.
4th - Colin Jacobs - Obviously a very good pick for Seattle. They took a gamble on Jacobs coming to Seattle and they hit a homerun getting him to sign and report. An A+ pick here by any measure. You got a 1st round talent in the 4th round and got a US born player to come play for you. It was a gamble that paid off big.
4th - Robbie Newton - Hasn't played a game for Seattle. Not much obviously missed at this point.
5th - Mitch Elliot - Elliot is an interesting project. He has only produced 13 points in 104 games but he has great size, crushes people in fights and definitely has some potential. For a 5th round selection you could do a lot worse.
5th - Zach Walker - Walker looked like he might have a WHL future and actually played 2 games for Seattle on their Eastern road trip last season. I believe he suffered an injury during his 2nd game and hasn't been back with the team.
6th - Tyler Alos - Pretty decent selection for the 6th round here. Alos has 30 points in 108 career games while playing with Colin Jacobs a lot. Alos still has areas in need of improvement but his WHL career is off to a solid start and I see no reason why he won't have a solid 4 or 5 year career with the Thunderbirds.
7th - Seth Ambroz - This could wind up being a pretty good selection. 7th round selections don't turn out very often and with their 7th round selection the Tbirds took a flyer on Minnesota product Seth Ambroz. Ambroz is supposed to go to the University of Minnesota but decided that college could wait another year and went back to the USHL. Should Ambroz be a 1st round NHL pick this summer... his NHL team might prefer him to head to Seattle instead of Minnesota. This pick is a gamble... but for a 7th round pick it isn't a bad gamble.
Bantam Draft 2009
1st - Branden Troock - In training camp Troock had the look of being the next big time Thunderbird when he was suddenly sidelined with an injury and we haven't seen him on the ice since. I doubt that we will see him this season and hopefully with a full year's worth of rest he will be good to go in 2011-12. At this point it would be very unfair to say that Seattle made a mistake on this selection but here are the players they could have taken that are doing things as 16 year olds... Hunter Shinkaruk (31 points... wow), Dalton Sward.
2nd - Justin Hickman - Hickman isn't quite ready to be a top 6 forward but I think as long as he can add just a little bit of scoring ability he will develop into one. He has shown no fear on the ice, flying around making big hits in his limited playing time.
3rd - Jetlan Houcher - Could wind up being a player but didn't make the team as a 16 year old.
5th - Jayson Ness - I honestly can't find much on Ness. I kind of doubt we see him in a Tbirds uniform... but what do I know.
6th - Evan Wardley - Wardley has actually played 1 game for Seattle this year. Kind of tough to say whether he sticks long term. Not a bad pick for the 6th round.
7th-14th - Seattle took a boat load of players in these rounds and probably the only one worth noting is Alex Kerfoot. Kerfoot didn't exactly blow me away in training camp but his numbers in the BCMML are definitely worth taking note. Kerfoot now has 28 goals and 83 points in just 30 games playing for the Vancouver NW Giants. Kerfoot stands only 5'8" and 150 lbs. but I don't care what size you are if you are putting up nearly 3 points per game in the BCMML. I would love to see Seattle bring this kid in for a look and I have to think there is another reason why he hasn't come in yet (perhaps he hasn't signed?).
So there you have it.
It isn't fair or appropriate to judge the 2010 draft... heck it's hardly fair to judge the 2009 draft.
This "study" just confirms for me what I have previously thought. The coaching staff needs to do a better job getting more out of the players that they have... But... it's pretty clear that Seattle hasn't done a very good job drafting in the 4 classes leading up to this year and that is probably the biggest reason for the struggles of the team.
The thesis of this whole project is... A lot of things are wrong with the Seattle Thunderbirds right now but the drafting and overall talent level appear to be the biggest issue.
Bantam Draft 2008
1st - Connor Sanvido - Much tougher to make a call on these kids that are 17 and younger because they still have time to improve. However, at this point you would have to call Sanvido a bust. Sanvido couldn't crack the roster as a 16 year old and now has 35 career games and just 3 points. A player who possesses the ability to score but currently doesn't have the skating ability to get himself open to use that scoring touch. I think we have to be patient and give him more time before calling him a bust.. but the clock is ticking. Players they could have picked... Myles Bell, Mitch Holmberg, Zach Yuen, Tyler Wotherspoon, Daulton Siwak, Zach Franko.
2nd - Tanner Muth - Muth came to camp as a 16 and looked like he was going to be a solid player. But he struggled throuh his 16 year old season and had only 5 assists with a -38 rating before being traded in the offseason to Swift Current for one year of Travis Bobbee. Bobbee has been a nice player but you wound up with only 2 seasons out of this pick... one bad and one good from Bobbee. Muth is a little better in Swift where he has 2 assists and is -6 in 22 games. Players missed... not very much here. Lukas Sutter, Brady Brassart, Liam Liston.
3rd - Ryan Armbruster - Armbruster was a bruising, fighter type defender who was close to making the team as a 16 year old and now likely won't play in the WHL. Not a lot really missed here. The 2008 draft doesn't have a lot of breakout players yet.
4th - Colin Jacobs - Obviously a very good pick for Seattle. They took a gamble on Jacobs coming to Seattle and they hit a homerun getting him to sign and report. An A+ pick here by any measure. You got a 1st round talent in the 4th round and got a US born player to come play for you. It was a gamble that paid off big.
4th - Robbie Newton - Hasn't played a game for Seattle. Not much obviously missed at this point.
5th - Mitch Elliot - Elliot is an interesting project. He has only produced 13 points in 104 games but he has great size, crushes people in fights and definitely has some potential. For a 5th round selection you could do a lot worse.
5th - Zach Walker - Walker looked like he might have a WHL future and actually played 2 games for Seattle on their Eastern road trip last season. I believe he suffered an injury during his 2nd game and hasn't been back with the team.
6th - Tyler Alos - Pretty decent selection for the 6th round here. Alos has 30 points in 108 career games while playing with Colin Jacobs a lot. Alos still has areas in need of improvement but his WHL career is off to a solid start and I see no reason why he won't have a solid 4 or 5 year career with the Thunderbirds.
7th - Seth Ambroz - This could wind up being a pretty good selection. 7th round selections don't turn out very often and with their 7th round selection the Tbirds took a flyer on Minnesota product Seth Ambroz. Ambroz is supposed to go to the University of Minnesota but decided that college could wait another year and went back to the USHL. Should Ambroz be a 1st round NHL pick this summer... his NHL team might prefer him to head to Seattle instead of Minnesota. This pick is a gamble... but for a 7th round pick it isn't a bad gamble.
Bantam Draft 2009
1st - Branden Troock - In training camp Troock had the look of being the next big time Thunderbird when he was suddenly sidelined with an injury and we haven't seen him on the ice since. I doubt that we will see him this season and hopefully with a full year's worth of rest he will be good to go in 2011-12. At this point it would be very unfair to say that Seattle made a mistake on this selection but here are the players they could have taken that are doing things as 16 year olds... Hunter Shinkaruk (31 points... wow), Dalton Sward.
2nd - Justin Hickman - Hickman isn't quite ready to be a top 6 forward but I think as long as he can add just a little bit of scoring ability he will develop into one. He has shown no fear on the ice, flying around making big hits in his limited playing time.
3rd - Jetlan Houcher - Could wind up being a player but didn't make the team as a 16 year old.
5th - Jayson Ness - I honestly can't find much on Ness. I kind of doubt we see him in a Tbirds uniform... but what do I know.
6th - Evan Wardley - Wardley has actually played 1 game for Seattle this year. Kind of tough to say whether he sticks long term. Not a bad pick for the 6th round.
7th-14th - Seattle took a boat load of players in these rounds and probably the only one worth noting is Alex Kerfoot. Kerfoot didn't exactly blow me away in training camp but his numbers in the BCMML are definitely worth taking note. Kerfoot now has 28 goals and 83 points in just 30 games playing for the Vancouver NW Giants. Kerfoot stands only 5'8" and 150 lbs. but I don't care what size you are if you are putting up nearly 3 points per game in the BCMML. I would love to see Seattle bring this kid in for a look and I have to think there is another reason why he hasn't come in yet (perhaps he hasn't signed?).
So there you have it.
It isn't fair or appropriate to judge the 2010 draft... heck it's hardly fair to judge the 2009 draft.
This "study" just confirms for me what I have previously thought. The coaching staff needs to do a better job getting more out of the players that they have... But... it's pretty clear that Seattle hasn't done a very good job drafting in the 4 classes leading up to this year and that is probably the biggest reason for the struggles of the team.
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