2015 NHL Draft Will Be Big Day For T-Birds
Four T-Birds listed in NHL Central Scouting Final Draft Rankings
KENT, June 25, 2015 — The 2015 NHL Draft takes place on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
The first round of the Draft is on Friday and starts at 4pm (pst). Rounds two through seven of the Draft are on Saturday and starts at 7am (pst). The first round of the Draft from the BB&T Center, the home of the Florida Panthers, will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The T-Birds have four players who are ranked in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for Draft eligible players. These four players, along with possibly two more, will be drafted by NHL teams this weekend.
Mathew Barzal, an 18-year-old from Coquitlam, British Columbia, is ranked number 11 in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for 2015 Draft eligible players. He just just finished his second season with the T-Bird and had 57 points on 12 goals and 45 assists. He had four goals and four assists in six playoff games. In two seasons with the T-Birds Barzal has 111 points on 26 goals and 85 assists in 103 games.
He was invited to Hockey Canada’s Summer Showcase on Wednesday. He will attend Canada’s World Junior Development Camp in Calgary. This is the first step in identifying the 22 players that will represent Canada at the 2016 World Junior Championship.
Barzal won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2015 Under-18 World Championship April 16-26 in Zug and Lucerne, Switzerland. He led Canada in scoring with three goals and nine assists in seven games. This total put him in a tie for third in scoring at the Championship.
Barzal was a member of Team Canada’s Under-18 Team that won Gold at the 2014 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, August 11 to August 16, 2014 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. He had two goals and five assists for seven points to tie for the team lead in points.
Barzal was part of Team Canada’s U-18 National Team that won Bronze at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland in April 2014. He had three goals and one assist for four points in seven games.
Ryan Gropp, an 18-year-old from Kamloops, British Columbia, is ranked number 71 in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for 2015 Draft eligible players.
He has played two seasons with the T-Birds. Last season Gropp had 30 goals and 28 assists to lead the T-Birds in scoring with 58 points. In his rookie season Gropp had 18 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. In six playoff games he had a goal and seven assists.
Keegan Kolesar, an 18-year-old form Winnipeg, Manitoba, is ranked number 65 in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for 2015 Draft eligible players. He finished last season with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 64 games. He did not play in the playoffs due to an injury. Kolesar had two goals and six assists for eight points in 60 games in his rookie season.
Ethan Bear, an 18-year-old from Ochapowace, Saskatchewan, is ranked number 97 in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for 2015 Draft eligible players. He just finished his second season with the T-Birds and had 38 points on 13 goals and 25 assists. He had a goal and two assists in six playoff games. In two seasons with the T-Birds Bear has 57 points on 19 goals and 38 assists in 128 games.
Bear won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2015 Under-18 World Championship April 16-26 in Zug and Lucerne, Switzerland.
Defenseman Turner Ottenbreit and center Alexander True could also possibly be drafted on the second day of the draft.
Ottenbreit, an 18-year-old from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, had three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 70 games this past season. He was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades at the start of the season for defenseman Adam Henry. Ottenbreit had an assists in six playoff games.
True, an 18-year-old from Copenhagen, Denmark, had 12 points on six goals and six assists in 38 games last season. He missed a significant amount of time with an arm injury. True had two goals in six playoff games.
True represented Denmark at the 2015 World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto.
The T-Birds announced their 2015-16 regular season schedule on Wednesday.
The Seattle Thunderbirds home opener for the 2015-16 season is Saturday, October 3, against the Prince George Cougars at 7:05pm at ShoWare Center.
T-Birds single game tickets for the 2015-16 season will go on sale Wednesday, August 26, at 10am. Fans will be able to purchase single game tickets online or at the ShoWare Center box office.
T-Birds 2015-16 season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.
The T-Birds have a six-game preseason schedule. The T-Birds lone home preseason game is Friday, September 18, against the Victoria Royals at ShoWare Center at 7:35pm.