KENT —Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard has been ranked the No. 1 goalie in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings of players eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft. The Midterm Rankings were released today.

Pickard, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has a 12-19-2-4 record with a 2.76 goals against average and a .922 save percentage this season. Pickard has three shutouts this year. Last year Pickard was 23-16-1-4 with a 3.05 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. He also had three shutouts in his rookie season.

There are five WHL goalies that have been ranked by Central Scouting. Click here for the Central Scouting Goalie Midterm Rankings

Calvin’s older brother Chet, who starred for the Tri-City Americans, was a first round pick, 18^th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. Chet is currently playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Milwaukee Admirals.

The T-Birds hit the road for two games in three days against the Tri-City Americans and the Toyota Center. They play Wednesday, January 13, and Friday, January 15. Both games are at 7:05 p.m. The T-Birds are back home at ShoWare Center on Saturday, January 16, to take on the Kamloops Blazers at 7:05 p.m.

T-Birds single game tickets for the 2009-10 season are available online at the T-Birds website and at the ShoWare Center box office. The ShoWare Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.

T-Birds Group tickets are currently on sale. Group tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.