[{"id":88703,"date":"2026-06-22T13:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88703"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:21:18","slug":"thunderbirds-announce-preseason-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-announce-preseason-schedule","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Announce Preseason Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

KENT, June 22, 2026 \u2014<\/strong> The Seattle Thunderbirds will play six preseason games prior to the 2026-27 regular season.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Home Opener for the 2026-27 season was announced this past week.\u00a0 The T-Birds will play the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, September 26<\/span> at 6:05 pm at accesso ShoWare Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

The T-Birds start the preseason in Everett on Sunday, August 3<\/span>0 at <\/span>1:00pm. The Silvertips Classic Tournament play will begin as the T-Birds face the Vancouver Giants on Friday, September 4. They finish the tournament with back to back games against the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday, September 5 and the Everett Silvertips on Sunday, September 6.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preseason play continues for the T-Birds at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. The T-Birds will begin the tournament on Thursday, September 11, against the Wenatchee Wild. The T-Birds will then play on Saturday, September 12 against the Portland Winterhawks, wrapping up the preseason.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T-Birds single game tickets for the 2026-27 regular season will go on sale September 2 with Home Opener going on sale August 26. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2026-27<\/span><\/b> THUNDERBIRDS PRESEASON SCHEDULE<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, August 30 vs Everett, 1:00pm at Everett Tournament<\/span>
\nFriday, September 4 at Vancouver, 12:00pm at Everett Tournament<\/span>
\nSaturday, September 5 vs. Spokane, 2:00pm at Everett Tournament
\n<\/span>Sunday, September 6 vs. Everett,\u00a04:00pm at Everett Tournament<\/span>
\nFriday, September 11 at Wenatchee, 3:00pm at Tri-City Tournament<\/span>
\nSaturday, September 12 vs Portland, 2:00pm at Tri-City Tournament<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KENT, June 22, 2026 \u2014 The Seattle Thunderbirds will play six preseason games prior to the 2026-27 regular season.\u00a0 The Home Opener for the 2026-27 season was announced this past week.\u00a0 The T-Birds will play the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, September 26 at 6:05 pm at accesso ShoWare Center. The T-Birds start the preseason…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/06\/22123754\/Preseason-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88701,"date":"2026-06-17T13:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88701"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:02:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:02:06","slug":"thunderbirds-announce-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-announce-home-opener","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Announce Home Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 17, 2026-<\/strong> The Seattle Thunderbirds are pleased to announce the Home Opener for the 2026\/27 season, the team takes on the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, September 26, 2026.<\/p>\n

Puck drop is at 6:05pm but be sure to be in arena early to meet the 26\/27 roster!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 17, 2026- The Seattle Thunderbirds are pleased to announce the Home Opener for the 2026\/27 season, the team takes on the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Puck drop is at 6:05pm but be sure to be in arena early to meet the 26\/27 roster!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/06\/17124406\/Home-Opener-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88698,"date":"2026-05-28T12:59:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88698"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:59:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:59:53","slug":"thunderbirds-sign-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-sign-forward","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Sign Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jett Evans to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Evans was drafted by the T-Birds in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft held in early May.<\/p>\n

Evans was Seattle\u2019s third of nine selections in the draft, taken in the second round, 34th overall. He\u2019s a center out of Strathmore, Alberta. Evans put up 48 points in 29 games last season playing for NAX U15 Prep then tallied nine points in four playoff games.<\/p>\n

T-Birds assistant general manager Craig Goebel calls Evans a versatile player who can play all three forward positions. \u201cHis skating and hockey IQ are his greatest strengths. He is able to contribute offensively and works tirelessly to support in the defensive zone as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evans is the third member of the Thunderbirds 2026 draft class to sign with the club. The T-Birds have already announced the signings of their two first round picks, Wyatt Jolleys and Jax Bubnick.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jett Evans to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Evans was drafted by the T-Birds in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft held in early May. Evans was Seattle\u2019s third of nine selections in the draft, taken in the second round, 34th overall. He\u2019s a center out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/28122251\/Signed-Evans-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88696,"date":"2026-05-27T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88696"},"modified":"2026-05-27T13:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:00:02","slug":"thunderbirds-sign-eleventh-overall-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-sign-eleventh-overall-pick","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Sign Eleventh Overall Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. – The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jax Bubnick to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Bubnick was recently selected by the Thunderbirds in the first round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

A defenseman from Saskatoon, Bubnick was chosen eleventh overall. He was the second of the Thunderbirds two first round selections. T-Birds assistant general manager Craig Goebel describes him as a big, solid defender who can play a shutdown role with his size, great stick and skating ability.<\/p>\n

Goebel added, \u201cWhen needed he can rush or pass the puck with accuracy out of his own zone. He just has a great presence out there.\u201d Bubnick spent last season with the SKU15 Saskatoon Generals, finishing with 43 points in 26 games.<\/p>\n

Bubnick is the second of the Thunderbirds nine draft picks to sign. Seattle signed their other first round selection, Wyatt Jolleys, last week.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. – The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jax Bubnick to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Bubnick was recently selected by the Thunderbirds in the first round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. A defenseman from Saskatoon, Bubnick was chosen eleventh overall. He was the second of the Thunderbirds two first round selections.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/27124728\/Signed-Bubnick-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88694,"date":"2026-05-22T13:31:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T17:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88694"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:31:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T17:31:31","slug":"t-birds-sign-wyatt-jolleys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/t-birds-sign-wyatt-jolleys","title":{"rendered":"T-BIRDS SIGN WYATT JOLLEYS\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have inked Wyatt Jolleys to a\u00a0WHL Scholarship and Development agreement.\u00a0Jolleys was the T-Birds first pick, seventh overall, in the WHL Prospects Draft\u00a0held\u00a0earlier this month.\u00a0 Seattle acquired the pick in a draft day trade with the Victoria Royals that sent Cameron Schmidt to the Royals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T-Birds Assistant General Manager Craig Goebel described Jolleys as a solid two way center who competes hard at both ends of the ice. \u201cThe offensive skills Wyatt possesses, however, is what drew us to him,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Goebel of their top choice. \u201cHe has excellent vision and passing skills, sees the ice so well and makes all the other players out there with him better.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2011 born forward out of Calgary played last season with the Calgary Bison U15 AAA team. He recorded 86 points in 33 games, scoring 28 goals and adding 58 assists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jolleys becomes the first of the Thunderbirds nine picks from the 2026 draft to sign with the team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have inked Wyatt Jolleys to a\u00a0WHL Scholarship and Development agreement.\u00a0Jolleys was the T-Birds first pick, seventh overall, in the WHL Prospects Draft\u00a0held\u00a0earlier this month.\u00a0 Seattle acquired the pick in a draft day trade with the Victoria Royals that sent Cameron Schmidt to the Royals.\u00a0 T-Birds Assistant General Manager…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/22131621\/Signed-Jolleys-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88691,"date":"2026-05-21T15:59:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88691"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:59:58","slug":"t-birds-sign-gold-medal-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/t-birds-sign-gold-medal-winner","title":{"rendered":"T-BIRDS SIGN GOLD MEDAL WINNER"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Luke Puchner to a\u00a0WHL Scholarship and Development agreement.\u00a0The Thunderbirds had\u00a0acquired\u00a0Puchner\u2019s rights from the Medicine\u00a0Hat Tigers in a trade\u00a0earlier this\u00a0month that sent Brayden Holberton to the Tigers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to add a player of Luke\u2019s talent and ability,\u201d said general manager Bil LaForge. \u201cHe has a championship pedigree.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2008 born forward hails from\u00a0New Germany, Minnesota. Last\u00a0season,\u00a0\u00a0playing\u00a0primarily with the Shattuck St. Mary\u2019s 18U Prep team,\u00a0he earned\u00a085\u00a0points in 54 games. Additionally,\u00a0he\u00a0won a gold medal\u00a0last summer\u00a0playing for Team USA at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where he served as captain.\u00a0\u00a0In five games at the international\u00a0tournament\u00a0he scored once and picked up three assists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Puchner,\u00a0a\u00a0commit to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is eligible for next month\u2019s NHL Entry Draft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Luke Puchner to a\u00a0WHL Scholarship and Development agreement.\u00a0The Thunderbirds had\u00a0acquired\u00a0Puchner\u2019s rights from the Medicine\u00a0Hat Tigers in a trade\u00a0earlier this\u00a0month that sent Brayden Holberton to the Tigers.\u00a0 \u201cWe are very excited to add a player of Luke\u2019s talent and ability,\u201d said general manager Bil LaForge. \u201cHe has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/21143524\/Signed-Puchner-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88688,"date":"2026-05-13T16:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88688"},"modified":"2026-05-13T16:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:00:04","slug":"thunderbirds-add-defenseman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-add-defenseman","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Add Defenseman"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Henry Chmiel to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Chmiel was originally listed by the Thunderbirds in the fall of 2024.<\/p>\n

A 2008-born defenseman out of Woodbury, Minnesota, the 6\u20190\u201d. 229 lb. Chmiel spent last season with the USHL\u2019s Des Moines Buccaneers where he registered a goal and four assists in 48 games. Prior to that he spent three years at Shattuck St. Mary\u2019s in Faribault, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to add Henry to our D corps,\u201d said Thunderbirds head coach Matt O\u2019Dette. \u201cHe is a well rounded defenseman that plays a reliable, hard nosed game. He\u2019s a welcome addition and will add to the depth of our back end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chmiel has committed to Arizona State for the 2027-28 season.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Henry Chmiel to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. Chmiel was originally listed by the Thunderbirds in the fall of 2024. A 2008-born defenseman out of Woodbury, Minnesota, the 6\u20190\u201d. 229 lb. Chmiel spent last season with the USHL\u2019s Des Moines Buccaneers where he registered a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/13155524\/Signed-Chmiel-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88686,"date":"2026-05-12T15:15:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88686"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:15:21","slug":"t-birds-ink-blue-chip-blueliner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/t-birds-ink-blue-chip-blueliner","title":{"rendered":"T-BIRDS INK BLUE CHIP BLUELINER"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed defenseman Jonas Kemps to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. The Thunderbirds acquired Kemps\u2019 rights last month in a trade with the Tri-City Americans.<\/p>\n

The 2008 born Kemps spent last season with the USHL\u2019s Chicago Steel and was previously with the United States National Development program. In 2024 he represented the United States at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Sarnia, Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel he has the ability to add to our strong group going into next season.\u201d stated T-Birds General Manager Bil LaForge.<\/p>\n

The 6\u20196\u201d, 196 lb. native of Sebastopol, California was ranked 67th among North American skaters for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft to be held next month in Buffalo. Kemps has committed to Michigan State University for the 2027-28 season.<\/p>\n

T-Birds head coach Matt O\u2019Dette has had the opportunity to study Kemps game. \u201cHe\u2019s a big, mobile defenseman who can play in all situations. He defends well with a level of compete to go with an evolving offensive game. We\u2019re excited about the fit with our group and look forward to being part of his continued development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The T-Birds are sending a 2029 third round draft pick, along with a 2029 seventh round pick, to Tri-City to complete the deal.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed defenseman Jonas Kemps to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement. The Thunderbirds acquired Kemps\u2019 rights last month in a trade with the Tri-City Americans. The 2008 born Kemps spent last season with the USHL\u2019s Chicago Steel and was previously with the United States National Development program.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/12151139\/Signed-Kemps-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88684,"date":"2026-05-08T12:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T16:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88684"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:57:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:57:25","slug":"thunderbirds-complete-2026-whl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-complete-2026-whl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Complete 2026 WHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have added nine new players to their prospect pool after the conclusion of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft earlier this week.\u00a0 The group of new draftees includes four forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The draft began Wednesday night with first round selections.\u00a0 Seattle\u2019s top pick was Wyatt Jolleys out of Calgary.\u00a0 The Thunderbirds took Jolleys with the seventh overall pick they acquired in a draft day trade with the Victoria Royals. T-Birds Assistant General Manager Craig Goebel described Jolleys as a solid two way center who competes hard at both ends of the ice. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe offensive skills Wyatt possesses, however, is what drew us to him,\u201d explained Goebel of their top choice. \u201cHe has excellent vision and passing skills, sees the ice so well and makes all the other players out there with him better.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With their own first round pick at eleventh overall, the T-Birds selected Jax Bubnick, a left shot defenseman from Saskatoon. Goebel called Bubnick a big, solid defender who can play a shutdown role with his size, great stick and skating ability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then when needed he can rush or pass the puck with accuracy out of his own zone,\u201d he added. “He just has a great presence out there.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Day Two began with the Thunderbirds taking Strathmore, Alberta native Jett Evans, a forward,\u00a0 in round two, 34<\/span>th<\/span> overall. In the third round the T-Birds reached into East Grand Forks, Minnesota to select forward Jace Magner and followed that by picking defenseman Braeden Gilbertson of Lorette, Manitoba in the fourth round.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the fifth round Seattle opted for goalie Easton LaBarbera. The netminder is the son of former WHL and NHL goalie Jason LaBarbera. Without a pick in round six, the T-Birds waited until the seventh round to grab Hardisty, Alberta forward Easton Holte.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Thunderbirds rounded out their draft by choosing a pair of defensemen. In round eight they went with Malone Mann out of Victoria. The T-Birds final selection of the draft came in round nine when they chose Calgarian Beckam Brodeur.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goebel said the organization is extremely pleased with their 2026 group. \u201cWe\u2019ve added a lot of skill with Jolleys, Evans, Magner and Holte. We added some size and mobility on the back end with Bubnick, Gilbertson, Mann and Brodeur. Then, to top off the day we added a solid goaltender in LaBarbera who we think, in time has tremendous upside.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have added nine new players to their prospect pool after the conclusion of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft earlier this week.\u00a0 The group of new draftees includes four forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender.\u00a0 The draft began Wednesday night with first round selections.\u00a0 Seattle\u2019s top pick was Wyatt Jolleys…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/08123721\/Draft-Recap-1920x1080-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88682,"date":"2026-05-07T11:30:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/?p=88682"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:30:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:30:03","slug":"thunderbirds-add-gold-medal-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/article\/thunderbirds-add-gold-medal-winner","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbirds Add Gold Medal Winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have acquired the rights to forward Luke Puchner, along with two draft picks, from the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for winger Brayden Holberton and a 2026 fifth round draft pick. T-Birds will also receive a 2026 seventh round pick and a conditional 2027 third round pick from the Tigers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2008 born Puchner played this past season at Shattuck St Mary. In 54 games with their 18U team he accumulated 85 points (21g, 54a). The 5\u201910\u201d, 183 lb. Puchner also won a gold medal with Team USA last August at the 2025 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. In five games at the tournament he registered a goal and three assists.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to add a player of Luke\u2019s talent and ability,\u201d said general manager Bil LaForge. \u201cHe has a championship pedigree and we hope to add him to our roster for next season.\u201d The New Germany, Minnesota native is eligible for the NHL Entry Draft this summer.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Holberton played three seasons with the T-Birds after being selected in the tenth round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.\u00a0 In 174 games with Seattle he earned 23 points (8g, 15a). \u201cWe would like to thank Brayden for his time with us,\u201d said LaForge. \u201cWe wish him all the best in his time in Medicine Hat.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KENT, Wash. \u2013 The Seattle Thunderbirds have acquired the rights to forward Luke Puchner, along with two draft picks, from the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for winger Brayden Holberton and a 2026 fifth round draft pick. T-Birds will also receive a 2026 seventh round pick and a conditional 2027 third round pick from the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":446,"featured_media":88681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-88682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-928","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/05\/07111322\/Trade-1920x1080-Holberton.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-thunderbirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]