2024 WHL Graduates – Seattle Thunderbirds
Over the summer, the Western Hockey League will be celebrating the WHL Graduates from the 2023-24 season in a 22-part, team-by-team series.
We continue with the graduating players from the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Eric Alarie (F)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.
WHL Career Stats: 280 GP – 79G-108A – 187 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – First Round, 22nd Overall (Moose Jaw Warriors)
For 280 regular season games, the Western Hockey League community has had the pleasure of watching forward Eric Alarie hit the scoresheet almost nightly. Now, the junior hockey audience has to find a replacement for the towering winger, as the 21-year-old departs the WHL as one of three graduates on the Seattle Thunderbirds roster. Alarie, who was initially drafted in the first round, 22nd overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, spent parts of six seasons in the ‘Dub.’ He made his debut in a meeting with the Regina Pats on December 14, 2018, and scored his first career goal during the first round of the 2019 WHL Playoffs. Alarie was a member of the Warriors for parts of six seasons, recording 148 points (62 goals–86 assists) in 220 regular season appearances. After playing five games (three points) with Moose Jaw to start his sixth – and final – season in the WHL, the product of Winnipeg, Man., was dealt to Kent, Wash., joining the Thunderbirds organization. Wearing his new threads, Alarie collected 39 points (17 goals–22 assists) in his 60 career appearances with the T-Birds. Currently, the 6-foot-2 forward is committed to gear up with the University of Manitoba’s men’s hockey program starting for the 2024-25 season.
What a night for Eric Alarie!@SeattleTbirds | #WHLHatTricks pic.twitter.com/UsAICQ8NUB
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 27, 2024
Jeremy Hanzel (D)
Hometown: Coquitlam. B.C.
WHL Career Stats: 218 GP – 39G-110A – 149 points
WHL Draft: Listed (Seattle Thunderbirds)
NHL Draft: 2023 – Sixth Round, 187th Overall (Colorado Avalanche)
Time and time again Jeremy Hanzel has proved the world wrong. As he graduates from the WHL following an uber-successful junior hockey career, the blueliner is a prime example of why it’s important to stick to one’s craft. After going undrafted at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, Hanzel, who returned to his AAA club in Vancouver, B.C., caught the eye of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ brass. In October 2019, the Langley, B.C. local was added to the Club’s protected list before signing a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement in March 2020. On March 19, 2021, Hanzel made his Western League debut with the Thunderbirds. On the same night, the blueliner fired him his first career goal. Proving his worth in night one of his WHL career, Hanzel became a mainstay with the T-Birds for the next four seasons. Seen as an integral piece to the Club’s defensive core, the crafty blueliner made over 200 regular season and 44 post-season appearances with the team. This included back-to-back trips to the WHL Championship Series, and, of course, winning the 2023 WHL Championship in front of a home crowd in May 2023. Hanzel further cemented his legacy as a junior hockey great by hearing his name called at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, Tenn. After being passed on during the previous two entry drafts, the British Columbian was selected in the sixth round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2023 and signed an entry-level deal in March of 2024. Since then, the prospect’s rights have been dealt to the Nashville Predators.
Jeremy Hanzel goes 🔚 – 2️⃣ – 🔚!@SeattleTbirds | @Avalanche pic.twitter.com/Mu2bEHg6NI
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 22, 2024
Sam Popowich (F)
Hometown: Camrose, Alta.
WHL Career Stats: 219 GP – 33G-52A – 85 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – Fifth Round, 91st Overall (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Joining Eric Alarie and Jeremy Hanzel on the Seattle Thunderbirds’ list of 2024 WHL graduates is Sam Popowich. Like his teammate Hanzel, Popowich spent his entire junior hockey career with the T-Birds. Initially selected in the fifth round (91st overall) by Seattle at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, Popowich first took to the ice on October 28, 2019. Joining the Thunderbirds on their annual cross-conference road trip, the forward suited up with the Club when they took on the Calgary Hitmen in his home province of Alberta. In what was an already memorable experience, Popowich furthered his debut by recording his first career point – an assist in a 2-1 win on the Scotiabank Saddledome ice. The product of Camrose, Alta., spent a total of five seasons with the Thunderbirds organization, collecting 85 points (33 goals–52 assists) in 219 regular season games. Popowich was also with the club during their two consecutive trips to the WHL Championship Series in 2022 and 2023. Yet, for Popowich, nothing in his junior hockey career was more memorable than scoring the opening goal in Game Five of the WHL Championship Series at the accesso ShoWare Center. His goal, as it turned out, spurred the Thunderbirds to capture their first League title since 2017.
Sam Popowich with the dagger gives the reigning champs their first win of the 2023-24 regular season! #WHLOpeningWeek pic.twitter.com/82mTb2ymjb
— The WHL (@TheWHL) September 24, 2023
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