Class of 2022 – Seattle Thunderbirds
Throughout the month of August, we’re celebrating the class of WHL Graduates from the 2021-22 season. Join us as we go Club by Club in recognizing the achievements of the 20-year-old players from this past season moving on to access their WHL Scholarship or to professional hockey.
We continue our 22-part series with the Seattle Thunderbirds and their graduating trio of Ryan Gottfried, Henrik Rybinski and Lukas Svejkovsky.
Ryan Gottfried
Originally selected in the fifth round of the 2016 WHL Draft by the Red Deer Rebels, defenceman Ryan Gottfried played more than 200 WHL regular season and playoff games over his four seasons in the League.
Gottfried, who hails from Winnipeg, Man., debuted for the Rebels on October 13, 2018 at Prince Albert as part of a 46-game rookie campaign in 2018-19. His first WHL goal came on home ice against the Medicine Hat Tigers January 25, 2019.
The following season brought a move to the Seattle Thunderbirds, with whom Gottfried put up three goals and 12 points in 56 games during the 2019-20 season.
Over his three years with the Thunderbirds, the 6-foot-4 rearguard stood tall on the Seattle blue line, topping out with a +34 campaign over 57 games in 2021-22.
Gottfried, who celebrated his 21st birthday August 21, appeared in 23 games for the Thunderbirds during the 2022 WHL Playoffs as Seattle captured its third Western Conference Championship in the past six years.
Gottfried will take advantage of his WHL Scholarship this fall at the University of Manitoba.
Welcome to @bisonsmhky, Ryan Gottfried.
The defence men joins the Herd as he looks to further his education and grow his hockey career.
More to come on https://t.co/lbGEMjliA3 #WeAreAllBisons #GoBisons #UManitoba pic.twitter.com/WUB8JDWP3B
— Manitoba Bisons 🦬 (@umbisons) July 6, 2022
Henrik Rybinski
Forward Henrik Rybinski scored 197 regular season and playoff points over his five seasons in the WHL after being selected in the second round of the 2016 WHL Draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The product of Vancouver, B.C. broke into the League in 2017-18, appearing in 63 games for Medicine Hat, scoring his first WHL goal December 9, 2017 at Regina.
A mid-season move to Seattle during the 2018-19 campaign brought about increased opportunity and increased offence from Rybinski. He became a point-per-game player over his first 33 contests with the Thunderbirds, earning a selection by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Rybinski became an elite passer over his time in Seattle, in fact 143 of his 197 total points in the WHL were assists including 21 in 23 games during the shortened 2020-21 season.
As a 20-year-old, the right-shooting centre collected 65 points from 47 games played including eight outings of three or more points.
Again, NHL Clubs noticed, and Rybinski signed an entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals in March before helping lead the Thunderbirds to the 2022 WHL Championship Series.
He’ll begin his professional career in the Capitals organization this fall.
NEWS | The Capitals have signed Seattle Thunderbirds forward Henry Rybinski to a three-year entry-level contract.
Rybinski will remain with Seattle this season and his contract will begin in 2022-23.#ALLCAPS | @FTX_Officialhttps://t.co/2REqJHhEZo
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 1, 2022
Lukas Svejkovsky
The son of former WHL and NHL forward Jaroslav Svejkovsky, forward Lukas Svejkovsky spent time with three WHL Clubs after begin selected by the Vancouver Giants in the second round of the 2016 WHL Draft.
In his first WHL season, the product of Point Roberts, Wash. collected 26 points for Vancouver, scoring his first WHL goal October 5, 2018 at Prince George.
Svejkovsky added four goals and 13 points over 22 games during the 2019 WHL Playoffs as the Giants reached the WHL Championship Series for the first time in 12 years.
He’d play just 18 more games with Vancouver, though, moving to the Medicine Hat Tigers in December of 2019. With the Tigers, Svejkovsky put up 28 points in 34 games before the 2019-20 season was halted due to COVID-19.
A few months later, Svejkovsky heard his name called in the 2020 NHL Draft, going in the fourth round to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
From then on, he turned into one of the most dangerous forwards in the WHL, scoring 47 goals over his final 77 WHL regular season games.
Svejkovsky returned to his home state and the Seattle Thunderbirds in December of 2021, igniting an already potent Seattle offence with 22 goals in his 33 regular season appearances with the Thunderbirds.
He was a key contributor in the 2022 WHL Playoffs, too, collecting 28 points for Seattle, closing out his WHL career with a second Western Conference Championship and a spot on the U.S. Division Second All-Star Team.
Svejkovsky will make the jump to professional hockey this fall after signing an entry-level contract with the Penguins in April.
The Penguins have signed forward Lukas Svejkovsky to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The contract will begin in the 2022.23 season and run through 2024.25. His deal carries an average annual value of $859,167 at the NHL level.
Details: https://t.co/pXxlYE2p24 pic.twitter.com/qdqnYyuRYa
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 5, 2022
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