Seattle Thunderbirds qualify for 2026 WHL Playoffs

The Thunderbirds have got that dog in them.

Seattle punched its ticket to the 2026 WHL Playoffs with a 2-1 Victoria Royals loss to the Prince George Cougars on Saturday night.

The T-Birds are currently deadlocked in a 3-3 battle against the rival Portland Winterhawks- a match that could still impact playoff seeding.

Seattle’s attack is led by one of the most dominant forces in the league.

The 2023 WHL Champs acquired Dallas Stars prospect Cameron Schmidt from the Vancouver Giants at the 2026 WHL Trade Deadline in exchange for Kaleb Hartmann and a haul of draft picks.

Schmidt, 19, leads all WHLers with 45 goals and sits third in the league points race with 94 (45G-49A).

Five Thunderbirds have surpassed 20 goals, including Coster Dunn, Antonio Martorano, Matej Pekar and top rookie Brock England.

Seattle also made some big swings at the WHL Trade Deadline, dealing Captain and Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes to the Prince Albert Raiders, while bringing in towering Philadelphia Flyers pick Matthew Gard and setup man Noah Kosick.

On the blueline, 2025 Buffalo Sabres ninth-overall pick Radim Mrtka and Chicago Blackhawks sixth-rounder Ashton Cumby cast a formidable shadow, while Joe Gramer has settled in nicely after joining Seattle from the college ranks midseason.

In the crease, first-year netminder Marek Sklenicka and Grayson Malinoski have split duties, with Scott Ratzlaff making the jump to the AHL.

Sklenicka, who is ranked eighth among all North American netminders ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, is 18-12-5-1 in his first WHL turn with a 3.31 goals-against average, a .899 save percentage and two shutouts.

This marks the second consecutive trip to the postseason for the T-Birds.

Seattle has solidified itself as a modern WHL powerhouse, with both of its WHL titles coming in the last 10 years (2017, 2023).

The Thunderbirds have had a long impact on the NHL landscape, graduating greats like Patrick Marleau, Petr Nedved and Chris Osgood to stars of today like Shea Theodore, Mat Barzal and Dylan Guenther.

Seattle faces the Spokane Chiefs in the final match of the 2025-26 WHL regular season with a 5:05 p.m. PST showdown on Sunday, March 22.

Follow the action for free by streaming the WHL on Victory+.