Up against the Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders and University of Washington Huskies football and hoops teams, the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League know their place isn’t anywhere near the top of the pecking order in their market.
But if Puget Sound sports fans are smart, they should make their way to the ShoWare Center in Kent at least a few times because players as special as Thunderbirds rookie forward Mathew Barzal don’t come along that often.
Island fans will get to see Barzal — touted to go No. 2 in the 2015 NHL draft behind Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters — tonight and Saturday as the Thunderbirds (11-8-2 but on a five-game losing streak) and Victoria Royals (12-9-1 and on a two-game winning run) hook up for a set at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Barzal belies his age when discussing the hype that surrounds him.
“I’ve had to deal with it the majority of my hockey career [he was the top overall pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft], so it’s not too hard to handle by now,” he said Thursday, as the Thunderbirds made their way to the Island. “You just have to stay level-headed.”
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The weekend set will feature three players named Thursday for Team Pacific that will compete in the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4 in Cape Breton, N.S. — Barzal and Royals rookies Tyler Soy and Chaz Reddekopp.
Cloverdale-native Soy, who leads Royals rookies in scoring with four goals and eight points in 21 games, grew up playing rep hockey against Coquitlam-native Barzal on the Lower Mainland.
“We’ve built a good friendship through our competitiveness,” said Soy.
“[Barzal] is everything they say he is. He’s fast with a good hockey IQ.”
Reddekopp and the rest of the Victoria defence need to be wary this weekend.
“You have to play [Barzal] simple,” said fellow WHL rookie Reddekopp, a native of West Kelowna.
“If you don’t, he can make you look bad. You’ve got to play his body and get under his skin.”
Barzal, Soy and Reddekopp were part of the B.C. team that won gold last year in the U-16 Western Canada Challenge Cup.
“Both [Soy and Reddekopp] are really good guys and really good players,” said Barzal, who will have several family members in attendance this weekend from the Lower Mainland.
Barzal leads all rookies in the Canadian Hockey League, consisting of the three major-junior leagues, with 22 points in 21 games. Despite being 16, he is second in Thunderbirds scoring behind only Anaheim Ducks 2013 first-round draft pick Shea Theodore’s 24 points.
Perhaps it’s fitting Barzal will be in Victoria this weekend because he has been likened to a budding Steve Nash of hockey. Of Barzal’s 22 points, 19 are assists.
“He’s obviously one of the leading young play-making guys in the league,” said Royals head coach Dave Lowry. “He’s a great puck distributor but he can also score.”
Barzal kept his options between the WHL and NCAA open and didn’t commit to the Thunderbirds until last May.
“I didn’t know what to expect in my rookie season but the [scoring] numbers have been pretty good and it’s been a good start so far,” said Barzal.
ICE CHIPS: Named to the Team Pacific bench for the World U-17 Challenge are Royals assistant coach Enio Sacilotto and Royals athletic therapist Khore Elliott… The Royals swept games in Seattle and Portland last weekend despite missing defencemen Jordan Fransoo, Keegan Kanzig and Joe Hicketts. The latter is out long term while team captain Fransoo was skating full speed in practice Thursday and is expected to play tonight. Flames third-round pick Kanzig practiced and will be a game-time decision … Hicketts, expected to be out at least another two months with an upper body injury, is among 38 WHL players on Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list released Thursday for the 2014 NHL draft. Hicketts is listed in the ‘B’ category.
