Seattle Thunderbirds Clinch Final Berth in 2025 WHL Playoffs

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Seattle Thunderbirds Clinch Final Berth in 2025 WHL Playoffs

March 19, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


The field for the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien is locked and loaded.

Seattle clinched the final berth in the Western Conference on Tuesday night by nature of a 5-3 Kamloops Blazers loss to the Victoria Royals.

The Thunderbirds (27-33-4-1) will finish eighth in the conference and face the 2025 WHL regular season Champion Everett Silvertips in Round One of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.

Game One is set for Friday, March 28 at 7:05 p.m. PST at Everett's Angel of the Winds Arena.

Seattle has heated up in the second half of the regular season on the strength of a 7-3-2-0 run through February and early March, highlighted by wins over WHL powerhouses Everett, Spokane and Medicine Hat.

Captain and Top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Braeden Cootes has turned the heads of scouts with strong play at the first-ever CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada and paced his team with 61 points (25G-36A).

Veteran Nathan Pilling has erupted for his first 30-goal season, which includes a team-leading four game-winning goals and two hat-tricks.

Seattle's Czech imports have also made a splash in their rookie seasons with 6-foot-6 defender Radim Mrtka, a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, picking up 34 points (3G-31A) in 41 games.

His fellow countryman, Matej Pekar, snagged WHL Rookie of the Week honours in January after a strong run that saw him net four goals in three games.

While Seattle was largely a seller on the WHL trade market in 2024-25, the acquisition of 2024 WHL Champion Brayden Schuurman has paid off in spades with the crafty centreman averaging nearly a point-per-game with his new squad and bringing steep playoff knowledge to the Washington-based squad.

Between the pipes, Buffalo Sabres prospect Scott Ratzlaff has brought the highlight-reel stops while facing a high volume of shots.

In addition to a WHL Goaltender of the Week win in mid-February, the 2024 WHL U.S. Division Second Team All-Star entered Saturday's action ranked third in saves among all WHL netminders (1440) while sitting sixth in save percentage (.910) and boasting a third-straight 20-plus win season.

The Thunderbirds return to the WHL postseason for the first time since lifting the Ed Chynoweth Memorial Cup in 2023 and advancing to the Memorial Cup final.

Current T-Birds Hyde Davidson, Coster Dunn, and then-backup netminder Ratzlaff were a part of the Championship run.

While Cootes didn't suit up for the T-Birds in the 2023 Playoffs, he was practicing with the team and picking up winning habits from teammates like then-roommate Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks/Rockford IceHogs).

Seattle has won the WHL Championship twice (2023, 2017) thanks to impressive performances from players like New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, 2017 WHL Defenceman of the Year Ethan Bear (Washington Capitals/Hershey Bears), and, more recently, Utah Hockey Club star Dylan Guenther and 2023 WHL Playoffs MVP Thomas Milic (Winnipeg Jets/Manitoba Moose).

The T-Birds' regular season schedule is currently set to conclude with a home match against the Portland Winterhawks on March 22, 2025.

The 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien will begin on Friday. March 28, 2025.

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