WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds Roll out New Promotions

Published on January 21, 2004 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


The Thunderbirds have some new game day promotions we would like to tell you about!!

First, off is the new Thunderbirds Castrol/Lifewise Blimp. You might have noticed the blimp's first appearance of the season when it took to the air during the intermissions of the game against Prince George on Sunday night. The Castrol/Lifewise Blimp will be up and running during every intermission from now through the playoffs, dropping prizes from Thunderbirds sponsors. Make sure you stick around the lower bowl during intermission to try and catch a prize.

Thunderbirds Trivia, written, produced, directed and edited by Ryan Gibbons and hosted by Zack FitzGerald, made its premiere during the second intermission of the Sunday night game against Prince George. In this trivia game fans will compete against T-Birds players during the second intermission of every home game from now until the end of the season. A fan is randomly selected to answer five questions covering a wide variety of topics. A T-Bird player is then asked the same five questions. If the fan gets more right than the T-Birds player, the fan wins a prize. Every game will have a new T-Bird to compete against. Thunderbirds Trivia will always take place after the on-ice promotion.

Q&A with Scott Jackson

Scott Jackson recently returned from the Under-17 World Hockey Tournament in St. John's, Newfoundland. He was an assistant captain with Team Pacific, one of the five teams representing Canada. The Thunderbirds had a chance to sit down with Scott and talk about his experiences at the tournament.

Thunderbirds: What was your overall experience of playing in the tournament?

Scott: This tournament has been one of the highlights of my hockey career. I met a lot of great guys, traveled across the country, played in some really high caliber hockey, and best of all, I got to wear the leaf on my chest. It would have been nice to come back with a gold medal but overall I was very happy with how everything went.

T: Your team played in the gold medal game. What was the experience of playing in the gold medal game like?

S: I tried not to let my nerves get to me too much, but I can't remember the last time I was so excited to be playing in a game. The feeling I got when I walked into the room and saw all the Team Canada jerseys hanging up was unexplainable. I tried to treat it like any other game but it was hard when we were playing for the gold medal in a world championship tournament.

T: Did you ever match up against Chris Durand during the tournament. And if so how did that match up go? Did you get the better of him or did he get the better of you?

S: Yeah, we played against Chris' team in our third game. My partner and I were put out against his line, so we saw a lot of each other on the ice. It was a little weird playing against my teammate at first but I didn't go easy on him. He actually got a goal on one of their power plays when I was on the ice, so he'd probably say that he got the better of me, but we won the game in the end so we had to give him something to feel bad about.

T: As a defenseman were you challenged at all by the higher skill level of an international competition?

S: The speed of the game was really fast at the tournament, and being a bigger player, I found that keeping up with the competition was my biggest challenge. It was also interesting playing against the different style of the European teams. It was fun playing a physical game against them but you had to be able to catch up to them first.

T: What was it like having teammates that you skate against in the WHL?

S: It was fun playing with all the guys because we got to swap stories and compare what it is like playing for the different teams. It was also interesting meeting the guys from Alberta because I have been playing against quite a few of them the whole season and haven't known them.

T: What did you learn from being an assistant captain for your team at this tournament?

S: I have never been much of a talker in the room but I learnt that you can lead a team on the ice just as well as you can in the room. Different guys respond to different things when it comes to getting them prepared for the game so it is important to realize what it is going to take to get the most out of them. I always tried to put out my best effort for every shift because if I see a teammate putting everything on the line for me I want to do the same in return.

T: Did you follow the World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland? What did you think of Team Canada's performance?

S: Whenever we had a chance we were watching how our guys were doing in Finland. I was so impressed with how the team came together so quick and how they dominated in most of their games. It really pushed our team to work even harder because we knew that if we wanted it we could do the same. It was too bad to see the gold medal game go the way it did but I guess that's just the way things go sometimes.

T: What did you learn at the tournament that you can apply in Thunderbirds games?

S: In St. John's we put a lot of emphasis on effort and playing our roles. I've always been told that it's not the best team that wins but the team that plays the best. I know it's a cliché, but it became a reality in our gold medal game. We came out flat and by the time we got going it was too late. We also believed in playing to our roles, which is really what makes a team click. With our team here in Seattle, if everyone plays to their strengths, we will really start to see what we can accomplish.

T: What do you expect from the team in the second half of the season?

S: Well I hate to say it, but we can only go up from here, but I think that's exactly what's going to happen. Starting from just before the Christmas break, we've begun to come together as a team. With the trade deadline out of the way, I think a lot of the guys will be able to relax and concentrate on playing. We've got a favorable schedule with a lot of division games coming up, so we're still in the mix.

T: Thanks for your time and good luck this season?

S: Thanks a lot.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2004


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