CanuckFanForever1123 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 So tonight I went to a WHL game for the first time ever. I recently moved to the Seattle area and I live about 15 minutes from where the Thunderbirds play, so I decided to finally go tonight against the Spokane Chiefs. I gotta say I had a blast and these youngsters are extremely entertaining. This skill is nowhere near NHL of course, but it was definitely exciting. I have to talk about Matthew Barzal. Seeing this kid in person, vs all the youtube footage I have seen of him, is a world of difference. This kid is unreal in every facet of the game. He scored an unreal breakaway goal in the first period shorthanded. His defense is really solid. He was easily the fastest player on the ice all night. He has a great shot, great awareness on the ice, great passing skills. I am officially in love with this guy. I don't know where he will be drafted obviously, but if we fail this season and get a top 10 pick, I would be ecstatic to get this guy after seeing what he is capable of. I was also really impressed by Ryan Gropp, who looks like he is a projected 2nd rounder. He and Barzal are linemates and play great together. I am definitely excited to go to more games this season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Optimist Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I went to a Royals game a couple years ago and instantly became a WHL fan...great hockey at the right price, and we get to see the kids before, during and after their draft year, which is awesome. This year i bought seasons tickets to the Victoria Royals and have enjoyed every game so much! Got to sit right behind the canucks scouts last game and chat a bit about the guys on the ice. Cool league, and it is finally getting respect in the NHL draft too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFastOne21 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I live in the Portland area so naturally I am not a fan of the T-birds due to rivalry reasons with Portland. Seattle's coach reminds me of Bob Hartley... That said, the Showare Center is a special arena, the atmosphere is always electric and Seattle has a good fan base. I love the small feel of the arena. Not a particular fan of the goal chant (____ sucks) but whatever, its all good fun. I love watching Barzal, he is something special to watch and will be a great 2-way player in the NHL i think. I also respect the hell out of Gropp and Kozun. Welcome to WHL fandom, it is a blast watching the speed of the game and seeing potential stars in the making. To get you into the PDX/SEA rivalry mood take a look at these videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdqEOkjH6oI And to be fair: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckFanForever1123 Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Oh man, the Wardley hit was so nasty. People were talking about it all last night at the game. Glad I finally got to see it. Yeah, it just was such a fun atmosphere and the fans were awesome. The one thing that sucked about the game was the officiating was so one sided in favor of Spokane. I can say that as an unbiased fan who has yet to call myself an official fan of Seattle. I was disgusted by the officiating I saw last night. I felt like Spokane was targeting Seattle's D-Men a little bit and the officials were just really bad. One d-man got a game misconduct for a completely legal hit. Ethan Bear got injured and I don't recall a penalty being called there. Another d-man, don't remember his name, was also badly injured and was down on the ice and the refs wouldn't even stop play and he essentially had to crawl to the bench after like 30 seconds of being down. Seattle was down to 3 d-men in the 2nd period and had to move forward Justin Hickman to defense for the rest of the game. It was absolutely crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFastOne21 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Oh man, the Wardley hit was so nasty. People were talking about it all last night at the game. Glad I finally got to see it. Yeah, it just was such a fun atmosphere and the fans were awesome. The one thing that sucked about the game was the officiating was so one sided in favor of Spokane. I can say that as an unbiased fan who has yet to call myself an official fan of Seattle. I was disgusted by the officiating I saw last night. I felt like Spokane was targeting Seattle's D-Men a little bit and the officials were just really bad. One d-man got a game misconduct for a completely legal hit. Ethan Bear got injured and I don't recall a penalty being called there. Another d-man, don't remember his name, was also badly injured and was down on the ice and the refs wouldn't even stop play and he essentially had to crawl to the bench after like 30 seconds of being down. Seattle was down to 3 d-men in the 2nd period and had to move forward Justin Hickman to defense for the rest of the game. It was absolutely crazy. All the officials in the WHL are honestly pretty bad. There really is no other explanation. They have a bad case of letting games get out of hand to the point players start getting injured or at least hit hard far to often. Then they overreact once the game does get out of hand and blame the players for it getting to that point. Regardless, I am glad that you had fun and enjoy the W! You should make your way to a couple away games if you can. I am sure that games in Everett are crazy to watch and that isn't to far away. I make my way up to the Showare Center once or twice a year for Winterhawks vs Seattle games. I always love going and being that away fan everyone hates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckFanForever1123 Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Yeah, people told me most WHL games are called this poorly. I am shocked by that to be honest. Like these guys are young kids trying to get to the NHL. How can you possibly just let them get roughed up like that? It's definitely a shame. Yeah, I would love to check out some other arenas and see some other games. Everett isn't too far off, so that is a good one, and I'm planning a road trip to Idaho down the road, so a stop in Spokane would be fun. Maybe when I go to Vancouver for Canucks games, I'll check out some of the BC teams. Nice that it's so compacted around this region as far as the teams go. Not much travel needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaSwede Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 To keep myself from being upset, I am not expecting the Canucks to make the playoffs this year but I am also not expecting them to have a top 5 pick. I think Barzal right now is in that 6-10 spot and I think he will be the guy the Canucks management will go after if he is available at the draft. With drafting local boy Virtanen last year over players that are arguably better, shows that the Canucks want to bring in more hometown talent in the draft. Barzal would be a very good selection as he certainly has first line center potential written all over him, something the Canucks certainly need. Drafting Barzal would make a player like Gaunce available to trade. Next target should be Shea Theodore (drafted by Anaheim in 2013). Work out a trade that involves Gaunce and Theodore and the Canucks future would be looking splendid. Saying that I hope the Canucks make the playoffs and bring back that damn cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin-B Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Glad to hear you had a good time. We're at Showare fairly often and fairly proactive with special events. Most of the time it's a really great atmosphere but "2-for Tuesday" promos can be unpredictable, a good crowd but a mix of hockey fans and random drunks that always yell "Shoot it", they also like to explain the rules of the game. It can be entertaining and annoying. I've had the pleasure of attending many barns in the WHL. Victoria and Everett are great but I think my favorite so far is Spokane. Was really impressed with building size and crowd, just seemed like a solid fan base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckFanForever1123 Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Yeah the one I was at was 2 for Tuesday and there were certainly a few drunks in my section. I definitely see where you are coming from on that one. I actually am in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for the weekend and am thinking about going to Spokane's game tomorrow night against Everett, since I'm like 20 minutes from Spokane right now, but I don't want to miss the Nucks game haha. So petty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brilac Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Fun Fun I've been meaning to go to a Thunderbirds and Silvertips game for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THERETOOL Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I was at the giants game tonight and it was awesome !! Was really impressed with the speed and intensity of the game .. nice win too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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