The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrived in Seattle in 1977 and played as the Breakers until 1985, when they adopted the Thunderbirds name. The team played in Seattle for three decades before moving to the accesso ShoWare Center in nearby Kent in 2008. The Thunderbirds are two-time WHL champions, with their most recent title coming in 2023.
History
Foundations The team was founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats of the Western Canada Hockey League, but moved to Kamloops, British Columbia, after just two seasons to become the Kamloops Chiefs in 1973. In 1977, the team moved again, this time to Seattle, and was renamed the Seattle Breakers. The move came just years after the city narrowly missed out on securing a National Hockey League franchise. The Breakers began play in 1977–78, and played out of the Seattle Center Arena. Through eight seasons, the Breakers finished with a regular season record of 225 wins, 319 losses, and 32 ties; and playoff record of 11 wins and 21 losses, twice advancing as far as the West Division finals. The team nearly folded in 1982 when, under owner John Hamilton, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This reality, combined with novel promotions like honoring unused Seattle Seahawks tickets at the gate, boosted attendance at Breakers games. This was also helped by on-ice success. Despite the off-ice challenges, the team, under coach Jack Sangster, swept the Victoria Cougars in the playoffs to advance to the Division finals. There, they faced the rival Portland Winter Hawks, dropping the series to the eventual champions 4 games to 2.
The Thunderbirds After the 1984–85 season, the Breakers were sold to new owners and renamed the Seattle Thunderbirds as part of an extensive re-branding. Along with the new name, the team changed its color-scheme from orange, blue, and white, to green, blue, and white, announced a renovation plan for its home arena, and by 1990 began playing some of its games at the larger Seattle Center Coliseum. New management promised to spare no expense and to turn the team into a contender. This included hiring Russ Farwell as manager and Barry Melrose as coach—the two had been instrumental in the Medicine Hat Tigers' 1988 Memorial Cup championship. However, despite the scoring exploits of Glen Goodall—Goodall set new league records for goals (262) and points (573) and had his number 10 jersey retired when he turned professional in 1990—it would be twelve years before the Thunderbirds broke through to their first league final. Led by star forward Patrick Marleau, the Thunderbirds faced the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 1997 championship series, which they lost in a sweep. Although the Thunderbirds would win their first and second regular season Division titles in 2002–03 and 2004–05, the eighteen seasons after their first finals appearance would see the team advance past the second round of the playoffs just once.
In 2006, the Thunderbirds announced their intention to move to a brand new arena being constructed in Kent, south of Seattle. The purpose-built arena was a major attraction for the team.
2015 marked the beginning of the most successful period in team history, as the Thunderbirds advanced to the finals four times in eight seasons, twice capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. Led by the likes of Matthew Barzal, Ethan Bear, and Keegan Kolesar, the 2015–16 season saw the Thunderbirds capture their first Division title since 2005 and make their deepest playoff run since 1997 when Matthew Wedman's game four overtime goal sent the Thunderbirds past the Kelowna Rockets and into the championship final. They lost the final in five games to the Brandon Wheat Kings. The following season, the Thunderbirds returned to the final, where they faced the Regina Pats. They defeated the Pats in six games, with Alexander True scoring the title-winning goal in overtime of game six to secure Seattle's first championship. With the win, Seattle advanced to the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament, where they were eliminated after three straight losses in the preliminary round.
After two straight first-round exits and two years without playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunderbirds again emerged as a contender in the 2021–22 season. That season, the team returned to the finals and faced the Edmonton Oil Kings to contest the first league playoff title since 2019. Seattle lost the final in six games. The following season was the best in Thunderbirds' history with the team posting 54 wins and 111 points. In the playoffs, they eliminated the Memorial Cup-host Kamloops Blazers in the Western Conference championship, moving on to face the Winnipeg Ice in the title series. They defeated the Ice in five games to earn a berth in the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament. There, led by Dylan Guenther and goaltender Thomas Milic, the Thunderbirds advanced to the tournament final, which they lost to the Quebec Remparts.
Rivals The Thunderbirds are one of five WHL teams based in Washington, along with the Tri-City Americans, Spokane Chiefs, Wenatchee Wild, and Everett Silvertips. The Thunderbirds have built an enduring rivalry with the Portland Winterhawks, dating back to the 1980s. Everett is the closest team to Seattle and a natural rival; and the two teams have met regularly in the playoffs, including a three-year stretch between 2016 and 2018 where the winner of the series between the two made it all the way to the championship series.
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish PlayoffsSeattle Breakers 1977–78 72 32 28 12 – 359 316 76 4th West Did not qualify 1978–79 72 21 40 11 – 299 334 53 4th West Did not qualify 1979–80 72 29 41 2 – 297 364 60 3rd West Lost West Division final 1980–81 72 26 46 0 – 318 393 52 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal 1981–82 72 36 34 2 – 339 310 74 3rd West Lost West Division final 1982–83 72 24 47 1 – 319 418 49 4th West Lost West Division semifinal 1983–84 72 32 39 1 – 350 379 65 4th West Lost West Division semifinal 1984–85 72 25 44 3 – 320 416 53 5th West Did not qualifySeattle Thunderbirds 1985–86 72 27 43 2 – 373 413 56 4th West Lost West Division semifinal 1986–87 72 21 47 4 – 328 430 46 5th West Did not qualify 1987–88 72 25 46 2 – 313 436 52 5th West Did not qualify 1988–89 72 33 35 4 – 315 276 70 5th West Did not qualify 1989–90 72 52 17 3 – 444 295 107 2nd West Lost West Division final 1990–91 72 42 26 4 – 319 317 88 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal 1991–92 72 33 34 5 – 292 285 71 4th West Lost West Division final 1992–93 72 31 38 3 – 234 292 65 4th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1993–94 72 32 37 3 – 283 312 67 4th West Lost West Division semifinal 1994–95 72 42 28 2 – 319 282 86 3rd West Eliminated in round-robin 1995–96 72 29 36 7 – 255 281 65 5th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1996–97 72 41 27 4 – 311 249 86 2nd West Lost Final 1997–98 72 31 35 6 – 286 278 68 6th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1998–99 72 37 24 11 – 279 236 85 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal 1999–00 72 34 27 8 3 250 221 79 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal 2000–01 72 30 33 8 1 262 299 69 6th West Lost West Division semifinal 2001–02 72 21 40 6 5 235 313 53 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2002–03 72 44 22 3 3 280 224 94 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference final 2003–04 72 24 31 8 9 192 198 65 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2004–05 72 43 24 2 3 204 144 91 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2005–06 72 35 31 1 5 186 211 76 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2006–07 72 37 21 3 11 209 186 88 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2007–08 72 42 23 5 2 241 179 91 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2008–09 72 35 32 1 4 222 234 75 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2009–10 72 19 41 7 5 172 255 50 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2010–11 72 29 37 3 3 219 285 64 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2011–12 72 25 45 1 1 173 292 52 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2012–13 72 24 38 7 3 210 286 58 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2013–14 72 41 25 2 4 238 249 88 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2014–15 72 38 25 4 5 218 201 85 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2015–16 72 45 23 4 0 228 186 94 1st U.S. Lost Final 2016–17 72 46 20 4 2 253 206 98 2nd U.S. Won Ed Chynoweth Cup 2017–18 72 34 28 8 2 250 258 78 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2018–19 68 31 29 6 2 231 245 70 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2019–20 63 24 32 4 3 175 240 55 4th U.S. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 23 10 12 0 1 67 82 21 3rd U.S. No playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 44 18 4 2 271 179 94 3rd U.S. Lost Final 2022–23 68 54 11 1 2 300 155 111 1st U.S. Won Ed Chynoweth CupLost 2023 Memorial Cup Final 2023–24 68 27 38 2 1 191 260 57 5th U.S. Did not qualify 2024–25 68 30 33 4 1 212 257 65 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2025–26 68 31 27 6 4 223 241 72 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
Championship history
Ed Chynoweth Cup: 2016–17, 2022–23 Conference titles (5): 1996–97, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2021–22, 2022–23 Regular season Division titles (4): 2002–03, 2004–05, 2015–16, 2022–23
WHL Championship finals 1996–97: Loss, 0–4 vs Lethbridge Hurricanes 2015–16: Loss, 1–4 vs Brandon Wheat Kings 2016–17: Win, 4–2 vs Regina Pats 2021–22: Loss, 2–4 vs Edmonton Oil Kings 2022–23: Win, 4–1 vs Winnipeg Ice
Source:Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics and History, Access Date: 24.10.2025 https://www.hockeydb.com/stte/seattle-thunderbirds-7964.html
Memorial Cup results
1992: Loss, 3–8 vs Kamloops Blazers (Semifinal) 2017: Eliminated in Round Robin 2023: Loss, 0–5 vs Quebec Remparts (Final)
Players NHL alumni Several National Hockey League players started with the Thunderbirds:
Nolan Allan Glenn Anderson Doug Barrault Mathew Barzal Ethan Bear Matt Berlin Rick Berry Zdenek Blatny Lonny Bohonos Landon Bow Jim Camazzola Shawn Chambers Ben Clymer Colton Dach Ken Daneyko Kimbi Daniels Brenden Dillon Peter Dineen Steve Dykstra Craig Endean Shane Endicott Brennan Evans Brent Fedyk Zack Fitzgerald Wade Flaherty Aaron Gagnon Steven Goertzen Stanislav Gron Dylan Guenther Barrett Heisten Riku Helenius Chris Herperger Matt Hervey Thomas Hickey Bud Holloway Jan Hrdina Tim Hunter Jamie Huscroft Scott Jackson Chris Joseph Mike Kennedy Alan Kerr Jon Klemm Rob Klinkhammer Samuel Knazko Keegan Kolesar Kevin Korchinski John Kordic Brent Krahn Greg Kuznik Brooks Laich Brad Lambert John Lilley Danny Lorenz Dwayne Lowdermilk Brian Lundberg Jamie Lundmark Stewart Malgunas Patrick Marleau Glenn Merkosky Tomas Mojzis David Morisset Petr Nedved Jim O'Brien Chris Osgood Mark Parrish Ed Patterson Lane Pederson Noah Philp Calvin Pickard Jame Pollock Deron Quint Errol Rausse Jeremy Reich Matt Rempe Scott Robinson Cody Rudkowsky Oleg Saprykin Cory Sarich Chris Schmidt Andy Schneider Corey Schwab Brent Severyn Mike Siklenka Trevor Sim Matthew Spiller Turner Stevenson Austin Strand Garret Stroshein Rob Tallas Shea Theodore Nate Thompson Denis Tolpeko Alexander True Lindsay Vallis Wayne Van Dorp Ryan Walter Joe Ward Chris Wells David Wilkie Mitch Wilson Brendan Witt Dody Wood Brad Zavisha
Retired numbers +#PlayerYearRef10Glen Goodall199012Patrick Marleau2023
Team records + Individual player records for a single seasonStatisticPlayerTotalSeasonMost goalsGlen Goodall761989–90Most assistsVictor Gervais961989–90Most pointsGlen Goodall1631989–90Most penalty minutesMitch Wilson4361981–82Most saves (goalie)Calvin Pickard2,4432010–11Best GAA (goalie)Bryan Bridges1.792004–05 Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played