THUNDERBIRDS SET FOR SEASON
Sunday, Oct 30, 2005

With the Commonwealth Hockey League season just arond the corner, the Oklahoma City Thunderbirds have unveiled their active roster of 30 players for the upcoming season.  The roster features 17 returnees from last year's squad, 12 new faces, and one player returning from a year off in retirement.  Time to meet the new Thunderbirds lineup:

FORWARDS

#13--Michael Cammalleri C/RW
Cammalleri returns for his second season with the Thunderbirds.  The talented forward saw limited action with the team last year but looks to figure a lot more into the team's offensive system this year.  The youngster has good great hands and may surprise a lot of people in the CWHL.

#16--Alexander Svitov--LW/C
The speedy Russian center probably won't see a lot of ice time with the Birds this year, but has tremendous upside and hopefully will be a force in years to come.

#17--Rod Brind'Amour--C
Brind'Amour also returns for the Birds, a huge part of the last two teams and a lock for the #1 center position once again.  Expect Brind'Amour and favorite winger Milan Hejduk to continue to terrorize opposing goaltenders all season long.

#19--Sean Avery--LW/C
Ultra-pest Sean Avery has seen very limited ice time in the last two seasons but has shown great promise defensively in camp.  If he can manage to stay out of the box, Avery's a darkhorse to crack the lineup this season and see some time killing penalties as well.

#20--Antoine Vermette--LW
Rookie Vermette was taken in the third round of the CWHL draft.  The coaching staff hopes he'll be able to step in right away and help out defensively and killing penalties, helping fill the shoes of departed Niklas Sundstrom and Patric Kjellberg, whose rights have been retained.

#21--Robert Reichel--C
A bit of a disappointment last season, Reichel reported to camp a different hockey player entirely, reminiscent of his old self.  He's said it's going to be his last season, and he wants to go out with a winner!

#23--Milan Hejduk--RW
The team's lead scorer is also back and figures to fit in once again on a line with Rod Brind'Amour at center and on the first powerplay unit.  Look for Doug Shedden to try to find opportunities to sneak him onto the ice for a couple extra minutes every game.

#26--Pierre Dagenais--W
Selected in the 2nd round of the rookie/free agent draft, Dagenais has had a good camp, playing well on both sides of the puck.  Dagenais is expected to log some quality ice time and chip in with an occasional goal or two.

#28--Todd White--C/LW
One of the quietly consistent contributers over the last two seasons, White returns for his third go-round with the T-Birds.  Most likely, he'll do what he always does: make plays and set up goals while giving the spotlight willingly to the team's bigger profile names. Make no doubt about it, though, Todd White will have a big impact on this team's success.

#32--Chris Drury--C/RW
Drury comes to Oklahoma City from the CWHL champion Cooksville Frontier as the PTBN in the Patrik Elias trade.  Drury will add experience, leadership, and talent on both sides of the ice, and has a bit of a mean streak to him, too!

#34--Jim Dowd--C/RW
"The old man" of the forwards, Dowd has seen his ice time diminish in recent years, and he's all right with that.  The veteran of many CWHL seasons will help the younger players and lead by example.  Expect him to make the most of every opportunity he gets this season--few though they may be.

#36--Mikhail Yakubov--C
Yakubov, taken in the 4th round, is a talented European playmaker who probably won't play much this season, but is another player management hopes to hold on to and watch develop.

#37--Patrice Bergeron--RW/C
The 4th overall pick, 19-year-old Bergeron is already one of the best young players in hockey, outshining highly-touted prospect Sidney Crosby at the recent World Junior Championships.  OKC hopes Bergeron will be ready to jump in and contribute right away.

#43--Tomas Surovy--W
Surovy did decently well for the Thunderbirds last season as a rookie, but with a more talented team around him, he'll have to up his game if he wants to see ice time this time around.

#61--Maxim Afinogenov--RW
Afinogenov has some good offensive skills and a great shot, but his lack of defensive ability has limited his playing time to a few spot shifts on the powerplay.  That will likely be the case again this year.

#82--Tyler Wright--F
Utilityman Tyler Wright is back, pitching in wherever he's needed, whether that be occasional penalty killing or filling in for an injured forward.  One of the team's most popular players in seasons past, Wright may still be seen grinding in some corners this season.

#91--Stephane Veilleux--W
Selected in the 5th round, Veilleux is another young two-way player in the making.  This will most likely be a learning year for him.

#93--Petr Nedved--LW/C
Nedved, acquired in a trade from the Chicago Spitfires, gives the Thunderbirds what they lacked all of last season: a consistent first-line left wing.  Expect even more production out of Hejduk and Brind'Amour and the powerplay with the addition of this skilled vet.

DEFENSE:

#5--Dave Tanabe
Tanabe has shown improvement from a decent campaign in his first season with the Thunderbirds and figures to be on the team's top 4 this year.  His tendency to get hurt may come into play at some point this season, however.

#7--Paul Martin
Selected with the 16th overall pick, the American-born Martin is a young defenseman who shows promise both offensively and defensively and will likely be a starter for OKC in the very near future, but probably not this year.

#10--Nathan Dempsey
Dempsey, who played some games at wing last year, plans to stay on the blueline this time around and figures to boost the team's week PP numbers.

#29--Kenny Jonsson
A solid defensive blueliner, Jonsson will anchor the team's penalty kill all season.

#41--Martin Skoula
The versatile young Skoula will be the first one called upon in case of injury to any of the team's starting 5 defensemen.

#44--Kimmo Timonen
Oklahoma City's All-Star defenseman Timonen is back.  His presence on the ice is always notable, and he will once again quarterback the powerplay and see time on the penalty kill.

#55--Igor Ulanov
The model of longevity, Ulanov has had a surprising camp and has earned a spot among the team's top four defensemen with his defensive and physical play and even his puck-moving skills, something he'd never been known for in his 80 CWHL season (slight exaggeration)

#62--Shaone Morrisonn
Another youngster who probably won't see much gametime, Morrisonn was taken in the 5th round (one pick after Veilleux) and may one day fit into the team's plan.

#88--Brooks Orpik
A fourth-round pick, Orpik rounds out this defensive group.  A strong, physical player, Orpik may see time killing penalties this year for the big club.

GOALTENDERS

#30--Dwaye Roloson
Last year, Roloson backstopped the Michigan Minoaurs all the way to the Commonwealth Cup finals.  This year, Shedden and co. are counting on him leading the team to their first playoff birth.

#39--Dominik Hasek
Returning from retirement, Hasek is in the alien spot of 3rd goaltender.  Knowing the competitive nature in The Dominator, however, he'll be giving Roloson and Esche a run for their money soon.

#42--Robert Esche
Esche is sitting in a familiar role--backup.  Having improved every season, Esche should be ready to step up and take a bulk of the work should something happen to Roloson at #1.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

THUNDERBIRDS AND WILDCATS EXCHANGE DRAFT CHOICES

The Oklahoma City Thunderbirds have acquired the Namao Wildcats' second and fifth round draft picks in the upcoming rookie and free agent draft in exchange for the T-Birds' first round pick in 2005. 

The rookie and free agent draft will be held September 17th.  OKC plans to announce cuts in preparation for the draft within the next couple of weeks.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

THUNDERBIRDS NAME COACHING STAFF FOR 03-04

The Oklahoma City Thunderbirds today named Doug Shedden as head coach for the 2003-04 season.  Shedden has previously coached in the Central Hockey League, where he won back-to-back titles with both the Wichita Thunder and the Memphis Riverkings, as well as in the East Coast Hockey League, where he found success with the Louisiana Ice Gators, and the American Hockey League, where he won a division championship with the St. John's Maple Leafs. 

Oklahoma City Coach Gary Fay was fired halfway through the fourth month of the 2002-03 season after the team plummetted from mediocrity, going nearly winless at home in months 3 and 4.  For the remainder of the season, the Thunderbirds had a Coach of the Night promotion, where one lucky fan got a chance to call the shots at every home game.  On the road, actor Emilio Estevez filled in behind the 'Birds bench.  The Thunderbirds managed to hover around .500 for the rest of the year. 

Along with Shedden, retired hall-of-fame defenseman Ray Bourque, who played with the team back when they were in Cheswick, will serve as an assistant coach, as will Rick Tocchet, another former player with an emphasis in special teams work.  Jeff Reese reamins as the goalie coach, while Estevez may reamin on board for occasional PR stunts. 

Monday, June 20, 2005

THUNDERBIRDS TRADE BIRON TO HURRICANES

In a somewhat surprising move, the Oklahoma City Thunderbirds announced in a press conference earlier today that they have traded starting goaltender Martin Biron to the Hamilton Hurricanes in exchange for defensemen Kenny Jonsson and a 3rd-round draft pick in the 2003 draft. 

Biron, obtained in the 2001-02 season from the Chicago Spitfires as part of the Alexei Kovalev trade, played sparingly for the Thunderbirds (then the Cheswick Howling Coyotes) behind future hall-of-famer Dominik Hasek, but Hasek's retirement opened the door for Biron to take the bulk of the goaltending duties last season.  Biron played well, despite a less-than-impressive win-loss record, and it seemed that the top brass in the Thunderbirds' front office thought that he was going to be the go-to guy.  That is, until the trade Monday.

"I'm very surprised, and pretty disappointed," Biron told the press over the telephone early Monday evening.  "I had a good feeling about Oklahoma City.  The fans here are great, especially for a non-traditional hockey market.

"I won't lie, I was really hoping to get to stay here for awhile." 

It's difficult to tell where exactly Biron will fit in the Hurricanes' plans for next season, but Biron believes he can battle it out with veterans Olaf Kolzig and Nikolai Khabibulin for the starting job. 

"Absolutely, I have a ton of respect for both of those guys.  On the other hand, I feel like I've been getting better over the last couple of seasons.  Things were kind of rough defensively in OKC, maybe I'll get a chance to surprise some people during camp."

Team president and general manager Will Ledesma insisted the move had nothing to do with Biron's play.  "We absolutely think Marty's going to be a top-notch starting goaltender in this league.  Obviously, so does Hamilton, because they were willing to give up quite a bit to get him."

"Quite a bit" in this case means Jonsson, an excellent defensive defenseman who can also move the puck up to teammates well.  There have been rumors, however, that Jonsson already has plans to return to his native Sweden after the 2003-04 CWHL season.  Ledesma hopes that a good run in Oklahoma may change his mind. 

"We had a some depth problems on the blueline last season," Ledesma said after the press conference.  "Guys like Dave [Tanabe] and Jon [Girard] are still young, and we were forced to ask players like Stan [Neckar] and [Alexander] Karpovtsev to carry more load than was fair of us to ask of them.  I really think Jonsson'll help us fill some of those holes tremendously."  Jonsson was not immediately available for comment. 

In addition, the Thunderbirds picked up a mid-third round pick, which should end up somewhere near pick #40 overall.  "Anytime you can get a decent pick and a blueliner like Kenny Jonsson, you have to take that possibility seriously."  And what about the goalie situation Biron has left behind?  Neither Robert Esche nor Milan Hnlicka have seemed terribly impressive playing behind Biron or Hasek in the past.  On this matter, Ledesma would only say, "We feel like we've gotten the goaltending situation taken care of fairly well, don't worry." 

Could this bring any hints of truth to the rumors that Hasek plans on coming out of retirement?  Or does the organization have quite a bit of faith in the abilities of Esche to handle a wider playing load?  Or perhaps Ledesma has his sights set on a goalie on September 17th, perhaps Marc-Andre Fleury or Andrew Raycroft?  On the other hand, there are still two players who have not been announced to the public the Thunderbirds have coming to them from trades for Patrik Elias and Shane Doan last season.  Could one of these PTBN's be the answer? 

As the season finally winds down and the playoffs are played, Thunderbird fans can expect the picture to come into better focus.  Many have already lost faith in Ledesma's ability to put together a team after his offseason deals last year saw the departures of Elias, Doan, Roman Hamrlik, Mario Lemeiux, and Brian Boucher, along with the 4th pick overall. 

The only thing that is certain at this point is that, whatever the big picture is for next season, Martin Biron is now no longer a part of it, and Kenny Jonsson is.