The ice hockey team of Seattle Thunderbirds was founded in 1977-1978 season and since then it has been the member of the US division of the Western Conference. From its foundation day, this team was not named as Seattle Thunderbirds. Primarily, it played under the names of Vancouver Nats (1971-1973) and Kamloops Chiefs (1973-1977) in other US states. While joining the Western Hockey League (WHL) at Seattle in 1977-1978 season, it was renamed as Seattle Breakers. Ultimately in 1985, it was named Seattle Thunderbirds.
At the first stage when Seattle Thunderbirds started playing, Seattle Center Coliseum was the home arena of the team. Later, the home arena of Seattle Thunderbirds was shifted to the KeyArena. Seattle Thunderbirds has a possession of many titles under their belt. In 1997, the team won the Western
|
Conference Championship of WHL. The US Division Championship was won twice by the team in the years of 2003 and 2005. According to the sports analysts, the Seattle Thunderbirds put up their best performances in the season of 1989-1990 when the team finished with 52 wins.
The coaches of Seattle Thunderbirds - Peter Anholt, Dean Chynoweth and Rob Sumner have played a major role in the excellent performances of the team. Few of the players of Seattle Thunderbirds, who have been advanced to find berth in NHL include Patrick Marleau, Petr Nedved.
Many events are been organized by the management of Seattle Thunderbirds throughout US to win the hearts of the fans. Annual competitions are held for the kids. People from all age groups turn out in big numbers to cheer the team of Seattle Thunderbirds on field.
|
