Seattle His, His & Hers Local Draft Stories

Both the NHL and PWHL held entry drafts in the past few days, giving a new batch of prospects a shot at their pro hockey dreams.

With the Seattle Kraken development camp starting today and running through Thursday, we’ll be dropping a lot of pixels on the youngsters hoping to catch the eye of Kraken coaches and management. For this story, we wanted to shine the spotlight on players from the two local major junior squads, as well as those coming to town for PWHL Seattle.

Seattle Thunderbirds

A pair of Thunderbirds were chosen six spots apart in the 1st round by the two teams which entered the NHL as expansion cousins in 1970. The Western Hockey League said this:

Thunderbirds defenseman Radim Mrtka was the first WHL player selected, as he heard his name called 9th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. Hailing from Havlickuv Brod, Czechia,he 6-foot-6, 218-pound right-shot defenseman joined the Thunderbirds in November, skating in 43 regular season games and collecting 35 points (3G-32A). Mrtka is the first Thunderbird selected in the first round of the NHL Draft since the Chicago Blackhawks called defenceman Kevin Korchinski with the seventh overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Thunderbirds captain Braeden Cootes was selected by the Vancouver Canucks with the 15th overall pick. The 6-foot, 186-pound product of Sherwood Park, Alta., led the Thunderbirds in scoring during the 2024-25 season, recording 63 points (26G-37A) in 60 games. Cootes has notched 99 points (40G-59A) in 131 career WHL regular season games.

A third T-Bird heard his name called. Defenseman Ashton Cumby from Bonnyville, Alta. was selected in the 6th round, 162nd overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Everett Silvertips

Silvertips forward Carter Bear was selected by the Detroit Red Wings with the 13th overall pick. The 6-foot, 179-pound product of West St. Paul, Man., was tearing up the WHL, registering 82 points (40G-42A) in 56 games before his 2024-25 season cut short due to injury.

Despite the time missed, Bear led the Silvertips in scoring and was named to the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team. Bear is the first Silvertip selected in the first round of the NHL Draft since the Montreal Canadiens chose defenseman Noah Juulsen with the 26th pick in 2015. Bear has notched 141 points (66G-75A) in 142 career WHL regular season games.

Forward Shea Busch with get a chance to spend time with the two-time defending Cup champions. The Florida Panthers chose the North Vancouver, B.C. native in the 4th round, 128th overall.

PWHL Seattle

Combined with prior free-agent signings and expansion draft picks, players chosen in last week’s PWHL entry draft have provided PWHL Seattle a full complement from which to mold a roster.

GM Meghan Turner explained her drafting philosophy on a media conference call. “It’s not just about always having the best players out there. You have to build the roster with the identity in mind and the strategy that you want to build it. It takes different identities at different spots and different roles. Some players are good 3rd line centers. Some players are wings. Some can play up the line, down the line, be more versatile.”

Here’s the list of draft choices.

• Round 1, 8th Overall- Jenna Buglioni, Forward, Ohio St. (40 GP, 17 G, 28 A)

At the same media availability, Buglioni talked about playing bigger than her height of 5-foot-3. “I might be small in stature, but I play like I’m 6 feet, and I don’t shy away from the gritty areas. You can expect me to play hard every game, and to be someone that plays 200 feet. I definitely love to play a physical game. Knowing how to take a hit and still make a play is crucial for me. I’m really good on the penalty kill.

“It just doesn’t feel real. Seattle is only 2 1/2 hours from my hometown (Port Moody, BC), so it’s going to be good to be back on the West Coast.”

• Round 2, 15th Overall- Hanna Murphy, Goalie, Colgate (26-8-0, 3 SO, 1.86 GAA)

“Hanna Murphy” and “Seattle” weren’t words the goalie thought would go together.

“I was not expecting my name to be called. Seattle was one of the few teams that I didn’t really hear from that much leading up to the draft. I had no kind of expectations that I was going to get picked. I’ve never been to the city, but I’ve heard great things.

“Through my college experience, I was lucky enough to have a really great goalie tandem in Kayle Osborne, who has played with (Seattle goalie) Corinne Schroeder. (Good goalie partners) learn from each other and push each other to be better.”

GM Meghan Turner says having a West Coast home base makes it even more important to have two quality netminders. “I imagine we’ll be doing a little more traveling. And then you have some Olympic breaks, and just the ebb and flow of the season. So I think having two really solid goaltenders is very important, to have goalies that can really step in and jump into the game.”

• Round 3, 24th Overall- Lily Delianedis, Forward, Cornell (35 GP, 12 G, 10 A)
• Round 4, 31st Overall- Jada Habisch, Forward, UConn (36 GP, 16 G, 6 A)
• Round 5, 40th Overall- Lyndie Lobdell, Defense, Penn St. (38 GP, 4 G, 17 A)
• Round 6, 47th Overall- Olivia Wallin, Forward, Minn.-Duluth (39 GP, 16,G, 24,A)

GM Turner only chose one defender, because she’s already assembled a formidable blueline crew. “Fast and physical. I think it’s going to be pretty hard to play against our D core. I expect to keep players out of the inner slot area and not be able to get many shots on net. We have a lot of defensemen that are going to push opponents to the outside.”