Although the Seattle Thunderbird fans are pretty bummed out about not winning the championship this week, there was a piece of good news to pass around. According to Seattle Thunderbirds general manager Russ Farwell, the T-Birds have signed on Carl Stankowski as a goaltender for next season.

“Carl was the top goalie at the Western Canada U16 tournament last fall which allowed him to hold onto his ranking as the top goaltender in his age group. We are excited to have him commit to our team and join us for next season. He has the potential to be a top WHL goaltender before long and it will be fun to watch him grow as a player,” says Farwell.

Stankowski was the 37th overall selection during the 2015 Bantam Draft. He was chosen during the second round of draft picks by the Calgary Northwest Flames. He sounds excited about becoming a member of the team, too. “It’s really exciting to sign with the T-Birds. I was able to visit the team this season and get a feel for the organization and the WHL. The T-Birds are a really great organization. I enjoyed my time visiting and it was a great atmosphere with great coaches,” he says. It couldn’t hurt that he was chosen when the Birds were having an amazing season as well.

The goalie played 19 games for the Flames. He had two shutouts with the team as well as a record of 9-3, with 1.88 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. During the last season, he played 16 games with the Anaheim Jr. Ducks. Now he is going to be a Thunderbird.

Fans may be bummed about not winning the season, but they are still pretty excited about such a great season and looking forward to next season. No one can argue that the Birds didn’t give it their all because they absolutely did and it was so enjoyable to watch them play this season. It will be a lot of fun to see which young men make the team for the 2016-2017 season in terms of trades this fall and winter as well as how Stankowski fares with the team. Maybe we will go a bit further next year and take that cup home next spring.

What do you think of Stankowski? Are you excited to see him play for the Birds? Tell us in the comments.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia