The Seattle Thunderbirds reached the WHL’s championship final last spring.
Even though they didn’t win, losing to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games, it 
would seem that the Thunderbirds liked it there . . . and that they badly want another taste.
If there was any doubt, they erased it on Wednesday by sending nine assets — yes, NINE! — to the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for D Nolan Allan, a first-round NHL draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks, and F Reese Shaw, a 17-year-old who is playing in New Mexico.
The Thunderbirds gave up F Brayden Dube, 17, D Easton Kovacs, 18, and F Gabe Ludwig, 18, along with six WHL draft picks — a first-rounder in 2023 that originated with the Kelowna Rockets; first- and third-rounders in 2024, a sixth in 2025, a second in 2026 and a conditional sixth in 2026.
This trade came three weeks after Seattle acquired D Luke Prokop, 20, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for first- and third-round picks in the WHL’s 2025 draft and a third-round in 2023. He was a third-round pick by the Nashville Predators in the NHL’s 2020 draft.
Seattle’s defence also includes Kevin Korchinski, 18, of Saskatoon, who was selected by Chicago with the seventh overall pick of the NHL’s 2022 draft. He has three goals and 18 assists in 14 games this season, after putting up 65 points, including 61 assists, in 2021-22.
Allan, who also is from Saskatoon, was the Raiders’ captain. He has four goals and seven assists this season. In 2021-22, he finished with seven goals and 34 assists in 65 games. In 162 career games, he had 14 goals and 49 assists.
“He’s a tough, stay-at-home defenceman,” one WHL insider, who has seen Allan regularly over the last while, told Taking Note, “but it’s a giant price.”
Shaw, from Coon Rapids, Minn., is playing with the NAHL’s New Mexico Ice Wolves in Albuquerque. The Raiders selected him in the ninth round of the WHL’s 2020 draft.
Dube, from Roblin, Man., has two goals and two assists in 14 games as a freshman. Last season, he had 24 goals and 22 assists in 49 regular-season games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings.
The 6-foot-4 Kovacs is from Delta, B.C. He began his WHL career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who dealt him to Seattle over the summer. He has one assist in 10 games this season.
Ludwig, from Eagle River, Alaska, has three goals and two assists in 15 games this season. In 93 games over three seasons, he has nine goals and 15 assists.
The Thunderbirds are 12-3-1, with points in three straight (2-0-1). They are five points behind the U.S. Division-leading Portland Winterhawks (14-1-2). The Everett Silvertips (12-6-0) are one point behind Seattle.
Portland has beaten Seattle in both meetings to date, winning 5-1 at home on Nov. 4 and 5-3 in Kent, Wash., one night later.
The Thunderbirds next are scheduled to play on Saturday against visiting Everett.
The Thunderbirds and Winterhawks next will meet on Nov. 25 in Kent and Nov. 30 in Portland.
The Raiders (7-12-2) have won two in a row. They are tied for ninth in the 12-team Eastern Conference.
——
——
THINKING OUT LOUD — So if Nolan Allan, a rock-solid defender, is worth three players and six draft picks, how much would it take to pry F Connor Bedard away from the Regina Pats. There apparently isn’t any truth to the rumour that the Kamloops Blazers are thinking about offering up a package that includes a couple of Sandman Hotel and Suites. . . . Remember when WHL insiders and followers would snicker and giggle when teams in the OHL or QMJHL made what seemed like bizarre deals loaded with draft picks. Well, there’ll be no more of that after Tuesday’s Seattle-Prince Albert deal. . . . There is often a price to be paid for pushing all of your chips into the middle of the table. . . . The Saskatoon Blades were the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament. They spent some assets in an attempt to load up. They went 16-51-5 in 2013-14. . . . The Regina Pats, the host team in 2018, went 19-45-4 the following season. . . . The Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL championship in 2018, were 11-51-6 the next season. . . . Of course, if you check the previous season’s standings, you will discover that the reloading often takes a lot longer than one season. . . . I will close out this day by watching a couple of episodes of Hogan’s Heroes, in memory of Robert Clary, who died Wednesday at 96. Thanks for the laughs, Louis LeBeau.
WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL:
F Brendan Lee scored twice and set up another as the host Medicine Hat Tigers 
dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-1. . . . The Tigers (6-9-4) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They have won two straight for the first time this season. . . . The Wheat Kings (7-12-2) have lost three in a row and nine of 10. . . . Lee, who has 10 goals, gave his guys a 2-0 lead, on a PP, at 11:39 of the first period, and then made it 3-1 at 7:16 of the second. . . . F Oasiz Wiesblatt helped out with three assists. . . . The Tigers took a 3-1 lead into the third period and promptly scored three times in 75 seconds to take complete control. . . . Medicine Hat held a 37-19 shot advantage, including 15-2 in the second period.
If Saskatoon is to get a new arena, it will be built in the downtown area, just 
north of the Midtown shopping mall. Saskatoon City Council voted unanimously to approve that site on Tuesday. . . . Bryn Levy of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix wrote: “City director of technical services Dan Willems told council Wednesday’s decision ‘opens the door’ for more detailed funding and design proposals before a final council vote on whether to proceed with a project.” . . . The SaskTel Centre, the home of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, has been open since Feb. 9, 1988. . . . Levy’s story is right here.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
——
Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
——
Or, for more information, visit right here.
Wednesday night. The Edmonton Oil Kings now are 8-0 in these playoffs after completing a sweep of the Rebels with a 4-2 victory in Red Deer last night. . . . The Oil Kings await the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal in which the Winnipeg Ice holds a 3-1 lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the No. 1 Winnipeg Ice rode three second-period goals to a 5-3 victory over the No. 4 Warriors. . . . The Ice holds a 3-1 edge in the conference semifinal. They’ll play Game 5 in Winnipeg on Friday night. . . . F Mikey Milne (8) got Winnipeg started at 16:28 of the first period, only to have F Jagger Firkus (5) tie it at 18:57. . . . The Ice took a 3-1 lead on two quick goals early in the second period, as F Jack Finley (6), at 6:45, and F Owen Pederson (5), on a PP, at 7:20, found the range. . . .Firkus (6), who also had an assist, cut into that lead, on a PP, at 13:09, but F Matt Savoie (4) got that one back just 29 seconds later. . . . F Cole Muir (1) stretched Winnipeg’s lead to 5-2 at 3:55 of the third period. . . . Moose Jaw D Majid Kaddoura (2) rounded out the scoring at 11:22. . . . Finley has goals in five straight games during which time he has totalled six goals and four assists. . . . F Ryder Korczak had three assists for Moose Jaw. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 30 shots for the Ice, four more than Moose Jaw’s Jackson Unger. . . . The Warriors were without F Robert Baco, who was hit with a TBD suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct in Game 3. . . .
In Red Deer, the No. 2 Edmonton Oil Kings unleashed a 51-shot attack as they beat the No. 3 Rebels to complete a sweep of their conference semifinal. . . . The Oil Kings, who led 1-0 after the first period, took control with two goals 31 seconds apart in the first minute of the second. . . . F Jalen Luypen (3) had scored at 15:51 of the first period. Then F Dylan Guenther (8), scored eight seconds into the second and F Carter Souch (5) made it 3-0 at 0:39. . . . F Jhett Larson (3) pulled the Rebels to within two at 8:20, but Guenther (9) stretched the lead to three at 18:34. . . . D Blake Gustafson (2) got a shorthanded score for the Rebels at 13:47 of the third period. . . . Guenther also had an assist for a three-point outing. He’s got 12 points in eight playoff games. . . . The Oil Kings held a 42-10 edge in shots through two periods. . . . G Sebastian Cossa turned aside 14 shots for Edmonton. In these playoffs, he is 8-0, 1.48, .932. . . . The Rebels got 47 stops from G Connor Ungar.
In Portland, F Lukas Svejkovsky scored once and added three assists, and G Thomas Milic turned aside 28 shots, leading the No. 4 Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-0 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . This was the Winterhawks’ first loss in seven playoff games this spring. . . . Portland holds a 2-1 lead in the conference semifinal. This series is following a 1-2-1-1-1-1 format. They return to Kent, Wash., for Game 4 on Friday. . . . F Jared Davidson (5) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 6:14 of the first period, the third time in three games that the Thunderbirds opened the scoring. . . . Svejkovsky (5) scored at 5:29 of the second period, and F Conner Roulette (1), on a PP, made it 3-0 at 7:29 of the third. . . . Seattle added two empty-netters, from Davidson (6), who also had an assist, and F Lucas Ciona (5). . . . Milic, who had three shutouts in the regular-season, posted his second of these playoffs. He is 5-3, 1.82, .929. . . . Seattle was 1-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-3. . . . 
TAKING NOTE 