The Seattle Thunderbirds have sent a number of players up to the majors over the years and this year is no exception. Defenseman Thomas Hickey was selected fourth overall in the NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings; he recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the club to make it all official.

I’m pretty excited about this myself–I really enjoyed watching Hickey play last season for the T-birds and I’m hoping to see him play out this season, as well–but seeing as how the Kings, my favorite NHL team, could benefit from some skilled defensive players, I can’t say it’ll entirely break my heart if the Kings move him up a little sooner than expected.

As for the T-birds, their training camp starts August 26th at the Kingsgate Ice Arena over in Kirkland. Training camp scrimmages are open to the public (check the website) for more details and season tickets for the T-birds last season at the Key are on sale now. Key Arena season ticket holders get first priority for tickets when the team moves down to Kent for the 2008 - 2009 season.