Seattle Thunderbirds Radim Mrtka Drafted Ninth Overall By The Buffalo Sabres
Mrtka had a successful rookie season in the WHL. He recorded 35 points in 43 regular-season games while adding three points in six post-season games. Mrtka, who is from Czechia, is considered a two-way defenceman who projects as a top-four defender at the NHL level.
Radim Mrtka of the Seattle Thunderbirds (Photo Credit: Evan Morud/Everett Silvertips/WHL)
Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Eight WHLers Projected To Be Selected In The First Round Of The 2025 NHL Entry Draft
2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Brandon Gorzynski
Tri-City Americans Trade Max Curran To The Edmonton Oil Kings
2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Joshua Ravensbergen
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
34 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Baseball fans would take a hit if Rob Manfred's latest idea about expansion and radical realignment becomes reality
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Say it ain't so. Advertisement 'The problem with the proposal is that it's too logical, it makes so much sense, just as it works in the NHL and the NBA,' says Jane Leavy, the preeminent baseball biographer whose Advertisement 'But baseball is different. It can't presume the way those leagues can to eliminate the perquisites of its history, and so what makes sense doesn't always work for baseball. 'It's like, 'Erase the record books, erase the collective unconscious, wipe the slate clean.' Baseball is too much trapped by its history, I understand that and I get that, but it also is indebted to its history in ways that younger sports are not.' Manfred would do it all anyway, determined as he seems to write a lasting personal legacy over what's best for the game. He's already overseen dramatic change, some of it excellent (the pitch clock), some of it OK (universal designated hitter, extra-inning ghost runner), and some of it bad (automated balls and strikes, automatic intentional walks). And he's pushed back on some truly awful ideas (such as the golden at-bat). But this latest salvo shows once again how much of his own baseball soul is missing, a willingness to use the inevitability of expansion to fundamentally alter baseball fandom and history as we've known it. 'In my mind, I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,' Manfred said on the ESPN broadcast. 'I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing out of the East, out of the West, and that 10 o'clock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams. That 10 o'clock slot that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.' Advertisement We get it — baseball hasn't expanded since the 1998 addition of the Rays and Diamondbacks, and has two existing teams, Las Vegas (via Oakland) and the itinerant Rays awaiting new stadiums. Travel demands have indeed grown, but part of that is on baseball for adding regular-season interleague play. And let's be honest, the private chartered life of a baseball player is not the same as flying commercial. Plus, baseball could help that problem with smarter scheduling on its own, grouping cross-country road trips and emphasizing division rivalries. But Manfred would rather blow it all up, or at least bring the idea to the upcoming bargaining table with the players' union, attempting to curry favor with ideas as better for player well-being, while ignoring what it might mean to longtime fans who thrive on those rivalries, who grew up with those adversaries, who invested those emotions. 'I don't like any of that,' Hall of Famer Jim Kaat agreed. 'What's the World Series going to be like without the competition of the two leagues?' Kaat already is on record about baseball So, apparently, is the link to the past. 'You can see that incrementally they've been working toward this. I've heard about it for years,' Leavy said. 'I understand, but there's got to be a way to balance the needs of growth and modernity without erasing the game's essential self.' Advertisement Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rennick Hendrickson Commits To Minnesota Duluth
Shattuck St. Mary's forward Rennick Hendrickson has committed to Minnesota Duluth, it was announced on Wednesday. A native of Minnetonka, Minn., Hendrickson played for Shattuck St. Mary's 16U AAA team last season, where he tallied 10 goals and 23 assists in 54 games. A 2008-born skater, Hendrickson — whose USHL rights are held by the Dubuque Fighting Saints — will likely play for them before making the jump to the NCAA to join the Bulldogs. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' NCAA Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Panthers Defenseman Invited To Team USA's Olympic Orientation Camp
Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones has been invited to Team USA's Olympic orientation camp. The camp, scheduled for Aug. 26 and 27, is mainly for administrative and team-building purposes and does not feature any formal on-ice activity or public component. Earlier in August, Team Canada unveiled their orientation camp roster, which was headlined by five Panthers players: Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe. Jones is one of the newest Panthers, but his impressive track record goes beyond his time in Florida. Jones was the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, and has represented Team USA at the U-17s, U-18s, World Junior Championship and the World Championship. Jones won gold at the U-18s twice, the World Juniors once, while bringing home a silver medal at the U-17s and bronze at the World Championship. Jones is a minute muncher with good offensive instincts. He's a strong skater for a defenseman with a 6-foot-4 frame, but earning a spot on the American roster will be a challenge. The 30-year-old was left off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster and is one of the 16 defensemen invited to the orientation camp. The Americans don't lack talented offensive defenders, but require shutdown blueliners, something Jones could develop into this season.
