Veteran Lindsay Nielsen leads Thunderbirds into new season

KENT — Lindsay Nielsen has recovered from the broken ankle that cost him most of last season and takes over a key spot for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Nielsen, in his fifth season with the team, was named captain on Thursday to replace Thomas Hickey, who is still battling for a roster spot with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Thunderbirds open the Western Hockey League season tonight at 7:35 at ShoWare Center in Kent against the rival Everett Silvertips.

Nielsen, a native of Edmonton, will lead a young team into the first season the T-birds will play all their home games at the ShoWare Center.

"We have a young team, but one with a lot of skill and potential," Nielsen said. "I don't know if I've seen a group of young guys with this much skill and such a strong work ethic."

Colin Jacobs, 16, a rookie center from Coppell, Texas, leads the way.

He was called up during the playoffs last season and had two goals and an assist in four games.

"He's a skilled player who is going to have a phenomenal career," Nielsen predicted.

Prab Rai was the team's second-leading scorer last season with 25 goals and 40 assists and was just returned from camp with the Vancouver Canucks.

Extraordinarily fast, Rai has scored 65 points for the T-birds two seasons in a row.

"Prab is an exceptional player who we expect to really elevate his game," Seattle coach Rob Sumner said. "It's really hard to say what kind of numbers he could achieve."

The T-birds defense is led by Stefan Warg, a rugged 6-foot-3 prospect from Stockholm, Sweden, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Anaheim Ducks, and Brenden Dillon.

Goaltenders Calvin Pickard and Jacob DeSerres are back. Pickard played 47 games in his rookie season, taking over the top spot after DeSerres was injured.

"Goaltending is a real strength of our team," Sumner said. "Both guys have No. 1 capabilities. One necessity for us is goaltending, and both guys are really focused."

Sumner calls his team a work in progress.

"We have a lot of work to do," Sumner said. "We had five guys away at pro camp, so it's a bit of an incomplete picture at this point."

The T-birds did lose David Richard (10 goals, 25 points), who retired rather than compete for one of the three overage spots, and Jeremy Boyer (21 goals, 56 points), who did not report to camp and is awaiting a trade.

The T-birds added John Becanic as an assistant coach after Becanic was fired as the head coach in Everett after last season.