As the Calgary Flames prepare to face the Seattle Kraken on Saturday in one of their final four games of the season, it's worth looking back at the historic hockey connection between the two cities—not at the NHL level, but through junior hockey's Western Hockey League.
While the Flames and Kraken have limited shared history since Seattle's NHL expansion in 2021-22, the Calgary organization has deep roots with the Seattle Thunderbirds and their predecessor, the Seattle Breakers. Over the decades, several players have made the jump from Seattle's WHL franchise to the Flames organization.
Flames Draft Picks from Seattle
Since relocating to Calgary, the Flames have drafted only two players directly from Seattle's WHL team. The first was Russian forward Oleg Saprykin, selected 11th overall in the 1999 NHL Draft after scoring 77 goals and 159 points in 114 games with the Thunderbirds.
Saprykin spent parts of five seasons with Calgary, recording 29 goals and 76 points. His best season came in his final year with the club, when he tallied 12 goals and 29 points. He later played for the Phoenix Coyotes and Ottawa Senators, posting a career-best 15 goals and 36 points in 2006-07.
More recently, the Flames organization added forward Lucas Ciona, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with the Thunderbirds in 2023. In 195 WHL games, Ciona scored 50 goals and 136 points, adding 14 goals and 23 points in 43 playoff contests. He's currently with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers, where he has 17 goals and 37 points in 169 games across three seasons.
Wranglers Connection
Ciona isn't the only former Thunderbird suiting up for the Wranglers this season. Defenceman Turner Ottenbreit, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with Seattle in 2016-17, has played 55 games with Calgary's AHL affiliate in 2025-26, recording three goals and 12 points. The Yorkton, Saskatchewan native went undrafted and has bounced between the ECHL and AHL throughout his professional career.
The Tim Hunter Era
Going back to the Atlanta Flames days, the organization drafted Tim Hunter 54th overall in 1979 from the Seattle Breakers. Hunter made his NHL debut after the franchise relocated to Alberta, embarking on an 11-season career with Calgary that saw him score 49 goals and 108 points in 545 games. In 145 games with the Breakers, he had 23 goals and 119 points.
Players Who Went to Seattle After Being Drafted
The Flames also drafted three players who later joined the Thunderbirds. Dan Tompkins, a third-round pick in 1993, played at the University of Wisconsin before joining Seattle in 1995-96, where he scored 14 goals and 50 points in 51 games.
Goaltender Brent Krahn, drafted from the Calgary Hitmen, was traded to the Thunderbirds for his final junior season. In five regular season games, he posted a .928 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average. Though he never played for Calgary, Krahn made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars in 2008-09.
Tyler Johnson, a Breton, Alberta product, was drafted 173rd overall in 2003 from the Moose Jaw Warriors. He joined the Thunderbirds in 2005-06, recording 10 goals and 26 points in 66 games.
Former Thunderbirds Who Became Flames
Several former Seattle players eventually found their way to Calgary later in their careers. The most notable was defenceman Cory Sarich, who joined the Flames in 2007-08. After playing just 13 games with the Thunderbirds in 1997-98, Sarich spent six seasons in Calgary, scoring 10 goals and 59 points in 379 games.
Edmonton product Jamie Lundmark, the ninth overall pick in 1999, had two separate stints with the Flames. He scored four goals and 14 points in 51 games during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, then returned for 2008-09 and 2009-10, posting eight goals and 16 points in 27 games in his first season back.
Defenceman Jamie Huscroft played 87 games with the Thunderbirds before joining Calgary in 1995-96, recording a career-best three goals and 12 points in 70 games. He added four assists in 39 games the following season before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Stewart Malgunas, drafted 66th overall in 1990 by the Detroit Red Wings, played his final four NHL games with the Flames in 1999-2000, picking up an assist.
While the Flames and Kraken may not have much playoff history, the pipeline between Calgary and Seattle through junior hockey runs deep—a connection that continues today through players like Lucas Ciona and Turner Ottenbreit with the Wranglers.
This article is based on reporting by FlamesNation. Read the original story at FlamesNation.ca.