T-Birds Select Finnish Goalie In Import Draft

Seattle, June 27, 2007 - The Seattle Thunderbirds selected goalie Riku Helenius with the 46th overall selection in the 2007 CHL Import Draft Wednesday afternoon.
Helenius was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, 15th overall, of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a professional contract with the Lightning at the conclusion of his 2006-07 season.
"We spoke to Tampa Bay a year ago about adding Helenius to our team but the player was not ready to come at that time," said T-Birds General Manager Russ Farwell. "There is a good chance this year he could come over and we felt we would take that chance because this combination would give us the best 1-2 goalie combination in our division."
"Our division has very strong goaltending again this year, but this would set us up perfectly," continued Farwell. "Jacob DeSerres has taken a step towards being one of the top goaltenders in his age group and Riku will give us the perfect starter for Jacob to develop with."
"If we are able to recruit Helenius he will probably play in the world junior tournament and we will have quality goaltending right through that period."
The Western Hockey League (WHL), along with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), are the three leagues that take part in the CHL Import Draft.
An Import Player is defined as a player whose parent (s) do not reside in Canada or the United States as of January 11 preceding that year's CHL Import Draft. If a CHL club has no Import Players, they are eligible to draft two Import Players, if they have one import, they are allowed to draft one, and if they have two Import Players they are not eligible to participate in the draft.
T-Birds Training Camp starts August 26 at Kingsgate Ice Arena in Kirkland.
Season tickets are currently on sale for 2007-08 at KeyArena. Fans purchasing 2007-08 season tickets will have the highest seating priority for the 2008-09 season as the Thunderbirds open the new Amiga Center at Kent. Priority can be established right now by calling 206-448-PUCK (7825) or for more information go to www.seattlethunderbirds.com.