WHL: Draft Will Take Some T-Birds Away

Although the Seattle Thunderbirds only have three draft-eligible prospects for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, winger Prab Rai and goaltender Jacob De Serres stand a good chance of being selected by the middle rounds. Along with Rai and De Serres, McKeen's correspondent Randy Gorman also has notes on Isak Quakenbush, the third prospect available.

Prab Rai (2008), LW, Seattle Thunderbirds

The 6-foot, 191-pound winger may just be one of the most underrated players in the WHL, as he quietly went about playing in all 72 games this season and put up decent numbers with 20 goals, 45 assists and an astounding plus-31 rating .. he has really worked hard on his defensive game and has become a complete player in that regard .. his offensive numbers were third best on the team .. can just flat out motor on skates and just when you thought you see everything he has to offer, he always seems to crank it up a notch .. has a decent shot with average velocity but his real strength is his slick playmaking skills .. he has very good poise and patience with the puck, and does not give it up that easily .. Rai has worked extremely hard this year and should have caught the attention from scouts .. he should be a third round pick and is a potential steal if he slips past the fourth round

Jacob DeSerres (2008), G, Seattle Thunderbirds

Shared the duties this season with veteran Tampa Bay import draftee Riku Helenius and appeared in 34 games going 20-11-1 with a .922 save percentage .. a standup goalie that covers the angles well and has very good lateral movement .. has good size (6-1, 183) .. early in the season, he needed to get a better handle on his rebound control, however toward the end of the season he did show improvement ..he needs to work on handling the puck better and also handling low shots through traffic to the stick side .. overall, this young goalie has a few things to work on, but he is a budding star and will likely be drafted in the mid-rounds with the possibility of going as high as the second.

Isak Quakenbush (2008), LW, Seattle Thunderbirds

The 6-foot-5, 227-pound winger appeared in 65 games and had shaky season posting just three goals and two assists .. also had 57 penalty minutes and a minus–2 rating .. he must improve his foot speed and overall skating if he hopes to move on to the pro level, as he seemed to be lagging behind the play .. must use his size to his advantage especially along the wall and battling for loose pucks on the forecheck .. he passes the puck well and makes smart plays .. has a decent shot but must work on control to get a more consistent result when putting the puck on net .. his defensive game also needs improvement and he must be able to read developing plays better .. plays physical at times, but has to battle hard and be more consistent game in and game out .. he certainly has intriguing size, but until he utilizes it more and improves his footwork, there likely will not be much draft interest – at least for this season.