Two years ago, when Tyler Carpendale was 14 years old and playing bantam hockey in Powell River, his size and skating ability jumped out at scouts.
After following his potential closely, Western Hockey League (WHL) club Seattle Thunderbirds signed Carpendale, now 16, to a standard player agreement on Saturday, March 11. Born and raised in Powell River, Carpendale was the team’s sixth-round pick, 125th overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.
“Our general manager saw him play Junior B in early February and liked what he saw,” said Thunderbirds director of player personnel Cal Filson. “We brought him in to practice, to see how he held up to the speed and if we thought he could handle playing. After watching him practice, we liked what we saw, signed him and put him in a Thunderbirds jersey.”
Carpendale, who played two of the four final regular season games with the team, said he was not expecting to be called up by the Thunderbirds so soon.
“It’s really exciting. I’m happy to be down here, especially for their playoffs coming up,” he said. “I feel like I belong out there and I’m fitting in well. They want me to get a feel for things for next year. Next year is my big year, coming up to play on the team for a full season.”
Carpendale will be with the team as a left winger during its WHL playoff run. The team finished the regular season in second place in the league’s United States Division.
In the two games he played, Carpendale said he was nervous.
“I have to keep my feet moving and try to keep up,” he said. “I was hit a few times pretty good into the boards. It’s a lot different from what I was playing this year.”
Before signing with Seattle, Carpendale played with Westshore Wolves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and scored eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 34 games.
According to Thunderbirds’ head coach Steve Konowalchuk, the team is not expecting Carpendale to be a high-scoring forward, but he will fill another important role on the front end.
“His work ethic is good; he’s a big, strong kid,” said Konowalchuk. “He looks like he’s going to develop into a good power forward: crash, bang, protect the puck down low, take the puck to the net and hard to play against.”
Carpendale is quiet and soft-spoken, goes about doing his business, pays attention and works hard, said his coach.
Konowalchuk said he sees a future for the young prospect on the team and in the WHL.
“We’re very careful with who we give opportunities to and we really want to believe in the players we give opportunities to play in our games and move forward with us,” he said. “We definitely believe in him and believe he has a chance to be a strong part of our team in the future.”
Carpendale said he will be returning to Powell River to train this summer.
