A new hockey team will take the ice in Kent this fall.
The Seattle Ravens, an expansion team in the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL), will call the Kent Valley Ice Centre home. The Ravens will be one of seven NPHL teams throughout Washington and Oregon.
The junior hockey team is similar to the Seattle Thunderbirds but at a lower level, said Adam Speer, general manager for the Ravens. The NPHL is a Tier III league in U.S. junior hockey. The Thunderbirds play at the ShoWare Center and in the Western Hockey League, a part of the major junior level of the Canadian Hockey League, or the equivalent of Tier I U.S. junior hockey.
Tier III hockey is geared toward younger players hoping to develop their skills to go on to play at the college level or higher tier in the junior hockey system, Speer said.
“We intentionally are recruiting guys that are a little younger, 17 and 18 years old, younger guys who still have some development work to do,” Speer said.
Speer said the team places high value on academics, with practices and games scheduled so that players can focus on their studies.
The team also will emphasize community service, Speer said. The Ravens will partner with the Kent Valley Hockey Association and Ravens players will help coach and mentor players on the association’s teams.
Danny Lorenz will coach the Ravens. He is a former goalie for the Thunderbirds who was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1988 NHL entry draft. Following his 14-year profession hockey career, Lorenz coached Tier III junior hockey in Cincinnati. The Murrayville, British Columbia-native moved to Kent seven years ago to work with the Kent Valley Hockey Association.
Lorenz said he is excited to return to coaching Tier III hockey.
“To start with something fresh and new with Adam (Speer) who is a good friend, to help him with his vision, is pretty cool,” Lorenz said.
But Lorenz knows that starting an expansion team will have its challenges. Recruiting quality players is just one of the hurdles.
“Washington state is not known as a hockey hotbed,” he said. “It is a challenge to recruit to the area, especially out of state but even in state, it is a challenge.”
Lorenz hopes to create a competitive and fun team.
“I think we want to establish a culture, a positive environment for our players,” he said. “We are looking for like-minded kids who are passionate about developing hockey careers.”
Lorenz said the team also hopes to establish a fan base.
“We realize that we are kind of the baby brother to the T-Birds,” Lorenz said. “We are not really competing with them. We want to add another option and alternative for fans and for local kids to play if that is something they are interested in.”
Billet families needed
Since about one third of the Ravens players will come from out of the area, the team is seeking billet families to house players.
Billet families provide players a home away from home, said rita Schwarting, billet coordinator for the Ravens.
Families receive a $350 stipend per month for each player they house, as well as season tickets to the Ravens home games.
“The stipend usually doesn’t cover everything but it helps defray the cost of housing the player,” Schwarting said.
The ideal billet families are couples without children at home or families with younger children or teenage boys, Schwarting said.
Schwarting and her husband have hosted Seattle Thunderbirds players for seven years. She said she has enjoyed being a billet family.
“By and large it has been a great experience,” she said. “You meet people from all over the United States and Canada. We stay in contact with 95 percent of our former guys’ families.”
Schwarting said communication is the key to hosting a player.
“The young ones are often away from home for the first time,” she said. “They need to have adults direct them.”
Schwarting said she hopes billet families for the Ravens will have a positive experience like she has had.
“As billet coordinator, I will do whatever I can to make sure that billet families have a great experience,” she said.
To become a billet family for the Ravens, contact Schwarting by email at billet.coordinator@seattleravens.com or call 206-718-0693.
For information about the Ravens, go to seattleravens.com.
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