As the Seattle Totems are about to embark on their 2024/25 season, it is the time of the year where I take my best stab of where the team was, is and is going.

THE OLD: As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new. As such, I have to speak briefly about the old. Last season was a series of ups and downs where the Totems fell one game short of reaching the national finals. One could look to a variety of factors which lead to that outcome. I cite home ice advantage as the largest factor in that equation. The Totems gave up 3 games during the regular season, which were the difference in playing their playoff series at home versus the rival Vernal Oilers. 2 games in Bellingham and 1 vs. Casper. All 3 games saw the Totems outshoot their opponents by a 3:1 margin. This is something this years version of the Green Machine will have to clean up to have a shot at the season ending prize. 

THE DEPARTED (18): The Totems graduated 4 players to college (Loucks, Rettell, Konopka,  Ferguson), 2 to higher level leagues (Karvelas, Wilmert), 3 to age (Lyrintzis, Shrimpton, Johnson) and 3 to retirement (Neil, Caie, Anthony). The remaining eligible players (Morris, Veitch, Williamson, Kazikiewicz, Wizmueller, Lidgren, Blyth, Sedivy, Patten) were either not re-signed by the club or opted to pursue other opportunities. 

While losing 5 of their top 6 scorers, the team seems to have identified that problem with their new recruits. The tough loss here was to Kai Williamson, who, because of personal issues, returned to Winnipeg, MB Canada, where he will play for the Charleswood Hawks, a team which Coach Butters is an alumus. The jury is out as to whether or not Coach Butters and his staff should have tried to re-sign some of the departed. After watching the Green/White Game, I am much more at ease with the changes that were made. 

THE RETURNERS (6): Returning for this season are Wolynec, Radkevich, Maisonneuve, Heiser, Edwards and Cleofe. 

Roman Wolynec led all USPHL players in playoff scoring and with a year of experience with Coach Butters behind him, he should be poised for a big year.  Despite a couple of Tier 2 offers, Danil Radkevich returns to anchor an upgraded blueline. His bone crushing hits, howitzer of a shot and solid two-way play will strike fear into any opponent. Local Seattle product, Drew Heiser made great strides last season and will likely provide a steady blue line game this season. At 6’6”, not many players should get around him. Goaltender Daniel Cleofe has improved in each of his 2 seasons with the Totems and by the looks of his play this summer, could challenge for the #1 job. KJ Edwards,  acquired in a trade that sent Jesse Aiken to Bakersfield, provided both size and scoring and has looked good so far in summer skates. A potential 20 goal scorer, he could challenge for 30 with the right approach this season. Lastly, Ethan Maissoneuve, acquired in a trade with Lake Tahoe for Taylor Sloan, paid immediate dividends for the club with his relentless puck pressure and solid face off and defensive skills. The Cochrane, AB, Canada native should be one of the Totems top defensive players again this season.

THE NEW (20):  Newcomers this season are Folkesson, Kurzenkov, Dykyi, Tilley, Hellerman, Sutherland, Suontakanen, Rizik, Derouen, Nakamura, Hedberg, Granlund, F. Palla, X. Palla, Malcuit, Grinsbergs, O’Brien, Haas, Wigforss, Fennema.

This new crop of Totems definitely provides more depth and overall skill than last year’s team. The big question mark will be if Coach Butters and his staff can get all of these players to buy in to the team’s philosophies and way of doing things. With 14 players coming from overseas from 8 different countries (Sweden, Belarus, Czechia, Latvia, Japan, Finland, Hungary, Ukraine), and many of them having limited grasp on the English language, it will present an extra challenge for the coaching staff to get them on the same page. After seeing 4-5 practices and the Green/White Game, I am encouraged that the team is much improved on the ice from last season.

THE COACHING: Stability is the word I will use to describe the Totems coaching. The team returned their entire staff from 23/24 and that will be a plus for both the returners and new players alike. I have been a fan of Coach Butters no-nonsense approach and while his decision to place value on character, attitude and work ethic over just talent didn’t bring the Totems a championship last year, I think it is too early to pass judgement on this approach. Like past Totems teams, it takes a coach 2-3 years to put together the type of team they want so it would be a tad unfair to rate his performance just yet. Let’s just say the jury’s out but it looks pretty good so far. This year’s group of players seem to be all about business. They are courteous, polite and a much different group than I’ve seen with past Totems editions. Let’s hope this kids are gentlemen off the ice and gladiators on it. 

THE MANAGEMENT: Consistency is the word I will use to describe Michael Murphy and his staff. Year in and year out, the Totems deliver a quality product on the ice. This season, it looks like Murphy has put an emphasis on bringing more awareness to the team as I’ve seen several advertisements for season tickets and sponsorship. The music at the games and overall entertainment value is good.

THE FINAL WORD: Those who know me tend to say I am always reserved about making predictions, especially positive ones. That said, I am pretty confident is saying this year’s edition of the Seattle Totems will be much different from Totems teams of the past. Like every Totems team I have covered, they have all been unique. This team seems to have a little bit of everything. They are definitely bigger. With 14 players over 6’0,” this team has a remarkable size difference over last year’s group. In getting bigger, I don’t think the Totems sacrificed any skill as they definitely improved at every position from last season. 

I am the first to tell anyone who reads my articles that I am part of the biased media of today. I cheer and support for our local hockey teams in Seattle. From PeeWees to Pros, I love to see the hockey market in Seattle grow. It is for this reason I am covering the Totems again this season and that I encourage anyone who reads this to buy a ticket for this Saturday’s Home Opener. I would hate to see any local hockey team leave due to lack of support. While I love the pros, there is something special about a group of guys who provide a team for aspiring young players to advance to college, whatever the level.

I for one am looking forward to Saturday’s season opening home game to see if what I have said is correct. I hope to see you there.