The Kent-based Seattle Thunderbirds traded away their top player in an effort to rebuild the team in the next year or two.

The T-Birds sent defenseman Sawyer Mynio Jan. 4 to the Calgary Hitmen for two players and four draft picks. Mynio, 19, a third-round NHL Draft pick in 2023 by the Vancouver Canucks, won the Western Hockey League (WHL) title with the T-Birds in 2023. He is from Kamloops, British Columbia.

Seattle received forward Sawyer Mayes, defenseman Linden Burrett, WHL first-round picks in 2025 and 2026, and fourth-round selections in 2025 and 2026.

“It is very difficult to make a trade of this magnitude,” said Seattle general manager Bil La Forge. “Sawyer has been a model Thunderbird throughout his time with us. This move fills some of the holes we have in terms of draft picks. Mayes is a player that we have liked since his draft year and was an essential part of the deal for us. Linden is another right shot D man that continues to add to our depth on the back end.”

Seattle is in 11th (last) place in the Western Conference. The top eight teams make the playoffs. The T-Birds lost in the Memorial Cup two years ago, the championship game of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They traded numerous draft picks that season to acquire top talent in an effort to win their first Memorial Cup.

Mynio recently represented the T-Birds in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championships Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ontario. He was a member of the Canada National Team that lost in the quarterfinals.

Here’s how Hockeywriters.com described the trade.

“The disappointment of getting eliminated in the quarterfinal likely turned into excitement when he (Mynio) found out that he was going from the basement-dwelling Seattle Thunderbirds to a Calgary Hitmen team currently tied for first in the East,” according to hockeywriters.com. “Instead of missing the playoffs, he will have a chance at returning to the Memorial Cup after a one-season absence.”

The T-Birds failed to make the playoffs last season when they finished ninth in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s rival, the Everett Silvertips, are in first place and ranked third in the CHL. Everett will make its 20th consecutive trip to the playoffs this season. The Silvertips have made the playoffs each year since the franchise began. The WHL didn’t have playoffs during two pandemic seasons. Everett has not won a WHL title.

Seattle’s regular season continues until March 22. The T-Birds play home games at the aceesso ShoWare Center in Kent, their home since January 2009 after they moved from Seattle Center.