By Heidi Sanders,
hsanders@kentreporter.com
The Seattle Ravens, a new U.S. junior hockey team in Kent, gives local players a chance to improve their skills while playing at a higher level.
Andrew Bell, 15, of Auburn, and Ben Lehfeldt-Ehlinger, 18, of Renton, are grateful for the opportunity to play.
“For me to play locally is a huge thing,” said Lehfeldt-Ehlinger, a senior at Lindbergh High School. “I know I could have gone other places and played and done fairly well, but for me it is the friend group (here), and I love Seattle.”
For Bell, leaving the area to play isn’t really an option right now.
“I’m 15,” said Bell, a student at Auburn Riverside. “My parents are not going to send me away. It isn’t going to happen. There aren’t too many options to play this high of level locally.”
About two-thirds of the Ravens roster is composed of local talent, said Ravens general manager Adam Speer.
“They come from everywhere, from Puyallup to Seattle, Issaquah to North Bend,” Speer said. “They are really some of the best young players that grew up in our region.”
The Ravens take to the ice Friday for their opening game against the Eugene Generals at the Kent Valley Ice Centre, 6015 S. 240th St. The Ravens face the Generals again on Saturday. Both games start at 6:35 p.m.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students and seniors and may be purchased at the door. Food and beverages will be sold at the On the Edge Cafe.
Following the games, there will be a public skating session, and several Ravens players will skate with their fans.
Speer said his team is ready for its first regular-season game. The Ravens beat the West Sound Warriors in Bremerton last Saturday night in a preseason matchup.
The Ravens are one of seven Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) teams throughout Washington and Oregon.
Lehfeldt-Ehlinger said the team is excited about the first game.
“I think the nerves will set in probably minutes before the game,” he said. “Right now we are not too worried about it.”
Lehfeldt-Ehlinger and Bell started skating and showing an interest in hockey at age 3.
“My older brother started playing and my parents would bring me to games, and I guess when I was 3 I could tell that I liked it so I strapped on the skates and took it up,” Lehfeldt-Ehlinger said.
When Lehfeldt-Ehlinger moved to the Seattle area from Indiana two years ago, he met Speer, who told him about the Ravens.
The Ravens is a developmental team similar to the Seattle Thunderbirds but at a lower level. 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.
Lehfeldt-Ehlinger, a defenseman, hopes to play collegiately after his stint with the Ravens.
“My dream is to play for the Air Force Academy,” he said. “I want to be in the military.”
Bell, a forward, wants to work his way through the junior hockey ranks,
But for now, both young men are focused on making the Ravens first season a success.
“I think an above-.500 record would be a pretty outstanding goal,” Lehfeldt-Ehlinger said. “It will give us a benchmark of where we could line up with other teams.”
For more information, visit seattleravens.com.
