The first signings of the Thunder offseason

Thunder captain returns

BY KOLLEN LONG
The Wichita Eagle

The helplessness bothered Mike Batovanja the most.

The fiery, scrappy forward suffered a season-ending knee injury in the home opener last season, and the team captain could do nothing but watch as the Wichita Thunder sputtered to a last-place finish.

"It was heartbreaking," he said. "When things were going wrong, when I would usually try to come in and make a big hit or get in a little scrap or something, I wasn't able to do anything.

"It was almost awkward being in the dressing room. It's hard to tell people what to do when you're not able to set an example or do it yourself."

Batovanja, who has re-signed with the team, will have the opportunity to be part of what the organization hopes is a much-improved season. Coach Brent Bilodeau said on Tuesday afternoon that two other players have also been signed: Versatile Brad Thompson, who played with the Thunder last season, and rookie forward Brent Ottman.

Bilodeau said the Thunder suffered greatly because of the early loss of Batovanja, who was voted the team's "unsung hero" after scoring 10 points and totaling 143 penalty minutes as a rookie in 2007-08.

"He shows great leadership, toughness, makes guys accountable and he works hard," Bilodeau said. "He's one of those guys you want on your team, but he's tough to play against. Other teams know he's somebody to be reckoned with."

In the third period of Game 2 last season, Batovanja tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial collateral ligament in his right knee when he collided with an Oklahoma City player just to the right of the net. He resumed skating toward the end of last season, and is now working on strength and agility training.

"I feel great," he said. "That's my main goal -- get in the best shape I can and give myself every opportunity to contribute."

Playing both forward and defenseman, Thompson had 11 goals and 22 assists in 48 games last season.

"He's one of those unsung heroes," Bilodeau said. "He can play forward, defenseman, whatever you ask. He's smart and a good guy in the dressing room."

Ottman had 31 points (12 assists, 19 goals) for the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League last season. Two years ago, he had 58 points and 146 penalty minutes in 54 games.

Bilodeau said he comes highly recommended from coaching contacts and Ernie Wells, the team's new scout.

"He's a young kid who has some skill and little bit of grit and toughness," Bilodeau said. "He's a kid we'll bring in and get a good look at in camp."

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Don't mind Batty coming back, but Thompson? What exactly did he do, otherthan fill in as a d-man every now and then, to get re-signed? I hope someone displaces him in training camp. The rookie looks promising. He wasn't impressive in his WHL seasons, but he was a point a game, and apparently isn't afraid to mix it up, or draw a penalty.

Ottman only played half of last season. If he had some serious injury, he sounds like a good fit.

Thompson your 5th leading scorer and was second on the team among regulars with only a -3. Plus he spent 5 weeks on IR.

I just think it's great to see they've already signed someone who wasn't already here!

Wow! look out CHL.

Thanks for the support Taos!

ThunderFan4Life wrote:

Thanks for the support Taos!

Go Thunder!

Wow! 3 guys all coming off major injuries. Solid!

Tough Tom wrote:

Wow! 3 guys all coming off major injuries. Solid!

Go Thunder!

Glad to see Batovanja coming back....can't wait to see him play again. I'm lukewarm on the Thompson signing....he did score 33 points last year on a really bad team. The new guy, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Well, it looks like 3 straight years of piss-poor, 20 wins seasons is off to a flying start. Stay classy Wichita!!

FWJacksfan4 wrote:

Well, it looks like 3 straight years of piss-poor, 20 wins seasons is off to a flying start. Stay classy Wichita!!

And how many championships do your Jack-asses have?

0?

Stay classy, asshat!

Thunder Dan wrote:

Glad to see Batovanja coming back....can't wait to see him play again. I'm lukewarm on the Thompson signing....he did score 33 points last year on a really bad team. The new guy, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Yeah, I was glad to hear about Batovanja coming back as well... and yes, the new guy sounds good in theory.

ThunderFan4Life wrote:

Thunder Dan wrote: Glad to see Batovanja coming back....can't wait to see him play again. I'm lukewarm on the Thompson signing....he did score 33 points last year on a really bad team. The new guy, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, I was glad to hear about Batovanja coming back as well... and yes, the new guy sounds good in theory.

Well there you have it Thunder Fans. Here comes the championship.

Taos wrote:

ThunderFan4Life wrote: Thunder Dan wrote: Glad to see Batovanja coming back....can't wait to see him play again. I'm lukewarm on the Thompson signing....he did score 33 points last year on a really bad team. The new guy, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, I was glad to hear about Batovanja coming back as well... and yes, the new guy sounds good in theory. Well there you have it Thunder Fans. Here comes the championship.

Only you would take THAT from what I said...

go have a klondike bar...

ThunderFan4Life wrote:

Taos wrote: ThunderFan4Life wrote: Thunder Dan wrote: Glad to see Batovanja coming back....can't wait to see him play again. I'm lukewarm on the Thompson signing....he did score 33 points last year on a really bad team. The new guy, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, I was glad to hear about Batovanja coming back as well... and yes, the new guy sounds good in theory. Well there you have it Thunder Fans. Here comes the championship. Only you would take THAT from what I said... go have a klondike bar...

The only thing worse than bringing back Biodull is signing Thompson.

Having Wells scouting does make me feel a bit better......