The Seattle Thunderbirds are off to a hot start this season and Edmonton Oilers first-round pick Reid Schaefer has been a key part of the team’s early success.

The Thunderbirds are 5-0-0 following a 5-2 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Seattle on Tuesday night. Schaefer was the star of the game, as he scored three goals, highlighted by this backhand snipe that he somehow managed to get past Tigers goaltender Backett Langkow…

The three goals in Tuesday’s win gives Schaefer five for the season and six points total. Schaefer put together a breakout season for the Thunderbirds last year, scoring 32 goals over 66 games, and the expectation this year is that he continues to progress forward and pushes for the league lead in goal scoring.

Three players, one of which is top 2023 NHL Draft-eligible prospect Connor Bedard, lead the WHL with seven goals, while Schaefer is tied for second with a handful of others who have five goals.

Elsewhere around the CHL… Jake Chiasson has four goals and seven points through four games with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Matvey Petrov has seven points in five games for the North Bay Battalion, and the newly-signed Max Wanner has two points in two games for the Moose Jaw Warriors.