McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective: Seattle Thunderbirds
Tags: Scott RatzlaffSam Popowichseattle thunderbirdsWHL Community Collective
Kent, Wash.- Seattle Thunderbirds goaltender Scott Ratzlaff and now-graduated forward Sam Popowich wanted to do ‘mo for their community- and have fun doing it.
That’s why the duo teamed up to raise money for mental health awareness in November of 2023 as part of the Movember campaign.
While Popowich hopes all people can open up conversations about mental health, the campaign particularly focuses on men.
“I think it’s something that isn’t talked about quite enough,” Popowich said. “It can be a little bit of an awkward conversation sometimes for anybody. Doing anything we can, whether it’s as simple as growing a mustache to bring that stuff to light and keep that conversation going a little bit can help a lot.”
Popowich and Ratzlaff ran past their initial goal of raising a few hundred dollars within days, with donations quickly outpacing their actual mustache growth.
By the time December hit, their facial hair had filled in nicely, with $2,500 raised.
“We were kind of a little bit caught off guard by how well it was doing, but it was awesome just to see the support from everybody, whether it was friends or family or fans around the league,” Popowich added.
And as for the ‘mo showdown?
“I think I was definitely better than Scott, but he did a pretty good job too. I think we did our best.” Popowich admitted.
While the forward boasted the best ‘stache, Ratzlaff couldn’t help but admire what he managed to grow.
“I’d rate my mustache a solid 7/10. There’s always room for improvement but it was a good start for a 17-year-old.”
Money raised supports more than a dozen recognized mental health organizations in Canada and the United States.
Movember also provides emergency information for people experiencing a mental health crisis, education programs, and tools like practice conversations to help talk to a loved one who may be struggling.
In recent years, male athletes have also been more outspoken about the cause, breaking stereotypical barriers.
Former Kamloops Blazers goaltender and Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club netminder Connor Ingram won the NHL’s Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey after sharing that he nearly retired from hockey due to struggles with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder before seeking help.
“When guys like that who play in the NHL are brave enough to come out and talk about their mental health, it helps everybody,” Popowich said. “I think there’s kind of that persona of hockey players and guys that are supposed to be tough and not supposed to talk about their feelings and stuff like that. But I think it definitely has grown.
I think the WHL does a really good job of putting the players through these types of seminars and all the stuff that you do with your team and with the league to try and learn about all these things. It helps a lot. Me being there for five years, you learn a lot about it and it helps you, even if one day down the road you’re in a situation where you need to talk to somebody about that, you can look back to those things that you learned.”
Ratzlaff reiterated a similar message.
“I have found that mental health has become more and more talked about in our daily lives. Teams are now hiring registered therapists and sports psychologists to talk to their respective players about the importance of mental health. Seeing bigger names such as Connor Ingram has a huge impact on the younger community. It shows that no matter what stage of life you are in, it is important to be honest with yourself about your mental health.”
While Popowich prepares to continue his hockey career with the University of Alberta Golden Bears while studying education, he hopes another wave of Thunderbirds will take up the torch and rally for an important cause- with decidedly less important-looking facial hair.
And that’s exactly what Ratzlaff intends to do.
“I’d love to do it again this season, I hopefully can get more guys to participate this year and raise even more money.”
The Western Hockey League strives to promote and foster a welcoming environment in communities close to our 22 clubs in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Every team has the creative freedom to allow their players and staff to work with the organizations and groups that they are most passionate about. The end goal is to create and maintain long-lasting relationships and ongoing partnerships within their community.
Through the McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective, we aim to highlight these outstanding initiatives done by each club throughout the season.
