VANCOUVER – It's been an historic spring for UBC men's hockey as four members of this past year's Thunderbirds squad are now plying their trade in the professional ranks across North America.
Just days after the T-Birds' 2025-26 season ended at the end of February, captain
Chris Douglas was off to New York state to join the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans on an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season.
The same week, Canada West Player of the Year,
Sasha Mutala, and conference Top Defenceman
Jake Lee both inked amateur try-out agreements with the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers.
2025-26 Canada West Goaltender of the Year,
Brett Mirwald, has also embarked on his professional career signing a contract with the ECHL's Allen Americans.
To boast four players making the jump to pro – in two of the top leagues on the planet – from a single year speaks to the quality of players the UBC Thunderbirds have cultivated. The fact all four are contributing significantly to their respective new teams adds further proof of the possibilities to translate success from a U SPORTS program to the next level.
"It's really incredible. I've been here nine years and just watching the growth of the core group and getting rewarded with these opportunities in such great leagues with such great exposure is remarkable," said UBC head coach,
Sven Butenschon, who collected his third Canada West Coach of the Year award last month. "Even if you're in the ECHL, you're not just helping your team, you're also getting eyes on you. In the off-season when they're looking to add roster spots, now they've proved they're solid, professional hockey players."
On the heels of the most prolific of his five seasons with the Thunderbirds, graduating captain
Chris Douglas turned heads enough to get himself an amateur tryout with the Americans for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
The Richmond, B.C. native and former Red Deer Rebel has certainly made good on his opportunity, appearing in nine games thus far, scoring his first professional goal last Wednesday, the game winner vs Syracuse.
"It's unbelievable, I'm really proud," said Butenschon who himself played over 350 games in the AHL. "Anybody who's worked with
Chris Douglas over the years here, no one's surprised. He's basically slid into that AHL lineup and continues to play his game. When you watch him there, he's literally doing the same things he did with us for five years. His style of play transfers over very well because he can do a lot of different things out there – he's great on the forecheck, he's physical, his process is unbelievable. They've had injuries as well which is a huge part of it. I played pro for a long time and you need a bit of a break. He went to an organization that had a lot of injuries and some callups, he got the opportunity, grabbed it and made the most of it."
Mirwald has had an exceptional first few weeks in the ECHL, boasting a 4-0-1 record with a sizzling .944 save percentage and a 1.71 goals against average. The former Vancouver Giants netminder and 2024 Western Hockey League Goaltender of the Year also notched back-to-back shutouts over the Greensboro Gargoyles (a roster featuring another former Thunderbird in
Tian Rask).
Named the 2025-26 Canada West Goaltender of the Year, the past season has seen a massive upward trajectory for the Saskatoon native.
"He'd be a prime example of how important the mental side of sports is. First year, he wasn't there mentally where he needed to be to get the most out of himself and therefore the results weren't there on the ice. He came back last summer a totally different guy, fully engaged, fully living in the moment, taking every day and getting better. He never took a day off and went about his business to get results on the ice.
"He's a gamer, he's always been a gamer and he's really taken another step down there and we're so proud of him. They're going into playoffs and hopefully he can get some playoff starts. When you're a goalie you're just a few injuries away from the NHL so he's taken another step and it's awesome to see."
Both Mutala and Lee have also hit the ground running in Tulsa since their debuts with the Oilers on March 14. Mutala is in his second stint in the ECHL, having played a combined nine regular season and playoff games with the Utah Grizzlies in the 2020-21 season. In 14 games with the Anaheim Ducks affiliate this spring, the four-year Thunderbird has three goals and four assists along with a +5 rating.
Lee has also settled in nicely on the Oilers' blue line while contributing on offence with three goals and an assist along with a +8 rating. The Thunderbirds' all-time program leader in points by a defenceman, Lee's early pro days have been highlighted by a two goal performance over the Idaho Steelheads in which he scored the overtime winner.
"Of course you want to get right to the NHL, but you got to start somewhere and those guys understood that and they're making the most of it. They're on a team that had trouble winning, had trouble staying in games and since they got there they've been winning and competing. They're in every game and they're a huge part of it. They're great professional hockey players and I'm expecting them to take another step this summer and get a really good look with an NHL team."
What Douglas, Mutala, Lee and Mirwald prove is there is no one route to professional success. All four of them are only just embarking on what each hopes can be lengthy and prosperous careers with much of these opportunities owed to their time spent at UBC.
"That part feels really good for me because I appreciate the league, I know how good the league is. Anyone who's involved with our league, you know how good the hockey is. It's great when NHL teams are calling me asking about players because it shows we're still relevant even though the NCAA has kind of blown up the hockey world. Good, smart hockey people understand we're producing solid hockey players."
