Urbanec, New WSHL All-Time Goals Leader

by WSHL Staff

(Photo by Manny Brizuela, WSHL)

Tomas Urbanec is no stranger to batting records having snapped a few with his former club, Long Beach Bombers. Now, with the Las Vegas Thunderbirds, Urbanec became the WSHL All-Time Goals Leader on his 136th regular season goal—Thursday against Valencia.   

Urbanec debuted with the Bombers in 2014-2015 at the Western States Shootout. As a 15-year-old he was tossed into high-demand situations but always answered the bell. The Zlin, Czech Republic native was Long Beach’s first multi-year signing. He took the confidence the organization had in him with stride and gave the Bombers five seasons of pure heart. 

Those five years glow brightest—as numbers—when looking at his 130G-157A-287Pts. with Long Beach. He became the first Bomber to 100 goals and is their All-Time Leader in goals, assists, and points—a few distinctions among many.

The Bombers ultimately relocated to Canada after 25 years in Southern California. Urbanec spent this past summer assessing what’s best for his future and eventually found a home in the expansion team, Thunderbirds.

Urbanec has broken many league and club records but the ultimate prestige lies in being considered a league All-Time Leader. With his goal at 3:38 of the second period against the Flyers on Thursday, he officially became the WSHL All-Time Goals Leader with 136 regular season goals. He accomplishes the milestone in his sixth game of the 2019-2020 season to keep the T-Bird’s undefeated record intact. 

He currently has 138 regular season goals after the weekend. 

Among other things, Urbanec recently skated in his 200th career game and registered his 300th career point on Thursday. He is well on pace to challenging other All-Time Records.

Urbanec surpasses former Ogden Mustang, Matus Spodniak (135), and former Oklahoma City Blazer, Vitali Mikhailov (135), for the All-Time Goals Record. Currently, Jakob Kranabetter is the All-Time Points Leader with 351 regular season points. Urbanec needs 43 more points but the challenge isn’t unattainable as he has had three, 60+ point, seasons before.

Urbanec’s long time head coach and mentor on the Bombers, Chris White, was proud to know that a player he grew close to is continuing to strive. 

“Tomas has always had an elite shot and release. He has worked hard to add pieces to his game, which have taken his scoring abilities to new heights. As you can see in just a few games this season, he not only can score with the man advantage, but he is lethal in shorthanded situations. He has shown incredible longevity to be able to accomplish this feat. Not to be overlooked, there is also a long list of very good players that have helped him reach the goal-scoring summit. I am proud of him for reaching this milestone, and will continue to follow his journey. He has endured a lot of adversity through the years, and I hope this is a special year for him.”

An expansion team is never thought of to make the Thorne Cup Finals, but it certainly isn’t an exaggeration to say that the T-Birds can do it with Urbanec and company continuing to produce. Their biggest test of the season is around the corner when they host the Ogden Mustangs at Sobe Arena—A series that will certainly gauge the level of this Thunderbirds team.