Seattle Conditions
Hourly Forecast
8am
61°
9am
65°
10am
67°
11am
70°
12pm
73°
1pm
75°
2pm
76°
3pm
79°
4pm
80°
5pm
80°
6pm
81°
7pm
80°
8pm
79°
9pm
75°
10pm
72°
11pm
70°
12am
68°
1am
66°
2am
64°
3am
63°
4am
63°
5am
61°
6am
62°
7am
63°
Today
81°
Tonight
61°
Tuesday
85°
Tuesday Night
61°
Wednesday
85°
Wednesday Night
58°
Thursday
71°
31%
Thursday Night
55°
81%
Friday
64°
81%
Friday Night
53°
69%
Saturday
64°
67%
Saturday Night
54°
34%
Sunday
67°
Sunday Night
54°
☼
Sunrise 5:09am · Sunset 9:12pm
☰
Tides: Next: High 7.3 ft at 12:24 PM
●
AQI 50 — Good
◆
No quakes M4.5+ in last 24h
Seattle Sports
8th in Western Conference Division
LOSS Storm 73 at Mercury 93 Sat, Jun 20
Latest News
Updated 5 minutes ago
Capitol Hill Seattle
City Cast Seattle
Daily Journal of Commerce
Davy Jones Locker Room
Eater Seattle
Field Gulls
Fremont Neighbor
GeekWire
International Examiner
KUOW Seattle Now
Lookout Landing
My Ballard
NW Asian Weekly
NW Progressive Institute
On Montlake
Phinney Wood
PubliCola
Puget Sound Business Journal
Seattle Gay News
Seattle Medium
Seattle Met
Seattle Transit Blog
Seattle Weekly
Sounder at Heart
South Seattle Emerald
The Needling
The North American Post
The Seattle Times
The Spectator
The Stranger
The Urbanist
West Seattle Blog
Westside Seattle
Davy Jones Locker Room
26 minutes
Draft Profiles 2k26: Alberts Šmits is Latvia’s ferocious hope
The Draft Profiles are back! And we start with a defender! Defenseman Alberts Šmits has one of the more unique paths as a defenseman in this draft; being a Latvian playing in Finland as one of the younger players in the top finnish league, and having a serious chance of being the highest drafted player from his home country. And he’s done it in a simple, easy to understand way; bowling over the competition. Who is he? Alberts Šmits is a Valmiera, Latvian-born, 6’3, 209-pound defenseman who shoots Left. He plays for Jukurit in the Finnish Liiga; the highest level of Finnish hockey. At the conclusion of their season, Jukurit loaned Šmits to EHC Red Bull München in the highest level of German hockey; the DEL. He also had a pretty active career this year with the Latvian National Team; playing at the World Juniors, the World Championships, and the Olympics. What’s he good at? AGGRESSION. European players have largely broken this through the last two decades, but there is a low level stigma around the European game of not being especially physical. This is largely because you need to actually commit to being physical overseas; their commitment to larger, Olympic sized rinks means if you whiff on a hit, you’re going to be extremely out of a play and looking ridiculous. As such, players develop more of an understanding of the defensive game from a less physical side of things. It appears nobody really told Šmits any of that, because he loooooooves gettin’ involved physically. Šmits combines a lot of the best aspects of your modern defenseman; good skating, solid instincts on how to clog up a lane and when, and strong stickwork, and marries it to a ferocious work ethic that makes him a nightmare to forecheck against. Alberts Šmits will move heaven and earth to get after you. His aggression regularly forces forecheckers to get rid of the puck in a hurry with the fear of a large Latvian sitting on top of them whacking away at the puck or at them, and his strong stickwork allows for a major advantage in winning board battles (the NHL-sized frame helps there a lot), then can allow him to either get a clean breakout through a pass, or he’ll get himself involved in the play as a first line of attack; using solid skating to get as close to a zone entry and then dump it, or even just go and see if he can create some offense. And yet, when in high danger situations, it always appears as though Šmits is right in his element. He closes shooting lanes with ease both on the cycle and in transition, he will casually maneuver players at speed away from the middle of the ice, and towards his Indeed, when he’s on his game, Šmits is a shift-warping defender who can be a major force of danger for his team. What’s he not so good at? Harnessing said aggression responsibly. It’s only natural that a player this aggressive will sometimes put himself in hot water, especially in a more stringent european league. This sometimes means whiffed hits, undisciplined play, or taking himself out of the play in order to tie up one player or go impose himself on the other team. It’s especially prominent in net-front defense, where he can be caught focusing down on one player and ignoring others; pulling himself out of position. Further, Šmits aggression didn’t come from nowhere; Jukurit would’ve been on the relegation chopping block had Liiga still operated as of the Finnish ice hockey relegation/promotion pyramid. Further, his national team is Latvia; an eternal underdog that is continually hard up for offense. His minute munching tendencies for both of these squads meant he wasn’t just being asked to do a lot defensively, he was often asked to be the instigating force for the offense. This has created a very shoot-first mentality in the young man that is prone to taking any old shot to see if it can get to the dangerous area of the ice, no matter if there’s a shooting lane or not. This can also end up creating bad bounces that have him on the back foot or making passes to seemingly nowhere in the desperate hope of creating something, anything, for his team. More than anything, honing Šmits’ aggression so that it compliments his skillset rather than giving it the chance to undermine his abilities will be critical to his development; allowing him the space to not feel like he needs to be the hero all the time. Prospect Rankings Ranked 2nd by NHL Central Scouting among European Skaters. Ranked 11th by EliteProspects.com Ranked 8th by TSN’s Craig Button Ranked 7th by DailyFaceoff.com Ranked 7th by Smaht Scouting Ranked 11th by DobberProspects Should the Kraken take him? If Šmits ends up in Seattle, it’s hard not to think of a scenario in which he doesn’t become a fan favorite as Šmits has a game that your average NHL fan can just wrap themselves in like a big, angry hug. It helps that other than Chase Reid, the rest of the defensive prospects in this draft will probably need at least a couple of years to find themselves in the pro level whereas Smits will almost certainly have a major leg up from having played in pro leagues already. I’m not saying he’ll play immediately, but if he gets to wear Deep Blue? It will be difficult taking him out of it if he brings that game to the NHL.
Field Gulls
26 minutes
ESPN suggests extending star player as final offseason move for Seahawks
We’ve got about a month until the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks are back from their summer break and report for training camp. This part of the offseason is usually quiet, although you might see teams around the NFL sign some veterans right before camp begins. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz made a “final offseason move” for […]
Seattle Medium
36 minutes
Vanishing Care: GOP Healthcare Cuts Hit Black America Hard
Cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act have resulted in the closure of over 1,000 healthcare facilities and reduced services, disproportionately affecting Black communities. This systemic impact has led to increased ambulance response times, contributing to delayed care, preventable suffering, and a heightened risk of mortality for Black Americans, who already experience higher uninsured rates.
Seattle Medium
about 1 hour
Women Built The Ministry. Men Kept The Title.
The Southern Baptist Convention has advanced a constitutional amendment that would formalize restrictions on women serving as pastors, a development that for many Black church leaders exposes a broader reality: women are often essential to ministry but excluded from many of its highest positions.
Seattle Medium
about 1 hour
How One News Error Shook Baltimore’s Faith Community
The Baltimore Sun's erroneous identification of Pastor Antoine Burton as a crime suspect has prompted widespread outrage among Baltimore clergy and elected officials, raising critical questions regarding newsroom safeguards, public trust, and the profound implications of misidentification for Black community leaders.
Field Gulls
about 1 hour
Seahawks News 6/22: Jake Bobo’s contract presumes a bigger role in 2026
In Today’s Links: the Seaside Joe Most Important Seahawk tourney rolls on, Tory Horton and his place amongst the 2026 Seattle Seahawks, takeaways from the offseason workouts around the league, Bryce talks regression later tonight, and a bit more! Happy Monday. It’s not that bad. Thanks for being here. Go, ‘Hawks! #np Quercus by Gamardah […]
Seattle Medium
about 1 hour
I Now Know He Won Nothing
Reports highlight former President Donald Trump's controversial claims regarding the Iran conflict and his administration's efforts to restrict voting access, alongside his perceived disrespect for international figures. In contrast, former President Barack Obama's eight-year tenure is frequently cited for its achievements and the hope it inspired.
West Seattle Blog
about 1 hour
TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: First Monday of summer, with Heat Advisory alert
6:02 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, June 22, 2026. No Seattle World Cup match today – next one’s at noon Wednesday. WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET Summer is here and so is a Heat Advisory alert from the National Weather Service, in effect 11 am today to 11 pm Wednesday. Today’s forecast, however, is for sunshine and […]
West Seattle Blog
about 7 hours
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Store robbery
Police are arriving at Global Smoke and Vape at 35th/Roxbury after a reported robbery within the past half-hour. So far the robbers are described only as three white males, two in black ski masks and black hoodies, one carrying a trash bag of merchandise taken in the robbery.
West Seattle Blog
about 8 hours
BIZNOTE: La Casa del Sabor bringing Mexican food back to Fauntleroy
Thanks for the tips! Ever since the La Casa del Sabor trailer turned up parked at the same spot vacated by El Camion two years ago, we’ve been trying to reach them to find out their plan. Went by again tonight after sunset and discovered a new sign on the truck: So there you have […]
West Seattle Blog
about 11 hours
WEEK AHEAD: West Seattle pickleball/tennis meeting Tuesday; new info online now
As first reported here two and a half weeks ago, Seattle Parks decided to have another round of community meetings before finalizing its “outdoor racquet-sports strategy,” and that meeting – the first one in West Seattle – is coming up at 6:30 pm Tuesday (June 23) at Dakota Place Park (California/Dakota). In advance of that, […]
West Seattle Blog
about 13 hours
One way to tackle Puget Sound pollution: See what RainWise is all about
Story and photos by Torin Record-Sand Reporting for West Seattle Blog On this first day of summer, sunny and dry, you might have trouble remembering the record rainfall of just a few weeks ago. Whether we see serious summer rain or not, this is a good time to think about planning for the the inevitably […]
