Remember When the Tri-City Americans Were on SyFy's 'Z Nation'?

The Tri-City Americans played a big role in the SyFy series Z Nation.

After the success of The Walking Dead on AMC, studios were scrambling to have the next big zombie hit. In the early 2010s, you couldn't escape it. Zombie video games, zombie movies, zombie shows, and of course the Walking Dead comics that inspired the show were everywhere.

The Americans had more than a cameo in Z Nation.

Mack Thompson is one of the main characters in Z Nation, and he doesn't have much of a backstory. What viewers do know is that he was a hockey player, specifically for the Tri-City Americans. When a zombie outbreak breaches the Spokane Arena during a Chiefs and Americans game, Mack is thrust into action with Jordan Beale, a Chiefs player, to fend off the attack. In a genre that's been milked to death, at least Z Nation can lay claim to the only 'death by ice-skate' I've ever seen on screen.

Z Nation is set and primarily filmed in Spokane.

Mack being a former Tri-City American makes geological sense when you realize the show is set in Spokane. Several movies and TV shows have been filmed in Spokane, including the 2012 remake of Red Dawn.

You can stream Z Nation for free right now.

If the thought of a Tri-City Americans player fighting off zombies in Spokane excites you, you'll want to check out Z Nation. The good news is that it's streaming right now on Netflix, though I don't know for how long. So if you're interested, don't put it off!

Tri-City Americans Who Played in the NHL

Hockey is one of the hardest sports to play. Most hockey players will play the sport their entire lives, starting to skate as soon as they can walk. Even with all that dedication, the likelihood a player cracks an NHL roster is astronomically low. The WHL is a high-tier developmental league that sees many of its players make it to the show. But for a player who makes it to the WHL or any other junior league, the chances of them reaching the NHL is still only 5%. These former Tri-City Americans are those elite few who have made the jump.

A-Z: Celebrities You Didn't Know Were From Washington

Who knew Washington state was home to so many celebrities? So many, in fact, that it was really hard to pick who made the list. There were so many athletes and musicians to choose from that we started to look in other directions. We did have one rule, however. There are no serial killers or career criminals on this list. I would like to thank Jeff Deminski from New Jersey for this wonderful idea.