Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, June 29, 2009

Silvertips hope to find a pair of gems in import draft

Everett, which has no Europeans on its roster, has two picks in the first 20 of today's Canadian Hockey League import draft.

By Nick Patterson
Herald writer

 EVERETT -- Today the Everett Silvertips pull the lever on that slot machine also known as the Canadian Hockey League import draft.

And they hope that when the dials stop spinning they've ended up with a couple of cherries.

Everett holds two of the first 20 picks in today's import draft, in which European players are distributed to teams in the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. And even though the import draft is a notorious crapshoot, the Tips are at least well positioned to add an impact player or two to their roster.

"If you can add a couple impact players, it doesn't matter what team it is, it's going to help you," Everett general manager Doug Soetaert said. "We're going to do our best to try and take the best player available at the time, whether it's a forward or a defenseman, and then cross our fingers on whether he comes or not."

Everett owns picks Nos. 17 and 20 in the first round of the import draft. Pick No. 17 was acquired last year from Regina, when the Tips obtained the Pats' 2009 first rounder in exchange for Everett's 2008 first rounder. Pick No. 20 is Everett's own. The draft has two rounds, with a possible 60 picks in each round.

Each team in the CHL has two roster slots for European players. The Tips only had one European player last season, forward Daniel Bartek, and he has since graduated as an overager. Therefore, Everett needs to fill both its slots and will use both its picks.

The import draft tends to be shrouded in mystery. European players do not need to opt into the draft, and even when drafted they're not obligated to report to the drafting team -- something that happens often given the abundance of alternative playing options available in Europe.

Therefore, picks are usually made based on a team's relationship with player agents, rather than the ability of the players. It's not unusual to see the biggest names available selected late in the draft as agents try to steer players toward the teams of their choosing.

"It's a crapshoot because you just don't know," said Soetaert, who has identified 23 players for potential selection. "Some say they're going to come, but you don't really know if they're going to come or not. It depends on where they get drafted. We have no clue other than doing a lot of scouting and evaluating and talking to agents."

Soetaert has spoken out in the past about the problems surrounding the import draft process. But although discussions have taken place on reforms, nothing new has been implemented for this year's draft.

"I know the CHL has been in discussions about putting a committee together to look at changing the way it's structured," Soetaert said. "Hopefully some good recommendations will be put forth that will level the playing field for everyone."

Though Soetaert has issues with the process, Everett actually has had its share of success in the import draft. In the previous six years Everett has made six selections, and all six reported to the Tips the following season. Among that group includes defenseman Ivan Baranka and left wing Karel Hromas, who were both NHL draft picks at the time of their selection and went on to have two productive seasons for the Tips, as well as left wing Ondrej Fiala, who was picked in the second round of the 2006 NHL draft following his strong first season with the Tips.

However, Everett ran into complications with its Europeans last season. The Tips traded their first-round import pick to Regina because they thought they had their European roster slots filled by returning forwards Vitaly Karamnov and Lukas Vartovnik. But both Karamnov and Vartovnik later decided to remain in Europe, leaving the Tips with no Europeans until trading for Bartek just before the season began.

Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA