Published: Friday, September 4, 2009
Seven Silvertips set to skate off to NHL camps
The departures mean Everett will be short-handed for the tournament it’s hosting this weekend.
EVERETT — Tonight Craig Hartsburg steps behind the Everett Silvertips bench for the first time, and the Tips’ new head coach finally gets the opportunity to see his team against actual opposition.
Well, at least part of the team.
The Everett Silvertips Preseason Tournament begins today, with the team taking on the Tri-City Americans at 7 p.m. at Comcast Arena. But Hartsburg won’t have his all his resources available as players began leaving for NHL rookie camps today.
“There’s not much you can do about it,” Hartsburg said. “Everybody deals with it.”
Everett has seven players headed to NHL camps this year, all first timers.
Three of those players were selected in this year’s NHL draft. Right wing Cameron Abney was taken in the third round by the Edmonton Oilers, center Byron Froese was selected in the fourth round by the Chicago Blackhawks, and defenseman Rasmus Rissanen was a sixth rounder by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Right wing Kellan Tochkin was passed over in this year’s draft, but ended up signing a free agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks, so he’s headed to their camp.
The final three — left wing Tyler Maxwell (Los Angeles), defenseman Radko Gudas (Los Angeles) and goaltender Thomas Heemskerk (San Jose) — received invites to rookie camps.
“Just being here the last three years and always sticking around and seeing other guys go, it’s a little surreal,” Tochkin said about the heading to his first NHL rookie camp. “But I’m very excited and it’s going to be an exciting time for me.”
It may be exciting for the individuals, but it leaves the Tips a little short-handed this weekend. Rissanen, Maxwell, Gudas and Heemskerk left today, meaning they will not participate in any of this weekend’s games. Tochkin and Abney depart over the weekend, meaning they’ll play at least once, but they won’t be available the entire weekend. Froese doesn’t leave until next week as Chicago is not conducting a separate rookie camp this year.
With just 33 players still with the team, this means some players will have to dress for all three games this weekend.
Everett’s predicament is no different from that of any other WHL team. However, with a new coach installing new systems, losing top players just as preseason games are beginning is particularly inconvenient.
“We tried to make sure this week in practice (the players headed to NHL camps) were all paying attention to the things they need to do, and then when they come back hopefully they can jump right back in,” Hartsburg said.
“What it does is give us a chance to look at the other players even closer than if everybody was here,” Hartsburg added. “If we have everyone here who’s going to be on the team, maybe they don’t get the type of focus from us they’ll get now.”
One thing Hartsburg will be focusing on this weekend is the players’ own focus. Hartsburg has had a week’s worth of practices with the players now, and he believes the Tips still have a ways to go to get ready for the regular season, particularly from a mental standpoint.
“We have to create better work habits still, and we have to have more focus and be more consistent with what we do on the ice,” Hartsburg said. “It seems mentally we tend to drift a little bit, which may be common for junior hockey players early in the season until they learn the expectations. But I think we’re making some steps every day.”
Slap shots
New goaltender Luke Siemens arrived in Everett on Thursday. Siemens, who the Tips acquired from Chilliwack for a conditional bantam draft pick Monday, participated in practice, and with Heemskerk unavailable, Siemens will be needed over the weekend. ... Two 15-year-olds, defenseman Nicholas Walters and goaltender Andy Desautels, are among the 33 remaining players, though they are too young to play full-time with the Tips this season. Walters, because he’s signed a WHL education contract with Everett, is eligible to play this weekend. ... The Tips have four 20-year-olds — forwards Shane Harper, Zack Dailey and Alex Poulter and defenseman Colin Scherger — competing for three overager spots. Only three of the four are allowed to dress in any game, including during the preseason.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
Well, at least part of the team.
The Everett Silvertips Preseason Tournament begins today, with the team taking on the Tri-City Americans at 7 p.m. at Comcast Arena. But Hartsburg won’t have his all his resources available as players began leaving for NHL rookie camps today.
“There’s not much you can do about it,” Hartsburg said. “Everybody deals with it.”
Everett has seven players headed to NHL camps this year, all first timers.
Three of those players were selected in this year’s NHL draft. Right wing Cameron Abney was taken in the third round by the Edmonton Oilers, center Byron Froese was selected in the fourth round by the Chicago Blackhawks, and defenseman Rasmus Rissanen was a sixth rounder by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Right wing Kellan Tochkin was passed over in this year’s draft, but ended up signing a free agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks, so he’s headed to their camp.
The final three — left wing Tyler Maxwell (Los Angeles), defenseman Radko Gudas (Los Angeles) and goaltender Thomas Heemskerk (San Jose) — received invites to rookie camps.
“Just being here the last three years and always sticking around and seeing other guys go, it’s a little surreal,” Tochkin said about the heading to his first NHL rookie camp. “But I’m very excited and it’s going to be an exciting time for me.”
It may be exciting for the individuals, but it leaves the Tips a little short-handed this weekend. Rissanen, Maxwell, Gudas and Heemskerk left today, meaning they will not participate in any of this weekend’s games. Tochkin and Abney depart over the weekend, meaning they’ll play at least once, but they won’t be available the entire weekend. Froese doesn’t leave until next week as Chicago is not conducting a separate rookie camp this year.
With just 33 players still with the team, this means some players will have to dress for all three games this weekend.
Everett’s predicament is no different from that of any other WHL team. However, with a new coach installing new systems, losing top players just as preseason games are beginning is particularly inconvenient.
“We tried to make sure this week in practice (the players headed to NHL camps) were all paying attention to the things they need to do, and then when they come back hopefully they can jump right back in,” Hartsburg said.
“What it does is give us a chance to look at the other players even closer than if everybody was here,” Hartsburg added. “If we have everyone here who’s going to be on the team, maybe they don’t get the type of focus from us they’ll get now.”
One thing Hartsburg will be focusing on this weekend is the players’ own focus. Hartsburg has had a week’s worth of practices with the players now, and he believes the Tips still have a ways to go to get ready for the regular season, particularly from a mental standpoint.
“We have to create better work habits still, and we have to have more focus and be more consistent with what we do on the ice,” Hartsburg said. “It seems mentally we tend to drift a little bit, which may be common for junior hockey players early in the season until they learn the expectations. But I think we’re making some steps every day.”
Slap shots
New goaltender Luke Siemens arrived in Everett on Thursday. Siemens, who the Tips acquired from Chilliwack for a conditional bantam draft pick Monday, participated in practice, and with Heemskerk unavailable, Siemens will be needed over the weekend. ... Two 15-year-olds, defenseman Nicholas Walters and goaltender Andy Desautels, are among the 33 remaining players, though they are too young to play full-time with the Tips this season. Walters, because he’s signed a WHL education contract with Everett, is eligible to play this weekend. ... The Tips have four 20-year-olds — forwards Shane Harper, Zack Dailey and Alex Poulter and defenseman Colin Scherger — competing for three overager spots. Only three of the four are allowed to dress in any game, including during the preseason.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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