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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Everett Silvertips head coach Craig Hartsburg (left) yells at an official during a game last month. Nothing in his extensive hockey background will have prepared Hartsburg for the long road trip he and his team just embarked on.   ADVERTISEMENT   Interactive Silvertips blog Nick Patterson will be watching the online video feeds of each game during Everett's trip through the Central Division and hosting interactive live blogs. To take part, go to www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog during the games.   Related Stories • I'm Stewie ... 10/28/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Silvertips coach no road warrior yet Although a hockey veteran, Craig Hartsburg is getting his first taste of what a really long road trip is like By Nick Patterson Herald Writer EVERETT — Craig Hartsburg came to Everett with an impressive resume: Ten seasons as a player in the NHL, including three all-star game appearances. Six seasons of experience as a coach at the major-junior level in the Ontario Hockey League, where he won three division titles. Seven seasons as a head coach in the NHL, where he had the likes of NHL stars Jeremy Roenick, Paul Kariya and Dany Heatley among his charges. Yet none of it quite prepared him for this. The Everett Silvertips have begun their longest road trip of the season, a two-week trek that sees them play six games in 10 days against the WHL's Central Division. And it's not just the rookies who are getting their first taste of the lengthy bus rides, it's also the coach. “Well, yes, it's not the best part of junior hockey, for sure,” Hartsburg said with a wry smile about the long bus rides. “It'll be interesting.” The good news is that this year's trip isn't as long as it could be. By traveling to play the Central Division instead of the East Division, the Tips only have to venture into Alberta, rather than traveling all the way to Manitoba. That avoids those 18-hour bus rides. Still, the longest leg of this year's journey — at its conclusion when Everett returns home from Calgary — takes 13 hours. That's longer than anything Hartsburg had to deal with in the past, either in the NHL (where the teams travel by airplane) or in the OHL (where the teams are located much closer together). “In the Ontario League there's three-day, four-day trips,” Hartsburg said. “There's no need for 12-day trips. In some ways it's refreshing, you have some fun with the kids and watch a lot of silly movies. “It can bring a team together,” Hartsburg added. “Players spend a lot of time together, we get to spend a lot of time with the players.” Hartsburg isn't the only one experiencing the long road trip for the first time. Everett has seven rookies on its roster, and this is their first taste of the WHL at its most vigorous. Not that that's always the first thought that runs through a player's mind regarding the trip out east. “It's going to be kind of cool being gone from school for two weeks just to play hockey,” rookie center Josh Winquist said. “It seems pretty professional to me.” Teams often use the long bus rides as a chance for the players to bond. The trip out East also affords the opportunity for players to play in front of family. Everett has five players who hail from Alberta, and for the eight from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, it's also a chance for their families to make a shorter trip to see the team play. For several of the rookies, this will be the first time playing in the WHL before family. “It's going to be a great experience,” rookie center D.Jay McGrath said. “It's closer to my hometown (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) and it's going to be good to start to know everyone a lot better and do a lot of things as a team. “(The veterans say) your legs will be dead on the bus, but you just have to keep moving around, find things to do on the bus and get a lot of rest.” While the players prepare for the physical and mental challenges presented by the long road trip, Hartsburg is hoping the trip allows the Tips to develop some consistency in their game. Everett is 6-4 and the Tips are still trying to find that full 60-minute effort. “We've played 10 games and I think we still have a bit of an identity crisis,” Hartsburg said. “We're not consistent, which leads to not having a real strong identity. We have to build that. “We've made some strides since the start of camp, this team's a work in progress,” Hartsburg added. “The mindset here has to change a little bit, not rely on individual talents to win hockey games and instead win more as a team. When you start to see that you'll see a team that's really hard to play against every night and every shift. You're better defensively, you put more pressure on people, and probably end up scoring more goals as a result.” Injury news Everett forwards Dan Iwanski (knee) and Chris Langkow (back) may be available for tonight's road trip opener at Kootenay. Both practiced Monday before the team departed, but the Tips were not 100-percent certain they'd be ready by today. Standout 16-year-old defenseman Ryan Murray will miss the entire trip because of his broken thumb. Van de Velde traded Everett traded left wing Paul Van de Velde to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional ninth-round bantam draft pick. Van de Velde, a 19-year-old in his second season with the Tips, was seeing limited time on Everett's fourth line, appearing in each of Everett's first 10 games without scoring. Last season he had four goals and nine assists in 52 games. Van de Velde's departure leaves the Tips with 23 players — 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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