Published: Thursday, August 26, 2010
Silvertips look marvelous
Everett's players report to training camp in tiptop shape, undertake rigorous workout
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Jeff Faddis /F or the Herald
Everett Silvertips raise their sticks as a group to show solidarity as the 9 a.m. practice ends on Thursday at the Lynnwood Ice Center in Lynnwood.
LYNNWOOD -- Kellan Tochkin left a piece of himself back home in Abbotsford, B.C., when he arrived for the opening of Everett Silvertips training camp.
That "piece" would be the 18 pounds he lost during the offseason.
"Surprisingly I'm in the best shape of my life," said Tochkin, a 19-year-old right wing who's Everett's top returning assist man. "I'm a lot quicker and I'm extremely happy with that. There's a long way to go, but where I'm at now compared to last year it's a black-and-white difference."
Tochkin was just a small piece of the larger story as Everett opened training camp Thursday at Lynnwood Ice Center. Tochkin's offseason physical transformation was symbolic of the Tips as a whole as collectively the players reported in the type of condition rarely seen at an Everett training camp.
"The testing we did (Wednesday) was far superior to what it was this time last year, so that's a good sign," Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said. "That's a credit to the players because they took it upon themselves to come back better."
Everett opened camp Thursday with the veterans participating in a rigorous morning practice, followed by the rookies squaring off in scrimmages the remainder of the day. The team will follow the same schedule today and Saturday, with camp concluding Sunday with the annual Green vs. White game, also at Lynnwood Ice Center.
Thursday's veteran practice bore little resemblance to the typical first one-ice session of a new season. Practice was conducted with the type of speed and intensity normally reserved for midseason, highlighting the offseason work put in by the players.
That had Hartsburg grinning when discussing Thursday's practice. Last year at training camp, Hartsburg's first with the team, he quickly realized the players needed to be in far better shape in order to play the pressuring style he planned on installing. Therefore, much of the emphasis during preseason was on conditioning, much to the players' chagrin.
Last year's lesson appears to have sunk in, and it's allowing the coaching staff to streamline its preseason preparations.
"It's one thing you don't have to address," Hartsburg explained. "Their conditioning is at a good level, it's not something where we're behind the eight-ball. We're where we want to be. We want to try and keep it at that level, maybe raise some guys still. But it's one thing you don't have to be concerned with, which is good."
A total of 93 players are attending training camp. Twenty-eight were classified as veterans and took part in morning practice. The remaining 65 were rookies, who were split into four teams for the scrimmages. Fringe players are expected to switch back and forth between the veterans and rookies as camp progresses.
The atmosphere around the rink was one of optimism, as it usually is at the start of camp.
"It feels great, I'm excited for the season," said 19-year-old left wing Tyler Maxwell, the team's top returning goal scorer. "It looks like we have a lot of depth this year, and practice was really high tempo. Everybody's excited to get started."
Thursday also saw the Everett debut of a pair of newcomers expected to have immediate impact. Nineteen-year-old forwards Landon Ferraro and Josh Birkholz, acquired during the offseason, pulled on Silvertips jerseys for the first time. Both displayed speed and skill during the first day.
For the majority of the rookies Thursday represented their first experience at a WHL training camp. That includes 15-year-old center Ryan Chynoweth, Everett's top pick in this year's bantam draft. Chynoweth, one of Thursday's rookie standouts, has attended many a training camp as an observer as his father, Jeff, is the general manager of the Kootenay Ice. However, this was his first time attending as a player.
"It's a good experience," Chynoweth said. "There's a lot of good players here. It's good to see where you're at, coming into camp. When you get drafted you're excited, but when you come here you're just a guy. It's good to see how hard you need to work to keep up with everyone."
Slap shots
Former Silvertip defenseman Jeff Regier is one of the veteran invitees looking to make the team on a tryout. Regier, Everett's second-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft, was traded to Prince George in October of 2008. Regier was dropped by the Cougars after leaving the team during last preseason, and he spent last season playing for the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League. ... Left wing Josh Winquist is not participating in training camp. Winquist, who had three goals and four assists in 50 games as a 16-year-old rookie last season, is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He's not expected to be cleared for physical contact for another two weeks. ... Everett has four draft picks from the past two bantam drafts who are not attending camp. The most notable is defenseman Seth Jones, a 2009 first rounder who is playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program. The others are 2009 eighth rounder Josh Racek, 2009 10th rounder Rhys Gilbert, and 2010 10th rounder Cody DePourcq.
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silver tipsblog
That "piece" would be the 18 pounds he lost during the offseason.
"Surprisingly I'm in the best shape of my life," said Tochkin, a 19-year-old right wing who's Everett's top returning assist man. "I'm a lot quicker and I'm extremely happy with that. There's a long way to go, but where I'm at now compared to last year it's a black-and-white difference."
Tochkin was just a small piece of the larger story as Everett opened training camp Thursday at Lynnwood Ice Center. Tochkin's offseason physical transformation was symbolic of the Tips as a whole as collectively the players reported in the type of condition rarely seen at an Everett training camp.
"The testing we did (Wednesday) was far superior to what it was this time last year, so that's a good sign," Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said. "That's a credit to the players because they took it upon themselves to come back better."
Everett opened camp Thursday with the veterans participating in a rigorous morning practice, followed by the rookies squaring off in scrimmages the remainder of the day. The team will follow the same schedule today and Saturday, with camp concluding Sunday with the annual Green vs. White game, also at Lynnwood Ice Center.
Thursday's veteran practice bore little resemblance to the typical first one-ice session of a new season. Practice was conducted with the type of speed and intensity normally reserved for midseason, highlighting the offseason work put in by the players.
That had Hartsburg grinning when discussing Thursday's practice. Last year at training camp, Hartsburg's first with the team, he quickly realized the players needed to be in far better shape in order to play the pressuring style he planned on installing. Therefore, much of the emphasis during preseason was on conditioning, much to the players' chagrin.
Last year's lesson appears to have sunk in, and it's allowing the coaching staff to streamline its preseason preparations.
"It's one thing you don't have to address," Hartsburg explained. "Their conditioning is at a good level, it's not something where we're behind the eight-ball. We're where we want to be. We want to try and keep it at that level, maybe raise some guys still. But it's one thing you don't have to be concerned with, which is good."
A total of 93 players are attending training camp. Twenty-eight were classified as veterans and took part in morning practice. The remaining 65 were rookies, who were split into four teams for the scrimmages. Fringe players are expected to switch back and forth between the veterans and rookies as camp progresses.
The atmosphere around the rink was one of optimism, as it usually is at the start of camp.
"It feels great, I'm excited for the season," said 19-year-old left wing Tyler Maxwell, the team's top returning goal scorer. "It looks like we have a lot of depth this year, and practice was really high tempo. Everybody's excited to get started."
Thursday also saw the Everett debut of a pair of newcomers expected to have immediate impact. Nineteen-year-old forwards Landon Ferraro and Josh Birkholz, acquired during the offseason, pulled on Silvertips jerseys for the first time. Both displayed speed and skill during the first day.
For the majority of the rookies Thursday represented their first experience at a WHL training camp. That includes 15-year-old center Ryan Chynoweth, Everett's top pick in this year's bantam draft. Chynoweth, one of Thursday's rookie standouts, has attended many a training camp as an observer as his father, Jeff, is the general manager of the Kootenay Ice. However, this was his first time attending as a player.
"It's a good experience," Chynoweth said. "There's a lot of good players here. It's good to see where you're at, coming into camp. When you get drafted you're excited, but when you come here you're just a guy. It's good to see how hard you need to work to keep up with everyone."
Slap shots
Former Silvertip defenseman Jeff Regier is one of the veteran invitees looking to make the team on a tryout. Regier, Everett's second-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft, was traded to Prince George in October of 2008. Regier was dropped by the Cougars after leaving the team during last preseason, and he spent last season playing for the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League. ... Left wing Josh Winquist is not participating in training camp. Winquist, who had three goals and four assists in 50 games as a 16-year-old rookie last season, is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He's not expected to be cleared for physical contact for another two weeks. ... Everett has four draft picks from the past two bantam drafts who are not attending camp. The most notable is defenseman Seth Jones, a 2009 first rounder who is playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program. The others are 2009 eighth rounder Josh Racek, 2009 10th rounder Rhys Gilbert, and 2010 10th rounder Cody DePourcq.
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silver tipsblog
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