Silvertips sign three defensemen

The Silvertips announced the signings of three defensemen to WHL standard player agreements, the organization said Thursday.

Joining the organization are 17-year-old Cam Dykstra, soon-to-be 16-year-old Jake Christiansen and 15-year-old Montana Onyebuchi. As a 15-year-old, Onyebuchi is not eligible to play this season, but has remained in camp with the team this week.

Christiansen (6-foot, 185 pounds) turns 16 in December and was Everett’s fifth-round pick in the 2014 Bantam Draft. He played last season the Hollyburn Huskies of the PCAHA and scored 16 goals with 35 assists in 49 games. He also played four games with the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the BCMML.

“Jake has made great progress with his development and while we admire his feet, hands and skill set, amazingly, he can still take his physical maturity to higher levels,” Silvertips general manager Garry Davidson said in a press release.

Onyebuchi was selected by Everett in the third round of the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound blueliner scored five goals and added 10 assists last season while playing for the Eastman Selects of the Winnipeg Bantam AAA Division-1 league.

“Montana is an incredibly huge and physical specimen who was a force in camp,” Davidson said in the release. “We like his upside and we’re expecting him to make a major impact in his midget year.”

Dykstra (6-4, 220) played last season the Dallas Stars Under-16 program of the Tier-1 Elite Hockey League. He tallied three goals and 10 assists in 51 games. He is the son of Steve Dykstra, who played 217 games in the NHL with Buffalo, Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Hartford.

“Cam’s size, reach, and impressive stick work are building blocks for his success,” Davidson said in the release. “He’s a credit to the attainments of head coach Eric Silverman with the Dallas Stars Elite Under-16 program and we look forward to working with his continued progression.”

You can read the release in its entirety here.