Good news for a former Silvertip as Ryan Murray has been declared back to 100 percent by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was, of course, a star-crossed season for Murray. First there was the lockout, which sent him back to Everett. Then there was the torn labrum in his shoulder, which happened just before the end of the lockout was announced, thus wiping out what was likely going to...

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What are they saying about the Silvertips bringing back Kevin Constantine as head coach?

@NickHPatterson best news for the tips franchise in some time. Great person and by far the most intelligent coach I have ever played for

— Jeff Harvey (@dirkdizzler35) June 12,...

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So I was going to write a separate blog post tonight on the Silvertips bringing Kevin Constantine back as their head coach. However, between the Silvertips and the AquaSox, it's been a long four days, and when I'd finally filed my last story my brain was completely fried. So instead, here's a round-up of all the stories we wrote today. They pretty much tell the whole story anyway.

- Here's the

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It's official. So what do you think?



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The Silvertips have scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Everett Events Center, and it's looking even more like former Everett coach Kevin Constantine will be returning to the Tips.

Kamloops Daily News sports editor reported earlier this week that Constantine would be introduced as Everett's new head coach Thursday. Well, the "Thursday" part of that prediction has come true. As for the Constantine part, information gathered the...

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Well, it seems those Kevin Constantine coaching rumors that surfaced two weeks ago have some legs. The latest from Gregg Drinnan suggests Constantine, who was Everett's first-ever coach from 2003-07, is the choice as the Silvertips' new head coach and will be introduced at a press conference Thursday.

I have not received confirmation or denial, either of Constantine being hired or a press conference...

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The only activity going on at the Silvertips office today was looking out the window at the procession for Washington State Patrol trooper Sean O'Connell's funeral. There are no preparations being made for a press conference to introduce a new head coach, meaning the wait goes on for at least another week.

Apparently there's some...

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The Silvertips, of course, are in the market for a head coach. One who happens to be available is Kevin Constantine. And now WHL uberscribe Gregg Drinnan is suggesting that Everett could be in the process of bringing Constantine back into the fold.

I'm not sure how much credence to give to this particular rumor. One of the reasons Mark Ferner was fired was because his style of play was too defensive for...

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The junior hockey season officially came to an end Sunday when the Halifax Mooseheads defeated the Portland Winterhawks 6-4 in the Memorial Cup championship game. And with that game's completion, can an Everett coaching hire be far behind?

Everett has been without a head coach since Mark Ferner was fired in January. Tips general manager Garry Davidson, who served the remainder of the season as the interim head coach, said he hoped to have a new...

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Former Silvertips associate head coach Jay Varady has returned stateside, as he was named the general manager and head coach of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers.

Varady was a fixture with the Tips, spending eight seasons with the organization. He was an assistant coach under Kevin...

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The list of invitees to this year's NHL draft combine was released today. Silvertips defenseman Mirco Mueller was among the 101 players invited to be poked, prodded, quizzed and forced to ride a stationary bike really fast. Mueller, who was ninth among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Service's final rankings, is projected as a possible first-round selection, and at the combine he'll receive another...

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Everett freed up a European roster slot by releasing Czech winger Stathis Soumelidis.

Soumelidis, who just completed his 18-year-old season, had four goals, seven assists and a team-leading 119 penalty minutes in his lone season with the Silvertips. The second-round selection in last year's import draft was also a popular player in the locker room because of his good-spirited nature.

Soumelidis' release leaves...

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A couple quick things today:

- The Oregonian has a story about Portland assistant coach Travis Green. Green, who guided the Winterhawks to the Memorial Cup with head coach Mike Johnston suspended, is often talked about as a potential candidate for Everett's vacant head coaching position. While this story suggests the Tips are still very interested in...

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A little link roundup today:

- This is a day late, but in case you missed it, we had a feature on Tips draft pick and Stanwood resident Connor Nobach in Tuesday's paper. Everett still hasn't had a Snohomish County resident play for the team, and the defenseman is looking to change that. We're starting to see locals picked in the bantam draft on...

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The WHL season came to an end Sunday when the Portland Winterhawks defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 6 of the WHL championship series, claiming the series in six games.

I want to thank our resident Portland fan, Fax, for reminding me that by winning two games against the Winterhawks in the first round of the playoffs, Everett won as many playoff games against Portland as any other team in the league. The Tips, who were eliminated in the first round by the...

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Everett made nine selections in today's bantam draft: five forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender. These players will be eligible to play full-time for the Tips beginning in the 2014-15 season. Here they are, along with their position, height, weight, hometown, bantam stats (where available), and a quote from Tips head scout Bil La Forge:

First round (seventh overall): Tyson Jost, right wing, 5-9, 169, Leduc, Alberta.
Stats:...

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It's bantam draft day. Everett picks seventh overall. The first round can be watched at the WHL website. Other good resources are Alan Caldwell's blog and the Silvertips website.

Everett's pick will be coming soon ...

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Here's some more bantam draft notes

- This is the third straight year Everett heads into the bantam draft with the seventh-overall pick. That's a somewhat dubious distinction, as it indicates the Tips had the worst record among the teams that made the playoffs for the third straight year.

- The Tips picked center Ty Mappin with that pick two years ago, but last year the Tips traded down to 11th overall, selecting defenseman Kevin Davis. It's possible Everett...

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The Silvertips are back in action this week as the bantam draft takes place Thursday in Calgary. This year's draft disperses 1998-born players from western Canada and the western U.S. to the league's 22 teams.

Based on my records, Everett has a pretty complete list of picks this year. The Tips have their own first- and second-round picks, Moose Jaw's third, Tri-City's fourth, two fifths (their own and Brandon's), and no sixth. This is as complete...

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The NHL's website decided to release a trio of mock drafts today, and the positioning of Everett defenseman Mirco Mueller made for some interesting reading.

Three different experts made their predictions, and all three had Mueller being selected in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus has three first-round picks, so the mock drafts didn't all have Mueller picked in the same...

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Tips defenseman Landon Oslanski, who just completed his WHL eligibility, is getting his shot at the pros. Oslanski has been picked up by the ECHL's Stockton Thunder for their playoff run.

Oslanski played one season with the Tips after being picked up off the waiver wire last offseason. He had 17 goals and 31 assists, being named the team's co-MVP.

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The NHL's Central Scouting Service released its final rankings for the 2013 draft this morning, and the Silvertips continued their strong showing with five players making the cut.

Four Everett players were among the 210 North American skaters ranked. Leading the way is Swiss defenseman Mirco Mueller, who came in at ninth. That was three spots higher...

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The U-18 World Championship began today in Sochi, Russia. Everett has two players taking part. Defenseman Mirco Mueller is playing for Switzerland, while goaltender Austin Lotz is suiting up for Canada.

Canada won its opener today, beating Slovakia 4-1. Lotz did not play in this one. Switzerland's opener is tomorrow against the same Slovakia team.

There's a couple good sites for following the tournament. The

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Silvertips goaltender Austin Lotz was a late addition to Canada's camp for the U-18 World Championships. Canada released its final roster today, and the team kept all three goaltenders, meaning Lotz made the cut. He'll be with the team for the tournament, which begins Thursday in Sochi, Russia.

Lotz played in today's exhibition game against the Czech Republic, which Canada won 5-4 in a shootout. Lotz surrendered three goals in approximately 30...

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The Tips have signed a five-year lease extension with Comcast Arena, ensuring they remain in Everett through the 2017-18 season.

Everett's initial 10-year lease with the building was up after the end of the season. I don't think there was much danger that this wasn't going to get done.



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With the potential of 21 players returning, it wouldn't appear there are many roster spots available for newcomers next season. I'm also not sure there are any instant-impact types in the system, players who will come in and immediately be among the top six forwards or top for defensemen. Nevertheless, there are several candidates who will be stating their case for a roster spot once training camp rolls around in August.

Let's begin with the players who have signed...

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Let's take a look at Everett's roster from the playoffs. Here's the age breakdowns of the full-time players:

20 - 3
19 - 3
18 - 6
17 - 7
16 - 5

Those 20-year-olds consist of two waiver-wire acquisitions in utilityman Landon Oslanski and defenseman Connor Cox, as well as winger Ryan Harrison, who didn't appear during the playoffs because of injury.

A team's 19-year-olds are always in question because just three can return as...

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Now that the season is over, the real fun begins for the Everett Silvertips.

Everett played the final three months of the season without a head coach. That needs to be rectified. Let the speculation begin.

The Tips were winging it after head coach Mark Ferner and assistant coach Chris Hartsburg were fired in January. General manager Garry Davidson took over behind the bench on an interim basis, and he began the process of transforming the way the team plays.

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The hockey gods granted the Tips a gift this season. Then they snatched it away before Everett had a chance to make the most of it.

This was supposed to be year one in the post-Ryan Murray era in Everett. The star defenseman was selected second overall in last year's NHL draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, he signed an entry-level contract, and he was set to play in the NHL as a 19-year-old. But fate conspired to bring Murray back to Everett. The NHL lockout sent all the...

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The Silvertips went young this season. That's great and all, and it's something Everett had to do. But it's not enough to just go young, those young players have to have ability, too.

Last season was a good example of how going young isn't the answer in itself. Take winger Michael Bell. Bell made the team as a 16-year-old out of training camp in 2011. He appeared in 10 games before being reassigned in November, and by the end of the season had dropped off Everett's...

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