Sudden trade a shock

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2006

EVERETT – It was an emotional day for the Everett Silvertips. The last remaining original is gone, and Everett’s historic first draft class was broken up.

Tuesday saw the Silvertips bid farewell to two of their core players when defenseman Cody Thoring and right wing Brady Calla were dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“It was a little surprising,” Everett center Peter Mueller said of the trade. “It’s not the best thing to wake up and find out two of your friends are gone. It’s tough, but we’re on a mission to win the Memorial Cup and we trust the organization to make the right decisions.”

Everett sent Thoring, a 20-year-old defenseman, and Calla, an 18-year-old right wing, along with a sixth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft to Moose Jaw in exchange for 20-year-old defenseman Jesse Zetariuk and 18-year-old right wing Carter Smith.

And in losing Thoring and Calla the Tips lost more than just two players. Thoring was the team captain and the last remaining player from Everett’s improbable run to the WHL finals as an expansion team in 2004. Calla was an alternate captain and one of seven regulars produced by Everett’s 2003 bantam draft.

Both were popular and respected in both the locker room and the community. Never before had the Tips given up players who were so rooted in Everett – Thoring and Calla had a combined six years with the Silvertips – and the team received its share of less-than-complimentary feedback from fans regarding the trade.

“Unfortunately, we had to give up guys who have been with our organization a long time,” Everett general manager Doug Soetaert said. “But we felt we needed to get bigger and stronger. The further you go in the playoffs, the tougher the teams get.”

Neither Thoring nor Calla could be reached for comment.

Thoring is a solid stay-at-home defenseman who makes few mistakes and few highlight reels. The 5-foot-11, 192-pound native of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, appeared in 192 games for Everett, registering six goals and 35 assists. This season he had two goals and seven assists in 29 games.

Reports were that Thoring took the news of the trade hard, and he wasn’t the only one.

“Your first take on the trade is pain because Cody’s been a class act ever since he’s been here,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “He’s been a great citizen, a great captain and a real solid player, and he’s been with us from the beginning. So there’s an enormous amount of sadness when it comes to losing a player like that.

“I think when time goes by and the season ends, Cody Thoring will be remembered as a Silvertip,” Constantine added. “I know that’s not a lot of consolation for him, but he’ll always be part of our family.”

Calla was seeing his career stall. A speed merchant who was selected in the third round of this year’s NHL draft by the Florida Panthers, Calla had yet to develop the offensive skills to go with his speed. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Kelowna, B.C., had 22 goals and 41 assists in 165 games for Everett, but registered just three goals and six assists in 28 games this season.

After spending nearly two-and-a-half seasons playing on Zach Hamill’s wing, Calla was recently demoted to the checking line.

Hamill, who talked to Calla after the trade, said Calla took it in stride. By going to Moose Jaw, Calla should get opportunities he wasn’t getting in Everett.

“Brady’s a great kid who worked very hard,” Soetaert said. “He felt he should have got a little more time on the power play, but we just couldn’t get him the time he thought he deserved. He was a great player for us, but he wasn’t happy with the role he was playing. So we decided to move him somewhere where he’d get those opportunities.”

Constantine said it’ll be about a month before the team names a new captain. Even with Thoring and Calla gone, Everett has four alternate captains remaining: Mueller, Hamill, defenseman Jason Fransoo and defenseman Jonathan Harty. Therefore the Tips don’t expect the trade to affect the team’s chemistry or create a leadership void.

“In no way would I diminish those two’s character level and importance to our locker room,” Constantine said. “But I have a tremendous amount of faith in the character of the guys who remain.”