Tips take goalie
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 2, 2007
So Everett took a goaltender with its first pick in today’s bantam draft, snapping up Edmonton, Alberta, native Kent Simpson with the 22nd pick overall. This is the first time in five drafts that Everett spent its first pick on a netminder, indeed the Tips had never gone earlier than the fourth round for a goalie. But this was no surprise. After dealing away 1989-born goaltenders Matt Esposito and Chris Ward during the season, Everett found itself thin at the position. Leland Irving is expected to be back for at least one more season, but beyond that there’s no one in the organization the Tips are sold on as Irving’s successor. It’s not realistic to expect Simpson to come in for the 2008-09 season and be the starter as a 16-year-old after Irving departs for the pro ranks. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him given a substantial role early in his career.
Some other interesting draft notes:
– Everett’s second and fifth picks, defenseman Gabriel Minville and forward Devan McLean, are the types who should be easily identifiable at training camp, Minville is enormous at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and McLean is considered an agitator in the mould of Kyle Beach.
– Everett’s third and fourth picks, forwards D. Jay McGrath and Justin Waskewitch, played together on a Saskatoon-based summer all-star team. They played on a line together and Everett director of player development Scott Scoville was impressed with their chemistry. According to Scoville, when asked who they’d like to bring to the league with them, they named each other, even though they didn’t play on the same bantam team. This might be a case of the sum of the two selections being greater than their individual parts.
– In the seventh round the Tips nabbed forward Campbell Elynuik, the son of former NHL player Pat Elynuik. Campbell was born on Christmas.
– Beach saw his younger brother, Cody, taken in the third round by Calgary.
– Brendon Wall is apparently no longer a part of Everett’s plans. The 1990-born defenseman showed up as an 11th-round pick by Saskatoon. Wall was one of just two non 1992-born players taken in the draft.
– Portland solved its dilemma by trading the first overall pick to Moose Jaw. The Winter Hawks wanted to take Phoenix forward Luke Moffatt, but coudn’t get Moffatt to commit. Instead, by moving down four spots and giving up a third rounder, Portland also got a second rounder, fifth rounder and a prospect. Not a bad haul, considering the player they did get (Brad Ross) is considered by some to be just as good a prospect as Moffatt.
