Fiala and other personnel notes
Published 5:08 pm Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Less than two days remaining until the first Tips players take the ice for rookie training camp. Here’s a few notes on personnel heading into camp:
– Reader Nick Paredes inquired about the status of left wing Ondrej Fiala, given his recent readdition to the roster on the team’s Web site. I asked GM Doug Soetaert about Fiala this afternoon and it turns out Fiala is being welcomed back and will attend training camp. Fiala left the team under something of a cloud last season, departing just before the start of the playoffs to undergo knee surgery in his native Czech Republic. At the time it appeared his time with the Tips was finished. But he’s expected to arrive back in Everett later this week.
The status of Fiala’s health is unknown. It’s possible he won’t be able to participate in any of Everett’s training camp before heading off to training camp with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. And then it’s possible he’ll sign with the Wild and play professionally this season. But if he comes back, it presents the Tips with an interesting dilemma. First off, they’ll have three Euros with Fiala and forwards Lukas Vartovnik and Vitali Karamnov, one more than the limit. Also, Fiala would take up both a Euro spot and an overage spot if kept. But then a healthy Fiala is a gamebreaker, so he might be worth the double dip.
– I also received an e-mail from Chad Schnarr of Boltprospects.com, a Web site devoted to prospects from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, regarding the pro possibilities for defenseman Dane Crowley. Schnarr said Tampa Bay has loaded up on older AHL-level defensemen, and that its unlikely the Lightning would sign Crowley to play second- or third-pairing minutes in the ECHL. So Schnarr is of the strong opinion that Crowley will be back in Everett this season. That would seem to be good news for the Tips.
– Everett’s got a few interesting names who were invited to main camp this year. In includes a pair of former third-round bantam picks in forward Morgan MacLean (Brandon, 2003) and defenseman Eddie Friesen (Swift Current, 2005). The 19-year-old MacLean played for Grand Prairie of the AJHL last season, compiling 17 goals, 16 assists and 73 penalty minutes in 52 games. He’s a potential checking-line player. The 17-year-old Friesen is considered a Jonathan Harty clone. Friesen had one goal, 13 assists and 150 penalty minutes in 54 games for Waywayseecappo of the MJHL last season.
– Also scheduled to show up this year is Colorado-based forward Ryan White. White, Everett’s seventh-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft, is a skilled forward who was considered one of the better talents in that draft. But he fell in the draft because of doubt about his commitment to the WHL. Apparently he’s coming to make the team this year, though he isn’t expected to arrive until Friday night, so he won’t be participating in at least the first two days of rookie camp.
By the way, it was brought to my attention today that with the switch over to our new Web site, the ability to comment on entries has disappeared. I’m told we’re working on that, and we still encourage feedback. I can be e-mailed at npatterson@heraldnet.com and I’ll try to incorporate responses into future blogs until the bug is fixed.
