Campos released
Published 4:40 pm Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Just got word that forward Brandon Campos was released by the Tips today. That eases the overager crowding a bit, but Everett still has five overagers for three spots. More after practice. …
… OK, back from practice. Here’s what I learned:
– Campos was placed on waivers, meaning any team in the league can claim him. The Tips tried to trade him but found little interest, and no one has claimed Campos yet. He’ll clear waivers tomorrow, and if he does the Tips will help him find a place to play in a different league.
This move is no surprise. Among Everett’s six overage candidates Campos appeared to be the odd man out. He arrived last season with the reputation of being a big-time scorer at the Tier II level, but those abilitiees never really materialized at the major junior level (though he did score three points in two games with Everett this season).
The release of Campos eases Everett’s overage/Euro crunch a little, but that was the easy part. Now comes the hard part of whittling down the five remaining overage candidates (forwards Dan Gendur, Ondrej Fiala and Brennan Sonne, defenseman Dane Crowley and goaltender David Reekie) to three and the three Euros (Fiala and forwards Lukas Vartovnik and Vitali Karamnov) to two. The Tips have until Oct. 11 to do that.
– In other news, Crowley will not be available for tomorrow’s home game against Spokane. Crowley had a death in the family and flew to Saskatoon for the funeral. He’s expected back in time for Friday’s game against Portland, but his presence will be sorely missed tomorrow as the Chiefs are on fire and the Tips can use all the defensive help they can muster.
– Also, a rather interesting story emerged from Friday’s game against Kelowna. As you may or may not know, NHL legend Mark Messier was in attendance to watch his son Lyon, who’s a defenseman for the Rockets. Messier watched the game from the owner’s suite along with Everett coach John Becanic’s family, and lo and behold he ended up winning the 50-50 raffle. I’ll let Becanic take it from there:
“When he won the 50-50 draw he asked my daughters to go claim the ticket for them. They went to go claim the ticket, but they weren’t 18, so they got sent back. Mark felt bad, so he gave the girls $500 toward their college education. My daughters tried to return the money and he wouldn’t have anything to do with it. It really says why he’s considered the best leader in all of hockey. That was pretty cool.”
