Reader question of the week
Published 6:19 pm Monday, July 28, 2008
All right, I’m headed out of town for a week of vacation, so I figured I leave everyone with something to ponder.
WHL teams annually have their share of rookies. In recent years the Silvertips haven’t needed those new faces to be impact players, just play a role. But this year, given the players who have departed, the Tips will need a couple of those newcomers to play key roles.
Rookie camp is fast approaching, so here’s my question to you: Who among Everett’s potential rookies do you believe will have the greatest impact in the upcoming season?
For the purposes of this question I want to limit it to 16- and 17-year-olds, as older rookies are generally at a different stage of development. That still leaves a substantial group to choose from: first-round bantam picks Kellan Tockhin and Kent Simpson, junior A standouts Brett Chartier and Paul Sohor, strongmen Cameron Abney and Gabriel Minville, and intrigue forwards Justin Waskewitch, D.Jay McGrath and Tyler Parker, among others.
But the name I want to throw out there as a candidate is Markus McCrea. The power forward from California may not have the most impressive resume, mainly because the opportunities to display one’s abilities are much rarer in California than in Canada. But he impressed me at rookie camp last season with his aggressive play and offensive potential, and he already has the size to compete at the WHL level.
Who’s your candidate?
