Training camp dates, plus Kellan Tochkin rumors

Published 2:27 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2009

I’ve received multiple requests for dates on Everett’s training camp next month, so here’s what I found out. Players report Tuesday, Aug. 25, and although dates and times of the sessions aren’t set yet, it’ll probably follow the schedule of previous years, meaning there will be morning and afternoon sessions beginning the next day, with the Green-White game taking place on the weekend.

I also hear there’s one change from the past few years. Word is there will be no separate rookie camp this year. Instead, the rookies and veterans will all participate together. If true — and I haven’t received 100-percent confirmation yet — it wouldn’t be a completely new format as the team has held camp like that before, just not the past few years.

Also thought I’d mention there are rumors swirling around the internet that Tips right wing Kellan Tochkin has signed an entry deal with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Tochkin, the WHL’s leading rookie scorer last season, went unselected in this year’s NHL draft. However, he was invited to the Canucks’ prospect camp earlier this month. It wouldn’t mean Tochkin won’t play for Everett next season, it would just mean Vancouver tied up his rights.

I have no concrete information on whether this is true as neither the Canucks nor the Silvertips have said anything, but there are multiple non-official internet resources who have reported it. I’ll let you know when I’ve got something more solid.