Roster inventory
Published 10:15 pm Thursday, July 29, 2010
It’s been a busy week for the Tips. Everett has a tentative schedule and now has a different-looking roster for the 2010-11 season. We don’t know whether the Tips are done tinkering with the roster or not, but with less than a month before training camp it seems a good time to take stock of exactly what the Tips have (especially since I’m about to head out on vacation and the blog will be taking a break).
What I’m going to do is list off who’s returning and who’s new at each position, then I’ll make some brief comments about each situation. For the newcomers I only listed those who I know are signed, so those lists aren’t necessarily complete as an unsigned player can certainly earn a roster spot with a good showing at training camp. Players are listed with their playing age for the upcoming season:
FORWARD
Returners: Clayton Cumiskey (20), Scott MacDonald (19), Tyler Maxwell (19), Kellan Tochkin (19), Campbell Elynuik (18), Markus McCrea (18). D.Jay McGrath (18), Josh Winquist (17).
Newcomers: Josh Birkholz (19), Landon Ferraro (19), Cody Fowlie (18), Tyler Giebel (17), Manraj Hayer (17), Jesse Huhtala (17), Jordyn Boyd (16), Jari Erricson (16).
Comments: The Tips typically keep 14 forwards, giving them two spares. The big question when last season ended was whether Everett had enough offensive skill lined up, but the additions of Ferraro and Birkholz help. It’s possible Everett’s top two lines will be made up exclusively of 20- and 19-year-olds.
DEFENSE
Returners: Chris de la Lande (20), Curtis Kulchar (20), Rasmus Rissanen (19), Paul Sohor (19), Gabe Minville (18), Alex Theriau (18), Ryan Murray (17).
Newcomers: Evan Morden (17), Nicholas Walters (16).
Comments: Historically Everett has kept eight defensemen during the season. However, the Tips were a lot healthier last season (was this because they blocked fewer shots?), and as a result Minville only got into 12 games. Therefore, it’s possible the Tips will keep just seven, which is the number most teams keep. There’s an outside chance Radko Gudas (20) will be sent back by the Tampa Bay Lightning to be a two-spotter.
GOALTENDERS
Returner: Kent Simpson (18).
Newcomers: Luke Siemens (18), Andy Desautels (16).
Comments: There’s a possibility Thomas Heemskerk (20) will be returned by the San Jose Sharks, but Tips general manager Doug Soetaert said if that happened Heemskerk would probably be moved as Simpson is slated to be the No. 1. Another 16-year-old, Alec Rounds, is not signed but is in contention for the backup spot.
Anyway, that seems to be the situation at present. I’m out of here. See you later in August.
