Chad Suer out with a broken jaw
Published 2:00 pm Monday, December 27, 2010
Everett’s players have returned for the start of the second half of the WHL season, but one who didn’t is defenseman Chad Suer. Suer, who was injured during the final weekend of the first half, has a broken jaw and is out indefinitely. He won’t be reporting back to Everett for another week.
Suer’s injury leaves the Tips severely depleted at the back. Rasmus Rissanen is at the World Junior Hockey Championships playing for Finland, and Nick Walters is at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge playing for Team Pacific. Neither will be available for this week’s games, leaving just four defensemen on the roster — how fortunate is it for the Tips that Ryan Murray didn’t make Canada’s team for World Juniors now?
To fill in the ranks the Tips have brought in a pair of 18-year-old defensemen, one a familiar name and one a newcomer. Gabe Minville, who was reassigned at the start of the season, has been recalled. The hulking Minville has been playing for the Humboldt Broncos of the junior A SJHL, where in 20 games he had one goal, three assists and 48 penalty minutes. The newcomer is Kieran Friesen. Friesen, 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, has been playing junior B for the Princeton Posse of the KIJHL, where in 24 games he has two goals, five assists and 54 penalty minutes. Friesen appeared in 25 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2008-09 without scoring. I can’t find where he played last season.
Up front the Tips will be without winger Campbell Elynuik for at least another week because of a shoulder injury, and winger Jari Erricson is away playing at the U-17s alongside Walters. Center Ryan Chynoweth, the team’s top pick in the past bantam draft, is spending the holidays with the Tips. The 15-year-old Chynoweth may get into games while he’s with the team.
Finally, a Craig Hartsburg update. Hartsburg isn’t quite ready to return behind the bench, but he’s close. He’s not traveling with the team for Tuesday’s game at Kelowna, and he said he probably won’t be behind the bench this weekend. However, he said the following weekend might mark his return to full bench duties.
