Import draft coming to the plate, coaching announcement on deck

Published 1:43 pm Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It’s about time for that annual crapshoot known as the CHL import draft. The draft, which takes place Wednesday, is used by teams to help fill their two European roster spots. But this isn’t your typical draft. This one has more to do with who you know than where you pick, and even then there’s no g

uarantee on how a player will perform once he arrives in an unfamiliar North America culture. It tends to make the import draft very hit and miss.

Everett, which picks 21st overall, has hit more often than it has missed, scoring the likes of Ivan Baranka, Ondrej Fiala and Radko Gudas in past import drafts. However, the Tips have also had the occasional miss, most notably last year when Jesse Huhtala ultimately didn’t work out.

The Tips can actually make two selections should they see fit. Teams can only have two Euros on their roster, but overagers are exempted from this before the October overager deadline. I’m sure the Tips still hold the rights of defenseman Rasmus Rissanen, even though it’s pretty much a given he’ll be playing in the AHL. But as an overager he won’t prevent the Tips from picking twice.

However, the Tips might not use their second-round selection. Everett general manager Doug Soetaert didn’t sound super confident about getting an immediate impact player at 21st overall, let alone in the second round. The Tips got by with just one Euro last season, and Kootenay ended up winning the league title after opting out of last year’s import draft all together and going without any Euros. So I won’t be holding my breath over the Tips making a second selection.

For those who want to know who the Tips pick in real time, the import draft can be tracked at the CHL website. I’m pretty sure the times are EDT, so that would make Everett’s first-round pick at 9:20 a.m. Most teams don’t make a second-round pick, so if the Tips do decide to grab a second Euro, it’ll come soon after Saskatoon’s scheduled final pick of the first round at 3:50 p.m.

While I was talking to Soetaert about the import draft, I also got an update on the head coaching search. The original timeline called for a hire to be made by early July, and Soetaert said he remains on that schedule. So expect the announcement of a new head coach to come within the next week or so.

Everett has a history of making big splashes with their coaching hires. Everett has had three coaches in its eight-year history, and two of those were former NHL head coaches: Kevin Constantine and Craig Hartsburg. However, Soetaert said previous NHL head coaching experience is not required this time around. He said there were former NHL head coaches who have been considered, but I got the impression that may not be the direction Soetaert wants to go this time. I think he wants a coach he can count on to stick around through the upcoming rebuilding process, and that may not be a coach just making a pit stop between NHL gigs.

Whether the Tips replace departed associate head coach Jay Varady with another assistant coach is still up in the air. Naturally, no decision on that will be made before a head coach is in place. However, Soetaert expressed the possibility of hiring a strength and conditioning coach instead of another assistant coach.