Silvertips have some holes to fill on offense
Published 1:30 am Thursday, September 22, 2016
Under head coach Kevin Constantine, the Everett Silvertips have made a habit of proving doubters wrong, and the 2015-16 squad was no exception.
After claiming their first U.S. Division title in seven years in 2014-15, the Tips were widely expected to regress. While the offensive output declined significantly from the title-winning campaign, the defense got even better and the Tips led the U.S. Division for nearly two months before the streaking Seattle Thunderbirds caught and surpassed Everett en route to the division title.
Even so, the Tips finished second in the division, thanks in part to winning six of their first seven games with the T-Birds. Everett went on to sweep nemesis Portland in the first round of the playoffs to earn a rematch with the T-Birds, but Seattle ultimately eliminated its nearest geographical rival en route to the Western Conference title.
Was last season a step backward or small step forward in a continued positive direction? A lot of that depends on how this year’s Tips squad responds. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of this year’s team.
Offense
Two years ago the Tips set a franchise record with 242 goals, but last season that total plummeted to 189 and was the second-lowest in the league.
Further compounding the problem is the fact that Everett’s top two point producers from last season, Remi Laurencelle (28 goals, 30 assists) and Carson Stadnyk (21 goals, 28 assists), have each aged out of the league, as did fifth-leading scorer and defenseman Cole MacDonald (nine goals, 27 assists).
The top returning point producers are Patrick Bajkov (18 goals, 28 assists), and Matt Fonteyne (16 goals, 32 assists). Fonteyne had a breakout season en route to leading the team in assists. Those two second-line players will move up to the first line this season and be counted on to increase their scoring prowess.
Overager Graham Millar (15 goals, 16 assists) is a power play specialist who scored eight of his goals on the man advantage. Everett also needs players such as Connor Dewar (11 goals, seven assists) and Devon Skoleski (nine goals, 10 assists) to increase their production in their second seasons with the organization.
The Tips added forward Sean Richards (three goals, 15 assists) in a deal for former captain Dawson Leedahl, and are counting on CHL import picks Eetu Tuulola and Mario Mucka to create offense. Tuulola is a 1998-born Finn with a heavy shot from the point who was a sixth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in this year’s NHL draft, and Mucka is a 1998-born Slovakian whose late birthday makes him eligible for next year’s NHL draft.
Three 2000-born rookies — Dawson Butt, Orrin Centazzo and Brett Kemp — as well as 1999-born Bryce Kindopp have all spent the entire preseason with the team and are vying to make the roster in either their first or second year of full WHL eligibility. Recently signed Brandson Hein was also with the team through the final weekend of preseason games.
Defense
The leader on the blue line, Noah Juulsen (seven goals, 21 assists) will return … just as soon as the Montreal Canadiens let him go from their preseason training camp. The Abbotsford, B.C., native was Montreal’s first-round selection in 2015 and, while not expected to stick with the Canadiens this season, that possibility does exist.
That would spell trouble for the defensive unit, which was the strength of the team last season, but has been depleted by graduation (MacDonald), professional opportunities (Brycen Martin) and injury (Tristen Pfeifer).
Juulsen, linemate Lucas Skrumeda (one goal, 13 assists) and 19-year-old Kevin Davis (three goals, 13 assists) are the older returnees, along with 17-year-old Jake Christensen (four goals, four assists). Christiansen also played several games at forward last season when the need arose. So the Tips return plenty of defensive talent, but not much depth. That could make any extended absence by Juulsen a difficult proposition in the early part of the season.
Heading into the final weekend of the preseason there were no fewer than four rookies fighting for the remaining three slots the Tips will maintain. That total doesn’t include 19-year-old Mackenzie Dwyer, who is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in January.
Sixteen-year-old Gianni Fairbrother got a taste of the league last spring with appearances in three postseason games, and 17-year-old Snohomish County native Wyatte Wylie appeared in one game in the playoff series with Seattle. Other 2000-born defensemen Ian Walker and Montana Onyebuchi are competing for roster spots.
Goaltenders
Eventually one runs out of superlatives for Carter Hart. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native was named the WHL and CHL Goaltender of the Year last season and was the first net-minder taken in June’s NHL draft when the Philadelphia Flyers selected him in the second round. He’s grown a bit to 6-foot-2 — still “small” by goalie standards, but taller than last season.
Hart (35-23-1-3, 2.14 GAA, .918 save percentage) isn’t particularly flashy, but he’s rarely caught out of position. He has excellent athleticism and great skating ability for a goalie. The only caveat is that Hart might miss significant time this year after playing in 63 games last season because he has a shot to make Team Canada’s World Junior squad in January.
Backup Mario Petit (3-3-4-0, 2.80 GAA, .883) showed flashes of ability during the limited opportunities he received last season. Petit was at his best in the postseason when he filled in as Hart recovered from a strained hamstring. Petit won the first three games of Everett’s sweep of Portland in the first round of the playoffs, and had a 1.30 GAA and .953 save percentage in four playoff appearances.
Everett also added Lasse Petersen (12-8-1-0, 3.04 GAA, .891 save percentage) in a trade with Spokane to increase depth. Petersen started all six Chiefs playoff games and fashioned a 2-3-1 record with a 3.25 GAA and an .883 save percentage as Spokane took regular-season champion Victoria to six games.
