Silvertips notebook: Everett quiet as trade deadline looms
Published 5:46 pm Tuesday, January 3, 2017
EVERETT — Wednesday is Jan. 4, which means we are less than a week from the Jan. 10 WHL trade deadline.
The Silvertips made their biggest move thus far just a week into the season when they acquired forward Dominic Zwerger. While it sounds like general manager Garry Davidson has been at work on the phone, his efforts have yet to lead to anything.
The Tips can always use more scoring up front, but they could also look to add a physical, experienced blueliner to help add depth to a young — but to this point effective — defensive unit.
One thing is for certain: with the Tips leading the Western Conference you can rest assured Everett won’t be selling this time next week.
And for those wondering about the last-place Vancouver Giants selling, Vancouver Province/Sun sports writer Steve Ewen tweeted Monday that he’s hearing “the Giants are telling teams they won’t trade players they think will be back in junior next season.”
That presumably takes star forward Tyler Benson off the table. The highly touted Benson was a second-round pick by Edmonton in the 2016 NHL draft and recently signed an entry-level deal with the Oilers.
Friday at Seattle
Meanwhile, Everett’s closest rival has been constantly shuffling and retooling all season. The Seattle Thunderbirds have made recent moves to improve their defense, a unit that has been a soft spot for the T-Birds. Seattle dealt for Calgary’s Aaron Hayman and Red Deer’s Austin Strand. As colleague Andy Eide of 710 ESPN and Dub Network noted, Seattle goaltender Rylan Toth has a 1.86 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage in his last six starts.
Last season goaltending was a liability for Seattle until it acquired overager Landon Bow from Swift Current at the deadline. Bow helped spark the T-Birds surge past Everett for the U.S. Division crown and eliminate the Tips in five games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Tips lead division
The remaining U.S. Division teams have substantial ground to make up if they’re going to catch the Silvertips, whose 56 points lead second-place Tri-City by nine.
However, Everett has a full five games in hand of the Americans, and four games in hand of third-place Portland, which has 43 points. Seattle is 14 points back of Everett with one more game played, and Spokane is 20 points behind with one additional game played.
The Thunderbirds figure to have the best shot of potentially catching Everett since the two teams meet eight more times. Seattle is a completely different team with Mathew Barzal at center. However, Everett is also a different team with Carter Hart and Noah Juulsen, so that will all factor into the equation when the three return from representing Team Canada at World Juniors.
Speaking of World Juniors…
Hart and Juulsen remain away with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Toronto and Montreal.
Canada knocked off the Czech Republic 5-3 in Monday’s quarterfinal round and will take on Sweden in Wednesday’s semifinals. The United States faces Russia in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Kamloops goaltender Connor Ingram started for Canada in its New Year’s Eve loss to the United States in round-robin play and in Monday’s win over the Czech Republic, but Team Canada head coach Dominique Ducharme hadn’t committed to a starting goalie for Wednesday’s game as of Tuesday afternoon.
Hart has won both games in which he’s played and has a 2.50 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. Ingram is 2-1 with an .867 save percentage and a 2.00 GAA.
Juulsen has an assist and is plus-three while appearing in all five contests for Canada. Seattle’s Barzal has three goals and four assists for the Canadians.
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