Silvertips stand pat at deadline, feel good about current group

Published 7:30 pm Tuesday, January 10, 2017

EVERETT — The Western Hockey League’s annual trade deadline came to pass at 2 p.m. Tuesday and the Everett Silvertips did not make any last-minute deals.

The Tips were in the market to add a top-six forward after acquiring high-scoring, two-way defenseman Aaron Irving last week in a deal with Edmonton, but general manager Garry Davidson felt the asking prices were too high.

“There were certain players out there that we pursued aggressively, but again the price didn’t make sense,” said Davidson, whose team returns to action at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday against the Spokane Chiefs at Xfinity Arena. “We were going to have to sacrifice some good quality players that already contribute now and will be big contributors later on.”

Davidson didn’t name any specific players, but there were several big-name offensive talents who switched teams Tuesday. Everett surrendered a number of assets in acquiring Irving when they shipped highly regarded rookie forward prospect Brett Kemp, overage forward Graham Millar and a first-round pick in 2018 to the Oil Kings for Irving and a seventh-round pick in 2017.

The Tips are balancing the tension between loading up for a long playoff run this season without sacrificing a potentially strong season next year. Everett star goalie Carter Hart will likely play only one more season before heading to the professional ranks, while defenseman Kevin Davis and forwards Matt Fonteyne and Patrick Bajkov will potentially form one of the top overage trios in team history.

“I guess the old adage goes, ‘Sometimes the best trade you make is the one you don’t make,’” Davidson said. “Or as they say, ‘It’s better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.’”

Davidson emphasized the fact he did make two deals if you count the early season pickup of overage forward Dominic Zwerger from Spokane. Zwerger gave the Tips a much-needed offensive boost and is second on the team in scoring to linemate Bajkov.

The Zwerger trade has helped Everett go from 21st in the WHL in scoring last season to eighth this season. That, coupled with a league-best 2.19 goals-against average, is why they remain in first place in the U.S. Division and second to Prince George in the Western Conference.

The Tips are also poised to get Hart and star defenseman Noah Juulsen back from World Juniors in time for Friday’s game at Kamloops.

“I like our group,” Davidson said. “We’ve had a great first half and hopefully we can continue to play that good, solid, consistent team game night after night and I don’t see why not. I think we’ll be a handful for any team we play.”

The aforementioned Prince George Cougars showed they’re all in for this season as they wrapped up at the deadline with a number of significant changes. Prince George started by adding Russian import and projected NHL first-round draft pick Nikita Popugaev from Moose Jaw last week.

The Cougars weren’t done. They dealt for 1997-born import forward Radovan Bondra from Vancouver and added fellow 1997-born Tanner Wishnowski from the Spokane Chiefs.

A pair of other B.C. Division teams also made significant moves. Kamloops acquired Irving’s former teammate from Edmonton in defenseman Lane Bauer to shore up the Blazers defense. Kelowna added forward Reid Gardiner from Prince Albert and Carsen Twarynski from Calgary.

Whether it’s Prince George, Kamloops, Kelowna or even Victoria, whichever team comes out of the B.C. Division playoff bracket to take on the winner of the U.S. Division bracket will have made it through a daunting gauntlet.

Over in the Eastern Conference, Regina made a big trade with Red Deer to further solidify its place as a top contender, while Lethbridge made a number of moves in an attempt to close the 10-point lead Medicine Hat has in the standings.

Regina dealt for forward Jeff De Wit, defenseman Josh Mahura and conditional third-rounder for defenseman Dawson Barteaux, forward Lane Zablocki, two conditional first-round picks and one conditional third-round pick.

Lethbridge pulled off its own blockbuster when it received overage Kootenay forwards Zak Zborosky and Matt Alfaro, and a sixth-round pick for Brett Davis, Colton Kroeker, a second-round and a fourth-round pick. The Hurricanes also got Vancouver forward Alec Baer for a third-round pick.

It remains to be seen if Lethbridge will be able to close the gap on Medicine Hat, but the Hurricanes will be a tough matchup in the playoffs.

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