Silvertips acquire Monroe native Ormsby from Thunderbirds

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 2, 2017

EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips announced Thursday they have acquired forward Luke Ormsby from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for a ninth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft.

Ormsby is a 1999-born native of Monroe who was originally selected by Seattle in the ninth round of the 2014 bantam draft.

“He’s a player we had on our draft list when he was drafted, it just happened Seattle picked him before we did,” Everett general manager Garry Davidson said. “I like the way he plays. He skates and plays with energy and has some passion, so I think he’s going to be a positive addition to our group.”

A good friend of current Silvertips defenseman and fellow Snohomish County native Wyatte Wylie, Ormsby grew up learning to skate at what was then Comcast Arena. The duo were the first two Snohomish County natives to play in the WHL. Everett native Hunter Campbell became the third when he debuted this season with the Calgary Hitmen.

Ormsby is a former Everett Youth Hockey player who played his bantam season with the Los Angeles Junior Kings before spending two years with the Phoenix Junior Coyotes of the T1EHL.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound winger debuted in four games with the Thunderbirds during the 2015-16 season and appeared in 65 games with six goals and five assists last season as the Thunderbirds won the WHL title. He played in one game at the Memorial Cup and in 11 regular-season games with the Thunderbirds this season before he was assigned to the Wenatchee Wild of the BCHL.

Davidson was not among those who were caught off-guard by Seattle’s decision to part ways with Ormsby.

“I’m never surprised about things anymore,” Davidson said. “It’s interesting how you look at another team and all of a sudden you hear this is is happening. … We’re dealing with young players that have all come out of levels where they’ve been dominant players and they aren’t dominant normally right out of the gate. And their expectations of where they are and where they need to be, and the reality of it sometimes don’t jive up, so things go sideways from time to time.”

In coming to Everett, Ormsby will join a strong 1999-born group of skaters that features forwards Riley Sutter, Connor Dewar and Bryce Kindopp in addition to defensemen Wylie and Jake Christiansen.

Ormsby was already in Wenatchee when the deal was consummated, but is expected back in town in time for Friday’s game against Prince George. The Cougars picked up Pavel Azhgirei whom the Tips waived Wednesday afternoon, so it’s possible the Belarus native could face his old team in his first game with his new squad.

For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.