Matt Grant has arrived, and practice is getting crowded

Published 1:06 pm Friday, December 30, 2011

Everett has added yet another player as winger Matt Grant, acquired earlier this season, has joined the team. The Tips acquired the rights to the 18-year-old Grant from Moose Jaw in the trade that sent goaltender Luke Siemens to the Warriors. Grant had been playing for the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL, where he had nine goals and 11 assists in 30 games. Grant practiced with the team Friday, but is not expected to play Saturday against his old team.

I don’t know whether Grant is here for the long haul or just while the Tips have injuries and players away at international tournaments. What I do know is there wasn’t much open ice at practice today. With the addition of Grant, Everett now has 29 (!) players currently on the roster — 17 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. Admittedly, three of those are away and three others have been injured. But injured forwards Manraj Hayer, Zach McPhee and Carson Samoridny all look like they’ll be ready to return soon, and those international tournaments will be over in another week. Not sure what happened to the 25-player roster limit, but Everett general manager Doug Soetaert has some work to do to sort this out before the Jan. 10 deadline.

Speaking of Soetaert, I sat down with him earlier in the week to get his assessment of the team’s situation heading into the new year. That Q and A session is scheduled for Saturday’s paper and it makes for some interesting reading, so check it out.