Jesse Huhtala out, Taylor Cote in

Published 7:52 pm Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Tips made a move at the back of their forward rotation tonight, releasing Finnish forward Jesse Huhtala and calling up forward Taylor Cote.

Huhtala, 17, was selected 51st overall in this year’s import draft. However, he did not appear in any of Everett’s first six games. His destination is yet to be determined.

Cote, who turns 17 in November, is a player Everett listed last season. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Falher, Alberta, had been playing with the Grand Prairie Storm of the AJHL, where in 12 games he had two assists and 39 penalty minutes.

Both of these moves are a tad surprising, but not as much as you might think. Huhtala is a Euro and it’s rare for Euros to be out-and-out released. But the Tips were on the fence about using their pick in the import draft in the first place, and Huhtala was a healthy scratch throughout his tenure with the team. Meanwhile, Cote did not attend training camp this season, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear his name as an early-season call-up. But I know general manager Doug Soetaert was enthusiastic about Cote’s abilities after the team listed him.

So what are the Tips getting in Cote? Well, he’s been described to me as a tough customer, someone who plays a physical game and is willing to drop the gloves. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits into the puzzle, as Everett still has 15 forwards on the roster.