Observations on the protected lists

Published 2:35 pm Friday, June 12, 2009

Alan Caldwell (link on left) has now completed his rundown of the prospects for each WHL team. I thought it would be interesting to see how many names I recognized on other teams’ lists who have either been on Everett’s list or attended training camp with the Tips. Here’s what I came up with:

Former Everett listed players on other lists (with team, position and birth year):

Steven Seigo, Chilliwack, D, 90

Ryan Doner, Chilliwack, C, 92

Ryan McDonagh, Seattle, D, 89

Zach Budish, Tri-City, C, 91

Former Everett camp invitees now on other lists:

Sam Fioretti, Moose Jaw, RW, 93

This was all I could find, but it isn’t necessarily a complete list. If you happen to peruse Alan’s lists and come up with someone else, let me know.

So what do I read from this? First off, three of the four players who have changed hands are NCAA guys who aren’t expected to play in the WHL (Seigo, McDonagh, Budish), and I think shuffling of that type of player is fairly common. Otherwise, I find it an incredible testament to the depth of Canadian youth hockey. Alan’s prospect lists are made up primarily of 91s, 92s and 93s, essentially players who participated in the past three rookie camps around the league. I saw several players among Everett’s rookie invitees the past three years who caught my eye, but didn’t make Everett’s list (or were subsequently dropped). That there’s only two players who I can identify who were passed over by Everett and later picked up by other teams, I find it an indication of just how difficult it is for Canadian kids to make the WHL grade, even as prospects.