OK, here’s something for the nostalgia lovers.
For Everett’s game Friday against Prince George the Tips put together a line of Matt Fonteyne at center, Patrick Bajkov at right wing and Jake Mykitiuk at left wing. I was struck at just how identical it was to Everett’s fourth line in 2006-07 when the Tips won the Scotty Munro Trophy for the league’s best record. Consider:
– At center you have a 17-year-old third-round bantam draft pick in his second season with the Tips. He’s small in stature, but he can skate. He doesn’t have a lot of points and his specialty is defensive responsibility — he’s one of the first forwards out on the penalty kill — but there are hints offense could come in the future. 2014-15 version: Fonteyne. 2006-07 version: Zack Dailey.
– At one wing there’s a 17-year-old also in his second season with Everett. He showed up at training camp as a 16-year-old with no fanfare, but ended up earning a spot on the team. He’s a player with good offensive skill, but he’s still developing physically so progress is coming in gradual steps. 2014-15 version: Bajkov. 2006-07 version: Shane Harper.
– At the other wing there’s a 19-year-old in his first stint with the Tips, having just been plucked from the junior A ranks. He’s a diminutive player, but he was productive at the junior A level. 2014-15 version: Mykitiuk. 2006-07 version: Brandon Campos.
So the Mykitiuk-Fonteyne-Bajkov line is almost exactly the same as the Harper-Dailey-Campos line that was frequently used as Everett’s fourth line in 06-07. It’s not quite a perfect parallel. Mykitiuk is a little different type of player than Campos, being feistier and perhaps not expected to contribute as much offensively. Also, this season’s version was listed as Everett’s third line Friday rather than the fourth line.
But otherwise, I’m having flashbacks. If Everett ever gets healthy, I could totally see Mykitiuk, Fonteyne and Bajkov being Everett’s fourth line, though a different kind of fourth line as they would get pretty much as much ice time as the other three. And if Fonteyne and Bajkov end up with Silvertips careers that resemble Dailey’s and Harper’s, I’m sure the Tips would be thrilled.
I’m not sure this really means anything, but I thought I’d share it anyway.
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