EVERETT — During their five years in existence the Everett Silvertips have done just about everything possible to cement their presence in the local community:
They’ve fielded competitive teams and built an enthusiastic fan base. They’ve gotten involved in the area youth hockey programs.
They’ve made appearances at local schools, hospitals, etc.
Just one thing’s been missing to tie it all together.
Where’s the local player?
During their five seasons no Snohomish County native has ever played for the Silvertips. No one’s even been close.
Ryan Doner hopes to be the one to change that.
The 16-year-old forward from Mukilteo made history last year when, following a successful rookie training camp, he became the first true Snohomish County resident to crack Everett’s 50-player protected list. Now Doner’s hoping to make history again by becoming the first local product to make the roster.
“That would be a real good opportunity, to play WHL here,” Doner said in advance of today’s Green vs. White game, which concludes rookie camp. “It would be a lot of fun because it’s my hometown and everybody I know around here could come to the games. It would be cool.”
Everett’s had players from Washington in the past. Center Damir Alic, who played for the Tips from 2005-07, was from Kent, and winger Eric English, who was on the team last season, hails from Vancouver. But neither of those locations are exactly walking distance from Snohomish County.
And technically Doner isn’t the first county kid on Everett’s protected list. T.J. Oshie, a first-round NHL draft pick, grew up in Everett. However, he’d already left the area behind to attend high school in Minnesota when he was briefly on Everett’s list, and he never expressed any interest in playing for the Tips.
So Doner finds himself in a unique position in franchise history.
“I think it’s great,” Tips director of player development Scott Scoville said of having a local player on the protected list. “Hopefully there’s a lot more to come. As the minor hockey system evolves hopefully the players will follow and we’ll get a few more who are legit prospects for our team.”
Doner’s hockey history reads more like a Canadian kids’ than an American’s. The son of one of the first Puget Sound-area players to play major NCAA Division I hockey — his father Lexi played at the University of Wisconsin from 1979-84 — Doner began skating when he was 3 years old and started playing hockey a year later. And the fact that his father is the owner of the Kent Valley Ice Centre meant Doner always had an ice surface available.
But Doner and the Tips may never have connected if not for the efforts of former Everett captain Mitch Love, who arranged Doner’s invitation to last year’s rookie camp.
“I train here at Everett Physical Therapy and a guy by the name of Lance Miller, who was there before, said he met Ryan’s father and said he was looking for a place for Ryan to play,” Love explained. “I said I’d see what I could do, I could talk to (Tips general manager Doug) Soetaert and see if we can get him in there at rookie camp. Then next thing I know Doug’s giving him an invite and here he is at camp.”
Doner came to last year’s rookie camp as a relative unknown to the scouting staff. But he put on a show with his skill and skating, and by the time camp ended he was on Everett’s protected list.
“Obviously he’s a very good skill player,” Scoville said. “He’s got good hands, good wheels, good vision when he has the puck. He’s got some things he has to improve on, but the all-around package scouts are looking for is there.”
Being locally based afforded Doner some perks, namely being able to join Everett’s practices on occasion. Once every few weeks there would be Doner, participating in drills during practice, then lighting up Tips goaltender Leland Irving with some fancy shootout moves afterward.
“It was a real good opportunity to come out and be able to fly around with these guys, get the tempo to my game faster,” Doner said. “I think it’s good for me to be pushed like that, to be able to fire the puck faster. Usually playing at the level I’m playing at it’s hard to get guys that can move the puck with me, so it’s good to have these guys out here with me.”
Having a dearth of local hockey products on hand can be something of a disadvantage for the Tips. Most of the teams in the WHL are based in locations that produce their share of WHL talent, players who grew up watching and rooting for the local team and are therefore partial towards that organization. Because of allegiance or travel considerations, non-drafted players tend to be more partial to accepting camp invitations from the local team.
Take a team like Brandon. The Wheat Kings have long been known for populating their roster with local kids. Last season the Wheat Kings had 16 players from Manitoba suit up for the team.
That’s something the Silvertips would like.
“We want the 6-, 7-, 8-year-olds going to their parents saying they want to play hockey,” Scoville said. “As they grow up they’re going to watch the Everett Silvertips play. That’s happens in places like Brandon and Regina for years and years and years, so yeah it’s an advantage.
“But we’re seeing more and more local kids come to our camp every year and they’re holding their own,” Scoville added. “Hopefully in a few years we can add a few more legit prospects, and hopefully there’s someone in Everett who’s going to be a Silvertip someday.”
Maybe Doner will be the player who finally opens that door.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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