Happy first day of spring!
Of course with the WHL playoffs getting started this weekend the focus remains indoors at the hockey rink. The Everett Silvertips held an hour-long, competition-heavy practice Monday before taking Tuesday off – sans some conditioning drills for certain players. The Tips will ramp it up again Wednesday and Thursday before they play host to archrival Seattle Friday and Saturday at Angel of the Winds Arena.
“This time of year a lot of it is keeping them physically rested and mentally sharp every time they come to the rink,” Everett head coach Dennis Williams said.
The WHL injury report does not update during the postseason so we can only go on what we see. Neither defenseman Kyle Walker (upper body) nor forward Martin Fasko-Rudas (upper body) took part in Monday’s team practice, but both skated afterwards with a trainer.
Walker has been out two weeks and did not travel with the team to Portland and Tri-City last week. Fasko-Rudas took that scary hit last Friday that led to a game misconduct for Victoria’s Lane Zablocki, so seeing him back on the ice appears to be a good sign. We probably will not know how ready either player is until we see them back in the lineup.
Fifteen-year-old goalie Blake Lyda has joined the team following the conclusion of his midget season back home in Alberta. You might remember he looked solid while debuting in a pair of games back in November. He is here to experience the environment and will not dress unless something catastrophic happens to Carter Hart or Dustin Wolf.
“He gets a chance to hang out with the guys and see how the day-to-day stuff goes, the guys’ prep(aration), going down to (Engineered Sports Therapy) for a workout and I think it will be good for him,” Williams said. “To get this type of experience is important. Not playing any games, but just being around the guys, see how the 20-year-olds act, and the 19s and 18s. I just think he can learn a lot of valuable lessons here over the next few weeks.”
– We will have comprehensive coverage coming Thursday and Friday as we preview the series. Meanwhile there are several other previews floating around out there including this thorough offering from the WHL:
Will it be a great day to be a @WHLsilvertips or will the defending champion @SeattleTbirds soar high once again over their rivals in the #WHLPlayoffs? #EVTvsSEA
PREVIEW 📰 | https://t.co/YnzfizSGdJ pic.twitter.com/ie1U1Jozy1
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 20, 2018
– There is also a piece from colleague Tim Pigulski who covers the Thunderbirds. It turns out the goalie numbers in the head-to-head series are closer than you might think:
Thunderbirds vs. Silvertips: By the numbers https://t.co/TE4tKmjRaw #EVTvsSEA #TBirds via @710ESPNSeattle @MyNorthwest
— Tim Pigulski (@tpigulski) March 19, 2018
– You can also hear from Tim, Jarred (who runs the TBirds Tidbits Twitter account) and Tips color man Justin Morrison on the latest edition of the TBirds Talk podcast:
– The guys over at Dub Network have their picks for the Western Conference All-Stars and yearly awards. You can give this a look and see if you agree:
2018 DubNetwork Awards: Western Conference First, Second and Third Teams by Brandon Rivers – https://t.co/4R2KtixxVb #DUBNetwork #WHL
— X – DUBNetwork (@dub_network) March 19, 2018
2018 DubNetwork Awards: MVP, Rookie of the Year and Goalie and Defensemen of the Year by Brandon Rivers – https://t.co/HJgGMdwenF #DUBNetwork #WHL
— X – DUBNetwork (@dub_network) March 20, 2018
Be sure to keep checking back as the week goes on.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
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