Dahl returns to spark Tips; third-place faceoff tonight

EVERETT – When the original diagnosis came in, it was thought that John Dahl might miss as many as six weeks.

Yet 16 days later, there was Dahl, back on the ice and in the Everett Silvertips’ lineup last Friday against the Kelowna Rockets.

Dahl has made a lightning-fast recovery from a broken wrist, and his quick return should give a boost to the Everett offense.

“From what I understand it wasn’t that big of a break,” Dahl said. “Only having a cast on for two weeks and then playing with it again can’t be that serious. But at the same time, I’ve never broken my wrist before, or any other bone for that matter, so I guess I’ll just keep listening to what the doctor says. I can’t wait to get it off and start playing without it.”

Dahl was Everett’s leading scorer when he suffered the break on Nov. 12 at Vancouver. He missed the next four games and Everett was held to two goals in each of the four. He returned Friday against Kelowna, then scored the game winner against the Rockets on Saturday.

Dahl played both games against Kelowna with a removable cast to protect the wrist. He’s expected to continue using the cast during games for another week.

“Right now it’s still a little painful, but I don’t mind playing with the cast right now,” Dahl said.

“On Friday playing with the cast for the first time was a little awkward, just with passing and shooting and basic all-around puck handling,” Dahl added. “But it’s something I have to learn to play with because as much as I want it off, (the doctors) are not going to budge at all.”

The 20-year-old left wing is now tied with Chad Bassen for the team lead in goals with nine and trails Bassen by two for the team lead in points with 16.

Despite Dahl’s quick return, the Silvertips are not yet back to full strength. Several players are still feeling the lingering effects of a flu bug that spread throughout the team. Also, left wing Tyler Dietrich sufferend another shoulder injury. The new injury isn’t related to the previous shoulder injury that kept Dietrich out most of the first two months of the season, but he is expected to miss another week or two.

Scouting report: Tonight’s game begins a two-night, home-and-home series between the teams fighting for third place in the U.S. Division. Everett (11-10-3-1) and Portland (12-12-2-0) are currently tied with 26 points, with Everett having played one fewer game. Whichever team emerges from these two games will solidfy its place in third and put itself in position to challenge division leaders Spokane and Tri-City.

Portland’s biggest gun is 18-year-old defenseman Braydon Coburn. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Coburn was drafted eighth overall by Atlanta in the 2003 NHL Draft. He has six goals and 12 assists this season.

Up front, 17-year-old center Brandon Dubinsky (11 goals, 20 assists) leads the team in points with 31, and 18-year-old right wing Dan Da Silva is the team’s top goal scorer with 13.

Portland is also one of the more penalized teams in the league. The Winter Hawks have four players with more penalty minutes than Everett’s leader, Mitch Love, who has 56. Nineteen-year-old left wing Robin Big Snake has the most with 119.

In goal, 20-year-old Krister Toews has carried the main load for Portland. He is 10-10-2 with a 2.80 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.

Around the WHL: Everett’s slow-but-steady rise up the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association poll continued this week. After splitting games with Kelowna, the Silvertips advanced one place to No. 12, passing a Red Deer team that won the Eastern Conference last season. Kelowna received 14 first-place votes and remained No. 1. Swift Current, with three first-place votes, moved from fourth to second. Prince Albert was third. … Prince Albert forward Seth Leonard was named the WHL Player of the Week for Nov. 24-30. Leonard recorded back-to-back hat tricks, leading the Raiders to victories over Regina and Moose Jaw. He finished the week with six goals and two assists. … Swift Current forward Jeremy Williams was named the WHL Player of the Month for November. The 19-year-old Williams had 16 goals – including seven power-play goals and three game-winning goals – and nine assists in leading the Broncos to a 9-2-1 record.