EVERETT – How is the Everett Silvertips’ most accomplished alum treated upon returning to town?
They stick him in a bear suit.
Riley Armstrong returned to the Everett Events Center on Sunday and ended up putting in a stint as Lincoln, the team mascot, firing up the home fans prior to the start of the Silvertips’ game against Spokane.
“No one really knew it was me,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “It was a little change. I was laughing the whole time, but it was pretty fun.”
But not as much fun as his current gig, playing for the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League.
Armstrong, one of the vital cogs in Everett’s dream run to the Western Hockey League championship series last season, became the first ever Silvertip to sign an NHL contract when he was signed by the San Jose Sharks prior to the start of this season. So instead of spending his 20-year-old season in Everett, he’s been playing for San Jose’s affiliate in Cleveland, just one step away from the NHL.
And with the AHL all-star break taking place last weekend, Armstrong, who tied for the Silvertips lead in scoring last season with 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists), took the opportunity to make a return to Everett.
“We’ve got four or five days off to go wherever you want,” Armstrong said. “A lot of guys went to Miami, but I came back here instead. I love this place. I just wish I could be playing here still, but I guess that’s what happens. You have to move on to better things to better your career and hopefully go to the NHL one day.”
Armstrong has made a relatively smooth transition to professional hockey. He’s played in 43 of Cleveland’s 53 games, registering three goals, seven assists and 75 penalty minutes.
Currently Armstrong is switching between center and wing on a line with Cleveland’s top two scorers, Ryane Clowe and Marcel Goc.
Among the highlights of his time with the Barons was scoring a goal at Edmonton in front of his family.
“Things are going great,” Armstrong said. “At the start of the year I didn’t really play much. Now I’m playing lots. I’m on the first line, power play, penalty kill, and that’s all I can ask.
“I actually wasn’t playing much till Christmas time and I thought I was going to come back here,” Armstrong continued. “But everything turned around and it’s been going great since then.”
The biggest challenge for Armstrong has been getting used to playing against older, stronger and faster players in the AHL, which he described as a significant step up from the level of hockey played in the WHL.
“It’s just speed and strength,” Armstrong said about the differences. “In the Western League I might be able to outmuscle some guys, while there I don’t really outmuscle too many guys. It’s more about being smarter, trying to manuever around the guy instead of just trying to go right through him.”
Not bad for a player who had a total of 16 WHL points prior to last season. Armstrong gives the Everett coaching staff a lot of credit for helping him become a player capable of competing in the AHL.
“It was huge,” Armstrong said. “Having a year with Kevin (Constantine), Jay (Varady) and coach B. (John Becanic), they’re awesome coaches. They know what it takes to get to the next level and that’s why you have so many kids that will go to the next level on this team.”
And what did Armstrong do when he was still trying to adjust in Cleveland?
“My confidence was starting to go and then all of a sudden one game I just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to play like I did in Everett.’ After that it all changed.”
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