Four Silvertips await call for NHL draft

The NHL draft begins Friday night in Las Vegas, and as many as four Everett Silvertips could hear their names called over the course of the draft’s two days.

Center Julius Miettinen, defensemen Tarin Smith and Eric Jamieson, and winger Jesse Heslop were all listed in the NHL Central Scouting Service’s final rankings for this year’s draft. The first round begins at 4 p.m. (Pacific Time) Friday, while rounds two through seven commence at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Miettinen is likely to hear his name called first. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound native of Helsinki, Finland, was ranked 19th among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings, with some prognosticators suggesting he could sneak into the end of the first round. Miettinen is coming off a rookie 17-year-old season in which he tallied 31 goals and 36 assists in 66 games.

Smith came in at No. 38 in Central Scouting’s final rankings for North American skaters. The 6-foot-1, 176-pounder from Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, had eight goals and 36 assists in 67 games last season as a 17-year-old rookie. His ranking suggests he’ll be selected during Saturday’s earlier rounds.

Both Miettinen and Smith were among the 100 players invited to the NHL scouting combine held earlier this month in Buffalo, N.Y.

Jamieson came in at No. 84 among North American skaters, despite being passed over last year in his first year of NHL draft eligibility. The 6-foot-3, 204-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, had 10 goals and 22 assists in 66 games last season. His ranking is that of a player typically taken in the late rounds of the draft.

Heslop finished at No. 136 among North American skaters. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder from Nanaimo, B.C., tallied 19 goals and 35 assists in 61 games last season as a 17-year-old sophomore. His ranking puts him on the draft bubble.

Only one other time in franchise history has Everett had four players selected in one NHL draft, that being 2006 when center Peter Mueller, goaltender Leland Irving, and wingers Ondrej Fiala and Brady Calla were all selected in the first three rounds.

Everett had two players selected in last years draft, as defenseman Kaden Hammell was taken in the fifth round by the Seattle Kraken, while center Austin Roest was picked in the sixth round by the Nashville Predators.

If Miettinen is selected in the first round, he’ll be the first Everett player to go in the first round since defenseman Noah Juulsen was taken 26th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2015.