Import draft wrap (edited)

I just got of the phone with a very pleased Tips general manager Doug Soetaert. Defense was definitely the target for Everett and the Tips got their guys in the Finn Rasmus Rissanen and the Czech Radko Gudas. Soetaert was particularly pleased with getting Rissanen as he was the player the Tips had targeted from the start.

Both Rissanen and Gudas are stay-at-home types who play a physical game. They’re also both headed off to NHL camps in September as the soon-to-be 18-year-old Rissanen was taken in the sixth (edited) round of this year’s NHL draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, and the 19-year-old Gudas has been invited to attend training camp with the Los Angeles Kings.

There’s a reason why defense was the direction of choice for the Tips, particularly older d-men. Shayne Brown, who was questionable to return for his overage season because of chronic hip-flexor issues, will not be returning. Also 19-year-old Trevor Bauer may also not return, though the Tips have invited him back. Therefore, there’s a definite need for defensemen with experience. With the import draft the Tips have filled that void.

And they apparently have filled it without any lingering questions. Soetaert said both Rissanen and Gudas will be coming to Everett, and he said it with absolute conviction. So it sounds like the Tips don’t even have to worry about whether their Europeans will report.