EVERETT — Little by little the Everett Silvertips 16-year-old players are creating legacies they hope will last far longer than just their rookie campaigns.
Sunday it was Brian King’s turn to bask in the spotlight as the rookie center scored his first career goal during the Silvertips’ 2-1 victory at Portland.
“It felt amazing, you know?” King said. “I think that’s what everybody kind of dreams of coming into the WHL. It takes some pressure off of you, so it was a great feeling.”
Born in New Hampshire, King spent the past five years living in Golden, Colo. Yet it was during King’s formative years in New Hampshire that his love for hockey began — a byproduct of being “so close to Canada,” he said.
The Tips selected King in the fourth round of the 2014 bantam draft. But unlike his Canadian teammates, King didn’t grow up dreaming of playing in the WHL.
“They really do push NCAA in the U.S. so you really don’t find out much about juniors until maybe 14,” King said. “Probably the first time I had even heard of it was when I got drafted.”
Since players forfeit their NCAA eligibility upon signing with a WHL team, King soon faced the decision all prospects make: to sign or play in the United States Hockey League and retain his eligibility.
King traveled to Everett last February and spent a week skating with the team. That trip, along with WHL scholarship program, persuaded him to sign with Everett.
“I really loved the experience (and) everyone was great to me,” King said. “I love the fans. Overall, I loved Everett in general.”
Last season, King served as an alternate captain for the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 16U AAA team based in Westminster, Colo. In 10 games at East Coast Elite League events, King scored six goals to lead the RoughRiders and tied for third on the team with seven points. King also had three goals and eight assists in 18 games with the RoughRiders in Colorado Amateur Hockey Association play.
So far this season he’s appeared in six games with Everett.
“He’s a smart player, he’s consistent, he’s detailed in what he does,” Tips head coach Kevin Constantine said. “We have a lot of trust in him when he’s on the ice.”
The Silvertips have placed a lot of trust in their youth this season. Everett began the season with five 16-year-olds and currently have four with King, Connor Dewar, Riley Sutter and Jake Christiansen remaining on the roster.
Most WHL teams carry only one or two 16-year-olds, but this is the second time in Constantine’s current tenure Everett has kept four.
“It really depends on your drafting class and when players are ready and you do have some restrictions when you keep a 16-year-old,” Constantine said. “They have to play a minimum amount of games, so you’re handicapped in terms of how you put your roster together. They have to be good enough to play, but if they are good enough to play it’s nice to be developing another young crop.”
Constantine noted Everett’s 2012 draft class that netted Kevin Davis, Noah Juulsen, Patrick Bajkov and Matt Fonteyne. All played the 2013-14 season as 16-year-olds and the quartet now forms a solid core as 18-year-olds.
Everett hopes this year’s crop yields similar results. For now, King says, the players don’t really care about age at all.
“We (16-year-olds) do stick together since we go to school, but everyone on the team kind of gels,” King said. “The 20-year-olds hang out with us as much as we hang out with each other.”
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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