EVERETT — Nick Walters had a shadow during Everett Silvertips practice Tuesday afternoon at Comcast Arena.
Everett’s newest member, defenseman Lucas Grayson, practiced with the team for the first time Tuesday. And since Grayson and Walters were roommates and a defensive pairing while playing
for Team Pacific at last year’s U-17 World Hockey Challenge, it naturally fell upon Walters to show Grayson the ropes in his new home.
“We played pretty well together at the U-17s, then we got along off the ice,” Walters said. “Practicing with him today was good, it was fun. I just talked to him and tried to help him through some of the things he didn’t understand.”
It’s been a quick turnaround for Grayson. The 17-year-old native of Port Hardy, B.C., was acquired by Everett from Red Deer less than 24 hours earlier in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Now, Grayson is eager to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the Tips.
“I’m excited to be here,” Grayson said following practice Tuesday. “It’s a good group of guys.”
Grayson is a promising young defenseman. Originally a sixth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2009 bantam draft, he made the Rebels as a 16-year-old last season, tallying one goal, one assist and 71 penalty minutes in 40 games. He was also selected for the U-17s, meaning he was considered one of the top three defensemen from British Columbia in his age group.
However, Grayson found himself getting squeezed out in Red Deer. The Rebels have a deep defense, and Grayson dressed for just one of Red Deer’s first eight games. Therefore, finding out he’d been traded was not a shock.
“It passed my mind,” Grayson said about the possibility of being traded. “I wasn’t playing, so there had to be something up.”
Grayson said he “wanted to play and this seems a good place to come. It’s a bunch of good guys and it seems like I’m going to be playing here, so it makes me happy.”
Indeed, Grayson is being thrown straight into the fire. Everett coach Mark Ferner said Grayson would be in the lineup tonight against Brandon, despite having practiced just once with the team.
“He’ll play (today),” Ferner said. “We made the trade and we’ll get him into action right away, there’s no sense not to. He’s only played the one game, so he’s got to get some action.”
Just what type of player can Everett fans expect to see when Grayson takes the ice for the first time?
“I’m more of a defensive defenseman,” Grayson said. “I stay back, try to be hard in the corners and hard to play against. I try to make that good first pass and be simple.”
Grayson also has shown a willingness to drop the gloves. He participated in nine fights last season, despite his limited game action.
“I’ll drop the gloves the odd time,” Grayson said. “If it has to be done, it has to be done.”
While he has only just arrived in Everett, Grayson already has lofty goals for the remainder of the season.
“I want to be a top-four guy, be out there all the time and get some ice time and get my confidence up,” he said. “I haven’t played a lot, so I want to get my confidence back mostly.”
And Ferner plans on giving Grayson the chance he wasn’t getting in Red Deer.
“We like the way he plays, a real hard-nosed type of player,” Ferner said. “He fits really nice into that (1994-born) group we have.”
Rajcic promoted
Zoran Rajcic, who has been Everett’s director of business operations since the team began play in 2003, has been promoted to assistant general manager, the team announced Tuesday. Rajcic has been a key figure in Everett’s front office, earning the WHL’s marketing award in 2010.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
