EVERETT — Josh Caron cuts an imposing figure on the ice.
At 6-foot-4, the Everett Silvertips’ new overage defenseman not only towers above most of the team, his 215 pounds make it a thick 6-foot-4. Everett equipment manager James Stucky even had to make some alterations to Caron’s chin strap during Thursday’s practice, Caron’s first with the team, just so Caron’s helmet would fit.
And then, of course, there’s Caron’s reputation, which may just make all the Tips stand a little taller.
Everett acquired one of the league’s toughest customers when the Tips traded for Caron earlier this week, and Everett is hoping his addition to the lineup will aid in the development of a young Tips team.
“Everybody knows who Josh Caron is in this league and it’s going to help in a lot of different ways,” Everett coach Mark Ferner said.
“I’m an edgy player,” Caron said. “I’m a physical player, I’m mean, and obviously I’m going to drop the mitts a bit. I’m just going to be a hard-nosed, hard-working player who plays solid defensively and does what he can to help the team out.”
Caron was acquired late Tuesday night from Kamloops in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Caron had fallen a bit out of favor in Kamloops, and he recently completed a three-game suspension for a checking-to-the-head major penalty. Caron knew something was up earlier Tuesday when he was kept home while the rest of the Blazers headed to Victoria.
“It was a shock,” Caron said of the trade. “I didn’t expect to be traded, I’d been with the Blazers for four years. But I take it as a positive, I’m going to keep going with my hockey and do what I can.
“Obviously, things weren’t going as well as I wanted them too (in Kamloops),” Caron added. “But I think the change is good. I think it will be good to get a new start, get my image back and do what I can to get my game better.”
Everett already had the league’s leader in penalty minutes in winger Jesse Mychan. With Caron in the fold, the Tips now have the top two names on the league’s penalty minute list. Both players’ totals are heavily spiked with fighting majors.
Mychan is currently in the midst of serving a 10-game suspension for a checking-to-the-head major penalty, meaning Caron’s presence as a deterrent is all the more needed in the short term.
But the Tips didn’t acquire Caron just to be a tough guy. The Campbell River, B.C., native is in his fourth season in the WHL, meaning he brings plenty of experience to an inexperienced Tips team. He also can play, as evidenced by his signing a free-agent contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild in 2010.
“He’s earned that reputation, but we want him to play, too,” Ferner said. “We can’t punch the goals in. But hopefully we can spend some less time in our own end just because of his experience and his ability to play. Being able to add a 20-year-old defenseman who’s been in the league four years, with a young a group, is going to help not only on the ice but off the ice.”
Caron’s presence this weekend is all the more important as Everett captain Ryan Murray will not be available. Murray, the team’s defensive leader, has been out since Oct. 19 because of a sprained ankle. The Tips hoped Murray would be ready to return this weekend. However, Murray suffered a small setback during the week and will be give a few extra days to recover.
Caron is the second player Everett has acquired from Kamloops in the space of two weeks. Earlier, the Tips picked up winger JT Barnett from the Blazers in exchange for a third-round bantam pick in 2013.
Slap shots
Everett will be without winger Zach McPhee for more than a month. McPhee underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee Thursday morning. The scope revealed no major damage, but McPhee had some debris cleaned out and will be out until the new year. … Portland, Everett’s opponent tonight, will have overage winger Oliver Gabriel available for the first time this season. Gabriel, who has a history of playing well against Everett, was returned to Portland by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week.
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.
