NHL plays key role for Tips

EVERETT — Peter Mueller. Zach Hamill. Leland Irving.

The list of players not present at Sunday’s veteran check-in for the Everett Silvertips’ main training camp was just as notable as the list of those who were.

And that summarizes just what this year’s preseason will be for Everett. The highest drama won’t take place on the ice at Comcast Arena, it’ll take place at far-flung locations like Phoenix and Tampa Bay, where it will be determined who will be returning to Everett this season and who will not.

Moreso than in any other year in franchise history, Everett faces uncertainty regarding its players heading off to NHL training camps. Mueller appears to be at least a 50-50 bet to stick with the Phoenix Coyotes this season. Overagers Ondrej Fiala, Dane Crowley and Dan Gendur are all candidates to earn contracts and play professionally in the minor leagues. Even Hamill and Irving have an outside shot at sticking with their NHL teams.

With Hamill and Irving away with Team Canada for the Canada-Russia Super Series, and with Mueller resting a groin injury before heading off to Phoenix’s camp, the Tips probably won’t see any of the three until the regular season starts, even if they do come back.

So as training camp begins today, it’s unclear just who Everett’s top players will be this season.

“We’re starting Year Five and with all the kids who have been drafted, there’s the possibility they might sign, or a Mueller or a Hamill might not come back,” Everett general manager Doug Soetaert said. “So we’re just moving ahead with the players we have in camp and we’ll make adjustments as we need.”

Everett has nine players who will be attending NHL training camps this season. They include Everett’s seven drafted players — Mueller, Hamill (Boston), Irving (Calgary), Fiala (Minnesota), Crowley (Tampa Bay), Gendur (Vancouver) and Taylor Ellington (Vancouver) — as well as a pair of undrafted players who received invitations — Graham Potuer (Detroit) and Vitali Karamnov (Edmonton).

Ellington, Potuer and Karamnov are virtual locks to be returned to junior, but there’s at least some doubt about the rest. And all of them will be headed to their respective NHL training camps with a purpose.

“I’m going to have to work pretty hard at camp to see what happens there,” Gendur said. “It’s every kid’s dream to get a pro contract. I’m just glad my foot’s in the door a little bit by being drafted.”

However, there’s still tasks on hand, namely the start of Tips training camp. Everett’s veterans take the ice for the first time in an official capacity at 10 a.m. today. The players will be split into two teams, with one team practicing at 10 a.m. and one at 11 a.m. The teams will then play a game at 5 p.m. The schedule remains the same through Wednesday with all sessions open to the public free of charge. Main camp concludes with the fourth annual Everett Silvertips pre-season tournament, which runs Friday through Sunday.

“It’s been a long offseason, obviously with what transpired last year at the end of the year,” Gendur said, referring to Everett’s unexpected second-round playoff exit at the hands of Prince George. “I think everyone is looking forward to getting this started up again.”

Other than the three prominent names listed above, everyone else who was expected checked in Sunday. That included Karamnov, the Russian center Everett picked up in this year’s import draft. Teams have had difficulty getting Russian players to North America because of the lack of a transfer agreement between the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Russian Federation. But Karamnov is safely in Everett.

More than 40 players total are participating in main camp. Among that group are 14 players who advanced from rookie camp to main camp. They include: forwards Brett Chartier, Cameron Abney, Tyler Parker, Byron Froese, Justin Waskewitch, D.Jay McGrath, Kevin Spotts, Kellan Tochkin, Markus McCrae and Paul Grenier; defensemen Paul Sohor, Gabriel Minville and Ryan Maul; and goaltender Kent Simpson.

“As we’ve done from Day One, there’s no one with a secure position on this hockey club,” Soetaert said. “Obviously we’ve got guys we expect to be back, but there’s not going to be any gimmes. So we’re looking forward to camp.”