Well, with Dan Gendur now back from rookie camp with the Vancouver Canucks, the Tips officially have overager decisions to make.
Everett brought six overagers in this preseason: forwards Gendur, Ondrej Fiala, Brennan Sonne and Brandon Campos, defenseman Dane Crowley and goaltender David Reekie. Of course, teams are allowed just three overagers. Two of those six (Fiala and Crowley) are still away at NHL camps and may not return. Neveretheless, it’s possible the Tips will be forced to pare three of those players from their roster.
If Fiala and Crowley both return, it’s a mess. Now don’t me wrong, it’s not a bad mess to have, having so many qualified candidates for the positions. But the logistics of the situation could really get tangled. Consider:
– Fiala may be the best player among the group, being a second-round NHL draft pick. However, he’d burn both an overager and a Euro spot, and the Tips have two other viable Euros in Lukas Vartovnik and Vitali Karamnov. He’d also be playing on a reconstructed knee.
– As a backup last season Reekie was as good as any starter in the league. But can a team afford to burn an overage spot on a backup goaltender?
– Sonne gives the appearance of being a role player, but he also fills some niches, being a good fighter, a good leader and money in a shootout.
– Campos has untapped offensive abilities, having been a big-time scorer in the BCHL.
You have to figure Gendur has a spot, and if Crowley returns he’d have one too. After that it all depends on how general manager Doug Soetaert wants to dominoes to fall on the roster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the final decisions taken all the way to the overager deadline on Oct. 11.
So I’m curious. How would you all sort out the overager situation, should everyone return?
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