EVERETT – The Everett Silvertips were in the middle of a scorching game with the Spokane Chiefs and Eric Doyle wished he’d been anywhere but in the stands, watching.
Even for a first-round draft choice, the Western Hockey League represents a cruel reality check. One of those realities is the vertical learning curve. And that means that even a gifted 16-year-old defenseman has times when he watches games from the stands.
“It’s my first time,” Doyle said. “It’s definitely tough. I want to be in there badly. But we just have too many guys right now. There’s going to be a couple defensemen out every game, but everybody’s got to pay their dues, I guess.”
That may not change immediately, even though the Silvertips traded defenseman Randy King Friday to the Prince George Cougars for a fifth-round WHL Bantam draft pick in 2006. The Silvertips still have eight defensemen on the roster. Doyle, who won’t turn 17 until April 5, is the youngest and least experienced.
Thus, he will have times when he’ll watch in street clothes.
“I definitely want to come in here and make an impact on the team and in the league as well,” Doyle said. “I think they’re kind of just easing me into it right now. I’m not really playing in all situations. I’m really not playing that much, but hopefully, by the end of the year I’ll be in all different situations. I just want the coaches to trust me and that every time they put me on the ice, they’re not worrying about the defensive end.
“The offense is there, but I still need to work on my defensive game.”
Certainly, the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Calgary has the skills. The son of former WHL player Larry Doyle (who scored 29 goals and had 38 assists in 141 games with the Lethbridge Broncos and the Flin Flon Bombers from 1976-79), Doyle had a fine year with the Calgary Buffaloes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League. In 34 games, he scored nine goals and added 20 assists.
“I’m thinking of offense every time I’m on the ice,” Doyle said. “Right now, the biggest thing I need to work on is the defensive end – knowing where everyone is on the ice, knowing the system, knowing when to go and when not to go. It’ll all come.”
Upon picking Doyle in the first round of the 2004 Bantam Draft, then-Silvertips general manager Doug Soetaert predicted Doyle would be “a cornerstone on our blue line during his junior career.”
It was a great time for Doyle then, being the 15th player drafted into the WHL. Everett had just completed its stunning expansion season, having reached the WHL finals against Medicine Hat. Doyle was well aware of what was going on here and was eager to be a part of it.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. “I’d heard such good things and they’re all true. They have the greatest fans in the league and it’s just a great organization.”
Now comes the difficult part. Doyle has to become accustomed to the speed of the game and learn the defensive fundamentals that coach Kevin Constantine demands.
The Silvertips carried four 16-year-old defensemen last season, all of whom, Constantine said, made great progress during the year.
“We’re hoping Eric will do the same thing,” Constantine said. “That being said, I think he’s ahead of where those guys were a year ago. Taking nothing away from those guys, but he’s ahead. He’s got such great poise with the puck. He’s really confident carrying the puck, bringing the puck, being the rush, being the trailer.
“Usually with young defensemen, they just want to survive. Eric wants to come in and be a factor and make some plays.”
His improvement on the defensive end of the ice will take time. No longer can Doyle solely use his talent to separate himself from others. He has to learn and master defensive fundamentals. Then his talent will again come to the fore.
“If he’s a little patient here in the beginning and we’re a little patient with him in the beginning, we think that by January, we anticipate that he’ll be a very regular part of our defense,” Constantine said. “It’s pretty rare for a 16-year-old to play on a power play and we’ve been comfortable putting him out there. We think he’s got a great upside.”
Patience. Another cruel reality for someone that young.
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