Silvertips draft their first local player

It took 10 drafts, but the Everett Silvertips finally selected a local product.

Everett dipped into its own back yard when the Tips selected Mill Creek resident Daniel Woolfenden in the seventh round of Thursday’s WHL bantam draft.

Woolfenden, a 5-foot-9, 155-pound defenseman who plays in the Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association, was the 136th-overall selection in the draft. He is believed to be just the second Snohomish County product ever selected in the bantam draft. Mill Creek forward Brad LeLievre was selected by Seattle in the seventh round in 2010.

“I personally haven’t had the chance to see him play,” Everett general manager Garry Davidson said about Woolfenden. “But our coaches have seen him and he’s a player who has skills and can skate. I’m excited that there’s a local kid playing at this high a level, and hopefully he’ll have a chance to pull on a Silvertips jersey in the future.”

Everett has had one-time Snohomish County residents on its 50-player protected list in the past — T.J. Oshie, Ryan Doner — but the Tips had never drafted a Snohomish County resident, nor has one ever played a game for the team. Only two players from Washington — Damir Alic from Kent and Eric English from Vancouver — have ever suited up for Everett.

Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.