LYNNWOOD – The Everett Silvertips have had enough of the preseason. It’s time for the games to begin.
Everett departs today for Saturday’s season opener at Kamloops, and the Silvertips are ready for the regular season to start.
“It’s good to have exhibition, but it’s good for it to be done, too,” newly appointed alternate captain Mark Kress said. “It helps to get the team ready, but I’m happy it’s done and now the points matter.”
Everett begins it’s third Western Hockey League season Saturday, and the Silvertips are looking to build upon the success of Everett’s first two seasons. Two seasons ago Everett finished 35-27-8-2 and won the U.S. Division and Western Conference titles, and last season the Tips were 33-28-9-2 and reached the second round of the playoffs.
“I think we’re ready to go,” defenseman Cody Thoring, another alternate captain, said. “Everyone’s anxious and we’re all hyped up and ready to go. I hope that will carry over to the game and help us on the ice. There’s lots of systems and lots of new guys getting used to that. But once we get out there we can just play hockey.”
Everett has a solid mix of returning veterans and impact newcomers that the Silvertips are hoping will provide the right combination.
Among the top returning players are right wing Torrie Wheat, last season’s leading scorer with 25 goals and 32 assists; defenseman Shaun Heshka, last season’s leading scorer among defensemen with 12 goals and 26 assists; center Zach Hamill, who led the league in scoring among 16-year-olds with eight goals and 25 assists; and left wing Karel Hromas, who was second on the team in goals with 18.
The newcomers expected to have the biggest impact are center Peter Mueller, who the Silvertips lured away from the U.S. National Development Program; left wing John Lammers, acquired from Lethbridge in an offseason trade; and center Ondrej Fiala, Everett’s first-round pick in this year’s Import Draft.
“I think our team’s coming along well,” Kress said. “We’ve got lots of talent, lots of skill. So if we can just put it all together as a team, hopefully we can get things accomplished.”
In one unfortunate regard, the Silvertips are already in midseason form. Everett has six players who are injury concerns.
Four of those players – forwards Michael Wuchterl (concussion), Jesse Smyke (shoulder) and Zach Dailey (hand) and defenseman Graham Potuer (hand) – have already been ruled out of Saturday’s game.
Wheat, Everett’s captain, still hasn’t practiced since taking a shot off his foot last Sunday against Seattle. Both he and defenseman Jonathan Harty (shoulder) are listed as questionable.
With Mueller also out because of a suspension, Everett could be playing significantly short-handed.
On the plus side, defenseman Randy King has returned to the team and should be available for the opener. The 18-year-old King had an extended stay with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils before returning to Everett on Thursday.
The Silvertips start the season on the road for the third straight year – in 2003 the final touches were still being put on the Everett Events Center, the last two years the team has had to wait until October to play at home because of United States immigration laws.
Kamloops should provide a stern test in the opener. The Blazers had a down year last season, going 26-37-7-2 and finishing fourth in the B.C. Division. But with 2004 first-round NHL draft pick Devan Dubnyk in goal and skilled left wing Kris Versteeg having recently arrived via trade with Lethbridge, Kamloops is expected to be stronger this season.
The Tips are hoping Saturday’s game is just the first step to bigger and better things.
“We have the talent to do it all,” Thoring said. “I hope we have the heart. I think we do. It’s going to take a lot of time to build up our systems and get everybody playing in the right spot. But we’re capable of great things this year if we want it bad enough.”
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