All right, Silvertips fans. Now for the bad news.
With the dream season comes one piece of misfortune.
Unlike last year, when the Silvertips entered their inaugural WHL draft with the No. 3 overall pick, Everett holds the 13th selection in today’s Bantam draft.
A Western Conference title at the expense of a high draft pick? That’s a tradeoff general manager Doug Soetaert will take every time.
“Every year you step on the ice to compete for a championship, whether you’re a first-year team or a team in its 10th year,” Soetaert said. “So we’ll take what we’re given, the No. 13 pick, and move ahead.”
Last year, the Silvertips took forward Zach Hamill with the third overall pick in the draft. While he played in four of his allotted five regular season games and then helped Everett’s playoff run, this year’s top pick isn’t likely to have the same impact.
The draft class is made up of 14- and 15-year olds, most of whom won’t see the ice for a year or two.
“For a 15-year-old to do what he’s done is pretty special,” Soetaert said of Hamill, who has two goals and three assists in the postseason. “He’s well on his way to becoming a very special hockey player in this league.”
That’s not to say that the latter part of the first round will be devoid of talent. Soetaert expects today’s selection to join Hamill as a lynchpin to the Silvertips’ future.
“Obviously it’s been a busy time for us, but our scouting staff has worked hard all year,” Soetaert said. “And we feel very confident that we’ll get a quality player with the 13th pick in the draft.”
Soetaert added that this year’s draft isn’t quite as deep as the one in 2003, but he believes there are plenty of quality players to be had in the first three rounds.
Everett was particularly pleased with its top two picks in last year’s draft, with Hamill and U.S. product Peter Mueller being at the top of most scouting lists. Mueller, the Silvertips’ second-round pick, was taken with the hope that he would one day play in the WHL even though his immediate goals were to join the under-17 national team and then play in college.
Soetaert said that Mueller is still in the team’s plans, and they hope to get the Minnesota native out to a game in the next two weeks so he can see what the WHL is all about.
There are a couple of Mueller types in this draft. Minnesota high school players Jimmy O’Brian and Nick Jaskowiak are eligible, but teams wonder whether they’ll ever play in WHL.
The top American-born prospect may be forward Drayson Bowman, a Colorado native who played in North Vancouver last season.
Most of the top prospects, as usual, are from Canada.
Many observers expect the top pick in today’s draft to be Whiterock, B.C., forward Colton Gillies. North Vancouver defensemen Ryan Kerr and John Negrin also could merit consideration.
The fact that there is no clear-cut No. 1 – or top-five, for that matter – could favor teams like Everett that pick near the end of the round. Among the players that Everett might consider at No. 13 are three defensemen from Calgary: Travis Erhardt, Thomas Hickey and Dan Nycholat.
The top-ranked goaltender, Tyson Sexsmith of Alberta, might also slide to that spot.
Because most of the players selected won’t join their teams for a year or more, the Silvertips look more for the best available player than specific needs on draft day.
“Our scouts have worked very hard, so we’ll try to stick with the final list,” said Soetaert, who has also done his fair share of scouting despite the organization’s busy schedule. ” … We feel we’re going to get three really good players in the first three rounds.”
The 12-round draft begins at 8 a.m. and can be followed through the Silvertips’ website (www.silvertips.com) or via the league site (www.whl.ca).
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