LYNNWOOD — There were two familiar faces back on the ice Thursday at Lynnwood Ice Center as the Everett Silvertips prepared for their second weekend of regular-season play.
Goaltender Carter Hart (Philadelphia) and forward Eetu Tuulola (Calgary) have each been returned to the Tips after spending time at their respective NHL team training camps.
And, while the coaching staff is happy to get players of that caliber back, it could make for what head coach Kevin Constantine termed a “scrambly weekend” when the Tips take on Portland at 7 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The weekend continues Sunday as the Tips travel to Kennewick to take on the Tri-City Americans at 5:05 p.m.
“Very excited to get them back but we had some rhythm and some lines that we have to juggle,” said Constantine, whose team opened the season with two wins over the Vancouver Giants. “So when you juggle things you don’t know what’s coming. So we’re happy to get them back but it’s going to take a while to get everybody situated.”
Tuulola, the Flames’ sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, is a Finn with a heavy shot who should help improve the offensive production.
“It was an amazing time (in Calgary),” Tuulola said. “I had a great experience there. I got to see how the NHL guys do it — the workout, how they prepare for the games and everything. It was awesome.”
Hart, the second-round pick of the Flyers, echoed Tuulola’s sentiments.
“It was a lot of fun,” Hart said. “It was a great experience being around all those pro guys and get a taste of what it’s like to be a pro. I learned a lot from them and learning how and what they do to be pros. Overall it was a great experience and I learned a lot.”
Defenseman Noah Juulsen remains away at camp with the Montreal Canadiens, but Tuulola and Hart can turn their focus back to Everett. The Tips had little trouble topping Vancouver twice in their absence.
Longtime nemesis Portland is up first followed by three consecutive games against Tri-City.
The Winterhawks welcomed back Mike Johnston, the coach and general manager during Portland’s recent heyday that included four straight Western Conference titles from 2010-2014.
Johnston was then hired away by the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins only to be fired part-way through last season. He returned to the Winterhawks after his successor, Jamie Kompon, was fired following Everett’s four-game sweep of Portland in last year’s playoffs.
“We’ve played Portland 30 times in the last two years so there are some tendencies that will remain,” Constantine said. “Mike was the coach two years ago and he’s back. They didn’t change a ton. It’s Portland.”
The Winterhawks opened the season with consecutive 7-3 victories over defending conference champion Seattle and Tri-City.
Skyler McKenzie leads Portland with three goals, while Ryan Hughes, Keoni Texeira and Brendan De Jong have all scored twice. Hughes, Cody Glass and Evan Weinger are tied for the team lead with five points each.
Graham Millar leads Everett with three goals while Matt Fonteyne and Patrick Bajkov each have four points. Devon Skoleski has scored twice.
Lasse Petersen and Mario Petit each recorded one win in net for the Tips last weekend.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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