EVERETT — With one fell swoop the Everett Silvertips cleared up just about all their roster overcrowding issues.
The Silvertips traded left wing Ondrej Fiala to the Saskatoon Blades on Thursday, clearing up both Everett’s overager and European situations.
Everett received a conditional third-round bantam draft pick in return. Right now it’s for 2009 as Saskatoon does not have a third rounder in 2008. However, if the Blades later acquire a 2008 third rounder, it will be sent to the Tips.
Fiala, a native of the Czech Republic who turns 20 in November, was an impact player during his two-plus seasons with Everett. In 93 games he compiled 33 goals and 36 assists, being selected in the second round of the 2006 NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild.
But Everett had five players vying for the three overage roster spots and three players competing for the two European spots. Fiala would have burned both an overager and a European spot, something the Tips decided they couldn’t afford.
“We ran into a decision where we had an abundance of 20s and we had to make a decision,” Everett general manager Doug Soetaert said. “It was a very difficult decision because we like Ondrej Fiala both as a player and as a person.
“But in reality he took up two spots, so to keep him we would have had to give up a younger European player as well as another 20. We just didn’t feel we were deep enough to do it. We looked at it many times, but we felt this was the best thing for us, and Ondrej gets to continue to play in the WHL.”
Fiala’s departure sets Everett’s European situation with 18-year-old Slovakian left wing Lukas Vartovnik and 18-year-old Russian center Vitali Karamnov. Both are considered capable of playing on Everett’s top two lines.
The move also settles Everett’s overager situation, at least for the time being. The Tips still have four overagers in right wing Dan Gendur, left wing Brennan Sonne, defenseman Dane Crowley and goaltender David Reekie. However, Reekie is exempt from the Oct. 11 overager cutdown date until he recovers from his bout with mononucleosis.
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