The Everett Silvertips added 13 players to their organization during Thursday’s WHL bantam draft. However, the biggest news generated by the Tips on Thursday involved a player on his way out.
Everett bid farewell to one of its top scorers during Thursday’s bantam draft, trading Russian forward Ivan Nikolishin to Red Deer in exchange for a pair of bantam picks.
Nikolishin finished as Everett’s third-leading scorer last season as an 18-year-old, posting 62 points (16 goals, 46 assists) in 72 games. However, after two years with the Tips Nikolishin became disenchanted. Everett responded by trading him to Red Deer in exchange for a third-round pick in Thursday’s bantam draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2017. The conditional pick is contingent on Nikolishin playing as an overager for the Rebels in 2016-17.
“It was one of those situations where Ivan spent two years with us and was looking for a change of scenery,” Everett general manager Garry Davidson said from Calgary, Alberta, where Thursday’s draft took place. “Red Deer is hosting the Memorial Cup and liked the idea of acquiring a Euro who was already over here. I think it’s a fit for everybody. Ivan had two good seasons with us and we wish him the best going forward.”
Despite two productive seasons in Everett — Nikolishin finished with 34 goals an 87 assists in 144 games with the Tips — there were rumblings after the season ended that Nikolishin may not return to Everett next season and instead remain home in Russia for his 19-year-old season. Davidson said Nikolishin will report to Red Deer, which is the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup.
“I think that was a concern,” Davidson said about the possibility Nikolishin would not return to Everett. “It’s always a concern with Euros because they can go back (to Europe) at any time. It’s especially true with Russians because of the KHL, and Ivan’s dad is a coach in the KHL. So a chance to play for the Memorial Cup host team was attractive to both Ivan and his agent.”
Nikolishin’s departure is a blow for Everett’s offense. The Tips already lost leading goal scorer Kohl Bauml to graduation, and points leader Nikita Scherbak is expected to spend his 20-year-old season playing professionally. The additional loss of Nikolishin means Everett will almost certainly lose three of its top four scorers.
“(Nikolishin) certainly provided positive offensive production,” Davidson said. “We’ll have to address that, but in saying that, there are three very good offensive players (Auston Matthews, Tyson Jost, Patrick Khodorenko) we’re trying to recruit in, and we’ll go back into the Euro draft and hope to replace one offensive forward with another offensive forward.”
Matthews, who’s projected to be the first-overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, is expected to make his decision between playing next season for Everett or an NCAA school within the next couple weeks. Matthews’ choice could influence the decisions of Jost and Khodorenko.
By trading Nikolishin, Everett will be able to draft two players in this summer’s CHL import draft.
Everett made one other trade during the draft, sending prospect forward Andrew Fyten to Calgary in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. The pick is a sixth rounder if Fyten reports to the Hitmen, then upgrades to a fifth rounder if Fyten appears in 12 games. Davidson said Fyten, originally a fifth-round pick by Everett in the 2013 bantam draft, was questionable on whether he would commit to the Tips for next season.
As for the draft, which distributed the rights to players born in 2000 from western Canada and the western United States among the WHL’s 22 teams, the Tips came away with 13 players — seven forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender. The players drafted this season are not eligible to play full-time for Everett until the 2016-17 season.
The Tips didn’t have a first-round pick as it was traded to Saskatoon last September in the deal that brought Scherbak to Everett. But the Tips believe they made the most of their high number of mid-round picks. The pick acquired in the Nikolishin trade gave the Tips nine selections between the third and sixth rounds.
“We’re very excited with the way the draft went,” Everett director of player personnel Bil La Forge said. “Not having a first-round pick you never know how it’s going to go. We got a guy we had tabbed as a first-round pick, so we’re excited about it.”
That guy is center Brett Kemp. Kemp, who hails from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, was Everett’s first selection, taken in the second round at 40th overall. The 5-foot-9, 140-pound Kemp played this season for a stacked Yorkton UCT Terriers bantam team that won the Saskatchewan provincial championship and had five players among the first 46 drafted. Kemp finished with 37 goals and 42 assists in 30 games.
“He’s an all-around player,” La Forge said. “He plays a 200-foot game and has the ability to put up numbers. He’s an offensively-gifted player who plays responsibly.”
Everett addressed the defense with its next two picks, using its two third rounders to select Ian Walker from Vancouver, B.C., and Montana Onyebuchi from Dugard, Manitoba. Both have good size, measuring in at 6-foot-1, and La Forge said both have a physical element to their game.
The Tips also continued their strategy of drafting high-end Americans who aren’t committed to playing in the WHL (Matthews in 2012 and Khodorenko in 2013 are examples of that strategy). The likes of Arizona center Ryan Savage (fourth round), California winger Nick Castro (fifth round), Colorado defenseman Will Brown (sixth round) and Minnesota forward Demetrios Koumontzis (eighth round) would have been picked earlier in the draft had they been 100-percent committed to the league. Savage, the son of former NHLer Brian Savage, in particular was described by La Forge as a first-round talent.
Everett picked one Washington native, nabbing Buckley center Dawson Butt in the sixth round. It’s the fourth straight year the Tips picked a Puget Sound native.
“I think we’ve built the team over the last few years on guys who can think the game and play with speed,” La Forge said. “Every guy we drafted we’re confident in their hockey sense, their skill and their skating. We’re confident the guys we drafted will fit the Silvertips mould.”
There were no Snohomish County players selected in this year’s draft.
Spokane, which had the first-overall pick, used it on defenseman Ty Smith from Lloydminster, Alberta. Smith, who was the defensive partner of Everett’s 2014 first rounder Jantzen Leslie in 2013-14, was the consensus top-overall prospect.
Siilvertips bantam draft pick capsules
The Everett Silvertips selected 13 players in Thursday’s WHL bantam draft. That included seven forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender. The players are listed with the round picked, overall selection number in parentheses, position, height, weight, hometown, and a quote from Everett director of player personnel Bil La Forge:
2 (40). Brett Kemp, center
5-9, 140, Yorkton, Saskatchewan
“He’s an all-around player. He plays a 200-foot game and has the ability to put up numbers. He’s an offensively-gifted player who plays responsibly.”
3 (59). Ian Walker, defenseman
6-1, 155, Vancouver, B.C.
“We feel he has the ability to be a big-time player in the league. He’s a big kid who moves real well and can shoot the puck.”
3 (62). Montana Onyebuchi, defenseman
6-1, 180, Dugald, Manitoba
“He’s a big, rugged, physical defenseman. He’s an athlete. His puck skills are good and his feet are good.”
4 (67). Ryan Savage, center
5-10, 162, Scottsdale, Ariz.
“If he was from Canada he’d probably be a first-round pick. He could be the home-run of the draft because he’s a first-round scorer.”
4 (79). Gianni Fairbrother, defenseman
5-8, 155, North Vancouver, B.C.
“He’s very mobile, very intelligent and moves the puck out o the zone in a hurry.”
5 (88). Nick Castro, left wing
5-8, 165, Redondo Beach, Calif.
“He’s an offensive player who plays both sides of the puck, and that’s hard to find.”
5 (106). Orrin Centazzo, forward
5-7, 138, Marwayne, Alberta
“He plays fast and hard. He’s not the biggest kid, but he engages physically every shift.”
6 (117). Dawson Butt, center
5-10, 170, Buckley, Wash.
“He’s an elite-skating player with a lot of upside.”
6 (120). Ethan Scardina, center
5-9, 165, Surrey, B.C.
“He scored big goals at big times.”
6 (128). Will Brown, defenseman
5-10, 150, Denver, Colorado
“He has the ability to be a top-pairing defenseman in the league if he decides to come.”
7 (150). Zachary Bennett, goaltender
5-9, 139, St. Paul, Manitoba
“We like the fact he’s so technically sound. He’s always in position.”
8 (172). Demetrios Koumontzis, forward
N/A, N/A, Edina, Minn.
“He’s an elite skater who scored over 100 points, so he’s a special talent.”
9 (194). Curtis Ireland, defenseman
5-6, 127, Brandon, Manitoba
“He’s a small guy, but he’s an extremely intelligent player who could be a steal if he develops.”
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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