EVERETT — It wasn’t happening for Eric Doyle with the Everett Silvertips.
It wasn’t his fault. Draft a 15-year-old, cross your fingers and hope he develops. Sure, when the Silvertips took Doyle as their first-round pick in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft, the 15th overall selection, their hopes and expectations for Doyle were high.
After all, here was a rangy defenseman, already taller than 6-feet, with seemingly all the skills.
Yet, Doyle’s impact was less than hoped. Last January, the Silvertips traded him to Swift Current for Dane Crowley, Jordan Mistelbacher and a conditional third-round draft choice in 2008.
It was a trade that has helped both teams. Crowley and Mistelbacher are mainstays for Everett, while Doyle has blossomed with the Broncos.
Playing the classic stay-at-home defenseman, Doyle has been solid with the Broncos. In 34 games, he has scored eight goals and racked up 21 assists, which already matches his totals from all of last season. His 6-foot-3, 185-pound body seems to glide along the ice and he has a heavy shot from the point.
“He’s had a real good start to the season,” Broncos coach and general manager Dean Chynoweth said. “He knows he has some areas of his game that he needs to address and he’s addressing those. He’s simplified his game instead of trying to be everything from the offensive side. He’s realized that there’s a defensive side of the game.
“He hasn’t played as high-risk as he was when we first got him.”
In Everett, the criticism was that Doyle had all the tools to excel, but the fire was often missing. That’s changed, as Doyle showed Wednesday night in Swift Current’s 3-1 victory against the Silvertips, in which he tallied an assist, was solid in the back line and let loose of several wicked slap shots during power plays.
Doyle skates with a new sense of confidence today. Now halfway through the season, he displays a maturity at 18 that he simply couldn’t show before. It’s been a natural physical and mental growth that’s allowed him a clearer understanding of himself and his game.
“I’m a year older and I’ve had two years in the league,” he said. “I think I’m getting a lot more confident. I’m playing how I can play and I’m getting more opportunities here to play my style of game.”
Doyle speaks of Everett without bitterness. He valued his time here. He also understands the business aspect of the game. Doyle also realizes that the trade worked out for him in the long run.
“I love the team and I love the city,” he said of Swift Current, “even though it’s a lot different than here. It takes about two minutes to drive from one side to the other. But it’s nice.”
A bigger disappointment for Doyle was that he was left unselected in the NHL Entry Draft.
“It was tough at first,” Doyle said. “It was a bit like the trade. You’re kind of upset at first, but you’ve got to suck it up and get back to work. It was definitely tough, but I’m using it as motivation to improve my game all around.”
Maybe that’s what it took to bring more out of Doyle. Certainly, he came into camp with a renewed sense of purpose. The players and coaching staff noticed and rewarded him with a block A on his sweater, signifying him as assistant captain.
“It’s pretty nice to have that,” he said. “It’s nice to have the coaches and players look at me as a leader. It’s definitely an honor. I try my best to lead the guys by example.”
That may be the biggest indication of Doyle’s development, both as a player and as an individual. Should he continue, he shouldn’t look at the 2008 Entry Draft in quite the same way.
“He’s a legitimate prospect,” Chynoweth said. “I see him as a guy who might be a later bloomer. He’s one of those guys in this league whose better years are ahead of him still.”
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.
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