CALGARY – The Everett Silvertips find themselves viewing this year’s bantam draft from a different perspective than in years past. This year, the Tips are at the bottom looking up at the rest of the league.
By virtue of compiling the league’s best record during the regular season, Everett is propping up the rest of the league at today’s draft, picking dead last in the first round and beyond.
“We’d like to be picking higher,” Everett director of player development Scott Scoville said. “It’s going to be tough striking off names as we go, knowing we’re going to have to play against those players. But we’ll do the best we can with where we’re picking.”
With an incoming expansion team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, being added to the mix, Everett will pick 22nd overall in the first round and in subsequent rounds of the draft, during which WHL teams acquire the rights to the best 14-year-olds in western Canada and the western United States. Everett has never picked lower than 15th in its previous four bantam drafts.
“Drafting 22nd and not being in the finals is disappointing,” Soetaert said. “When you draft that low, you should be getting more for it. We should still be playing, so it’s a double whammy. So we’ll be sitting in the back of the class, we’ll watch for about 45 minutes, then we’ll get our player. It’s a position we haven’t been in before, but I’m confident we’ll get a good player.”
Although Everett has an unfavorable draft position, the Tips may have picked the right year for it. The consensus seems to be that overall, this year’s draft is deeper than in last few years, but lacking the top-tier prospects who are viewed as future franchise players. Those factors make Everett’s draft position a little less disadvantageous.
“If we were picking in the lottery this year it would be tough sledding,” Scoville said. “If you’re picking that high you want a slam-dunk, blue-chip player. There are very good players, but every one comes with a little question mark. Picking at 22, I really feel we have a chance of potentially getting one of the top five or seven players in the draft.”
Everett also can take advantage of the draft’s depth because of an abundance of mid-round picks. As a result of previous trades, Everett has two picks in the fourth, sixth and seventh rounds.
“We feel mid-round picks are undervalued, so we’ve tried to hold onto our picks and acquire a few more,” Scoville said. “The more darts you throw, especially in the middle rounds, the better chance you have of hitting the target. Especially in this draft.”
Historically, Everett has been more hit than miss in the draft’s first round. Zach Hamill, Everett’s 2003 first rounder, is the league scoring champion this season and Kyle Beach, the Tips’ first rounder in 2005, is the league’s Rookie of the Year. Defenseman Eric Doyle, Everett’s first rounder from 2004 who was traded to Swift Current, is expected to be an early-round pick in this year’s NHL draft. Kellan Tochkin, last year’s first rounder, is eligible to be a rookie next season.
Portland has the first overall pick. Reports indicate the Winter Hawks would like to take scoring forward Luke Moffatt from the unlikely hockey hotbed of Phoenix. However, Portland is wary because Moffatt is still considering the NCAA route.
Among the other names being listed toward the top of the draft are Manitoba forwards Quinton Howden and Charles Inglis, British Columbia forwards Kevin Sundher and Alex Theriau, Alberta forward Bradley Ross and Alberta defensemen Mark Pysyk and Ryan Aasman.
The league also announced two adjustments to the draft order.
Spokane was awarded a compensatory fourth-round pick because of the snafu regarding forward Trevor Lewis. Lewis signed with the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack last offseason when the Chiefs claim he was on Spokane’s protected list. The Canadian Hockey League upheld Owen Sound’s claim and Lewis played for the Attack last season.
Saskatoon had its fifth-round pick taken away for violating draft regulations. The Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported that the violation came when the Blades, who select fourth overall, tried to sign a player before the draft, which isn’t allowed.
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