EVERETT – A year ago, Torrie Wheat’s primary responsibility for the Everett Silvertips was to hang out on the wing and do whatever he could to stop the other team’s best players from putting the puck into the net.
What a difference a year can make.
With the Silvertips staring at a gaping hole in the lineup before the season started, Wheat answered the call, switching from right wing on a defensive line to center on one of Everett’s top offensive lines. Through the first eight games of the season, Wheat has made the transition look easy.
“So far I think it’s gone fairly well,” said Wheat, who is tied for second on the team in scoring with four points (two goals, two assists). “There’s still so much more to learn and so much more I could be better at. But I think that will come over time.”
The 19-year-old Wheat was one of Everett’s top defensive forwards last season, registering a modest total of 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) during the regular season, making his mark more in Everett’s end of the ice and on the penalty kill. Coming into this season, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound native of Nanaimo, British Columbia, expected more of the same. With linemates Mark Kress and Curtis Billsten also returning, Wheat expected the line that had been so effective during the playoffs to remain intact.
Then Riley Armstrong scuttled those plans. When Armstrong, expected to be Everett’s No. 1 center, signed a professional contract with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks and departed to play with San Jose’s American Hockey League affiliate in Cleveland, he left a big void in Everett’s line configuration. The problem was particularly troublesome considering the Silvertips were thin at center.
So Everett coach Kevin Constantine turned to Wheat.
“We looked at a number of guys,” Constantine said. “We looked at all our wingers and we had a list of where we’d start. We started with Wheat and so far it’s worked.
“He’s just such a responsible guy in all parts of his game that we just thought, despite the fact we thought he was one of our best right wingers, the need for a centerman was so strong we needed to take someone we could rely on,” Constantine added about why Wheat was first choice for the switch. “He’s done a good job. He’s grabbed a new position and he’s done it almost seamlessly.”
The transition from wing to center isn’t as easy as it may seem. The differences between playing center and wing are subtle, but distinct, as the center has added responsibilities on both ends of the ice.
“A center has the responsibility of being half a defenseman and half a forward,” Constantine explained. “At times he’s got to be back working with the defensemen in the corners, defending our end of the ice. And then when we get the puck he has to join the forwards in terms of attacking the offensive zone. I think there’s more work at the center position than the wing position. I think the wing position has less to know and less responsibilities.”
Then there’s the added offensive responsibilities, not only from playing on a line with top offensive forwards like Karel Hromas and Barry Horman, but also from handling the puck more as a center.
“I like taking on a bit more of an offensive role,” Wheat said. “There’s been games where I’ve felt really good about making plays and there’s been games where I’ve felt terrible. Right now I’m kind of hot and cold and I just want to bring some consistency to that part of the game.”
And finally, there’s the faceoffs. The center is responsible for taking faceoffs, and for someone who hadn’t played center since he was 10 years old, faceoffs have been the most difficult aspect of the position change.
“I took a little flack over it from the coaches,” Wheat said. “But I’ve finally just brought my average above 50 percent, which I’m happy about. But it’s tough. It’s a whole new aspect to the game that when you’re a winger you don’t really realize. There’s a lot of different techniques and tools, and it’s a mind game out there against the other centerman.”
The position change hasn’t been a complete cakewalk for Wheat.
“It actually took quite a while to figure it out, and even now there’s still times when I’ll go to the wrong spot on the faceoff or the wrong spot on the ice,” Wheat said. “It hasn’t been easy that’s for sure.
“But we lost Armey and somebody needed to fill the spot, and I’m enjoying playing there.”
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