Ty Rimmer wasn’t acquired by the Tri-City Americans to be the team’s No. 1 goaltender. Rimmer was more of a throw-in.
Funny the way things work out sometimes.
Once a makeweight, Rimmer is now a star, and he’s been a big part of why the Americans find themselves atop the Western Hockey League’s U.S. Division.
“We recognized that the first week of training camp,” Tri-City coach Jim Hiller told the Tri-City Herald about Rimmer’s desire to improve. “The exciting thing about him is he wants to be a goaltender beyond this league.”
When Rimmer was acquired during the offseason, it wasn’t considered the Rimmer trade; it was considered the Drew Owsley trade. Owsley was Tri-City’s standout goalie the previous two seasons. However, Owsley was heading into his overage season, the Americans had a glut of candidates for their three overage roster slots, and highly touted 16-year-old netminder Eric Comrie was waiting in the wings.
Therefore, the Americans dealt Owsley to Prince George, which sought a legitimate No. 1 goaltender for what was expected to be a breakthrough season. The 19-year-old Rimmer, who split time in goal with the Cougars in 2010-11, was sent the other way just to keep the teams’ goaltending numbers stable. It seemed the main assets the Americans acquired were third- and seventh-round picks in the 2013 bantam draft. Rimmer would eat up some minutes as Comrie settled into the league.
But Rimmer has been far better than anyone could have expected. He is 20-8-0-1 and leads the league in both goals against average (2.26) and save percentage (.927). Tri-City, a talented team that had question marks coming into the season, is 35-12-1-1 and at one point was the top-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League.
“I was ecstatic about going to a winning organization,” Rimmer told the Tri-City Herald. “I knew from day one we had a great group of guys. I always knew I had the ability, but the big thing in hockey is finding the right opportunity, the right combination of players, coaches and the city. It has led to a great start here. I’m excited to see where we can take this.”
Around the WHL
The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game takes place Wednesday in Kelowna. A total of 16 players from the WHL are among the 40 taking part in the game, which showcases the top NHL draft-eligible players from the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Everett Silvertips’ Ryan Murray is among those selected. Murray is the captain of Team Cherry, while Kelowna’s Colton Sissons is captain of Team Orr. … Prince Albert’s Mark McNeill was named the WHL Player of the Week. The 18-year-old forward had five goals and three assists as the Raiders went 2-1.
League leaders
Points—Ty Rattie (Portland) 86; goals—Emerson Etem (Medicine Hat) 44; assists—Jordan Weal (Regina) 53; penalty minutes—Cody Beach (Moose Jaw) 170; wins—Mac Carruth (Portland) 30; goals against average—Ty Rimmer (Tr-City) 2.26; save percentage—Rimmer .927.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.
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