EVERETT — Rookie Everett Silvertips forward Reece Vitelli likes to pattern his game after fellow Manitoba native and alternate captain Connor Dewar.
“Everyone calls him ‘The Pitbull’ for a reason,” Vitelli said. “He works extremely hard every game. I just feel like we have the same speed and style. I feel like I can be him one day.”
Vitelli shares another milestone with Dewar: scoring a goal in his WHL debut as a 16-year-old.
“It was amazing,” said Vitelli, whose goal gave Everett a 2-0 lead in what was ultimately a 7-4 defeat to visiting Portland on Saturday. “I had a big smile on my face. It’s always been my dream to score in the WHL, but to score in my first game was just a cherry on top.”
Dewar scored an empty-netter in his WHL debut two seasons ago in Prince George. The Tips won that one 2-0.
Vitelli was Everett’s fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. The Winnipeg native is one of three 16-year-old forwards currently on the Everett roster after signing during this season’s training camp.
“I came in (and) I wanted to make the team,” Vitelli said. “I felt like I had a good showing at camp and I’m still here today, so I guess I’m doing something right.”
Yamamoto impressing in Edmonton’s preseason
Spokane native and Chiefs forward Kailer Yamamoto is making it difficult for the Edmonton Oilers to send him back to the WHL.
Yamamoto turns 19 this Friday and was the 22nd-overall pick by the Oilers in this year’s NHL draft. He has six points, including five goals, in four preseason games for the Oilers and there are overtures he could begin the season on Edmonton’s roster.
Players can play nine NHL games before their rookie contract kicks in, so it’s plausible Yamamoto could begin the season with the Oilers before being sent back — similar to the fate of former Seattle Thunderbird Mathew Barzal last season with the New York Islanders.
If Yamamoto stays, it’s a huge loss for the Chiefs who also have star forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan returning after he was taken in the second round this spring by the Los Angeles Kings. Anderson-Dolan signed an NHL entry-level contract Monday.
Valimaki, Dube headed back to WHL
The Calgary Flames sent a pair of WHLers back to their junior teams Tuesday.
Dillon Dube, who was taken in the second round by the Flames in 2016, is headed back to Kelowna and the forward figures to be in the lineup when the Silvertips play at Kelowna on Friday.
Juuso Valimaki was taken 16th overall by the Flames in May and was returned to the Tri-City Americans, so he will be in the lineup Saturday when the Tips travel to the Toyota Center.
Meanwhile, Valimaki’s teammate, Michael Rasmussen, will likely also be headed back to Tri-City by the time the Tips take on the Americans. Rasmussen has two goals in three preseason games with the Detroit Red Wings.
Thunderbirds visit Olympia… and are on the market
The Seattle Thunderbirds visited the Executive Residence of Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday as the governor proclaimed Sept. 25 as “Seattle Thunderbirds Championship Day” in the state of Washington.
The T-birds players, billets and employees toured the residence, presented Gov. Inslee with a Seattle jersey and partook in a buffet lunch.
Monday’s celebration came following Friday’s announcement that the team will be sold pending WHL approval. Majority owner and general manager Russ Farwell sent out the press release Friday afternoon that the ownership group had agreed to sell the franchise to brothers Dan and Lindsey Leckelt. The Leckelt brothers are the business owners of Silent-Aire, an engineering and data center equipment manufacturing company with 900 employees and operations in Edmonton, Phoenix, Seattle, Virginia, and Dublin.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
