On Friday I spoke with Monroe native Luke Ormsby, who plays for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Ormsby tallied the first home goal of his T-Birds career in Seattle’s 4-3 shootout win Friday and discussed his friendship with Everett defenseman Wyatte Wylie.
The two grew up together skating at what was then Comcast Arena and played together before their paths diverged. Ormsby went to play bantam with the Los Angeles Junior Kings while Wylie stayed home and played for the Everett Junior Silvertips.
Saw this image and thought it was very touching. Wyatte Wylie grew up in the @Everett_MHA system and now stood with a beginner. pic.twitter.com/tITFDKf4Wg
— Chris Mast (@MastImages) December 29, 2016
Ormsby then spent the past two seasons with the Phoenix Junior Coyotes of the U-16 T1EHL – the same league in which Wylie skated last season for the U-16 Dallas Stars.
Now both are in the WHL and remain the first two Snohomish County products ever to play in the league.
The two received roughing penalties in the first period after mixing it up a bit.
Wylie and Ormsby: add SnoCo-on-SnoCo violence to the Nordic-on-Nordic
— Jesse Geleynse (@JesseGeleynse) January 7, 2017
“He was talking trash to one of my teammates so I got in his face just kind of joking around,” Wylie said after practice Monday. “We’ve been good friends for a while, but when it gets in a game-time situation you have to be tough. We were just joking around.”
– The league has yet to announce when Saturday’s postponed game at Portland will be made up, but it might not come until the end of the year. That’s not official – that’s just looking at reality. The Tips embark on a stretch of five games in seven days Wednesday, and follow with back-to-back three-in-threes, followed by a three-in-four.
Then comes the Everett’s two-week, six-game trip to Saskatchewan and Manitoba where it will take on the East Division. That is followed by a three-in-three, a three-in-four and finally back-to-back four-in-fives to end the regular season. So yeah, I don’t know where the makeup game will occur.
– Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said he couldn’t remember a game being canceled due to weather in his three-decade coaching career. Everett forward Matt Fonteyne said the only game he remembered being canceled in his career came at the bantam level when he was playing for the Leduc Oil Kings and icy roads prevented the team from reaching Lloydminster.
“It doesn’t happen very often, especially for weather,” Fonteyne said. “It didn’t seem that bad (in Portland), but I’m from Alberta so it’s probably a little different down here.”
– The WHL tradeline happens Tuesday. The Tips got several deals done early this year when they acquired F Dominic Zwerger from Spokane after the first week of the season, and again last week when they acquired D Aaron Irving from Edmonton. I’m sure general manager Garry Davidson would like to add another piece on offense, but options are growing limited and prices are likely quite high.
WHL TRADE DEADLINE LIVE BLOG 2017: For all the latest trade news & notes.
DETAILS ? | https://t.co/XwHnyqXfBb pic.twitter.com/SX1OwTKgwC
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 4, 2017
If you haven’t already, take a look at colleague Nick Patterson’s piece that examines the long-reaching effects a trade can have on an organization even half a decade or more in the future.
The biggest deal announced Monday (as of this writing) occurred when the Kootenay Ice shipped Zak Zborosky, Matt Alfaro and a 2018 sixth-round pick to Lethbridge for Brett Davis, Colton Kroeker and 2018 second- and fourth-round picks.
Zborosky was one of the premier goal scorers expected to be available prior to the trade deadline. The Regina native is tied for fifth in WHL goals, with 28 through 41 contests this year. He has 44 points. Alfaro has 13 goals and 26 assists in 41 games this season.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
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