We got a chance to catch up with Garry Davidson, general manager of the Everett Silvertips, while at Everett’s 6-0 win on Saturday night over the visiting Victoria Royals.
Chief among the early season topics is the Silvertips being without overage defenseman Jake Christiansen and 19-year-old blue liner Gianni Fairbrother. Christiansen is away at AHL training camp with the San Antonio Rampage after impressing the St. Louis Blues at their camp. Fairbrother was injured during his time at Montreal Canadiens camp and has yet to play for Everett.
“We are a little bit younger back there. Especially the back end is a little younger than we have normally had. We have two veteran guys that still might end up back. Fairbrother will be back at some point. He started skating the last two days,” Davidson said.
With those two out, the Silvertips have just Wyatte Wylie and Ronan Seeley as d-men who played significant minutes last season. Other blue liners, like 17-year-olds Dylan Anderson and Aidan Sutter and 16-year-old Olen Zellweger, just scratched the surface a year ago.
“I think anytime you start the season, it is good to put some fresh, younger people in there. It’s a good time to get them in. The league isn’t quite as difficult, and hopefully they gain some quality experience here and it pays off in the long run for us.”
Zellweger looked beyond his years during many moments over the weekend, earning some time on the top penalty-killing unit with Wylie. Davidson likes what he has seen from the 5-foot-9, 165-pound, former second-round bantam pick.
“He’s a guy that possesses very quick hands. His feet are good and I really think he’s got some good hockey sense. He’s a little outmatched the odd time physically, but that comes with being 16 and playing against some 19- and 20-year-olds. He’s an exciting young player, and I expect he will be really good for us as we move through the next couple of years here.”
While Fairbrother and Christiansen are missing, Everett got a huge gift when hometown hero Wylie was sent back by the Philadelphia Flyers. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, so the NHL club has until next June to sign him or risk him becoming a free agent.
“I’m not surprised we got him back, simply because Philadelphia has so many signed defensemen. He was a late birthday so he was just drafted last year. They still have lots of time to give him an opportunity and a contract going forward. So for us it’s a big-plus and a big bonus to have him back. He will play a lot of minutes and play a lot for us the last two years and has a lot of experience. We are really excited to have Wyatte back. I’m sure he’s a little disappointed, but if he does what I think he can do, he will earn himself an opportunity.”
Wylie scored twice on Sunday and has three points through two games.
In the preseason, Everett was unsure enough about Wylie, Christiansen, and Fairbrother returning to necessitate acquiring another veteran blue liner. They moved a conditional seventh-round pick for right-handed, 2001-born d-man Parker Hendren.
“At the time, he was an opportunity for us to grab someone, as we were without the two overages: Gianni Fairbrother and we lost Ian Walker, going to school. That left us a bit of a crunch in the numbers. He was available so we grabbed him, and to this point, I think he’s done a good job. Again, though, he will be challenged by our younger guys. I’m hoping it will be good for him and good for us.”
The Regina native was a plus-one and had one shot-on-goal through two games.
Old reliable and an American backup
Dustin Wolf stopped all 26 shots he faced on Saturday, earning him his first shutout on the young season and the 13th in his career.
“I think he’s one of the best goalies in the league. He was drafted and I expect he will be a key component to our success this year. He was outstanding last year and I expect we will see a lot of good things out of Dustin again this year.”
His backup so far this season is Sartell, Minnesota, native and 19-year-old Keegan Karki. The ‘Tips signed him this summer, which was a surprise to some.
“I’ll be honest. We took a flier on Keegan. I got word that he might be interested in coming to the Western League. I remember him as a bantam, and he went to the national development program. So we knew there was a good goaltender in there, and we were fortunate enough that he did make the decision to come here. He nursed through some injuries last year, but I think he’s almost at 100%. He still has a little bit of conditioning to do with what he was unable to do in the off-season, but I expect he is going to be rock solid as we move forward. Certainly, in the preseason, he had some very good starts.”
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Karki played in just five games last season between the NAHL and USHL.
Americans in the system
Karki was not the only American-born player signed since last season. Davidson inked Seattle native forward Brendan Lee; Fairbanks, Alaska, native forward Jack Lambert; and Bozeman, Montana, native goalie Braden Holt.
“We have always taken the approach we are an American-based team, we are going to take a run at some U.S. born guys. We have had some success particularly the last month in signing some guys. But we have also had some difficulties in getting some guys. We saw them as good young hockey players, and we are excited those guys have come. We also drafted another five U.S. born kids. It’s a philosophy of ours that being U.S. based we are going to dip into the U.S. market.
Five of the 11 players Davidson and company drafted in May are from the U.S. Davidson and his scouts specifically targeted smooth-skating playmakers, most of whom happen to be small of frame.
“They are all about skill and skating and, unfortunately, they are all on the smaller side right now. But we know how 14-year-olds at 16 get bigger and stronger and that’s what we anticipate. The group that we went after are guys that can skate and make plays. That group very much has those attributes.”
Bear Tracks:
-Import forward Michal Gut left during the first period of Everett’s 4-2 loss to Tri-City on Friday. He did not play in the game on Saturday.
-Bryce Kindopp was named WHL player of the week this week after notching six points over the two games. He currently leads the WHL in scoring.
-After a B.C. opponent on Saturday, Everett’s next two games are in B.C. First, they play just one game this week — a Saturday contest in Kelowna against the Rockets.
