Youngest Silvertips forwards getting better all the time

EVERETT — It was a moment that provided hope for the Everett Silvertips’ future. Perhaps even for the present.

Everett’s fourth line of 17-year-olds Markus McCrea and D. Jay McGrath and 16-year-old Josh Winquist was on the ice midway through the second period of Sunday’s home game against Seattle. The puck was dumped into the right corner, with McGrath beating the defenseman to the puck. McGrath collected, circled behind the net, then backhanded it in front of the Seattle goal.

In front, both McCrea and Winquist were battling for position. When the puck arrived both McCrea and Winquist fought for it, the puck holding up momentarily before McCrea was finally able to bang it in.

The goal was the line’s second of the night and gave Everett a 3-1 lead. While it was crucial in the Tips eventually winning 4-3 in overtime to extend their winning streak to nine games, perhaps the bigger development is the sign of emergence coming from Everett’s young forwards. Dormant for much of the season, those youngsters are now starting to show some life.

“I think they’ve learned a lot,” Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said. “They’ve learned a lot about the league, learned a lot about the way we want to play, learned a lot about the off-ice expectations. You can’t always look at points or even minutes played to see their progress, and they’re progressing.”

Everett has four forwards who are 17 or younger: McCrea, McGrath, Winquist and 17-year-old Campbell Elynuik. For the most part those four have been relegated to fourth-line duty, where the minutes are sparse, or even been healthy scratches. Combined they have just nine goals and 11 assists.

However, in recent weeks they’ve begun to impact games.

It began with a combination of Dan Iwanski’s knee injury, Dale Hunt being reassigned, and the Tips’ inability to land another forward at the trade deadline. That opened up the left-wing position on Everett’s third line alongside Clayton Cumiskey and Scott MacDonald. Winquist, Elynuik and McCrea have all seen time in that position, and all three have shown the ability contribute in that setting when playing their best.

Those circumstances also dropped Everett’s roster to 13 forwards. So with Iwanski out, all four young forwards have been in the lineup every night — one on the third line with the other three filling out the fourth line. That has given them more opportunity to develop and prove themselves.

“We started out rough, but we figured out what to do and how to play and it’s been working for us,” McCrea said.

McCrea is the lone veteran among that group. He had six goals and one assist in 44 games last season as a rookie, and he was expected to step into a larger role.

This season he’s bounced around the lineup, seeing time on any number of different lines as he struggled to carve out his role. But recently he’s begun putting his big 6-foot-3 frame to good use, finishing his checks and playing physical. That’s been crucial to his increase in effectiveness.

“I talked to the coach a bit and figured out what I needed to do,” McCrea explained. “I just have to finish my checks — I’ve got a big body — and stay in front of the net.”

Winquist is the one who’s been the most productive offensively of late. He began his WHL career going scoreless in his first 23 games. He has all four of his points (three goals, one assist) in the past seven games. That has coincided with being moved from center to wing.

“I think since after Christmas I’ve been doing a lot better, since I’m used to the league now,” Winquist said.

Scoring his first goal “felt great because that was just driving me nuts,” Winquist added. “I think it really helped because now I’m confident with the puck again.”

Elynuik has the fewest points of the four (just two assists), but his aggressive play has earned him as much third-line time as any in the group. The son of former NHL player Pat Elynuik, Campbell Elynuik shows no fear as he’s fought three times during Everett’s winning streak.

“He’ll take on everybody,” Hartsburg said. “He’s a hard-nosed kid. As he grows in this league he’s going to be a hard guy to play against.”

McGrath is the one member of the quartet not rotating into the third line. However, he’s arguably been the most important cog in the fourth line. As the center, he’s the forward with the most defensive responsibilities, and during the winning streak the fourth line has not been a liability. Indeed, McGrath has a plus-3 rating during the winning streak.

“I think the off-ice things like conditioning were as important to him as the on-ice things,” Hartsburg said. “He’s learned a lot and we’ve started to see a pretty tenacious center iceman who has good skills.”

Those four likely will continue to be role players for Everett the remainder of this season. But they’re beginning to gain Hartsburg’s trust, and if they continue to improve, they may start seeing more minutes down the stretch.

“It’s a long process for kids in this league,” Hartsburg said. “Sometimes you come in and have instant success, but there’s usually lots of ups and downs for first-year players. All-in-all I think they’re on the right track.”

Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog