EVERETT ? Three weeks ago, Gunnar Wegleitner was no different than 50 other Western Hockey League training-camp invitees, an anonymous name with little hope of turning his WHL dream into a reality.
But now Wegleitner is eight days from making his dream come true.
While Wegleitner came to Everett Silvertips training camp as a 16-year-old invitee, he’s now a signed player who is on the cusp of being on Everett’s roster when the season begins.
?I’m just in awe and shock that I made it this far,? said Wegleitner, who’s not expected to participate in this weekend’s final two preseason games against Seattle ? Friday at Xfinity Arena in Everett and Saturday in Kent ? because of a bruised knee. ?My goal coming to camp was just making it to the Green vs. Grey game (which concludes training camp). I made it, so why not continue??
Wegleitner bucked the odds to reach the point where he’s a legitimate candidate to stick with the Tips this season. Training camp invitees are the hockey equivalent of cannon fodder. They are the players who didn’t impress enough to be selected in the bantam draft, and didn’t show enough subsequently to warrant being placed on any team’s 50-player protected list. Every WHL team invites dozens of these players to training camp, hoping they’ll unearth a gem. But for the most part, camp invitees serve as filler, giving organizations enough players to field teams for scrimmages so the listed players have someone to play against for evaluation purposes. Take a sample of 50 training-camp invitees, and 49 never play in the WHL.
But Wegleitner stands to be one of those invitees who hits the lottery.
While he may have been an unknown to most going into training camp, the winger from Vancouver, B.C., did have a few things going for him. He attended Everett’s 2013 training camp as a 15-year-old invited player, and although he didn’t stand out, he showed enough to warrant being invited back this year. His numbers from last season were unimpressive ? seven goals and five assists in 40 games with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the B.C. Major Midget League ? but playing for a solid midget-major program as a 15-year-old is an accomplishment in itself.
However, even with those things going for him, the Tips had no clue Wegleitner was going to force their hand. Wegleitner put on a display during camp that couldn’t help but get noticed. He showed good size for a 16-year-old at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, and he displayed a willingness to use that size. He also showed off a booming shot that tied him for the camp lead in both goals (five in four games) and points (six). It wasn’t long after camp ended that the Tips not only added Wegleitner to their protected list, but signed him to a WHL education contract.
?You always hope there’s a surprise or two,? Everett general manager Garry Davidson said. ?He certainly was the biggest surprise of camp, no question about it.
?He was in our camp the year before and we liked him as a 15-year-old, and when he left camp last year, he was a player we were going to monitor and see how his development went,? Davidson added. ?I got a chance to see him personally, and I really think his development through the regular season was just so-so. But certainly if you compare where he was a year ago to where he is today, he’s come a tremendous long way to the point where we put him on our list and signed him to a contract. He’s grown, he skates well, he shoots the puck well, and I think there’s a lot of potential and upside for him to become a good, solid member of our group going forward.?
Wegleitner credited his work during the offseason for the bulk of his improvement.
?I grew about an inch, which isn’t too much, but I also put on about 25 pounds from last year, so I feel a lot bigger,? Wegleitner said.
?Once I did a lot of the off-ice training during the summer with the (B.C. Hockey League’s Surrey) Eagles, I really steeped it up,? Wegleitner added. ?I’ve improved with my skating, my ability to see the ice and my shot.?
Wegleitner’s path follows that of former Everett standout Byron Froese. Froese was invited to training camp in 2006 as a 15-year-old, but wasn’t added to Everett’s protected list. He was invited back as a 16-year-old, and played so well the Tips decided not just to list Froese, but to sign him. Froese ended up being one of Everett’s top players for two seasons before being traded to Red Deer, and he ended up being selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
It may be a bit much to expect the same kind of meteoric rise out of Wegleitner. But the Tips certainly like what they see from Wegleitner, so much so that he’s the only 16-year-old skater who has a chance of making the opening-day roster, ahead of several players his age who were either drafted by Everett or listed previously.
?I was just trying out for fun,? Wegleitner said. ?Getting listed and getting an offer to sign really boosted my confidence.?
And he remains evidence that sometimes a training-camp invitation is all that’s required to kick start a WHL career.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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