LYNNWOOD — Austin Lotz pinpointed his “we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment while at training camp with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
“Having guys like the Sedins come down on you is pretty spectacular,” Everett’s No. 1 goaltender said about facing Vancouver’s star forwards, twin brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Lotz and his fellow Silvertips teammate, defenseman Ben Betker, have returned from their respective NHL training camps. Both skated with Everett on Thursday at Lynnwood Ice Center, their first practice since being reassigned to the Tips by their NHL teams earlier this week.
And both had plenty of positive things to say about their experiences at the NHL level.
“Camp went well in my opinion,” said Betker, who was at camp with the Edmonton Oilers. “Obviously, I would have liked it to have been a little bit longer, but I’m really glad to be back here and start the season with the boys.”
For Betker, who’s entering his 20-year-old season, it was his second camp with the Oilers after being selected by Edmonton in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL draft. His camp experience began at the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C., when Edmonton’s rookies took on rookie squads from Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg. Betker played in two of the games without registering any points or penalty minutes.
“The games went well,” Betker said. “I defended well, I made the right plays, I was only scored upon once and it was on the penalty kill. I played my position well.”
Betker then advanced to Edmonton’s main training camp for the second straight year, where he had a chance to practice with the Oiler veterans. It was Betker’s second experience playing against Edmonton’s professionals, and he thought he showed better than he did last year.
“I thought I fared a lot better,” Betker said. “I noticed I was stronger against them, and I’m just a faster player this year. That helped me keep up with the pace that they played at.”
There was an outside chance that the Oilers would sign Betker to a professional contract and have him play professionally in the minors this season. But since Betker was drafted in 2013, Edmonton holds his rights for one more season before it has to make a decision on whether to sign him.
“They’re going to watch me intently,” Betker said. “They have to sign me by June 1. There was a little bit of discussion, but I’m not going to worry about that now. I’m just really excited to get things started here (with the Tips).”
While Betker is an Oilers draft pick, Lotz was at camp with the Canucks on a free agent tryout. He was originally just invited to be part of Vancouver’s team at the Young Stars Classic with no guarantee of advancing to main camp.
Lotz also played at the Young Stars Classic and while his statistics weren’t anything special — 0-1-1-0 with a 4.99 goals against average and .861 save percentage in two starts — the 19-year-old received rave reviews for his performances as the Canucks were significantly outshot in both of his contests. His efforts earned him an invitation to main camp.
“My goal was to make it to main camp,” Lotz said “I knew that was going to be a longshot, but I knew I was capable of doing it. I ended up playing pretty well at Young Stars. It was a great experience playing with all those guys at the highest level. They’re unbelievable hockey players.”
While this was Lotz’s first camp with the Canucks, it wasn’t his first NHL rookie training camp. Last year he was invited to rookie camp with the Carolina Hurricanes, also on a free-agent tryout, and he played for Carolina’s rookie team at the Traverse City Tournament. He didn’t advance to Carolina’s main camp.
But it was a different story for Lotz this year as he advanced a step further with the Canucks.
“It was a huge difference from last year,” Lotz said. “Last year I went to the Traverse City Torunament and it was a lot of fun. It was a huge eye opener for me seeing the pace of the game and the lifestyle of everyone. This year was even more of an eye opener, hanging out with the older guys and skating with the pros. All around it was a great experience.”
With Betker and Lotz back in the fold, the Tips have just one player remaining at an NHL training camp. Winger Nikita Scherbak, acquired from Saskatoon in a blockbuster trade Monday, is still with the Montreal Canadiens.
Betker and Lotz are both eager to get back into action when the Tips travel to play Portland on Saturday and Sunday. Everett won its season opener without the pair, defeating Seattle 1-0 on the road last Saturday.
“It seems like things are going well here,” Betker said. “I can’t wait to get on the ice with the team again.”
Tips renew radio deal
Everett announced Thursday it’s renewed its radio broadcasting deal with KRKO for five years. The Tips will be broadcast on KRKO 1380 AM and its sister station KXA 1520 AM through the 2018-19 season.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
