Scherbak looks right at home during first practice with Silvertips

EVERETT — Nikita Scherbak looked right at home.

He put his arm around Carson Stadnyk’s neck on the bench as they talked strategy about how to set up the power play. He chatted away in Russian with his compatriot Ivan Nikolishin. And he banged his stick enthusiastically on the ice in unison with the rest of his teammates as the day’s final drill wound to an end.

Hard to believe this was Scherbak’s first practice with the Everett Silvertips.

The Tips’ newest addition has officially arrived in Everett, and both Scherbak and the Tips are ready to get things rolling.

“It feels good,” Scherbak said about his first impression of his new team. “It’s a good city and very good guys. I’m excited to be here. All the guys have been good to me. It’s a really good team and I like it.”

Tuesday’s practice at Xfinity Arena was a little like Christmas for the Tips as they unwrapped their newest present. Scherbak, a high-powered Russian winger who’s entering his 19-year-old season, had 28 goals and 50 assists in 65 games last season, and his 78 points led Saskatoon in scoring by 35. He was acquired from the Blades last week in a blockbuster trade that saw young goaltender Nik Amundrud and two high draft picks go the other direction.

However, the Tips had yet to glimpse their new star as Scherbak, a first-round pick in this year’s NHL draft, because he was still attending training camp with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. As chatter grew out of Montreal about how well Scherbak was performing, there was some concern it might be a while before he’d land in Everett. But the Canadiens reassigned Scherbak on Sunday, and now he will have a week’s worth of practices with the Tips prior to Friday’s home opener against Kelowna.

“We made the deal because we wanted him here,” Everett general manager Garry Davidson said. “We’re happy for us that he’s here already and he can get settled in and start contributing sooner rather than later.”

Though Scherbak is now in Everett, it isn’t 100 percent certain he will play in Friday’s home opener because of immigration paperwork issues. Scherbak has a visitor’s visa for the U.S., but does not yet have a working visa. The Tips were working on expediting the process, and they were confident everything would be done in time for Scherbak to play Friday, but not certain.

Nevertheless, the Tips are thrilled to have Scherbak in the fold.

“It’s great to have him here, he’s a good player,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “To me, having two good European players is pretty important. That’s some of the talent you need to add to your team and we need two of those guys here, so it’s good to have two right now.”

Scherbak was in Montreal when he found out he’d been traded by Saskatoon to Everett. The Blades had three European players on their roster and only two roster slots, and because Russian winger Nikita Soshnin and Swedish defenseman Amil Krupic were selected in this year’s Canadian Hockey League import draft, they are ineligible to be traded.

“I was expecting it,” Scherbak said of the trade. “Saskatoon talked to me before and said, ‘If we have a good option, and since we already have two European players, we have to trade you.”

Scherbak, who will wear No. 95 for the Tips, didn’t know much about Everett, having played the Tips just once last season in Everett — Scherbak scored the Blades’ lone goal as the Tips won 5-1. One thing he did know was there was a fellow Russian on the team in Nikolishin.

“I know Ivan Nikolishin, we played against each other in the MHL (Russia’s top junior league),” Scherbak said. “I know he was playing here. It’s for sure good to have another Russian here. We can communicate on the bench and make some plays.”

Scherbak is coming off a successful first NHL training camp. Montreal selected Scherbak 26th overall in this year’s NHL draft, and he impressed the Canadiens during his time with the team. He was named the player of the game during Montreal’s Red-White scrimmage, and he appeared in three preseason games with the Canadiens. Those preseason contests included skating on a line with Montreal standouts Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk.

“It was good,” Scherbak said of his time at Montreal’s camp. “It was the first pro camp for me and I played good.

“(Being named player of the game in the Red-White scrimmage) felt good,” Scherbak added. “It was my first time in the Bell Centre so it felt good. They called my name and it was so loud. It was pretty impressive.”

Now Scherbak will be playing to the crowd in Everett. Constantine has only had the chance to see Scherbak in practice once, but so far he likes what he sees.

“I watched a fair amount of video on him before, and this just confirmed things,” Constantine said. “He’s a tall kid who’s going to grow into that body and only get better over time. He’s very skilled and it’s just a matter now of getting him comfortable with what we’re doing, and that’s going to take a little while.”

Scherbak has also impressed with his ability — and willingness — to communicate, considering English is his second language.

“I picked him up (Monday from the airport), so my impression was the drive back,” Davidson said. “He seems a very confident and outgoing young man, in spite of the fact English is his second language. He certainly wasn’t afraid to express himself when I asked him questions and he has an opinion on things. I think he’s going to be a nice fit here both on and off the ice.”

And Scherbak has one goal now that he’s in Everett:

“My goal is to go to the Memorial Cup with this team and try to win the Memorial Cup.”

Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.