EVERETT – The beginning of a new year is a time of renewal. It’s an opportunity to reflect upon decisions made during the last 365 days, and on how those decisions shaped one’s life.
Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald
There’s no one on the Everett Silvertips who has better reason for reflection this new year than Mark Kress.
The 20-year-old center plays an underappreciated role for Everett. He’s not a flashy player, nor will he be found among the Silvertips’ scoring leaders. But as Everett’s top defensive forward he’s a vital cog in the team’s engine. Now in his overage season in junior hockey, he’s enjoying his time as a leader on the team entrenched in first place in the Western Hockey League’s U.S. Division.
But all that nearly never happened for Kress, who seven months earlier decided to hang up his skates.
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Flash back to April. The Silvertips had just been swept in the second round of the playoffs by Kootenay, and Kress had a decision to make.
Everett had seven 1985-born players on its roster. One of those, defenseman Ivan Baranka, was headed to the professional ranks. But of the remaining six, just three would make the team the following season as overagers, with forward Torrie Wheat, defenseman Shaun Heshka and goaltender Michael Wall appearing to be the strongest candidates.
Faced with that situation, Kress decided it was time to move on.
“After the end of the season on the way home I was like, ‘Hey, this is probably my last season,’ and I was pretty sad,” Kress said. “The number of overagers was just boggling and it was hard to see myself in a position where I was on this team. I never really thought they wanted me back.”
Kress instead decided to pursue his dream of becoming a firefighter, applying to firefighting school. He also took a full-time job as a mover in his native Saskatchewan while awaiting the start of firefighting school.
But then came an unexpected phone call from Everett coach Kevin Constantine.
“We encouraged Mark to come back because we really believed Mike Wall was good enough to make a pro team,” Constantine said.
“The thing I said to Mark was, ‘I’ve got no problem if you’ve made a decision to move on. But what would really bother me – and I think incredibly bother you – was if you didn’t come back because you didn’t think we had plans for you, then you found out in September that there was an opening and you could have been a part of this if you still wanted to. So if you still want to play hockey and be a part of our organization, be slow to make your decisions here and really give them a lot of thought.’ “
That made Kress re-evaluate his decision.
“I was kind of blinded by going to firefighting school because you can do that whenever you want,” Kress said. “If you want to play in the WHL you only have four years to do it, and when I’m 21 I can’t come back here, it’s done, I’m too old.”
So Kress was back on the fence when, in July, fate intervened on behalf of the Silvertips.
“The middle of July was the turning point,” Kress explained. “I was leaning towards coming back after I started talking with the coaches, then firefighting school fell through, it got canceled. It was like my decision was supposed to be made like this, with God’s help.”
From there the pieces fell into place for Kress. He had a strong training camp, although he suffered a brief setback from an elbow injury. Wall was traded to Regina, then received the pro contract Constantine expected he would. Competing against forward Kyle Annesley and defenseman Ryan Blatchford for the final overage spot, Kress always seemed to have the inside track.
But Kress was never sure of his position until the final moment.
“I wasn’t too confident until after the 20-year-old deadline,” Kress said. “Then I felt all right.”
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Looking back now, all parties are ecstatic Kress decided to give hockey one more year.
“He’s just so important,” Constantine said. “You’re always going to look at (Zach) Hamill and (Peter) Mueller and guys like that and go, ‘Look at that talent, look at that skill.’ You’re not going to realize Mark’s role is just as important. But we’ve been around the game long enough to know it is, so we’re thrilled he made a decision to stick with it this year.”
Said Kress: “I wouldn’t have it any other way. To come back and play in this city, I’ll never have the chance to play in front of 8,000 fans ever again. This is something not many people get to experience. Just the guys and the coaching staff and everything, it’s awesome.”
And in addition to getting another year of hockey, Kress received a valuable life lesson.
“I learned you’ve got to take life one step at a time and you can’t put yourself on a limb with your decisions.
“You can’t have any regrets.”
And as we move into 2006, Kress can reflect upon the fact that he has none.
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