First off, congratulations to former Silvertips defenseman Rasmus Rissanen, who was called up to the show by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
Rissanen, from Finland, played two seasons for Everett from 2009-11, compiling five goals, 22 assists and 192 penalty minutes in 139 games. He was selected by Carolina in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL draft. He’s spent nearly four full seasons in the AHL, so he’s put in his time.
Should Rissanen get into a game, he’ll become the 13th former Silvertip to play in the NHL. He’s currently one of four former Tips on NHL rosters, the others being Radko Gudas (traded from Tampa Bay to Philadelphia on Monday), Ryan Murray (Columbus) and Mirco Mueller (San Jose). Interestingly, all four are defensemen.
Switching from former Tips to current ones, it’s possible Everett’s crisis on defense is abating.
Everett played Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Prince George without three of its top five defensemen. Overager Ben Betker was serving a one-game suspension for a checking-to-the-head major penalty, while Kevin Davis and Tristen Pfeifer were out with upper-body injuries. The crisis forced Everett to play with just three regular defensemen (Noah Juulsen, Cole MacDonald, Lucas Skrumeda). Jordan Wharrie, a defenseman by trade who had played mostly forward this season, was given heavy minutes, and winger Dawson Leedahl was also forced into emergency defensive duty.
The missing defensemen not only had a profound effect on Everett’s defense, it also affect the Tips offense as Leedahl is a vital part of the Saskatoon Platoon line that’s been effective for Everett in the second half of the season.
This crisis hit at a particularly inconvenient time for Everett. Not only are the Tips desperately trying to hold off Portland for first place in the U.S. Division, Everett welcomes league-leading Kelowna to town Tuesday night. the thought of trying to slow down Rourke Chartier, Nick Merkley and company minus several key defenders is frightening.
But it might not be as bad as feared for Everett. The Tips will get Betker back from his suspension, which is absolutely vital. It’s also possible Davis will be able to play. Davis took part in practice Monday and it’s possible he will play against the Rockets. If Davis does play, that means Everett’s top two defensive pairings — Betker-Juulsen, MacDonald-Davis — will be intact.
Playing against Kelowna is no day at the park even when a team is at full strength. But it’s possible the Tips aren’t in as dire a straits as originally feared.
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