Beach Trade Articles

[Tipped Off]

Everett Herald:

Silvertips players 'shocked' by Beach deal

A number of Everett players express surprise at the forward's departure, but they also say that the move creates opportunities for others to step into new roles and contribute.

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- The Everett Silvertips pulled off a shocker Tuesday when they traded star winger Kyle Beach to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

And none were more shocked than Beach's former teammates.

One by one Everett's players expressed their surprise at the news that Beach and defenseman Mike Alexander, two of the Tips' core players, were dealt to Lethbridge.

"It's surprising," Everett captain Zack Dailey said. "But both those guys will do well over there and we're getting some pretty good players here, so I think both sides of the trade are happy."

Said overage defenseman Graham Potuer: "It was a big shock to all of us. I think it will make our team better. We lost a couple of good guys and real good players. The two new guys coming in we hope can do special things for us."

Beach, the talented and tempermental face of the Tips, had been the target of trade speculation since before the season began. Yet during the Christmas break Everett general manager Doug Soetaert indicated he would not trade Beach.

But Lethbridge stepped in with a deal too good to pass up, sending highly-regarded 16-year-old defenseman Alex Theriau, 18-year-old left wing Daniel Iwanski and a first-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft to the Tips in exchange for the 18-year-old Beach and the 19-year-old Alexander.

"I think it's really good for both teams," Everett coach John Becanic said. "I think both teams got exactly what they were looking for.

"Both (Beach and Alexander) are in their third year, so we're losing that experience. On the reversal side of it I think it's an opporiutnity for other players who are ready for increased roles to get the opportunity to play in those roles, both first-year players and veterans."

Everett may indeed have players ready to step in. Dailey, who was a scorer at lower levels, will replace Beach on Everett's top line. He's performed well there when asked to fill in earlier in the season. The Tips also believe Iwanski has unrealized offensive potential. Alexander's loss may be alleviated by the imminent return of veteran defenseman Shayne Brown, who's been out since October with a hip-flexor injury.

But that doesn't mean Beach and Alexander won't be missed. Beach, a first-round pick by the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, was one of the team's offensive focal points as well as the league's most-abrasive agitator. Alexander was a no-frills defenseman who logged heavy minutes and sacrificed his body for the team. And both, being in their third season with the Tips, were veteran presences in the locker room.

"Alexander and Beach were my closest friends on the team, so it's hard to see those guys go," Beach's linemate Shane Harper said. "They say it's best for them in their careers and hopefully it will be. Obviously we're losing two really solid players, so other guys are going to need to step it up."

Beach in particular will be difficult to replace. He's been a point-per-game performer throughout his WHL career, with 154 points in 159 games. This season he had nine goals and 21 assists in 30 games with the Tips.

"He'll definitely be missed," Dailey said. "Everyone liked him in the dressing room, he was a great guy, a good leader, and he got some points for us. But we'll just have to move forward. Hopefully he does well in Lethbridge and I think we'll be fine for the rest of the season."

However, some players also expressed understanding at why the trade was made. Beach's play has been inconsistent since midway through last season, and his agitating has increasingly backfired as he's become a popular target for referees. Having the team's marquee name in the spotlight for those reasons wasn't always easy to deal with.

"I think some of the team was built around him," Potuer said. "But I think it was one of those times where he needed to experience something new and so did the team. He's going to do really well in Lethbridge, he's a great player and we're just hoping the guys we got for him are going to perform like he did."

And the Tips are confident they'll still be competitive without Beach and Alexander.

"We have to fill some holes here," Dailey said. "Beach was a very good forward for us and Al was great defenseman. We got a forward and a D back, so we'll just have to work around it and after a month or so it should be back to normal."

Tips set goaltending: Everett cleared up its goaltending sitation. The Tips will move forward with newly-acquired 18-year-old Thomas Heemskerk and 16-year-old rookie Kent Simpson. Everett will attempt to trade 19-year-old Shayne Barrie, who began the season as the No. 1. If that doesn't work out Barrie will be reassigned to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Barrie was 10-10-3-0 with a 3.08 goals against average and .905 save percentage this season.

[Tipped Off]

Kyle Beach's Silvertips career comes to sudden end

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- The Kyle Beach show has pulled up stakes, folded its tent and hauled out of town.

The author of so many of the Everett Silvertips' most-memorable moments the past two-and-a-half seasons -- good and bad -- has played his final Silvertips performance in Everett as he was traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Everett sent Beach, its star 18-year-old winger, along with 19-year-old defenseman Mike Alexander to the Hurricanes in exchange for 18-year-old left wing Daniel Iwanski, 16-year-old defenseman Alex Theriau and Lethbridge's first-round pick in this year's bantam draft.

"It's actually a bit of a shock," an emotional Beach said. "It's been a great time here in Everett, there's a great group of guys, and it sucks to leave. This organization is by far one of the best in the league. Any time you leave something like that it hurts, but Mike and I have been given an opportunity for a fresh start and hopefully help another team that has high hopes for the playoffs."

Beach, Everett's first-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft, was the center of attention from the moment he arrived in Everett. His size, skill and goal scoring, combined with a unique ability to aggravate the opposition, made him impossible to ignore. He was an impact player as a pre-rookie, tallying three goals and four assists in 13 regular season and playoff games as a 15-year-old. Last summer he was taken 11th-overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL draft. All together Beach had 67 goals and 87 assists in 159 games with Everett. He is also the franchise record holder in penalty minutes with 528.

However, Beach has been inconsistent since midway through last season. This season Beach has shown flashes of brilliance but on rare occasions. He had nine goals and 21 assists in 30 games this season.

There's also the chance Beach won't be back in the Western Hockey League next season as he may make the Blackhawks as a 19-year-old. With Everett not expected to contend for a title this season, the Tips decided now was the time to cash in on Beach.

"It's very tough moving a guy like Kyle Beach," said Everett general manager Doug Soetaert, who mentioned there was no intention of trading Beach until about a week ago. "You're torn one way or another because he's a good hockey player.

"This guy has taken so much crap over the years. He's given it, but he's also taken it," Soetaert added. "It takes its toll on the player, it takes its toll on the organization, and it kind of wears people down.

"It's unfortunate because he's a good hockey player. That's the way he plays, we know that, we accept that. But he's not getting any breaks out there. It always goes against him. So hopefully this is an opportunity for him to thrive in a different conference."

Alexander, from Campbell River, B.C., was also in his third season with the Tips. Known for his willingness to make sacrifices for the team, Alexander had three goals and nine assists in 37 games this season.

"I was surprised," Alexander said. "I still don't really know what to think about it, this is the only team I've ever played for and I lived here in the summertime. Everett's a great place, great fans, great guys, so it's hard."

Beach and Alexander brought a healthy ransom for Everett, particularly for the future as Lethbridge paid handsomely in an effort to salvage its season. Theriau is considered an elite prospect. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Duncan, B.C., was taken sixth overall in the 2007 bantam draft and was a member of the silver medal-winning Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. This season he had four assists in 29 games with the Hurricanes. His inclusion in the deal meant the Tips received two first-round picks in return.

And in Iwanski the Tips believe they acquired a player capable of producing more than he's shown so far in his career. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, had three goals and two assists in 25 games. Last season he had 10 goals and nine assists in 71 games.

"When Roy (Stasiuk, Lethbridge's general manager) decided he was going to give us two first-rounders, that definitely caught my attention," Soetaert said. "Theriau is a very skilled puck-moving defenseman who we feel is going to be able to run a power play. And we're happy to have Dan, a player we feel was maybe a little under-utilized in their organization."

Despite trading his most-talented player, Soetaert said he is not selling off his assets to build for the future.

"We're not giving up on this year," Soetaert said. "We think we're still capable of winning a lot of hockey games, I want to make that clear."

Beach and Alexander will make their return to Everett on Feb. 7 when the Tips play host to the Hurricanes.

"I'm already looking forward to it," Beach said.

"I've loved my time here, this is home to me -- I get goosebumps saying that, I'm starting to tear up here. It's hard to leave. Looking up in the rafters and seeing the sign saying they're the No. 1 fans, just because I'm going to Lethbridge doesn't change that. I hope they respect me for what I've done here, and I'm not forgetting anything that happened here either."

[Tipped Off]

'Canes make trade
Written by Dale Woodard
Tuesday, 06 January 2009


It’s early-January, but this is a day at the Beach the Lethbridge Hurricanes are looking forward to.
And as the Western Hockey League regular season gears up for the playoff stretch drive the ’Canes are hoping for plenty more days like this.
The Hurricanes announced Tuesday they had dealt defenceman Alex Theriau, forward Dan Iwanski and a first round draft pick in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft to the Everett Silvertips in exchange for forward Kyle Beach and defenceman Mike Alexander.
Beach was drafted in the first round - 11th overall - of the 2008 NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. The six-foot-three, 210-pound forward tallied nine goals and 30 points and 106 minutes in penalties in 30 games with Everett this season.
“It’s obviously a big deal in terms of what we’re giving up,” said Hurricanes general manager Roy Stastiuk. “At the same time I don’t think we’re sacrificing our future. We have some depth that allowed us to make this deal with Derek Ryckman and Cody Castro coming on. They’ve enabled us to move Alex Theriau and though it’s tough we can still do it. A first-round draft pick is always tough to move, but at the same time we’re getting an NHL first-round (draft) player in Kyle Beach. I think he’s going to add some bite to our game. I think he’s going to add some grit and some determintion and a bit of snot-nosed hockey. I think that’s what’s been missing from us a little bit.
“I refer to us as being too much vanilla ice cream. We needed to mix it up a bit and I think Kyle will do that. He’s quite excited to come in and do that for the Hurricanes.”
Alexander is currently nursing a mild concussion, but Stasiuk expected the team’s newest blueliner to bring a solid, consistent game to the team’s blueline ranks.
“He’s not a big guy, but he moves the puck very well and he can play in our top four.”
At six-foot-three, Beach cuts an imposing figure in front of opposing team’s net.
The fact he makes opposing players hate playing against him doesn’t hurt either.
“He certainly is a specialist of that and the big part of Kyle’s game in terms of his offence is going to the net hard and really being hard to play against,” said Stasiuk. “He doesn’t give up on loose pucks. He battles for them and gains position in front of the net, which is really a key. He’s a big guy, six-three and 200 pounds, so if anything I’m hoping he serves as a role model for some of our other players. I’m hoping he feeds off of that a little bit because I think it can be quite effective. With the way he plays on the ice, he’s one of those rare finds in the fact he has an on-ice persona that really gets under other people’s skin, especially opponents and sometimes his teammates. But that’s how he plays and we know that’s going to cost us sometimes with a penalty, but we have to find enough confidence to know we can get over those bumps in the road.”
In 29 games Theriau posted four assists and was plus-three.
“I think Alex Theriau is a real talent,” said Stasiuk of the six-foot, 185-pound defenceman who hails from Duncan, B.C. “At 16 he’s one of those guys that brings pucks off the wall and to the middle of the ice. It’s not a case that we’re unhappy with Alex. It’s a case where this trade is really leaning more towards serving Ben Wright, Mitch Versteeg, Drew Hoff, Zach Boychuk and Colton Sceviour, guys that are in their last year with us. We really want to get that belief back that we can challenge for something. So we’re going to miss Alex, but it’s an old-fasioned hockey trade in the sense that Everett, with where they are in their program, could use a younger guy. For us, we’re getting an older guy, but at the same time not a three-month or four-month guy. I believe both of these guys for at least another year.”
Iwanski tallied three goals and five points in 25 games with the ’Canes this season.
“I remember when he first came in at 15-year-old he looked like Harry Potter,” said Stasiuk. “He’s been a great kid for us. He’s brought a lot of energy. He got hurt this year in the exhbition season and took a long time to recover and get back and I think that really put him behind the eight-ball. So I hope it’s going to be a fresh start for Dan. I have nothing but good things to say about both kids. They’ve been great for our program and I think they have bright futures ahead of them. (With) Dan, we’re going to miss his smile and his practical jokes.”
The trade comes one day after the Hurricanes acquired Brody Sutter from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2009 WHL bantam draft.
“I’ve told people we’ve had three irons in the fire and we’ve acted on two of them already,” said Stasiuk. “These kids won’t be in for a couple of days yet, so we don’t have a lot of time to get our chemistry together. I’m not as worried about the 0-6 streak as I am about our performance. We have to stress some fundamentals in our last 30 games getting ready for the playoffs and adding these players I think will give a boost of confidence. So we’ll move forward with these new players. I’m excited about it. As far as saying that’s the end of the trades I believe it is, but I don’t want to mislead anybody and say that’s the case.”
While the club is mired in a six-game losing steak as the ’Canes get set to face the Prince Albert Raiders and Vancouver Giants Friday and Saturday, respectively, at the Enmax Centre, Stasiuk said the moves were to gear the club up for their playoff stretch drive, not sell off players to build for next year.
“That’s something we would not do for the fans of Lethbridge,” said Stasiuk.
“I think they deserve more. When I first came here I promised it was going to be a consistent program with some stability. We had the great playoff run last year and I think we owe that to our fans. You can’t tell me that with Colton Sceviour, Dwight King, Zach Boychuk, Carter Bancks, Ben Wright and Mitch Versteeg that we’re not legitimate contenders to take another run.
“There was no way I was going to talk about selling off players and just become another Lethbridge program. We’re going to move forward and challenge and I think that has to be the attitude of our organization.”