Tipped Off
01-14-2009, 02:32 AM
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090113/SPORTS/701149857/1003/SPORTS08#Alexander.feels.lucky.to.have.second.chan ce.with.Tips
Alexander feels lucky to have second chance with Tips
The Everett defenseman says his heart wasn't in playing in Lethbridge and he couldn't be happier returning to Everett.
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT -- Mike Alexander was sitting in the airport in Calgary, Alberta, last Saturday, doing his best to come to grips with the idea of moving on with life.
It was Saturday and Alexander had just left the Lethbridge Hurricanes, believing his WHL career had come to an end.
That's when he received the phone call that put him back on track.
That call informed the former Everett Silvertips defenseman that he was once again a Silvertip, news that was both unexpected and a relief to Alexander.
"I went and bought a couple lotto tickets because I didn't think this could happen," Alexander said Tuesday. "I feel good. Honestly, I had no idea this would ever happen."
The last week has been quite the saga for Alexander. Last Tuesday he was included in the trade that sent he and Kyle Beach to Lethbridge in exchange for Dan Iwanski, Alex Theriau and a first-round bantam pick.
Alexander never played for the Hurricanes because of a concussion, and four days later he decided to head home to Campbell River, B.C.
It was while he was en route to Everett, where he planned on picking up his car and clothes before heading home, that he was informed he had been reacquired by the Tips, his portion of the original nullified with the Hurricanes receiving a fifth-round pick as compensation.
"It feels good to be back," Alexander said. "I went to Lethbridge with an open mind, I wanted to give it a chance. After a few days my heart just wasn't there."
Conflicting reports came out of the two camps after the Alexander part of the deal was nullified. Everett said Alexander decided he didn't want to play for the Hurricanes. Lethbridge said Alexander's concussion meant he was not physically capable of playing.
Alexander did indeed have a concussion, though he's expected to be ready to play by the weekend.
Alexander said there wasn't anything specific about Lethbridge he had a problem with. But he was shaken by the trade.
"The trade was tough for me," Alexander said. "My stomach was in knots because (Everett) is like no other place, and I knew that from people getting traded here, so I was kind of scared. My plane got canceled when I was flying to Lethbridge the first day and I was kind of in relief I could stay in Everett another night. Then when I flew in the next day I had trouble sleeping and it was a bummer. I wish I would have played, I feld bad, but it just happens, my heart just wasn't there."
The situation turned out to be convienent for the Tips. One of the reasons why Everett was willing to part with Alexander was because defenseman Shayne Brown appeared to be making progress with his hip-flexor injury and was expected back in the lineup soon. However, Brown suffered a setback and will now undergo season-ending surgery, leaving the Tips in need of another veteran defenseman. Who better to fill that role than someone who'd already filled it?
"We're pretty excited," Everett coach John Becanic said. "He's a top-four D. We love (Alexander and Beach) and were disappointed to see them go, then to get one of them back is a little bit of a Christmas present. He's so well liked by the players in the locker room that it wasn't hard for us to make the transition to getting him back. He really helps our power play for sure, and it gives us a little more depth to have another shutdown guy."
And while Alexander says his heart wasn't in it in Lethbridge, he says it is in it going forward with Everett.
"That was the biggest reality check of my life, knowing I had a job in Campbell River (working for the local mine) and that I was signed up for a men's league hockey team," Alexander said. "I noticed I had to change. We don't realize what opportunity we have here until it's gone, and it was gone for me. Then somehow -- I don't know how -- I came back."
Alexander feels lucky to have second chance with Tips
The Everett defenseman says his heart wasn't in playing in Lethbridge and he couldn't be happier returning to Everett.
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT -- Mike Alexander was sitting in the airport in Calgary, Alberta, last Saturday, doing his best to come to grips with the idea of moving on with life.
It was Saturday and Alexander had just left the Lethbridge Hurricanes, believing his WHL career had come to an end.
That's when he received the phone call that put him back on track.
That call informed the former Everett Silvertips defenseman that he was once again a Silvertip, news that was both unexpected and a relief to Alexander.
"I went and bought a couple lotto tickets because I didn't think this could happen," Alexander said Tuesday. "I feel good. Honestly, I had no idea this would ever happen."
The last week has been quite the saga for Alexander. Last Tuesday he was included in the trade that sent he and Kyle Beach to Lethbridge in exchange for Dan Iwanski, Alex Theriau and a first-round bantam pick.
Alexander never played for the Hurricanes because of a concussion, and four days later he decided to head home to Campbell River, B.C.
It was while he was en route to Everett, where he planned on picking up his car and clothes before heading home, that he was informed he had been reacquired by the Tips, his portion of the original nullified with the Hurricanes receiving a fifth-round pick as compensation.
"It feels good to be back," Alexander said. "I went to Lethbridge with an open mind, I wanted to give it a chance. After a few days my heart just wasn't there."
Conflicting reports came out of the two camps after the Alexander part of the deal was nullified. Everett said Alexander decided he didn't want to play for the Hurricanes. Lethbridge said Alexander's concussion meant he was not physically capable of playing.
Alexander did indeed have a concussion, though he's expected to be ready to play by the weekend.
Alexander said there wasn't anything specific about Lethbridge he had a problem with. But he was shaken by the trade.
"The trade was tough for me," Alexander said. "My stomach was in knots because (Everett) is like no other place, and I knew that from people getting traded here, so I was kind of scared. My plane got canceled when I was flying to Lethbridge the first day and I was kind of in relief I could stay in Everett another night. Then when I flew in the next day I had trouble sleeping and it was a bummer. I wish I would have played, I feld bad, but it just happens, my heart just wasn't there."
The situation turned out to be convienent for the Tips. One of the reasons why Everett was willing to part with Alexander was because defenseman Shayne Brown appeared to be making progress with his hip-flexor injury and was expected back in the lineup soon. However, Brown suffered a setback and will now undergo season-ending surgery, leaving the Tips in need of another veteran defenseman. Who better to fill that role than someone who'd already filled it?
"We're pretty excited," Everett coach John Becanic said. "He's a top-four D. We love (Alexander and Beach) and were disappointed to see them go, then to get one of them back is a little bit of a Christmas present. He's so well liked by the players in the locker room that it wasn't hard for us to make the transition to getting him back. He really helps our power play for sure, and it gives us a little more depth to have another shutdown guy."
And while Alexander says his heart wasn't in it in Lethbridge, he says it is in it going forward with Everett.
"That was the biggest reality check of my life, knowing I had a job in Campbell River (working for the local mine) and that I was signed up for a men's league hockey team," Alexander said. "I noticed I had to change. We don't realize what opportunity we have here until it's gone, and it was gone for me. Then somehow -- I don't know how -- I came back."