THUNDERBIRDS

T-Birds aquire defenseman Foulk from Everett

Nov 23, 2012, 1:14 PM | Updated: 1:14 pm

foulk

Griffin Foulk was scoreless in 14 games with Everett this season (photo WHL.ca)

 

By Tim Pigulski

On Friday the Thunderbirds sent a 2014 fourth-round Bantam Draft choice to the Everett Silvertips in exchange for 17-year-old rookie defenseman Griffin Foulk. Seattle will also send the sixth-round choice they acquired earlier in the month from Everett for goaltender Daniel Cotton back to its original team.

To date, Foulk has appeared in 14 games with the ‘Tips, registering zero points, nine penalty minutes, and a plus-1 rating.

The trade seems a bit curious for the Thunderbirds, who currently have an abundance of young defensemen, including 16-year-old Kevin Wolf, 17-year-olds Jerret Smith, Shea Theodore, Taylor Green, and Jared Hauf, and 18-year-old Evan Wardley.

The defensive top six has been shuffled frequenty by T-Birds’ head coach Steve Konowalchuk early in the season, as Wolf, Wardley, and Green have each been scratched at different points so far.

Foulk, whose positive rating shouldn’t be overlooked as he was playing on a weaker Everett team, may have been acquired to give the front office the option of dealing another young rearguard, as the eight currently on the roster are all WHL quality players.

For Everett, it seems to be odd timing to deal a defenseman, as earlier in the week all-world blueliner Ryan Murray injured his shoulder. It looks like he’ll miss a significant portion of playing time with what is being reported by the Columbus Dispatch as a torn labrum. If he undergoes surgery, Murray could miss the remainder of the season.

Foulk, who split last season with the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm and the Major Midget Colorado Thunderbirds, was acquired one year ago by the Silvertips from the Edmonton Oil Kings in a trade that included forward Tyler Maxwell, who is currently playing professionally in Australia.

Edmonton originally drafted Foulk in the eighth round of the 2010 draft with the 156th overall choice, but he did not sign until after his trade to Everett in May of this year.

One interesting thing to note with Foulk is that he played for the same program (the Colorado Thunderbirds) that current T-Birds prospect and current USHL player Dylan Gambrell did. After an impressive training camp, many were hopeful Gambrell would sign with the T-Birds, but he appears to be heading to the NCAA instead.

Both Foulk and Gambrell are represented by Turning Point Sports Management, which was founded by former NHL player Darcy Tucker and Washington State attorney Carlos Sosa.

Tucker described Foulk as a player with “excellent skating ability and puck moving skills…that every team would want to have.”

Foulk (@gfoulk95), a U.S.-born defenseman, has an impressive presence on Twitter with almost 6,000 followers, significantly more than any player currently on the Thunderbirds roster. As he’s only a few miles away from the ShoWare Center, he could very well suit up this Saturday versus Portland.

Follow Tim on Twitter @tpigulski

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