THE 00’S / Gianni Fairbrother
“The most important step is the first step.” – Unknown
For Everett Silvertips defenseman Gianni Fairbrother, the most important step is still a body of work currently under construction.
Laying the foundation for a WHL career he hopes will rise skyscraper high this next season, the late-2000 born defenseman (September 30, to be exact) didn’t exactly have a clear path to barrel through for a permanent spot on the Tips blueline.
Ahead of him on the depth chart: older, taller, and more filled-out blueliners with the namesakes of Aaron Irving, Lucas Skrumeda, Noah Juulsen, and Kevin Davis.
The first three have either aged out of the Tips program or are expected (Juulsen, a first round pick with Montreal) to turn pro next season. As of today, Davis is slotted to take one of three available 20-year old spots and due back on the Tips blueline for 2017-18.
The point: the odds were stacked against Fairbrother last season due to the experience at the Tips disposal. This season, with Davis expected to be the elder statesman, more full-time spots are up for grabs. Enter Fairbrother, who took his 16-year old season with Vancouver (BCMML) and ripped a 20-point (36 games) campaign, topped with five points in five playoff games.
Which means, this summer carries extreme weight toward the doors opening for next season.
Starting out in the Tips program at 5-foot-10 and 174 pounds, he carried a +1 in three games as a call-up for the Tips this season, following up a summer where he appeared on Team Canada’s radar as a participant in the summer showcase. Assistant coach Mitch Love shared more on his outlook:
MITCH LOVE, ON GIANNI FAIRBROTHER:
“This is a big offseason for him. He’s coming into his 17-year-old season, next year, where he didn’t have a ton of time with us previously. He played a little bit of hockey as a 15-year old with us in the playoffs (in 2015-16, when he made his Tips debut with three postseason games against Seattle, shortly after signing and due to a rash of injuries on the blueline). That’s a tough spot for a young kid, especially for a defenseman for this league to get in.
I think the flexibility of being a Vancouver boy, coming in to practice and play sparingly, was a nice flexibility thing for us as an organization. If you look at our defense next year, you’ll find a lot of veterans leaving the program. There’s great opportunity there. That’s what Gianni gives himself, opportunity. At the end of the day, he’s got to earn it. I hope he has a big offseason.”
WHERE FAIRBROTHER’S ROLE COLD DEVELOP NEXT YEAR:
“He’s a strong kid despite not being overly ‘big’ in stature. He’s stocky and has a nice ‘base’. I like his shot. That will be something to help his offensive game during his career. There are a few things any defenseman, coming from the bantam and midget levels, needs to learn as far as a system and structure. Their play away from the puck is probably the biggest thing – stick positioning, body positioning, their competiveness on loose puck battles. Those are things some players can get away with at the midget level without any accountability. He’ll need to keep growing on those as a 17-year old.”
