Bad-luck Silvertip emerges as star

Dan Gendur admits he heard the whispers in his head that he might never fulfill his enormous potential.

After a succession of debilitating injuries, Gendur was traded to the Everett Silvertips last season from the Prince George Cougars for a sixth-round bantam pick. Since most sixth-round picks never make it to the Western Hockey League (WHL), it was like being exchanged for a bag of pucks and a broken stick.

"That sixt-round pick may or may not work out, but it definitely gave me added motivation," Gendur said.

Gendur is now on the hottest scoring streak any player has enjoyed in the four-plus seasons of Silvertips history.

In three games last week, Gendur scored three goals and had nine assists and was named the WHL Player of the Week.

Gendur, a 20-year-old from Victoria, said his streak started with a look in the mirror at the Christmas break.

"I asked myself if I was bringing what I thought I should be bringing," Gendur said. "I didn't think I was and decided I needed to work a bit harder and play better defense."

Everett general manager Doug Soetaert doesn't feel like he stole Gendur from Prince George.

"At the time, that was what he was worth," Soetaert said. "Obviously we saw the potential and talent, and that's the way he's playing now. He still has a ways to go, but we're very glad he's on our team."

In his first 16 games after the break, Gendur scored 12 goals and 18 assists, including a two-goal, four-assist celebration in Prince George that moved him into the top 10 in scoring in the WHL.

"A lot of people are asking me what the difference has been, and I don't really know," Gendur said. "I had a bit of bad luck with some injuries in my career and now I'm 100 percent."

The trouble started when he injured his shoulder playing Junior A when he was 16. With Prince George he suffered a charley horse that calcified and left him barely able to walk for seventh months. That was followed by another serious shoulder injury and a severely sprained ankle.

"I didn't think I was ever going to get the opportunity to play," Gendur said. "Luckily, Everett gave me an opportunity."

An opportunity that Gendur seized. In 91 regular-season games with the Silvertips through last weekend, Gendur has scored 42 goals and had 65 assists.

"He's really developed," Soetaert said. "He's competing harder and is more of a team player. He has a fantastic shot and he can skate, and that's what the Vancouver Canucks saw when they drafted him in the seventh round."