Everett Silvertips

Everett Silvertips
File:Everett Silvertips Logo.svg
City	Everett, Washington
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	U.S.
Founded	2003 (2003)–04
Home arena	Comcast Arena at Everett
Colours	Forest green, copper and silver
General manager	Doug Soetaert
Head coach	Craig Hartsburg
Website	www.everettsilvertips.com

The Everett Silvertips are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) that plays in Everett, Washington. They joined the league as an expansion team for the 2003–04 WHL season. The team name comes from the silvertip bear. The team plays at the Comcast Arena at Everett, a $71.5 million dollar multipurpose complex built in 2003 that seats 8,300 (or 8,513 with standing room only seats included) for hockey games.

History

Division titles won: 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–2007

Conference titles won: 2003-04

Regular season titles won: 2006–07

Immediate success

During the Silvertips' inaugural season in the U.S. Division of the WHL, the team solidified its place as one of the greatest expansion hockey teams in history after breaking a minimum of 10 junior hockey records for an expansion team in its first year. Under the direction of General Manager Doug Soetaert and Head Coach Kevin Constantine, the team won the U.S. Division title with a record of 35–26–8–2, while setting a record for a first year team in any of the major junior hockey leagues (the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL) by earning 80 points in the regular season standings, eclipsing the old record set by the 1982-1983 Longueuil Chevaliers of the QMJHL. Constantine received the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy from the league as the 2003–2004 Coach of the Year.

In the 2004 playoffs, the Silvertips swept the Spokane Chiefs 4–0 in the First Round before defeating the Vancouver Giants 4-2 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The team then played the Kelowna Rockets, the regular season champions and reigning WHL champions, for the Western Conference title. After falling behind in the series 3-1, the Silvertips improbably won three straight games in overtime to win its first Western Conference title, earning the chance to play the Medicine Hat Tigers for the WHL championship. The Tigers would go on to sweep the series 4–0, marking an end to the Silvertips' stellar first season.

2004–2005 season

Fresh off the success of its successful inaugural season, the 2004–2005 team was the youngest in the league. At one time, the team had a minimum of eight 16-year old rookies on the active game-day roster. With such youth and inexperience, the team was projected to falter but still managed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. After defeating the Portland Winter Hawks in seven games during a tough first-round playoff series, the Silvertips finished their second season in the WHL on a tough note by being swept by the Kootenay Ice 4-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

2005–2006 season

The 2005–2006 season marked the second time the team had won the U.S. Division title, in only its third season of existence. After defeating the Tri-City Americans 4-1 in the First Round of the WHL playoffs, and the Kelowna Rockets 4-2 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Silvertips' playoff run came to an end when the Silvertips were swept by the Vancouver Giants 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Silvertips once again exceeded expectations by reaching the final four of the WHL Playoffs for the second time in only three seasons of existence.

Silvertips forward Peter Mueller won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for top rookie in the league, becoming to the first Silvertips player to win that award.

2006–2007 season

The 2006–2007 season was one of the team's most successful to date. The team entered the season as the pre-season #1 team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) "Top Ten" Rankings. The team remained on the CHL "Top Ten" Rankings list the entire regular season, being selected #1 overall for 13 of the 25 weeks the rankings were selected, never falling lower than #5. The team captured its third U.S. Division title in only four seasons of existence. The team was also awarded the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for having the best record in the WHL during the regular season, posting a record of 54–15–1–2 (111 points). Silvertips forward Zach Hamill became the first Everett Silvertip to lead the WHL in points with 32 goals and 61 assists for 93 points, winning the Bob Clarke Trophy. Silvertips forward Kyle Beach won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for top rookie in the league.

After defeating the Spokane Chiefs 4-2 in the First Round of the WHL playoffs, the Silvertips' playoff run came to an abrupt end when the Prince George Cougars defeated the Silvertips 4-2 during the Western Conference Semi-Finals after the Silvertips led the series 2-0.

2007–2008 season

The 2007-2008 season began a transition period for the franchise. Constantine left during the preceding offseason to become Head Coach of the Houston Aeros AHL team. Assistant Head Coach John Becanic became Head Coach, with Jay Varady promoted to Becanic's former position. Six of the team's 10 leading scorers from the 06-07 season, as well as the backup goaltender, left the team early in the season, mostly through trades and graduation from the WHL. These departures included Peter Mueller, who joined the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team full-time. The transition from Constantine's defensive-centered coaching style to Becanic's coaching style for the returning players, and the team struggled at times during the season.

The Silvertips ended the regular season fourth in the U.S. Division and sixth in the Western Conference. The team was swept by the Spokane Chiefs, the eventual Memorial Cup Champions, 4-0 in the First Round of the WHL playoffs. This marked the first time the Silvertips lost in the First Round of the WHL playoffs but kept alive the team's ominous history of losing four straight games to be ousted from a playoff round.

2008–2009 season

The 2008-2009 season was one that began with low expectations. NHL-drafted players such as Zach Hamill, Leland Irving, and Dan Gendur—as well as 2007-08 Team Captain Jonathan Harty—left the team. Finding sufficient scoring, defense, and goaltending was in doubt. Graham Potuer and Taylor Ellington were the only remaining players from the team's very good crop of players taken in the 1988-born WHL Bantam Draft that had marked the team's success during the previous three seasons. The team had its youngest roster in franchise history.

Fortunately, just as rookies helped salvage the franchise's 2004-05 season, rookies helped salvage a potentially disastrous 2008-09 season. The most successful example of this might be the emergence of rookie Forwards Kellan Tochkin, Byron Froese, and Tyler Maxwell, nicknamed the "Kid Line". The three players combined for 177 points, making it one of the most successful rookie lines in WHL history. The trio was led by Tochkin, whose 74 points in 72 games led the team, as well as all WHL rookies, in scoring. In addition to the "Kid Line", rookie 16-year old goaltender Kent Simpson also exceeded expectations, and was later assisted by acquired goaltender Thomas Heemskerk.

The team record was above .500 for the first half of the season, but the roster's young and inexperience caught up in the second half of the season. The team ended its regular season with a 27-36-7-2 record, the first losing record in the franchise's history. However, if the emergence and success of the team's rookies had not occurred, the team's record would have likely been much worse.

The Silvertips ended the regular season fourth in the U.S. Division and seventh in the Western Conference. The team lost to the Tri-City Americans, the two-time U.S. Division Champions, 4-1 in the First Round of the WHL playoffs. This marked the first time the Silvertips had been ousted from the playoffs without losing four straight games.

Shortly after the 2008-09 season ended, Head Coach John Becanic was fired. Several months later, GM Doug Soetaert announced the hiring of former NHL and OHL coach Craig Hartsburg as the team's new Head Coach, marking the beginning of a new era for the franchise.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
2003–04	72	35	27	8	2	157	153	80	1st U. S.	Lost final
2004–05	72	33	28	9	2	167	149	77	3rd U. S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
Season	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	GF	GA	Points	Finish
2005–06	72	40	27	2	3	203	158	85	1st U. S.	Lost Western Conference final
2006–07	72	54	15	1	2	239	142	111	1st U. S.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
2007–08	72	39	30	0	3	205	198	81	4th U. S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2008–09	72	27	36	7	2	199	259	63	4th U. S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2009–10	72	46	21	3	2	232	175	97	2nd U. S.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	111	2006–07
Least points	63	2008–09
Most wins	54	2006–07
Least wins	27	2008–09
Most goals for	239	2006–07
Least goals for	157	2003–04
Most goals against	259	2008–09
Least goals against	142	2006–07
Most PIM	1499	2006–07
Least PIM	1013	2005–06

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Shane Harper	42	2009–10
Most assists	Zach Hamill	61	2006–07
Most points	Zach Hamill	93	2006–07
Most points, rookie	Kellan Tochkin	74	2008-09
Most points, defenceman	Shaun Heshka	59	2005–06
Best Plus/Minus	Radko Gudas	+45	2009–10
Most PIM	Kyle Beach	222	2007–08
Best GAA (goalie)	David Reekie	1.77	2006–07
Most Wins (goalie)	Leland Irving	37	2005–06
Goalies = Minimum 1440 minutes played during season

NHL draftees

2006 NHL Entry Draft

1st Round

1. 8. Phoenix Coyotes Peter Mueller Bloomington, MN
2. 26. Calgary Flames Leland Irving Swan Hills, AB

2nd Round

1. 40. Minnesota Wild Ondrej Fiala Stenberk, CZE

3rd Round

1. 73. Florida Panthers Brady Calla Kelowna, B.C.

2007 NHL Entry Draft

1st Round

1. 8. Boston Bruins Zach Hamill Port Coquitlam, BC

2nd Round

1. 41. Vancouver Canucks Taylor Ellington Victoria, BC

7th Round

1. 206. Vancouver Canucks Dan Gendur Victoria, BC

2008 NHL Entry Draft

1st Round

1. 11. Chicago Blackhawks Kyle Beach Kelowna, BC

2009 NHL Entry Draft

3rd Round

1. 82. Edmonton Oilers Cameron Abney Aldergrove, BC

4th Round

1. 119. Chicago Blackhawks Byron Froese Winkler, MB

2010 NHL Entry Draft

2nd Round

1. 58. Chicago Blackhawks Kent Simpson Edmonton, AB

3rd Round

1. 66. Tampa Bay Lightning Radko Gudas Prague, CZE

4th Round

1. 109. Dallas Stars Alex Theriau Duncan, BC

NHL alumni

• Riley Armstrong
• Ivan Baranka
• Shaun Heshka
• Zach Hamill
• Peter Mueller
• Mike Wall

Jordan Mistelbacher

On January 13, 2009, former Silvertip left wing Jordan Mistelbacher was found dead. He had just been released from the Silvertips and had returned to his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba to play for the Winnipeg Saints. The autopsy showed the death was caused by alcohol poisoning.

External links

• The Everett Silvertips' Official Web Site

Number	Player	Position	Birthyear	Hometown
2	Alex Theriau	D	1992	Duncan, British Columbia
3	Nick Walters	D	1994	St. Albert, Alberta
4	Evan Morden	D	1993	Swan River, Manitoba
5	Brennan Yadlowski	D	1991	Edmonton, Alberta
7	Tyler Giebel	C	1993	Balgonie, Saskatchewan
8	Rasmus Rissanen	D	1991	Kuopio, Finland
9	Tyler Maxwell	LW	1991	Manhattan Beach, California
10	Josh Birkholz	RW	1991	Maple Grove, Minnesota
11	Cody Fowlie	RW	1992	Airdrie, Alberta
12	Scott MacDonald	RW	1991	Surrey, British Columbia
13	Landon Ferraro	C	1991	Vancouver, British Columbia
16	Kellan Tochkin	RW	1991	Abbotsford, British Columbia
17	Campbell Elynuik	LW	1992	Calgary, Alberta
18	Jari Erricson	LW	1994	Prince George, British Columbia
19	Manraj Hayer	C	1993	Vancouver, British Columbia
20	Parker Stanfield	C	1990	Anaheim, California
21	Josh Winquist	C	1993	St. Albert, Alberta
22	Chad Suer	D	1990	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
25	Markus McCrea	LW	1992	Canyon Lake, California
27	Ryan Murray	D	1993	White City, Saskatchewan
32	Kent Simpson	G	1992	Edmonton, Alberta
33	Clayton Cumiskey	C	1990	Abbotsford, British Columbia			35	Luke Siemens	G	1992	Delta, British Columbia