The Everett Silvertips look to improve upon their impressive third-place finish in the Western Conference last season. Everett went 45-18-2-3 on the season and was swept in Round 2 of the 2024 WHL Playoffs by the Portland Winterhawks. Everett is considered the favorite to win the U.S. Division and a top team in the Western Conference as the Tips look to get over the playoff curse and win their first Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Everett begins their season with a home game against the Vancouver Giants.
Hockey Staff
Dennis Williams announced following WHL regular season play that he would end his seven-year tenure as the Head Coach of the Everett Silvertips and the General Manager of the Silvertips for the past three seasons. Williams is now the head coach for the Men’s Ice Hockey team at Bowling Green University.
Former Assistant General Manager Mike Fraser received a promotion and will now become the new General Manager of WHL for the first time in his management career. This will be Fraser’s seventh year with the organization and 20th in the WHL.
In his place as head coach comes Steve Hamilton. Hamilton has 24 years of experience coaching junior hockey and has spent the past ten seasons as a head coach at the WHL, four with the Edmonton Oil Kings, and six with the Calgary Hitmen. He becomes the sixth head coach in Silvertips history.
Hamilton is a two-time WHL Champion in 2011/12 and 2013/14. Hamilton was also a one-time CHL Memorial Cup Champion in 2013/14. All won as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Both assistant coaches from last year will also be back.
Michael Field notably spent eight years as the Associate Head Coach for NCAA D1 Arizona State University from 2015/16 to 2022/23 before moving to the WHL last year and joining Everett is back.
Dean Desilva is the other assistant coach who returns. This will be Desilva’s fourth year as an assistant coach with the Tips’.
Offseason Moves
The Everett Silvertips made two trades during the summer and a monumental signing.
As Everett lost both their goalies from last season, the team needed to make a move. With that, Everett sent nineteen-year-old forward Niko Tsakumis, who had four years of WHL experience, and a 2026 2nd round WHL Bantam Draft Pick to Kamloops in return for eighteen-year-old netminder Jesse Sanche.
The other trade of the summer involved the acquisition of former Medicine Hat Tigers Captain Tyler Mackenzie. Everett sent a 2024 3rd Round Pick in exchange for the now overager forward Mackenzie.
Everett obtained multiple picks from the Blazers a few years ago in the monumental Ollen Zellweger trade to Kamloops. This past draft, Everett was rewarded with picking first overall as a result of that trade, even though the Silvertips finished third in the Western Conference.
With that pick, Everett took exceptional player status defenseman Landon DuPont.
DuPont recently signed with the Silvertips after some rumors of playing in the BCHL and heading to the NCAA died out. DuPont becomes the ninth player in CHL history to receive exceptional status, which allows a player to play in the WHL full-time as a fifteen-year-old.
Key Forwards
Everett brings back a stacked forward group that is one of the best in the league, filled out thoroughly with great depth. Here’s a look at the best among that group.
Dominik Rymon
Czech Import and overager Dominik Rymon will return in an Everett uniform for the third and final time after breaking onto the scene last year.
Rymon played in 57 games for the Silvertips and recorded 81 points, including 34 goals. He finished second on the Silvertips in points and played for Czechia’s World Junior Championship team last season, averaging a point per game with 7 points in 7 games and having the first goal in the tournament.
Rymon, unbelievably, went under the radar and was undrafted after his impressive career year. In a nutshell, Rymon is an excellent example of what a two-way forward should be with his great defensive and offensive play, and he will hands down be the best forward on Everett this year.
Julius Miettinen
Julius Miettinen is the other import. Miettinen just completed his first year in North America with an impressive season and will look to build on that this year.
At only seventeen years old, the Finland product played 66 games for the Silvertips. In that time, Miettinen recorded 67 points, 31 of which were goals. This was the third most goals among WHL Rookies last season. This did not go unnoticed, as at the past NHL Draft, the Seattle Kraken selected Miettinen in the second round. The big 6’3 winger stands out with his great size, skating skills, and powerful shot.
Jesse Heslop
Winger Jesse Heslop enters his third full season with the Silvertips following a career year last season.
Heslop, ranked as high as 136th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Service last year, will look to have a big year for the Silvertips. The eighteen-year-old played in 61 games and had 54 points last season. Heslop is an excellent playmaker and a speedy forward on the ice.
Carter Bear
Forward Carter Bear enjoyed a great year in his first full year in the WHL and is already being talked about for the 2025 NHL Draft.
Bear, a former sixth-round pick of the Silvertips in 2021, adapted quickly to the WHL level. In 67 games, Bear notched 57 points, including 25 goals. The young phenom is only eighteen this year and looks to be a big part of the lineup this season. Bear is best known for his high work effort and elusiveness in finding ways to attack the net.
Tyler MacKenzie
Overager Tyler MacKenzie, and 40th captain in Medicine Hat Tigers history, will get ready for his final junior hockey season after coming off a career year.
MacKenzie not only brings great leadership qualities to the Silvertips, but is also a skilled forward with plenty of experience at this level. He spent four full years wearing a Tigers uniform and is coming off a career year, as stated, where he played in all 68 games for the Tigers and had 47 points. MacKenzie is a solid playmaker who can be relied on every night with his consistent play.
Key Defenseman
Everett also brings back a loaded defense group that can create plenty of offense, highlighted by a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Exceptional Status player and three players with NHL Draft picks.
Landon DuPont
First, Landon DuPont, the ninth player granted exceptional status in CHL History and second in WHL History. DuPont joins the likes of Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, and John Tavares in this exclusive club.
DuPont is a jaw-dropping player for his age. The fifteen-year-old is suiting up for his first WHL season after being the first overall pick this past year for the Silvertips in the 2024 WHL Bantam Draft. Dupont, at only fourteen, played at the CSSHL U18 level this past season and destroyed the competition. In 30 games, Dupont had a whopping 62 points and was awarded the CSSHL U18 defenseman of the year.
DuPont is already a top prospect for the 2027 NHL Entry Draft, when he will be first eligible to be drafted, and is being considered the next great offensive defenseman. DuPont is a versatile player who can play in any situation, has superb skating abilities, and is physically ahead of his other 2009 counterparts by a long shot.
Overall, Dupont will significantly affect the Silvertips’ defense at only fifteen years of age and will be an exciting player for Silvertips fans to watch for the next few years. DuPont is currently the favorite to win rookie of the year in the WHL.
Tarin Smith
Next up is Tarin Smith, a 2024 third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks.
Smith is coming off an incredible first year in the WHL. With 44 points, Smith led Silvertips defensemen in points with 44 and had a +26 plus/minus to go along with that. The eighteen-year-old is an excellent offensive defenseman, often found on the power play with his offensive intelligence.
Smith will likely again be the leader in points among Silvertip defensemen this year as he enters his second full WHL season as the offensive spark for Everett on the blue line.
Eric Jamieson
Alternative Captain Eric Jamieson and 2024 sixth-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames will also be another significant defensive presence for the Silvertips this season.
Jamieson, who is now entering his third full season in the WHL, is coming off of a career year in which he put up 32 points, including ten goals, which was the most goals by any Silvertips defenseman last season in 66 games and also led all Silvertips in plus/minus with a +34.
The 6’3 “, 204-pound defenseman is a physical presence on the blue line, and his nice shot, paired with great defensive intelligence, makes him a crucial part of the lineup and penalty kill for Everett.
Kaden Hammell
One last defenseman is that of the 2023 fifth-round selection of the Seattle Kraken and second Kraken draft pick on the roster, Kaden Hammell.
Hammell, who also was an Alternate Captain for the Silvertips last season, is entering his fourth year in the league and a second full season in Everett after being traded to the Silvertips halfway through the 2022/23 season. He had a down year last season but still had 25 points in 52 games.
Hammell has mainly been known for his shutdown defenseman-type role; however, Hammell is becoming more all-around as he develops on both sides of the ice with the Silvertips and Kraken and will look to be a top defenseman for the Silvertips this season.
Goaltending
After losing Tyler Palmer to aging out and Ethan Chadwick due to the overage limit, both goalies from last season are gone. Here’s a look at the new young Silvertip goalie tandem which will be Everett’s biggest question mark this season.
Jesse Sanche
Former Kamloops Blazers goalie Jesse Sanche has a season under his belt in the WHL and is entering his second season in the league, his first as a starting goalie. Sanche was a second-round pick from the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.
As stated previously, Sanche was traded to the Silvertips this offseason. The eighteen-year-old Sanche appeared in 31 WHL games in his career, accumulating a .873 save percentage and 4.55 GAA with a 6-17-1 record. Sanche is the only goalie on this roster with any prior WHL experience. Fans can expect Sanche to be a very quick netminder who is very agile in the crease, according to Silvertips Assistant General Manager Mike Fraser.
Sanche will have a much more manageable workload than when he was with the last-place Kamloops Blazers last season; however, Sanche can not slack and will still need to perform even with the team in front of him.
Beck Boiteau
Next is eighteen-year-old rookie Beck Boiteau, a 2021 eighth-round pick of the Everett Silvertips, slated to be the Silvertips backup this year.
Boiteau just completed his second preseason with the Silvertips. In two appearances, Boiteau had an impressive .955 save percentage, 1.22 GAA, and a 1-0 record. However, Boiteau has not seen much ice time and will be a big question mark this season for Everett as the backup
Boiteau only appeared in five games last season, playing for SAHA U18 of the CSSHL. In those games, Boiteau had a .900 save percentage, 3.63 GAA, and a record of 1-4.
Important Rookies
A couple of former first-round picks in Everett are rookies who will add even more depth to this roster and look to make a big splash right away.
Brek Liske
Former tenth overall selection in the 2023 WHL Bantam Draft, Defenseman Brek Liske will embark on his rookie season in the WHL.
Liske appeared for the Silvertips in three games last season. He averaged a point per game, had one goal and two assists, and had an eye-popping +6 plus/minus. Liske spent most of last season with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U18 prep team in the CSSHL. There, he shined; in 27 games, Liske recorded 32 points.
Liske plays a two-way defenseman role, as Liske has proved he can shine at both ends of the ice. Liske is currently a top prospect to keep tabs on for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Caine Wilke
Another rookie to keep a loop on is the other 2023 first-round pick for Everett, Center Caine Wilke.
Wilke played one affiliate game for the Silvertips last season, not recording any points. For the remainder of the year, Wilke played for the Saskatoon Blazers U18 of the SMAAAHL, the highest level of minor hockey in Saskatchewan. There, Wilke played in 37 games and had 52 points to his name. Wilke also won the SMAAAHL championship with the Blazers last season.
At 5’7 and only 161 pounds, Wilke will bring lots of speed to the lineup. In addition, Wilke has great offensive intelligence, and you can often find him in prime scoring lanes.
Overview
Everett will look to make waves in the Western Conference this season with a loaded forward and defensive group. However, goaltending will be a question mark for the Silvertips, as Jesse Sanche will need a career year. There should be no worry with the team in front of him though. Everett should have no issues capturing another U.S. Division Title as the team embarks on their 22nd season in the WHL.
Area 51 will have you covered all season long with WHL coverage on the Blogs page.