The Everett Silvertips cruised through the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs, defeating the Portland Winterhawks in four games.
They have had their sights set on the Memorial Cup in Kelowna since the puck dropped on the 2025-26 season.
But now, in order to get to Kelowna for the tournament, they will have to go through Kelowna, the team, as they are set to face the Rockets in the second round.
Tons of future NHL talent will be on display this series, with a total of 12 players combined from both teams affiliated with NHL clubs. A normal series may have somewhere in the three-to-five range of affiliated prospects.
From Kelowna, that’s Tomas Poletin (NYI), Tij Iginla (UTAH), Carson Wetsch (SJS), Vojtech Cihar (LAK), Kanjyu Gojsic (NSH), Parker Alcos (VAN),
and Peyton Kettles (PIT)
From Everett, it’s Carter Bear (DET), Julius Miettinen (SEA), Shea Busch (FLA), Tarin Smith (ANA), and Luke Vlooswyk (PHI).
Add in Landon DuPont, Brek Liske, and other future draft eligibles, it’s looking to be a promising series from a talent standpoint.
But before we get to the series ahead, let’s look back at the series that was for the Silvertips versus the Portland Winterhawks, and then we’ll get to what to expect from this star-studded series against the Rockets.
Recapping Round 1
This series was dominated by Everett from the start. Just 1:37 into Game 1, the Winterhawks were already playing catch-up with the Silvertips scoring twice early.
From there, Everett, the No. 1 overall seed in the WHL playoffs, was just flat out dominant. They rattled off wins in four straight games en route to a sweep, outscoring Portland 25-5 and avenging the playoffs losses at the Winterhawks’ hands the prior two seasons.
Despite gaining back Shea Busch, who had missed the majority of the season from an upper-body injury, the Silvertips lost Tarin Smith to an injury he suffered along the end boards early in Game 4. There is no word yet on Smith’s status heading into the second round.
Looking at Round 2
Now, a look at the opponent: the Kelowna Rockets are on a mission — not just to compete for the Memorial Cup they will host, but to win the WHL championship and to be the ultimate Memorial Cup champs.
The last time a CHL team won the Memorial Cup as a host and winner of their own league was in 2005 when the London Knights hosted and won the OHL. The Rockets are looking to do the same this season, but it’s going to be a tall task.
The Rockets are led offensively by Utah Mammoth first-rounder Tij Iginla. The former Seattle Thunderbird returned from injury and a stint at the World Junior Championship and has recorded 90 points in 48 regular-season games. He is currently tied for second in the playoffs with 10 points.
Everett drew a hard hand with this series being early on, but with the way things have been going for the team that’s lost just eight games all year, this is a great series to find out what the Silvertips are made of and if they have what it takes to go the distance.
Everett player to watch in Round 2
Aside from the star players who light up the scoresheet every night, forward Jaxsin Vaughn was seemingly involved in nearly every scrum last series for Everett and delivered several big hits throughout.
Head coach Steve Hamilton admires the ferocity with which Vaughn plays.
“He knows exactly who he is and what he needs to do. He had four or five real punishing hits (during Game 2),” Hamilton said. “That’s part of the investment in the series, and for a guy like him, it’s not always gonna show up on the scoresheet what he brings.”
Header courtesy of Evan Morud and the Everett Silvertips
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