You would have been hard-pressed to find Everett Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton saying one bad thing about his team’s performance following a Game 1 loss in the WHL Finals at the hands of the Prince Albert Raiders.
Losing a series-opening contest can be a big blow to any team with high aspirations like Everett. That gave the illusion of an uphill battle for the Silvertips, but with Hamilton and the players made available to the media afterward, there was nothing but calmness and poise.
You got the sense they felt they hadn’t played their best hockey in that game… and they would end up being right.
The Silvertips hardly faltered the rest of the series against the Raiders, sweeping their next four games and clinching the franchise’s first Ed Chynoweth Cup, and in the words of Silvertips radio voice Casey Bryant …
“Everett finally has its champion!”
After becoming just the second team over the last two decades to win a championship with two or fewer losses in a single postseason, the long-awaited celebration commenced for the Silvertips.
Classic iconography followed, from the team joining together to lift the cup, to Hamilton putting on the team biker jacket in the locker room and lifting it vigorously. Plus, seeing captain Tarin Smith, who had missed the playoffs due to injury, be first to receive the Cup was a touching moment for a team as connected as Everett.
The Silvertips then brought the trophy home, where it was met by thousands of rambunctious fans at Everett High School, many of whom had been waiting for this moment for more than two decades.
It was quite the sight to behold for one of the most statistically dominant teams in league history. The only thing keeping the word “statistically” from being removed from that sentence is the one trophy still missing from the cabinet, the Memorial Cup.
A season to remember
It’s been a banner year in the City of Smokestacks. The Silvertips are not just U.S. Division champions, finishing 43 points ahead of second place, or Scotty Munro Trophy champions by seven points, or Western Conference champions with only two playoff losses, but WHL champions for the first time ever.
Pinpointing one moment through the playoffs where it felt like the Silvertips were destined for greatness is tricky. There are so many pivotal moments to pick from: Landon DuPont’s overtime clincher in Round 2, Rylan Gould’s stick-tossing overtime winner in the conference finals Game 2, or Julius Miettinen scoring in the final five minutes of Game 3 of the finals to take a 2-1 series lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Silvertips adopted an attitude, as Hamilton harped on this postseason, of keeping everything “between the ears,” doing the simple things to help calm the nerves and stabilize a steady attack.
It was an attack that, more often than not, was not only effective but forceful. The Silvertips outscored opponents by more than a 2-1 ratio this postseason, 82-36.
Key players from this run included DuPont, whose 23 points were the most by any 16-year-old defenseman in league history, but his output came with help from linemates Matias Vanhanen and Carter Bear, who each had solid playoff performances of their own. And Kraken prospect Miettinen was named the WHL’s Most Valuable Player during the playoffs, recording 14 goals and 13 assists across 18 games with the Silvertips, which led the league in both goals and points.
While it’s easy to point to the stars on offense getting it done, the Silvertips’ depth has been such an important piece of why they have been successful this postseason. With 10 players scoring at least four goals, it felt like every player on the roster had at least one or two moments to help them reach the top.
Plus, for a franchise that has had stellar goaltending for much of its history, Anders Miller cemented himself among the all-time Everett greats. Finishing with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage while playing all 18 games, it was not only one of the most dominant performances in Everett history, but in WHL history.
On to Kelowna for the Memorial Cup
Playing in the Memorial Cup tournament is another first for the Silvertips, who will be joined by the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers, the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and the host Kelowna Rockets.
The margin for error is slim in a round-robin, then single-elimination tournament like this. Compared to a seven-game playoff series, one loss could determine the fate of the entire tournament.
Even though the Silvertips are favored by many to take it all, Hamilton’s group is approaching this tournament with humility.
“The Western Hockey League hasn’t won [the Memorial Cup] in 12 years, and I find it hard to believe that we’d be the favorites, to be honest,” Hamilton said in a pre-tournament press conference. “These teams are going to have a lot of the same pieces. A great goaltender, a couple big-time defensemen, and some big-time forwards. There will probably be very slim margins between these teams.”
The last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup was the 2014 Edmonton Oil Kings, a team for which Hamilton ironically served as an assistant coach. It’s going to be a grind. Still, it’s nothing the well-rounded Silvertips aren’t prepared for.
“[It’s] really important for us that we recreate that wave of energy and momentum,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got to be ready to sprint. It’s not the marathon that the [regular] season and playoffs are.”
With the amount of attention paid to this tournament across Canada and the United States, this may be the perfect opportunity for DuPont to showcase his talents to a national audience. Key players like him will need to continue to shine for the Silvertips during this tournament.
Getting to know the Silvertips’ tournament opponents, Everett will open its tournament action against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens on Saturday. Featuring recent Kraken entry-level contract signee Alexis Bernier, a defensive prospect who recorded four goals and three assists in 20 playoff games, the Saguenéens are a tight-checking, hard-nosed group that likes to attack in waves. Much like the Silvertips, they went all in this season for a league championship.
The Kitchener Rangers were the closest team to the Silvertips statistically this season. A team that also lost only twice during the playoffs, Kitchener’s roster is loaded with 12 NHL-affiliated prospects, including first-round picks Cameron Reid (NSH) and Sam O’Reilly (TBL). Everett, for reference, only has five.
When it comes to the host Kelowna Rockets, Everett has the advantage of already playing and beating the Rockets in a series earlier in the WHL playoffs. The Silvertips were already able to neutralize Utah prospect Tij Iginla and other Rockets stars during that series, but it might be a tall task to do so again, especially on this big of a stage and in their barn.
A lot can happen in a week and a half.
The tournament kicks off Friday, May 22, and runs through Sunday, May 31, at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia.
2026 Memorial Cup schedule (times PDT)
Friday, May 22: Kitchener vs. Kelowna, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Everett vs. Chicoutimi, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Kelowna vs. Chicoutimi, 6 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Everett vs. Kitchener, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Chicoutimi vs. Kitchener, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Kelowna vs. Everett, 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker (if necessary), 6 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifinal, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, 4 p.m.
Header Courtesy of Mark Peterson, the Prince Albert Raiders, and the Western Hockey League
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