Hi all! Darren Brown here. Our wonderful photographer, Brian Liesse, graciously put together a collection of his favorite photos from the 2023-24 season, and we are thrilled to share them with you here.
Please note that these photos are property of Sound Of Hockey and cannot be reused.
Enjoy!
If you were expecting fireworks from the Seattle Kraken’s end-of-season locker cleanout days, you may have been disappointed. While there were plenty of interesting tidbits to be gleaned from what was said by the players and head coach Dave Hakstol on Saturday and general manager Ron Francis on Monday, no official bombs have been dropped at this point.
Coming in, we were at least half expecting some sort of big personnel-related news, seeing as things went sideways for this club, which couldn’t score its way out of a paper bag and finished 19 standings points worse than last season.
But, the always cautious and taciturn Ron Francis continued to slow play any adjustments while also not ruling them out.
While we weren’t *certain* changes to the coaching staff would come, we also wouldn’t have been shocked if something like this came out over the past couple of days.
Our spidey senses had been piqued for a couple of reasons. First, there is a precedent of changes to the coaching staff being announced in this setting. Two seasons ago, after the Kraken had dreadfully bad goaltending in their inaugural campaign, Francis announced at his end-of-season presser that goalie coach Andrew Allen would not return in that role (though Allen has remained on staff with Seattle as a pro scout). So, another such announcement after the Kraken failed to live up to expectations in 2023-24 wouldn’t have surprised us.
The other thing that made us wonder if there was a personnel-related announcement coming was Francis doing his availability solo. This doesn’t sound like that big of a thing, but Francis and Hakstol spoke with the media together as a united front last season, after the team reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and came up one goal shy of the Western Conference Final.
This season, Hakstol spoke after the players on Saturday, and Francis spoke alone on Monday. Was there something to that slight procedural change?
Francis was asked about the coaching staff, and he stopped short of any definitive declarations.
“It’s part of the process we go through now, right?” Francis said. “Meeting with the coaching staff, the management team, all that stuff, and assessing, and so we’re still in that process now.”
Francis then spoke at length about the many injuries the team sustained this season, and implied that those were being factored into any decisions the team is still making.
When asked specifically about Hakstol’s future with the organization, Francis said, “Well, you’re going to read into it one way or the other, but this is the process we do every year, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
So, that’s not exactly a resounding, ‘Yes, Dave Hakstol will be the head coach of the Seattle Kraken next season,’ but it’s also not a, ‘We’re moving on from Dave Hakstol’ type of response either.
Hearing Hakstol on Saturday, he sounded generally disappointed with the result of the season, but he also did not sound like a coach that expected to be terminated. Instead, Hakstol spoke a lot about his conversations with players and how he was pleased with their reactions to not making the playoffs.
“Most of the player meetings have been really good,” Hakstol said. “Just straight up, honest discussions, not necessarily individually based. We’ve got some really smart guys, we’ve got some great veterans, and everybody cares a lot. So today is… as we gain perspective, it’s also Day 1 or Day 2 of working toward solving some of the issues that lead to some inconsistencies.”
Reading the tea leaves, we truly don’t think anything has been decided on the coaching staff just yet. It’s entirely possible that the whole crew returns next season, but there is due diligence being done by the front office right now to help them make those calls.
Worth noting, we did ask defenseman Vince Dunn about how the message from the coaches was landing with the team in the later stages of the season, and here is what he said:
“I thought we responded to what they said the same way throughout the whole year. I think there’s only so much a coach can say, realistically. If you want to point fingers around the room, and it’s easy to do, it ultimately comes down to the guys in the dressing room, and we’re the ones out there that need to do what it takes to win. I think there’s obviously moments in the season where there’s tension between players and everything, with so many distractions and outside noise and so much pressure when it’s time to push for the playoffs. And the messages are very direct and very intense, but by no means was the dressing room lost.”
While no announcement of personnel changes has come yet, we still would not be shocked to see something happen on this front in the coming weeks.
Seattle finally got mostly healthy toward the end of the season, but Dunn, arguably the team’s best player, missed all but two games from March 4 onward after a very dirty hit by Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil.
Dunn declined on Saturday to tell us what the injury was, but Francis said Monday that it was a neck injury. On the plus side, Dunn did imply that he was close to 100 percent, but that the injury was one he didn’t want to “mess with.” So, we would expect him to be fully healthy in time for training camp.
Jared McCann missed a few days toward the end of the season but returned for the last couple games. He said he is fully healthy and will join Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
Francis also revealed that Jordan Eberle broke his hand early in the season in his lone fight of the year, after Logan O’Connor of the Colorado Avalanche made him “answer the bell” for injuring Andrew Cogliano in the playoffs last season. Eberle played through the injury.
Both Francis and Hakstol spoke highly of top prospect Shane Wright and his recent stint with the team in which he racked up five points (4-1—5) in five games between April 1 and April 11 before returning to Coachella Valley.
Here’s what Dave Hakstol said:
“Really positive performances for Shane in his games with us here at the end of the season. The offensive piece is an easy one again to evaluate, and he produced there. He produced on a consistent basis, and he looked like he was ready to do it, right? Some of the goals that he scored, they were National Hockey League goals. They were inside, they were on and off his tape, so very, very positive in that sense. Some of the other growth is a little bit harder to evaluate through stats, but things you can see with your eyes, he’s much more comfortable with the puck on his tape in tight spaces, getting us out of our zone, really a ton of advancement in his game defensively, positionally, from stick detail to positioning of his feet, his body. So, we saw some great growth in his game.”
And Ron Francis:
“In Shane’s case, I’ve always seen things in his game that we like. I think he’s come a long way in his development. I think he’s much more confident, I think he’s having fun again playing the game, and the stint he had up here, I’m not sure it could have went much better other than if he got the hat trick in Anaheim, then it would be really good… We see a bright future for Shane in the organization. I don’t think there’s any reason why he couldn’t make our team coming out of camp [next season].”
The team will at least have discussions about the *idea* of naming a captain this offseason.
Said Hakstol, “I’m not leaning either way on that. That’s a discussion that I think is a valid discussion to have, as we get into the early part of this offseason.”
Added Francis, “We talked about that as the season went along, looking at naming a captain next year.”
Fans seem to care about this a lot, but we really don’t think it has a huge bearing on the success (or not) of the team. Leaders can lead regardless of if they have a ‘C’ on their jersey.
Francis implied that conversations would be starting very soon with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen to try to “get something done.” He also indicated the team will have to make a decision on whether or not to qualify Kailer Yamamoto, who has arbitration rights. “If we qualify him, then he can take us to [arbitration].”
It’s just our guess, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Yamamoto is cut loose this offseason.
Meanwhile, Francis was coy about his unrestricted free agents, but we did ask defenseman Justin Schultz about his future.
“It’s still pretty early,” Schultz said. “Obviously, I love it here, and there’s still a lot to be played out. We’ll see what happens over the summer.”
Again, just looking at his fit with the club now that Ryker Evans has mostly proven he’s ready for the NHL, we would expect Seattle to let Schultz move on, but we shall see.
The general mood of the press availabilities was unsurprisingly one of disappointment. The Kraken players expected to still be playing at this point, and they recognized that they could have performed better this season.
“I think maybe we came into the year thinking things were just going to be the same, and we’ll just [make the playoffs] again, and it didn’t turn out that way,” Eberle said. “So I think you’ll see a different team that will come back and try and get back to that point next year.”
The slow start to the season was also a common theme, as was the sharp decrease in scoring. Hakstol had some interesting things to say about the team’s offense in the below video clip.
Now the Kraken players have a full offseason ahead of them to recuperate, train, and marinate on what it’s like to be done playing in April. If nothing else, hopefully we see a quicker start out of the gates in 2024-25.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Everett Silvertips were going to need quite the miracle to claw out of the 3-0 hole they dug for themselves against the Portland Winterhawks.
Portland’s endurance would reign superior in Game 4 on Friday, as a furious attack in the second and third periods with five unanswered goals was too much for Everett to overcome. The Winterhawks would wind up with a 5-0 win and take the best-of-seven series 4-0.
Portland will begin the Western Conference Finals on Friday night in Prince George, B.C., facing the Cougars for the right to go to the WHL Finals.
Games 1 and 2 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum were defensive disasters for the Silvertips, which would be a recurring theme throughout the series.
They were often soft on pucks in the defensive/neutral zones and allowed Portland attackers to find high-danger chances in open ice with ease. Portland took both games by a combined score of 14-3, and carried a 2-0 series lead back to Everett.
Tyler Palmer saw 72 shots in Games 1 and 2 and came out with just a .833 save percentage. While he showed flashes of the Round 1 dominance he demonstrated against the Vancouver Giants, most of the nights during this series, he was relied on to do the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Silvertips. The weight might have been too heavy for him to bear.
Palmer was lifted after 40 minutes in Game 1, replaced by Ethan Chadwick, after allowing six goals on 29 shots.
Game 3 was the biggest jolt of offense for Everett in the series. Back home at Angel of the Winds Arena, the Silvertips jumped up to a 3-0 lead at the start of the second. But a furious comeback from Portland in the second and third, including two goals from Carter Sotheran (along with a lucky bounce), helped the Winterhawks to win 4-3 in overtime.
Portland controlled the pace of play for basically the entire series, outside of half of Game 3 on Monday night. Everett scored two or more consecutive goals just once during this series, and Portland continuously mounted surges to wear out Palmer.
Five unanswered goals in Game 4 sealed the series sweep for the Winterhawks. Entrusting their depth was a key during this series for Portland, embodying the mindset in Game 4. Four players had two points in the game, including James Stefan, who had the opening and game-winning goal.
Portland controlled the shot battle in the series, eclipsing 40 in all four games. They outscored the Silvertips at almost a 4:1 rate.
Jan Spunar collected his second career playoff shutout Friday, stopping all 27 Silvertips shots. He finished the series with a remarkable 0.954 save percentage in the four games he started.
Injuries decimated the Silvertips big time during these playoffs. Already down Teague Patton heading into Round 1, they would wind up losing another bunch of players to season-ending injuries. Austin Roest, Jesse Heslop, and Tarin Smith all suffered injuries over the Silvertips’ last five playoff games.
The absence of Roest, however, was the real kicker during this series. He led the team in scoring after Round 1 with four goals and three assists. Roest was confirmed to have suffered a lower-body injury during the team’s previous series against the Vancouver Giants, which caused him to miss the entirety of the series against the Winterhawks.
Whether it be at the front of the net or grinding away in the corners, Roest was a large play generator that would make plays happen. He was a player the Silvertips depended on to do anything and everything. Having a consummate leader back in the Everett lineup could have made a world of a difference in making this more of a competitive series. Without him, the Silvertips simply looked lost.
Roest took some time to himself on the bench after the game, potentially signifying his time in Everett being through.
Roest is eligible to return to the WHL for one more season, but since he signed an entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators in early March, they might have other plans for him, including starting next season in the AHL.
Everett plugged Beau Courtney into Roest’s position as a stopgap, and it worked to some degree with him tallying two out of the six goals scored in the series, but there wasn’t a lot of momentum gained from it.
Long-time general manager and head coach Dennis Williams oversaw his final game behind the Silvertips bench Friday night and will now move back to his alma mater at Bowling Green State University to become the head coach there.
He was fighting through his emotions post game while reflecting on his tenure in Everett.
“It’s been an unbelievable seven years,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten to coach so many great young men, I got to coach alongside unbelievable coaches, and I couldn’t be more thankful for our opportunity.”
Williams guided the Silvertips to the playoffs in each of his seasons behind the bench, winning three U.S. Division titles and making it as far as the WHL Finals in 2017-18.
“I know that moving forward they’re in a good spot, and they’re going to do everything to put the right pieces in place and continue to keep Everett at the top of the league.”
The Silvertips also had a few more players say their goodbyes to the WHL, as over-agers Parker Berge and the aforementioned Tyler Palmer and Teague Patton finished their tenures in Everett. All three were acquired by Everett via trade during their careers.
“When players come in and when they leave [the WHL], there’s how much they grow on and off the ice,” Williams said. “All three of them had such positive impacts, not only to our group but to every individual in the locker room. They’re the leaders that we rely on.”
They are a wagon. With their eighth straight victory, they remain the only unbeaten team left in the WHL playoffs. They outscored the Silvertips 23-6 across the four games while racking up huge shot volumes against Palmer.
Head coach Mike Johnston knows how difficult of a feat winning eight in a row in the playoffs is to achieve.“It’s so hard to sweep a team. It really is, and to do it [in back-to-back series], I give them a lot of credit.”
Johnston said the win on Monday was the jolt Portland needed to close the series out on Friday, saying “those moments in a playoff series are really, really key.”
The Winterhawks were also quite sound defensively, as they hounded the Silvertips into taking low-percentage shots all throughout the series, making it easy on Spunar to swallow up pucks.
Johnston has felt that Spunar has gotten increasingly better and consistent as the playoffs have gone along. He leads the WHL playoffs in wins with eight, top-five in both save percentage and goals-against average, while only allowing six goals during the series.
Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth had an impressive series as well. He was smart with the puck on his stick, taking valuable offensive initiative, and the results came with him tallying four goals and four assists. His four goals has him tied as the leader for goals by a defenseman in the WHL playoffs.
Portland has proven why they’re one of the premier teams in the WHL time and again this season, and they will be a tough task for Prince George to handle in the Western Conference Finals.
Header photo by Brian Liesse, courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds.
Welcome to the new Sound Of Hockey Kraken Roundtable series. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re planning to produce several collaborative discussions that reflect on the Kraken’s regular season and look ahead to the upcoming offseason. This first installment, featuring Blaiz Grubic, John Barr, Cameron Riggers, and Darren Brown, serves as our immediate reaction to the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Blaiz – The Winter Classic was my highlight of the season. I actually had low expectations for the Winter Classic going into it, but I really enjoyed seeing 47K fans come out and support the team. Watching Joey Daccord’s glove save with Jack Eichel looking up in frustration has been ingrained in my memory. The first ever Winter Classic shutout was a nice touch, as well, and was a bit of an NHL “I’ve arrived” party for Daccord.
John – The Winter Classic was an unforgettable experience, but since Blaiz already mentioned it, I’ll share my memories of the Colorado-Kraken game in Denver back in November. I was lucky enough to be in attendance that night for my first game at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon had three points in the game, but Oliver Bjorkstrand managed to hammer one home with 30 seconds left that won it for the Kraken. At the time, it felt like a turning point for the season, a huge win that injected some hope.
Darren – I was also in the building for that one, John, and that was also the night Ryan Winterton made his NHL debut. I recall asking him after the game about his no-bucket warm-up, and he told us he got to his stall before the game, and there was no helmet there, so that’s when he decided he wouldn’t wear it. You’re right, that was an awesome night.
But, yeah, there’s simply no denying that the Winter Classic was the moment of the season. I’ll never forget the beginning of that game with fish flying over the players’ heads as they walked in to a live performance from Sir Mix-A-Lot, helicopters flying over with guys dangling below them, fireworks… the whole bit was incredible, and the game was even better. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Cameron – Agreed, the Winter Classic was undoubtedly the high point of the season. It wasn’t just the immaculate atmosphere of the day celebrating the game of hockey in Seattle, but the team itself put everything together on that day, and it felt like that gave the Kraken another boost to continue on their nine-game win streak.
Everything about that day was pristine, and I think it will be the fondest memory of this season for Seattle fans for years to come. My only regret is not getting to be there in person.
And come on, Heart doing Barracuda? Live? There’s no beating that.
Blaiz – I’ll say Andre Burakovsky getting hurt six minutes after coming back from missing 20 games. The Kraken had a rough start to the season and were sitting with an 8-12-6 record. Coming into the Dec. 7 game against New Jersey, the Kraken were on a five-game skid and desperately needed Burakovsky to help generate some offense. He was injured again, and the skid continued to eight games.
John – Unfortunately, this season was filled with lowlights, but one that stands out to me is the team’s icy start. With just five wins in their first 17 games, they struggled to find their rhythm. Expectations were perhaps unfairly lofty after last season’s impressive 100-point effort, and the early slump meant an uphill battle for the rest of the season. Despite briefly holding a wild card spot on a couple of occasions, they couldn’t maintain momentum, and as injuries piled up, the gap became too vast to bridge.
Cameron – Like John mentioned, it’s hard to pick just one moment in a season where it felt like, at points, things couldn’t get any lower and still somehow got lower. But if I had to pick one, the 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 30 was about the lowest you could have gotten at that point in the season.
They lost to not only the worst team in the NHL this season, but quite frankly one of the worst in NHL history (which they would wind up doing twice, by the way), and they did it at a critical point in the season where it was so important to be stringing together wins against teams they were supposed to be beating. For them being two points out of a playoff spot at the time, it was the most deflating way they could’ve gone into the All-Star break.
Darren – I’m surprised nobody picked this one, but I guess there were quite a few lowlights, now that you all remind me of these terrible instances (thanks for ruining my beautiful Friday). The 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 12 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for this club and sent it spiraling out of contention. Seattle had a two-goal lead that night, before Vegas fought back and got the tying goal from Jonathan Marchessault with 17 seconds left. Jack Eichel won it in overtime, and from that night on, we just didn’t see the same effort from the Kraken. They knew they were cooked at that point.
Blaiz – Saturday, Jan. 13, was the day the Kraken set franchise records with a nine-game win streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. The Kraken had a 19-14-9 record and looked poised to make a run at the playoffs. Everything was looking up, and it was a great feeling.
John – The Winter Classic was truly extraordinary. I’ve mentioned it before, but on the NHL to Seattle journey, we used to dream about hosting a Winter Classic in Seattle long before the team even existed here. It was a day that couldn’t have been more perfect, a monumental celebration of hockey in the Pacific Northwest. Even now, just thinking about it gives me chills.
Cameron – It’s hard to go with anything other than the Winter Classic, but for me personally, my favorite moment was my first game at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 25. It’s every hockey kid’s dream to make it to the NHL, and I felt like I got to live out that dream that night as a media member. There were so many moments and memories from that day I’ll never forget, and I owe a lot to the people that have helped me to get to this point.
For the team specifically, I’ll pick Feb. 15 at Boston, as it was so cool watching Joey Daccord and Matty Beniers light up the arena they both essentially grew up in. Daccord had 36 saves, and Beniers had three points, and it was the best the team looked after the break.
Darren – Again, this is obviously the Winter Classic, but since we’ve hit that one hard at this point, I’ll go with Seattle’s 4-3 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 18. I made the trip for that one, along with Curtis Isacke and a couple other folks, and we had an absolute blast. It was my first time ever attending a game as a fan (not as media), so I let loose with a few college sodas, we had great seats, and it was just an awesome game. I started an extremely loud “Let’s go Kraken!” chant on my way out of Rogers Arena and was convinced I was going to get jumped. Thankfully, Canadians are friendly foes.
Blaiz – Alex Wennberg was my favorite player to watch this season, even though he was traded to the New York Rangers at the Trade Deadline. Wennberg was the first Kraken jersey in my collection of 10 jerseys (my wife thinks I have a problem, and she probably is right). Wennberg’s play on the boards has always been a treat to watch.
John – I love watching Oliver Bjorkstrand play. He ended the season with 20 goals and was second on the team with 59 points. He comes up with some big goals when the team really needs them and was one of the few consistent producers season over season.
Cameron – As a Spokane native that grew up going to Spokane Chiefs games, getting to watch Kailer Yamamoto as a pro in Seattle has been one of my favorite full-circle moments of the season. Seeing what he meant to that community firsthand, and knowing the people there got to watch one of their own shine on the biggest stage was amazing. Not many players get to do that in their home state. Yamamoto was also the first Kraken player I got to ask a question to, which added to the lore.
Darren – I’m biased toward goalies, but Joey Daccord was my favorite player to watch and talk to this season. He is just the best dude, and seeing his meteoric rise to stardom this season was incredible. From his scorpion save in Washington, which caused Chris Driedger to do this…
…to his Winter Classic heroics, there were a lot of bright spots for Daccord. But let’s not forget, this team wouldn’t have even sniffed the playoffs if he didn’t put it on his back and carry the group through that nine-game win streak. Plus, how fun is his puck handling? What if he had gotten the goalie goal on Thursday?
Let us know in the comments what your best and worst memories from the season were.
The Everett Silvertips were driving on flat tires on Friday night against the Portland Winterhawks. Portland exploded for eight goals on the evening, winning 8-2 in Game 1 of the WHL semifinals at Veterans Memorial Coliseum and taking a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday night in Portland.
Defensive units for Everett had their share of miscues covering open areas of the ice. With 13 players, including netminder Jan Spunar, having points for the Winterhawks, the Silvertips had trouble containing their opponents in dangerous areas and it easy for Portland to cash in. Being rather slow on closing gaps off the rush and an inability to block passing lanes like they normally do set the Silvertips up for failure.
Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth got the scoring started for the Winterhawks in what would turn out to be an impressive night for him offensively. A burst of speed across the blue line allowed him to shoot it over the glove side of Tyler Palmer for his first goal of the playoffs at 2:38 of the first period.
Everett allowed the pace to be dictated by Portland, forcing them to puck chase most of the night. If the Silvertips want to even up the series Saturday, quick patchwork is needed in stopping the relentless attack of the Winterhawks, as well as beginning to control possession battles again.
The game swung wide open during the middle portion of the first. Goals from Tyson Yaremko with his first of the playoffs and Josh Davies with his fourth made it a three-goal game.
Shortly thereafter, Tarin Smith jumped up into the slot and went above Spunar’s shoulder for his first goal of the playoffs, getting Everett on the board at 12:46. All three goals in this sequence came within the span of 54 seconds.
Injuries continue to persist as a thorn in Everett’s side, especially throughout Friday night. Co-captain and top-line forward Austin Roest was announced as absent from the Everett lineup before the game due to the undisclosed injury he sustained during Game 5 of the previous series.
In the second, Jesse Heslop had to be escorted to the locker room after falling near the bench area, and he missed the remainder of the game. And with Teague Patton missing for the entire first round and Friday night, that’s basically a whole forward line that coach Dennis Williams has had to do away with during these playoffs.
Kyle Chyzowski scored on one of his eight shots on goal, twice as many as the next leading player, and Portland got another from Jugnauth during the second period.
Jugnauth had a plus-three rating with two goals and an assist, while also doing some solid work in transition and in back-checking efforts. He was voted the game’s first star.
The second and final goal for the Silvertips on the evening came from Parker Berge who went to work at the top of the zone and found a power-play goal, his fourth tally of the playoffs at 7:20 of the second.
Palmer looked pedestrian for the Silvertips for the first time since Game 1 of the previous series against the Vancouver Giants. Palmer stopped only 23 of the 29 shots he faced and was again pulled for Ethan Chadwick before the third period.
After allowing only three goals over his last four playoff starts against the Giants, Palmer’s playoff save percentage dropped from second in the WHL to 12th at .907 after Friday’s performance.
A couple tallies from Nate Danielson and Jack O’Brien in the third period sealed the onslaught victory for Portland. The Silvertips were beaten at their own game on this night, with Portland controlling the shot totals at 47-23.
Spunar improved his playoff record to a perfect 5-0 with the win. 21 stops on 23 shots upped his playoff save percentage to .903.
Since Palmer had the lion’s share of the game with 40 minutes in net for the Silvertips, for Game 2 they might be willing to give Chadwick the start for the first time this playoffs. In his brief appearance in the aforementioned Game 1 against Vancouver, he looked ready to jump into the action by stopping 13 of 13. It was a similar story Friday night, in which he allowed two goals on 18 shots during the third period.
The roster for Everett might be even more depleted for Game 2, as forward Caden Brown took an unnecessary run at Portland’s Marcus Nguyen late in the game and cross checked him across the back, forcing him to ground and causing a skirmish.
Dexter Whittle might draw into the lineup for the Silvertips for the first time during these playoffs. Whittle has been injured for most of the season up to this point, only making a few appearances near the end of season.
This was the Silvertips’ 15th straight loss at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with the last win coming on Nov. 16, 2021. Ben Hemmerling, Roest, and Whittle are the only players still currently on the Silvertips roster to have played in that game.
Header photo by Brian Liesse, courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds.
The anticipation for this Round 2 series, set to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, has been building all season long. The No. 3 seed Everett Silvertips know they have a tough task to get past the No. 2 seed Portland Winterhawks in a matchup between bitter rivals that were neck and neck in the standings throughout the regular season.
Both squads were efficient in getting through their first round opponents, with Portland sweeping aside the Victoria Royals in four games, and Everett taking one extra game to get by the Vancouver Giants.
Both Everett and Portland had rocky starts to their respective Game 1’s, but once they got settled into grooves and found their offensive rhythms, both teams overwhelmed their opponents, as they commonly did throughout the regular season.
The Silvertips do well in transition through the neutral zone and into the attacking end, often headed by dynamic forward Ben Hemmerling, who is not afraid to skate and shoot the puck from anywhere. Hemmerling was fourth in the WHL during Round 1 with 27 shots on goal, while only shooting 11.1 percent with three goals.
Everett does the bulk of its offensive work getting to the front of the net, with Austin Roest and Dominik Rymon being the most active pests against Vancouver. Roest led the Silvertips with seven points during Round 1 (three goals and four assists).
Portland can at times struggle with allowing attackers to drift to the front of the net unimpeded and create opportunities, but more often then not they recover quickly and play much sounder than their opponents in setting up in transition. So taking advantage of the space they’re given will be crucial for the Silvertips in getting off to the start they need for this series.
It will also be a Seattle Kraken defensive prospect duel as Kaden Hammell and Tyson Jugnauth face off against one another. Hammell has two power-play goals, along with an assist thus far in the playoffs, while Jugnauth has not yet registered a point.
After his historic regular season, San Jose Sharks prospect Lucas Cagnoni adds an extra offensive dynamic to the blue line for the Winterhawks. With four goals and three assists against Victoria, Cagnoni is second in scoring among defensemen in the WHL playoffs. He, along with James Stefan, Gabe Klassen, and Nate Danielson, lead the offensive charge for the Winterhawks.
Special teams will need to be on point again for the Silvertips like it was in Round 1. After allowing three goals on the power play in Game 1 versus Vancouver, Everett went a perfect 14-for-14 on the penalty kill through the rest of the series. Granted, Portland has a more potent attack on the power play compared to the Giants, but things have trended in the right direction for the Silvertips in this area.
Portland’s six-foot-three netminder, Jan Spunar, is tough for any attacker to beat, but with the volume of shots Everett is known for achieving, and him allowing goals in bunches on a few occasions this season, keeping Spunar on his toes could bring offensive success for the Silvertips.
Silvertips goalie Tyler Palmer was arguably the best backstop in Round 1 with a 0.937 save percentage and a 1.63 goals against. He will see more consistent shot quality from the Winterhawks, as they find themselves at the top the circles and between the hashmarks more often the Giants. There’s a level of consistency and poise that’s needed out of goalies in the playoffs, and Palmer showed that against Vancouver. Can he keep his form against a much tougher opponent in the second round?
With there being potentially two or three back-to-backs in this series, Ethan Chadwick could also make an appearance or two.
There have been some hijinks from the WHL and the powers that be from Paw Patrol Live and Professional Bull Riding, which have created scheduling issues for this series.
Both teams were projected to go on deep playoff runs, yet Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland still scheduled overlapping events. Something funky was bound to happen, and it did.
It was decided by the WHL and both teams that Games 3, 4, and 5, if necessary, will be played at Angel of the Winds Arena instead of 3, 4, and 6. Game 3 will be on Monday night, and then there will be a three-day gap for PBR Live before games 4 and 5 on Friday and Saturday.
Then Games 6 and 7, if they become necessary, would be played in Portland on the Monday and Tuesday due to Paw Patrol Live creating another conflict.
• Austin Roest was absent for the majority of Game 5 of the Vancouver-Everett series. No further update on his status has been given.
• Everett has had issues when it comes to playing in Portland for the last two and a half years. Including playoffs, the Silvertips’ losing streak at Veterans Memorial Coliseum is at 14, with their last win there dating back to Nov. 16, 2021.
•Everett led 1-0 after the first period in each of the games they won in Round One.
Prediction: Everett in 7
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1. Saskatoon vs. 8. Red Deer (SAS in 6)
2. Swift Current vs. 3. Moose Jaw (MJ in 7)
1. Prince George vs. 5. Kelowna (PG in 6)