The Everett Silvertips are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Everett, Washington. The team plays in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and hosts games at Angel of the Winds Arena. The Silvertips joined the WHL as an expansion team ahead of the 2003–04 season. The team has not missed the playoffs in its 21-year history and won their first Ed Chynoweth Cup in the 2025–26 season after two previous defeats in the final.
History The city of Everett, with plans to build a new downtown arena complex, applied for a WHL franchise and was awarded conditional approval for an expansion franchise from the league in 2001. With the new team falling within the territorial rights of the Seattle Thunderbirds, Seattle ownership was given right of first refusal to purchase the new team; Bill Yuill decided to sell the Thunderbirds in order to take over the new expansion club. The new multi-million dollar complex, the Everett Events Centre, was completed ahead of the team's inaugural season, offering a seating capacity of 8,200. In 2003, the team hired former National Hockey League coach Kevin Constantine to be its first head coach.
Beginning play in the 2003–04 season with a roster built through an expansion draft, the Silvertips rapidly established themselves as the best expansion team in league history. By January, Everett posted its 19th win of the season, breaking the previous expansion record of 18 wins posted by the 1995–96 Calgary Hitmen. The team would go on to win 35 games and finish atop the U.S. Division standings. In the playoffs, the Silvertips advanced all the way to the league final, upsetting the defending champion and heavily-favored Kelowna Rockets in the Western Conference final, with defender Mitch Love opening the series with an overtime goal. The team faced the Medicine Hat Tigers in the championship series, losing four straight games to fall short of the title. By the end of the year, the Silvertips, who earned a reputation as a disciplined defensive team, had set new records for an expansion team in every category. Constantine was named the league's coach-of-the-year.
Three seasons later, the Silvertips won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record after its 54-win, 111-point season, before losing in the second round of the playoffs. That season, the team's first ever bantam draft selection, Zach Hamill, became the first Silvertip to lead the WHL in scoring.
The team's success on the ice translated into fan support, and the Silvertips earned a reputation for drawing strong crowds—more than a decade into the team's history, the Silvertips were in the top half of the league in attendance.
Everett established itself as a perennial playoff team, and in 2017–18, led by goaltender Carter Hart and coach Dennis Williams, the Silvertips made a second run to the league championship series. After a 47-win season, the team's best since 2007, Everett faced the Swift Current Broncos in the playoff finals, ultimately losing the series in six games. Hart's dominant season—he was named the league's best player, on top of being named its best goaltender for a third straight season—added to the team's historic reputation for exceptional goaltending. After Hart turned professional, Dustin Wolf was named top goaltender two years in a row.
Ahead of the 2024 playoffs, it was announced that long-time coach and manager Williams would be leaving the Silvertips after the season.
Led by defenceman Landon DuPont, only the second WHL player awarded exceptional player status, the Silvertips won back-to-back regular season titles in 2024–25 and 2025–26. In 2026, the Silvertips won their first Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions, defeating Prince Albert Raiders in the playoff finals. This earned Everett its first trip to the Memorial Cup tournament, which in 2026 was hosted by the Kelowna Rockets. The Silvertips advanced to the tournament final, but were defeated by the Kitchener Rangers.
Rivals The Silvertips have formed an enduring rivalry with the nearby Seattle Thunderbirds. The teams have met regularly in the playoffs, including a three-year stretch between 2016 and 2018 where the winner of the series between the two made it all the way to the championship series.
Name and logos The team adopted the "Silvertips" name after the grizzly bears of the Pacific Northwest. The team opted for a green and silver color-scheme. Ahead of their inaugural season, the team introduced a bear mascot, Lincoln, named after the aircraft carrier , which was stationed at Naval Station Everett at the time.
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season GP W L OTL SOL 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 semifinal 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 WHL Lost Western Conference semifinal 2007–08 72 39 30 0 3 205 198 81 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2008–09 72 27 36 7 2 199 259 63 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2009–10 72 46 21 3 2 232 175 97 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2010–11 72 28 33 7 4 172 218 67 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2011–12 72 22 40 2 8 185 268 54 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2012–13 72 25 40 3 4 172 268 57 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2013–14 72 39 23 7 3 218 206 88 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2014–15 72 43 20 3 6 242 199 95 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2015–16 72 38 26 5 3 182 172 84 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2016–17 72 44 16 9 3 229 169 100 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2017–18 72 47 20 2 3 246 167 99 1st U.S. Lost final 2018–19 68 47 16 2 3 223 130 99 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2019–20 63 46 13 3 1 228 142 96 2nd U.S. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 23 19 4 0 0 91 45 38 1st U.S. No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 45 13 5 5 280 190 100 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2022–23 68 33 32 2 1 221 245 69 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2023–24 68 45 18 2 3 296 208 95 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2024–25 68 48 12 4 4 277 178 104 1st WHL Lost Western Conference semifinal 2025–26 68 57 8 2 1 304 173 117 1st WHL Won Championship
WHL Championship history Ed Chynoweth Cup (1): 2025–26 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (3): 2006–07, 2024–25, 2025–26 Conference champions (3): 2003–04, 2017–18, 2025–26 Regular season division titles (11): 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2024–25, 2025–26 WHL championship series 2003–04: Loss, 0–4 vs. Medicine Hat Tigers 2017–18: Loss, 2–4 vs. Swift Current Broncos 2025–26: Won, 4–1 vs. Prince Albert Raiders Memorial Cup finals 2026: Loss, 2–6 vs. Kitchener Rangers
Players First round NHL draft picks List of Silvertips players selected in the first round of the NHL entry draft. Year Pick Player Team Hometown 2006 8 Peter Mueller Phoenix Coyotes Bloomington, Minnesota 2006 26 Leland Irving Calgary Flames Swan Hills, Alberta 2007 8 Zach Hamill Boston Bruins Port Coquitlam, British Columbia 2008 11 Kyle Beach Chicago Blackhawks Kelowna, British Columbia 2012 2 Ryan Murray Columbus Blue Jackets White City, Saskatchewan 2013 18 Mirco Mueller San Jose Sharks Winterthur, Switzerland 2014 26 Nikita Scherbak Montreal Canadiens Moscow, Russia 2015 26 Noah Juulsen Montreal Canadiens Abbotsford, British Columbia 2025 13 Carter Bear Detroit Red Wings Winnipeg, Manitoba
NHL alumni List of Silvertips who went on to play in the NHL:
Riley Armstrong Ivan Baranka Jake Christiansen Connor Dewar Landon Ferraro Byron Froese Gage Goncalves Radko Gudas Zach Hamill Shane Harper Carter Hart Shaun Heshka Leland Irving Noah Juulsen Jujhar Khaira Bryce Kindopp Mirco Mueller Peter Mueller Ryan Murray Garrett Pilon Rasmus Rissanen Nikita Scherbak Kent Simpson Mike Wall Dustin Wolf Olen Zellweger
Retired numbers Players who have had their numbers retired by the Silvertips: #PlayerRef.2Mitch Love
Awards
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Carter Hart: 2017–18 Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer) Zach Hamill: 2006–07 Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy (WHL scholastic player of the year) Brian King: 2016–17 Dustin Wolf: 2018–19 Del Wilson Trophy (WHL goaltender of the year) Carter Hart: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Dustin Wolf: 2019–20, 2020–21 Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year) Peter Mueller: 2005–06 Kyle Beach: 2006–07 Landon DuPont: 2024–25 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL coach of the year) Kevin Constantine: 2003–04 CHL Rookie of the Year Award Landon DuPont: 2024–25
Notes
External links