Kia CHL Top-10 Spotlight: Silvertips bring plenty of prowess
A youth movement is underway with the Everett Silvertips.
As is the cyclical nature of junior hockey, the Silvertips saw the graduation of three key veterans this offseason in forward and 2019-20 leading scorer Bryce Kindopp plus defencemen Jake Christiansen and Wyatte Wylie, all of whom landed entry-level contracts late last season after helping the club to 96 points and a second-place finish in the WHL.
However, with their departure comes added opportunity, beginning up front where newly minted Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Gage Goncalves could take on a greater role should he return for further seasoning. The 20-year-old centre flashed his scoring touch last year in a remarkable breakout campaign that totaled 33 goals and 38 assists through 60 appearances, marking a 56-point bump from the prior season.
That was enough to convince the Lightning, who called on Goncalves with the 62nd pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and then inked the Mission, B.C., native to an entry-level contract in mid-December. Should Goncalves return to Everett as the go-to offensive force, the gifted scorer can expect added attention from the opposition.
OFFICIAL // Gage Goncalves, @TBLightning, 3-year entry level contract. ✍️#LetsGoTips
News: https://t.co/pbbgGs1iYN pic.twitter.com/qYCox3PNCZ
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) December 13, 2020
“He will be on the first line playing against the best defensive line if not the best offensive line on the other team, getting the best defencemen out against him because the coaches will do those matchups,” Lightning director of amateur scouting Al Murray told team reporter Bryan Burns. “When you are no longer a secret and when you are that go-to guy, now you have to do it and show you can do it against all the best players shift after shift every game against the other team, and we certainly think he is going to do that and rise to the occasion.”
At the forward ranks, Goncalves will be joined by fellow veteran left-wing Cole Fonstad who after landing with the club last October needed little time to adjust before wrapping up the season with 13 goals and 52 assists for 65 points to finish third in team scoring. There is also soon-to-be sophomore centre Michal Gut, a Czech-born forward and the club’s top pick in the 2019 CHL Import Draft who put together an impressive first season on North American ice by recording a respectable 36 points, good for ninth among freshmen league-wide.
On the back end, the Silvertips bring an intriguing combination that begins with a pair of NHL drafted rearguards in Gianni Fairbrother and Ronan Seeley, whose rights are held by the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.
Originally chosen with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, Seeley reached new offensive heights last season as he tallied three goals and 29 assists for 32 points to finish third in scoring among team blue-liners. The Silvertips also saw exciting progress from Fairbrother, who despite an injury-shortened campaign concluded the year with 25 points in just 37 appearances. Elsewhere, the squad has high hopes for 17-year-old defender Olen Zellweger, who enters his second season among NHL Central Scouting’s Players to Watch ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft.
🥇We know you earned it. 🥇
Congratulations to Dustin Wolf on winning the gold medal with @USAHockey! #LetsGoTips x #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/CMLRhLQpvT
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) January 6, 2021
Of course, any discussion about the Silvertips is highlighted by superstar netminder Dustin Wolf, a 2019 draft choice of the Calgary Flames who topped the charts in all major goaltending categories last season marked by 34 wins, a 1.88 goals-against average, .935 save percentage, and nine shutouts, helping him earn recognition as the CHL Goaltender of the Year.
The diminutive Wolf has been a dominant presence in the blue paint over three seasons with the Silvertips, coming away with an astounding 88-31-4-2 career showing. More recently, the Tustin, Calif., native furthered his championship pedigree in helping the United States to a gold-medal victory at the 2021 World Juniors, a winning attitude he hopes to bring with him to the Evergreen State.
“I want to continue to have success in Everett, have a strong year,” Wolf told Bill Tran of The Win Column. “I would like to crack the Flames roster as soon as possible, so I am going to do everything in my power to get myself there. It will probably be a couple years down in Stockton learning how to be a pro and living on my own. I will just go with the flow and see what happens … Hopefully in a couple of years, I can suit up and put a couple of wins on the board.”
In the interim, and set to return to Everett, Wolf and his Silvertips teammates are sure to see plenty of time in the win column as a team once again expected to contend when the WHL returns to the ice.