The Silvertips 2008-09 season ended when they were eliminated by the Tri-City Americans in five games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. While posting the team’s first losing season with a record of 27-36-7-2, the Silvertips were also able to unearth a younger generation of intriguing future stars while benefiting from the determined leadership of their three 20-year old veterans.
A SHUTOUT TO REMEMBER
Silvertips fans took notice of an impressive relief performance at Seattle by 15-year-old goaltender Kent Simpson on the final day of the 2007-08 regular season, and it appeared even then that the young goaltender would have a chance to earn playing time as a 16-year-old in 2008-09. In his first career start on September 26, 2008, Simpson stopped all 28 Portland shots and was supported by goals from Mike Alexander and Shane Harper on his way to a 2-0 shutout of the Winterhawks. He earned more playing time in a first half that was highlighted by wins over Tri-City, Spokane and a gritty 3-2 victory at Swift Current in which the rookie delivered a strong presence in net in a difficult road environment to conclude a successful two-week trip.
THE KID LINE
What started as an experiment ended as one of the most accomplished rookie scoring lines in WHL history. Three 17-year-olds – Byron Froese, Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell – emerged as the Silvertips’ most dangerous and consistent offensive threat and perhaps the brightest crop of rookie forwards playing together in the WHL . It started with an eight-goal outburst in a come-from-behind victory over the eventual WHL champion Kelowna Rockets and culminated in their inclusion in NHL Central Scouting’s mid-season and post-season draft rankings. Tochkin, a shifty and creative right wing from Abbotsford, BC, became the highest scoring rookie in Silvertips history with 74 points in 72 games en route to receiving the club’s Rookie of the Year award and sharing the Iron Man award. Froese, a hard working two-way center out of Winkler, MB, recorded the 26th hat trick in Silvertips history with three tallies against Red Deer on New Year’s Eve and also played in all 72 games to share the Iron Man Award. Maxwell, a quick skater and dynamic goal scorer from Manhattan Beach. CA, recorded 22 goals in 57 games and also lifted the team to a 3-2 victory in Game 2 at Tri-City with the first playoff hat trick in club history. The three players combined to post 11 points in a 5-2 win at Moose Jaw in November and a 6-3 win vs Red Deer in December while providing several other offensive outbursts along the way.
HARPER’S HEROICS
After a 43-point breakthrough season in 2007-08, 19-year-old Shane Harper continued his ascendance through the Silvertips scoring ranks with 66 points on 32 goals and 34 assists in 72 games for Everett in 2008-09. With a goal at Seattle on March 1, the right wing out of Valencia, California became the fourth player in team history to record 30 goals in one season, joining John Lammers (38 – 2005-06), Moises Gutierrez (35 – 2006-07) and Zach Hamill (32 – 2006-07) in that group. Having tallied 58 goals through four seasons with the Silvertips, Harper joined Hamill (87) and Kyle Beach (67) as the only players to record 50 goals in a Silvertips uniform. Harper had missed only one game in the last two seasons and suited up in 143 of the team’s last 144 regular season games by the end of 2008-09.
TRIAL BY FIRE
The youngest team in Silvertips history had plenty of growing up to do during a 12-day trip through central Canada against the WHL’s talented East Division. Buoyed by a collective effort in a 4-1 win at Regina in which Daniel Bartek posted a hat trick – two goals of which were scored shorthanded – and 23 saves by Shane Barrie, the tone of the trip was set midway through the second period when three separate Silvertips went down to block rapid fire Colten Teubert slap shots in one of the year’s best defensive efforts. Byron Froese, Tyler Maxwell and Kellan Tochkin combined for 11 points in a 5-2 win at Moose Jaw before the Silvertips concluded the long swing led by several jarring Taylor Ellington hits in a physical 3-2 win at Swift Current. With a 3-1-2-0 record and a robust penalty kill, the road trip proved to be a unifying experience for a team that started the season with 13 rookies.
ROAD WARRIORS
Though the 2008-09 Silvertips did not find as much success on the road as they did at home, several key road victories helped define the team’s efforts away from Everett. With wins in Vancouver in both October and March, the Silvertips finished 2-1 at Pacific Coliseum to post a winning record in the home of their B.C. Division rivals for the third time in four years. On October 15, two late third-period goals by Kellan Tochkin tied the game at three before Matthew Ius won it in the ninth round of the shootout. On March 13, the ‘Tips jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Giants stormed back with three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead early in the third period. After Tochkin tied it a few minutes later, Byron Froese netted the game-winner as Everett knocked off Vancouver 5-3 in front of 12,141 fans. Following the game, British Columbia native Taylor Ellington signed a three-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks to complete a storybook evening. That win came less than two weeks after a clutch Silvertips performance earned Everett’s first two points at the Thunderbirds’ new arena in Kent as Shane Harper tied the game late in regulation before providing the only goal of the shootout. It was the Silvertips’ first win on the road against the Thunderbirds since January 27, 2007.
ABNEY, FROESE SELECTED IN NHL DRAFT
The Silvertips produced eight NHL draft picks between 2006 and 2008, and the 2009 NHL Draft would prove to continue that recent trend. In the third round the Edmonton Oilers selected forward Cameron Abney with the 82nd overall pick, and then forward Byron Froese was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (119th Overall)
THANK YOU TAYLOR, GRAHAM AND DANIEL
The youth on the 2008-09 Silvertips was well balanced by the leadership of tested veterans who unified the locker room and defended their teammates on the ice. 20-year-old defensive stalwarts and alternate captains Taylor Ellington and Graham Potuer were among the most relied-upon defensemen in the Western Hockey League, often logging upwards of 25 minutes of ice time per game. Whereas Ellington helped set the team’s physical pace as one of the league’s premier hitters, Potuer was also able to find his own physical niche en route to blocking over 2,200 shots in his Everett career. Both Potuer and Ellington finished their WHL careers as five-year veterans of the Everett Silvertips, and Ellington’s 287 career games played were the most in club history when he moved on from the program. Daniel Bartek, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings prior to the season, endured several injuries due to the “jam” in his game and the complete effort he devoted night in and night out. Another stellar shot blocker, Bartek’s two-way game was evident through his excellence on special teams as he led the Silvertips in shorthanded goals and finished among the leaders in power play goals.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON SCORING STATS