Facing a great deal of adversity throughout their ninth season, the Silvertips clawed their way to a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Division with a record of 22-40-2-8 for 54 points. A late-season charge pulled the Silvertips into an 8th place finish in the Western Conference and ninth straight appearance in the WHL playoffs, where Everett bowed out in four games against the top-seeded Tri-City Americans. The story of the season was a steady improvement during the journey from a frustrating first half to a team that played its best hockey of the year during the stretch run. With a youthful roster led by a handful of steady veterans and first-year Head Coach Mark Ferner, the Silvertips became a hard-working team that made life tough on opponents when its physical, gritty style of play was in full effect. 18-year-old Captain Ryan Murray led the way on the blueline with the help of overagers Brennan Yadlowski and Josh Caron, while Kent Simpson again steadied things in goal and veterans Josh Birkholz and Ryan Harrison set the tone offensively.
SECOND HALF SURGE
After suffering through a trying first half filled with injuries and disappointments, the 2011-12 Silvertips rallied around one another and kept improving before ultimately reaching their goal of extending the franchise’s streak of consecutive playoff appearances to nine. Everett had only six wins at the halfway point and sat in last place in the WHL standings into late January, but played over .500 hockey from that point on. The club won 12 games during the last two months of the regular season and finished 9-4-0-1 in its last 14 regular season home games to pass the Seattle Thunderbirds and Prince George Cougars and earn a Western Conference playoff berth. In their thrilling regular season finale on St. Patrick’s Day, the ‘Tips rallied from four deficits to beat Seattle 6-4 and edge out the rival T-Birds for the final playoff spot in the West.
MURRAY’S WHIRLWIND SEASON
It’s hard to imagine a player having more going on around him than Silvertips captain and star defenseman Ryan Murray did in 2011-12. From an injury and all-star events to stellar play down the stretch and ever-growing hype about his NHL Draft status, the spotlight shone brightly on Murray from start to finish. He attended Hockey Canada’s preseason world junior camp, missed 20 games (and the Subway Super Series) after an ankle injury, returned just in time to join Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, played in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and fielded dozens of interviews about being a sought-after prospect in the NHL Entry Draft. Amidst all those potential distractions, the unflappable 18-year-old turned in another outstanding effort during his third WHL season. His contributions helped lead the Silvertips into the playoffs, where he then led the team in postseason scoring. Everett posted a .422 winning percentage with Murray in the lineup, compared with .296 when #27 wasn’t on the ice, making him the obvious choice for his second straight Silvertips MVP award after sharing that honor with Kent Simpson in 2010-11.
SIMPSON’S SWAN SONG
Fourth-year goaltender Kent Simpson returned to Everett as the Silvertips’ most tenured player in 2011-12, having been with the club since his 16-year-old campaign in 2008-09. Before the Chicago Blackhawks prospect went on to spend his overage season in the professional ranks, he ended his final junior season ended on a high note with the ‘Tips. Simpson was key to Everett’s late-season success, winning 12 of his last 20 starts to hit the 20-win mark for the third straight year. In his last ten regular season starts, Simpson finished with an impressive 2.09 GAA, .938 SV% and two shutouts during the stretch run. The Edmonton, Alberta native broke Leland Irving’s record for most saves in a single season (1,935), became the second Everett netminder to surpass 10,000 career minutes and solidified his hold on second place in career wins as a Silvertip (71).
YOUTH MUST BE SERVED
The Silvertips had 13 rookies play significant minutes in 2011-12 and finished the season with nine of those rookies seeing action in the playoffs. At least three 16-year-olds and seven 17-year-olds stuck with the club throughout the year to make Everett one of the youngest teams in the WHL. Forwards Zach McPhee, Kohl Bauml, Jordyn Boyd, Trent Lofthouse, Carson Samoridny, and Ryan Chynoweth, were joined by defensemen Dominik Bittner and Austin Adam and goaltender Austin Lotz to comprise the group of rookies that stuck with Everett for nearly the entire year. In addition to the first-year players, seven more of this year’s Silvertips were in their second WHL seasons, leaving the ‘Tips only eight players with more than one year of WHL experience. Kohl Bauml was the biggest standout among the first-year group, winning Silvertips Rookie of the Year honors after scoring 14 goals and assisting on 25 others to tie for fifth on the club with 39 points.
BREAKOUT SEASONS
A number of returning Silvertips took their game to new levels in 2011-12, with new roles and career highs popping up throughout the group. Veteran forward Ryan Harrison (a fourth-year WHLer) led the team in assists and finished second on the club in scoring on his way to winning the FIERCE Predator award from the Silvertips Booster Club. Fellow forwards Cody Fowlie, Reid Petryk, Josh Winquist, and Jari Erricson all shattered their previous career-high point totals, and both JT Barnett and Manraj Hayer worked their way back from injuries to play important roles late in the season. 17-year-old Defenseman Nick Walters occupied a top-four spot on the ‘Tips blueline and saw his production climb from 4 points and 52 penalty minutes as a rookie to 18 points and 95 penalty minutes during his draft-eligible year. Fellow rearguards Evan Morden and Lucas Grayson also reached new statistical highs and played expanded roles in their second WHL seasons.
A MEMORABLE DRAFT DAY IN PITTSBURGH
More franchise history was written on June 22, 2012 as Ryan Murray’s name was the second one called during the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest draft pick ever produced by the Everett Silvertips. After Russian sniper Nail Yakupov was taken first by the Edmonton Oilers, the Columbus Blue Jackets made Murray the second overall selection in 2012 – thus confirming the pre-draft rankings and expectations that he wouldn’t stay on the draft board for long. Murray surpassed Peter Mueller (8th overall to Phoenix, 2006) and Zach Hamill (8th overall to Boston, 2007) as the highest draft pick to emerge from the Everett program. He wasn’t the only Silvertip selected in Pittsburgh, however, as fellow defenseman Nick Walters was taken in the fourth round (116th overall) by the St. Louis Blues, becoming the 15th Silvertips player drafted since 2006.
THANK YOU JOSH B., BRENNAN AND JOSH C.!
The Silvertips’ three 1991-born players and alternate captains all concluded their Western Hockey League careers in green & silver during the 2011-12 season. Right wing Josh Birkholz (Maple Grove, MN) was dynamic in his second WHL season, leading the Silvertips in scoring from start to finish. Birkholz used his breakaway speed and lethal wrist shot to electrify the Comcast Arena crowd throughout the year, compiling 29 goals and 28 assists to finish with 57 points. The Florida Panthers draft pick scored a hat trick against Seattle on January 4 and a season-high four points in a 5-4 overtime win over the T-Birds on January 21.
Defenseman Brennan Yadlowski (Edmonton, AB) was a fifth-year WHLer who played three seasons in Lethbridge before coming to Everett in an October 2010 trade. He provided a much-needed veteran presence on the blueline while highlighting his all-around game with 24 points (4g/20a) and 91 penalty minutes. Yadlowski played his 300th WHL game in December and reached 100 career points in March.
Fellow blueliner Josh Caron (Campbell River, BC) joined the ‘Tips in late November to finish his career after spending three-plus years with Kamloops. By February, Caron’s leadership role was solidified with an “A” on his jersey while his impact as a shut-down defender and one of the most physically imposing players in the league helped solidify Everett’s D-corps in the second half of the season. The Silvertips would like to say a huge “Thank You” to all three players for their contributions to the franchise over the past two years!
FINAL REGULAR SEASON SCORING STATS