Carter Bear, Matias Vanhanen named WHL’s Player, Rookie of the Month

EVERETT, Wash. — A strong offensive month from the Tips’ top line garnered a pair of league recognitions, as Carter Bear and Matias Vanhanen were tapped as the league’s Player and Rookie of the Month, respectively.

Bear, a Detroit Red Wings first-round pick, posted 13 goals with 12 assists and a +22 defensive rating over the course of 12 games in February. The month featured two hat tricks for Bear, one coming on Feb. 6 vs Kamloops and one on Feb. 21 vs Seattle. He logged a career-best +5 defensive rating on Feb. 27 in an 8-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers.

Bear currently sits at 99 career goals. His five career hat tricks have tied Patrick Bajkov for most in franchise history.

Vanhanen, also named the league’s Rookie of the Week for the final week of February, totaled seven goals with 13 assists and a +20 defensive rating over 12 games played. He recorded at least one point in all but one game in the month with six multi-point outings. Vanhanen collected his first career multi-goal outing on Feb. 27 against Kamloops.