The Next Wave: Five potential impact rookies in 2023-24
The Everett Silvertips have an exciting influx of rookies competing for roles on the 2023-24 squad. Five players in particular have already dipped their toes in the water at the WHL level and are hungry to earn more ice time.
Let’s take a look at some of the up-and-comers in the Silvertips’ pipeline:
Tarin Smith – LHD, ’06
Smith saw his 2022-23 campaign come to a premature end last November due to an upper-body injury. The 2021 first-round WHL Draft pick appeared in nine games, scoring his first career goal on Nov. 23 against the Portland Winterhawks in jaw-dropping fashion.
🎥HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT🎥
Tarin Smith has so much sty!😎@WHLsilvertips | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/BD3yY7gEpX
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 24, 2022
He had previously skated in three regular season games during the 2021-22 season. He also participated in the 2022 World Hockey Challenge, where he helped Canada Red to a Silver Medal with a goal and an assist in seven games played.
Measuring at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds, Smith brings both size and mobility to the Silvertips’ back end. With left-handed defenseman Aidan Sutter having aged out of the WHL, Smith has an opportunity to compete for solid minutes this coming season along with fellow returners Niko Tsakumis and Eric Jamieson.
Julien Maze – LW, ’07
Maze became the youngest Silvertip to ever appear in a regular season game last year, debuting on Nov. 18 in Portland at just 14 years and 280 days old. Selected 20th-overall in the 2022 WHL Draft, Maze’s skill was evident right away as he recorded his first career point with a primary assist on Nov. 27 in Spokane.
PROSPECT UPDATE!
Julien Maze (‘07, signed) scores in OT for @TeamABHockey to beat Ontario at the U-16 Canada Winter Games!@2023CanadaGames pic.twitter.com/BrnvbJHLQz
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) February 21, 2023
The bulk of his 2022-23 season was spent with OHA Edmonton U18 Prep, where he recorded 20 goals and 25 assists in 27 games. He re-joined the Silvertips for the final week of the regular season and even logged five postseason appearances against the Winterhawks, skating with the Silvertips’ top line at several points in the series.
Maze will celebrate his 16th birthday on Dec. 7, 2023. The 5-foot-8, 135-pound winger will look to turn heads just as he did last preseason when he tied for the team lead in scoring with three goals and two assists in five games.
Carter Bear – C, ’06
Of all the rookies entering the 2023-24 season, Carter Bear has the most WHL experience. He played in 19 regular season games and five playoff games last year, gaining valuable minutes in a variety of roles.
BEWARE THE 🐻!
Carter Bear netted his first career @TheWHL goal last night!#ForEverett pic.twitter.com/trTDB0HI1l
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 26, 2023
Bear recorded his first point with an assist on Nov. 27 in Spokane and later netted his first career goal via redirection on Mar. 25 in Victoria. Between stints with the Silvertips, he skated in 31 games with the Winnipeg Thrashers U18 AAA, boasting 32 goals and 27 assists. For his efforts, Bear earned MU18HL First-Team All-Star honors, as well as Winnipeg AAA U18 MVP and Top Forward awards.
The former sixth-rounder in 2021 measured at 5-foot-10, 154 pounds last year. As he enters his 17-year-old season, look for Bear to make an impact on both sides of the puck as he fights to secure a spot.
Ethan Makokis – LHD, ’07
Makokis first made a name for himself in last year’s training camp, wowing with a defensive-play-turned-OT-winner for Team Dewar. That was but a flash of what the fleet-footed defenseman is capable of.
A Training Camp OT winner!
Ethan Makokis ('22 5th-rd @TheWHL Draft pick) throws the poke check, turns on the jets, fights through a stick and lifts a backhander to give Team Dewar their second win of the weekend!#TipsCamp x @bodieskneaded pic.twitter.com/FKqjcb40Hq
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) September 3, 2022
Makokis appeared in eight regular season games as a 15-year-old last season, including a bulk of them at the forward position out of necessity. Fortunately, his play lends itself to that kind of versatility. At 5-foot-7, 142 pounds, Makokis relies on his explosive speed and stickwork to make things happen on the blueline. Originally drafted in the fifth-round in 2022, he notched two goals and six assists in 22 games with OHA Edmonton U18 Prep last season.
Silvertips staffers have praised Makokis for his ability to create separation and creativity with the puck. He’ll be among several hard-nosed competitors hunting for left-side defensive minutes this camp.
Lukas Kaplan – LW, ’07
Kaplan inked his WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Silvertips last November, though he had to wait until March to get his first crack at WHL action. He debuted in Vancouver on Mar. 17, the first of four regular season appearances. He truly shined with Northern Alberta Xtreme U17 Prep, earning both a league championship and league MVP in 2022-23.
Congrats to signed Silvertip prospects Clarke Schaefer and Lukas Kaplan on winning the @CSSHL U17 Championship with @NAXHockey!
Kaplan scored the game-tying goal late in the third, with the Xtreme winning in OT.#ForEverett pic.twitter.com/4Chro9UZVZ
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 15, 2023
The 2022 sixth-round pick collected 23 goals and 35 assists in 25 regular season games with the Xtreme, including two goals and seven assists in five playoff games. For good measure, he also logged four points in five games during a promotion to the U18 level.
Measuring at 5-foot-7, 141 pounds, Kaplan could very well be in the mix for a role on this year’s Silvertips team.
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