TIPS NOW » Class of 2001
By Silvertips staff
EVERETT, Wash. – The assembly of a team blends faces, skills, personalities, and callings into one cohesive unit, setting on a goal that begins with game one of 68 every season.
From young to experienced, they each play an important part. With the Everett Silvertips in mind, the faces, left handed shots, right handed shots, and differentiating roles have fit so nicely into place, they’ve won the division four times in the last six seasons.
For this season, the names of the “overage” class may change, but the goal remains the same:
Lead.
Three names in the 2001-born class are likely to play an important role in that mission, with the exact names to be determined. Every team follows the same guideline – they are allowed no more than three players in that age bracket shortly after the start of the WHL season.
Below are all the current Silvertips listed below, born in 2001, with notes from last season:
- Hunter Campbell (RW): The elder statesman on the Silvertips roster (with respect to the conditions below), factoring in age and experience – the 2021-22 will start with Campbell’s final WHL season coming appropriately in the town he grew up in, and graduated high school (a nod here to those from Cascade). He’s now playing potentially for a pro contract. If last year serves as a forecast, he’s trending on the right direction. The 6-foot-2 power forward used strength and size to make it happen, and the Tips received impact production in the power forward role despite the departure of Bryce Kindopp. Campbell enjoyed a productive – but shortened – 2021 campaign with nine goals in 23 games.Calculate that to a full 68-game year, and Campbell would have ended with a breakout 26-goal season, 22 more than his previous career high. The future is certainly bright.
- Zach Ashton (D): Acquired shortly before the start of the 2021 season while looking for a new team, Ashton brought familiarity with the U.S. Division as a former Seattle Thunderbird and a maturing game on the blueline to contribute to the Tips division title run with 7 points in 19 games, additionally shattering new highs in plus-minus (+13). April 23 would be a night to never forget in a Tips win at Spokane: he buried the first two-goal game of his career, while playing a stretch where he would never be taken out of the lineup for the final 12 games.With the Silvertips as his third WHL stop (in addition to Seattle and Saskatoon), Ashton needs three games to reach the 100 career mark.
- Jonny Lambos (D): New to the Silvertips equation for 2021-22, the Lambos family continues to gain more weight in the hockey world with Jonny’s experience with the Brandon Wheat Kings and 2021 East Division title, and younger brother Carson drafted 25th overall in last month’s draft by the Minnesota Wild. They’ve pushed each other to reach their potential, and Lambos will bring valuable knowledge of the league, pace, and structure to the younger corps of Silvertips, still looking to gain solid footing. Lambos suited up in 21 of the Wheat Kings 24 games, en route to their title run in the Regina bubble, and has 126 games total with Brandon.Fun fact: he knows Everett pretty well. It’s the place where he scored his first career goal in the league, nearly two years ago in a 3-2 Tips comeback victory.
Eligible to return, but also under contract to an NHL team and technically qualified by age to play at any pro level:
- Dustin Wolf (G): Needs no introduction. Back-to-back WHL Goaltender of the Year, 2021 U.S. Division Player of the Year, and member of the U.S. Division All-Star Team while recording shutouts in his first three appearances, setting a new franchise shutout streak record – at 18-3 with a .940 save percentage and four shutouts, the numbers were insane. Taken by the Calgary Flames in the 2019 Draft, Wolf signed his three-year, entry level contract with Calgary shortly after the pandemic ended the 2019-20 season. He is eligible to join the Flames AHL farm team, the Stockton Heat, who just introduced former Silvertip Mitch Love as head coach.
- Gage Goncalves (C): Proof that you don’t need WHL “drafted” status as a meal ticket, the pride of Mission, British Columbia rose from training camp invite to bonafide NHL prospect. After hitting the 30-goal plateau and making waves on “SportsCenter” in shootouts, before the pandemic started, Goncalves returned to virtually pick up where he left off – 34 points in 23 games, tied with teammate Cole Fonstad to lead the scoring race in the U.S. Division while earning a spot on the division’s postseason All-Star team. Shortly after he was taken in the 2020 draft by Tampa Bay in the second round, he signed his three-year contract with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs, and is eligible to start with their farm team, the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) this year.
