Silvertips Alumni Update: May 9
EVERETT – Time for another check-in on some former Silvertips and the recent exploits of their post-WHL hockey careers. This report features a former Silvertip back with Team USA at the World Championship, a member of the inaugural Silvertips racking up points for a team that used to be called the Cannibals and the longest game in ECHL history, among other things of course…
Remember to check back in the coming weeks as we continue to track the pro careers of Silvertips alumni!
IIHF World Championship
Peter Mueller (2005-07), Team USA
For the first time since 2008, former Silvertips and NHL forward Peter Mueller is representing Team USA at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. The tournament opened today in Minsk, Belarus with the United States defeating the host Team Belarus 6-1 to start the preliminary round. Team USA will also take on Switzerland, Russia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Finland and Germany in Group B play. Mueller spent the 2013-14 season overseas with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss National League A, scoring 24 goals and totaling 46 points in 49 games. Kloten finished third in the regular season standings and then enjoyed a successful playoff run to the league finals before being swept by the Zurich Lions for the NLA championship.
American Hockey League
Rasmus Rissanen (2009-11), Charlotte Checkers
Third-year pro defenseman Rasmus Rissanen was a mainstay on the blueline for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers again this season, totaling a career-high ten points on three goals and seven assists in 63 games. The native of Kuopio, Finland also had a career-most 91 penalty minutes, good for third-most on the team. After finishing last season with the #4 seed in the Western Conference but suffering a disappointing first-round playoff exit against Oklahoma City, this year the Checkers endured rough patches in November and February before ultimately finishing one game above .500 and five points out of a berth in the AHL playoffs. Rissanen’s three-year, entry-level NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes has now expired, making him a restricted free agent – CLICK HERE for more on the questions surrounding his next career step.
ECHL
Jesse Mychan (2011-12), Colorado Eagles
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native Jesse Mychan spent his rookie pro season with the Colorado Eagles and immediately carved out a niche for himself in the ECHL. Mychan, who played for Everett as a 19-year-old rookie in 2011-12 before a trade sent him to Tri-City to finish his WHL career, finished second in the ECHL this year with a whopping 262 penalty minutes! He also recorded 18 points on 11 goals and seven assists in 55 games and even earned himself a three-game call-up to the AHL’s Portland Pirates in January. The Eagles finished fifth in the Western Conference, but lost in six games to the Idaho Steelheads in the first round of the playoffs – where Mychan earned the distinction of playing in the longest game in ECHL history. Idaho’s series-clinching victory in Game 6 of the series came at 17:18 of the FOURTH overtime period!
European Pro Hockey
Riley Armstrong (2003-04), EVL Landshut – Germany
Veteran forward Riley Armstrong, who played in the German Elite League a few years ago, returned to Germany this season to join EVL Landshut (a team which was known as the Landshut Cannibals until last season… what a name!) of the DEL2 German second league. Armstrong enjoyed a phenomenal season in Bavaria, leading his team and finishing eighth in the entire league in scoring with 64 points (24g/40a) in 45 games while also compiling 99 penalty minutes. Landshut finished fifth in the league with the North American equivalent of a 32-18-4 record and advanced to the second round of the DEL2 playoffs before falling to eventual champion Bremerhaven in overtime of Game 7. CLICK HERE for an interview with Riley from earlier this season.
Jonathan Harty (2004-08), Mora IK – Sweden
Last season Jonathan Harty played for former Everett Associate Coach Jay Varady in France with Les Ducs D’Angers, a team which advanced to Game 7 of the league final before falling short. For his second pro season, Harty ventured north to Sweden to sign with Mora IK in the Swedish Allsvenskan (the country’s #2 pro league) – the same club that current Silvertips Assistant Coach Mark LeRose worked for before returning to Everett. Harty posted nine points (3g/6a), 97 penalty minutes and a +9 rating in 46 games for Mora this year, helping the club to a sixth-place finish with the North American equivalent of a 28-19-5 record.
Canadian Collegiate Hockey
Ryan Harrison (2010-2013), University of Calgary
In his first collegiate season at the University of Calgary after five years in the WHL, forward Ryan Harrison helped the Dinos to a second-place finish in the Canada West conference with a 21-4-3 record and 45 points in conference play. Harrison scored ten goals (fifth most on the team) and assisted on 13 others in addition to compiling a +22 rating and 42 penalty minutes (second on the team) in a total of 33 games. The Dinos then defeated the Manitoba Bisons in the playoffs to advance to the Canada West Conference Finals, where they fell to the top seed and eventual CIS University Cup Champion University of Alberta Golden Bears.
– Travis Huntington
CLICK HERE for our April 23 Alumni Update
Mark your calendars for our third-annual Silvertips Alumni Weekend, which is coming up later this summer on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12. Keep an eye out for more details to be released soon!
