2026 NHL Draft Profile | Brek Liske, Everett Silvertips
Brek Liske kept his head up as he skated up the wall in the offensive zone and quickly peeled back to shake off his defender.
The Everett Silvertips were nursing a 2-1 lead in Game 5 of the 2026 WHL Championship and were 25 minutes away from hoisting the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history.
No pressure.
With one opponent out of the mix, Liske cut in towards the Prince Albert net and ripped a low wrister through traffic to light the lamp and extend Everett’s lead, keeping a straight face as he embraced his teammates.
But Liske’s fourth goal of the playoffs would stand as the championship winner, and he let the emotion pour out as the final buzzer rang out through the Art Hauser Centre and new kings were crowned.
Brek Liske unleashes the spin cycle for the game winning goal! 🏆
Remember that name 😤@whlsilvertips | #WHLChampionship | #FeedingTheFuture | #WHLHoN | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/n3NsVs7sZt
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 16, 2026
“There’s a point where it hits you,” Liske gushed as the Silvertips celebrated on the ice. “It hit me when we threw our gloves, our helmets, and then it hit me again, and then it hit me again, and it hit me again. This is unbelievable. It’s unexplainable.”
It’s been a long road for the 6-foot-2, 188-pound blueliner from Beausejour, Manitoba.
Liske’s sophomore run with the Everett Silvertips saw him enjoy a career year with 24 points (7G-17A) and a +36 rating in 52 regular-season games.
But the playoffs changed almost everything.
When Silvertips captain and Anaheim Ducks prospect Tarin Smith went down with an upper-body injury at the end of the first round, Liske was called up to the top pairing to play alongside WHL Defenceman of the Year finalist and projected top 2027 NHL Draft pick Landon DuPont.
He erupted for four goals (including two game-winners) and 13 assists for 17 points and a +25 rating in 18 games, highlighted by the aforementioned championship-winner, three assists in Game 4 to eliminate Penticton in the Western Conference Championship, and points in four consecutive games in the Final.
OH THAT’S PRETTY! 😮💨#NHLDraft eligible prospect Brek Liske puts on the moves and nets his 3rd of the postseason! @WHLsilvertips | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture
📺| @victoryplustv
🔗| https://t.co/ejuFny1mnK pic.twitter.com/QF9P5hG99B— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 16, 2026
And the impact goes beyond points.
Liske didn’t register a negative rating in a single playoff match.
In Game 3 of the Championship, he picked up a pair of assists, but also had four hits and three critical shot blocks.
“As cliché as it is, playing the game the right way helps, right?” Liske said. “Those two assists weren’t exactly pretty, but shots to the net, yeah, block everything. Play the game the right way, and it pays.
It’s obviously a lot more playing against better players more, but playing with Dups, he talks so well, he’s just a great guy, and even the mental side of it, he helps a lot, and obviously the on-ice part, he’s huge.”
No one was watching more intently than the sidelined Smith, who is making his own pitch for an NHL team to take on Liske at next week’s draft.
“He’s come so far,” Smith said. “I remember when he came into Everett when he was 15; he was raw. He was good, but he was raw.’
He kind of came into the season with that chip on his shoulder, and you could tell. It’s tough for him because he’s in his draft year and he’s playing on such a loaded team on the back end, so he might not get the looks he deserved, and then playoffs come around and he steps it up. He became one of the best d-men in the playoffs and we leaned on him so hard.”
Liske went on to appear in all five of Everett’s Memorial Cup matches, which saw the Silvertips bow out in the Memorial Cup Final.
Three years after he was selected by the ‘Tips with the 10th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Liske is ranked 44th among all North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft.
As he showed in the postseason, all he needs is an opportunity to prove his worth.
The 2026 NHL Draft runs from June 26-27 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
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