McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective: Everett Silvertips
Everett, Wash.- Tyler Palmer graduates from the Western Hockey League having left an impact that stretches beyond the walls of Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.
In his 20-year-old season with the Silvertips, Palmer wanted to find a way to leave a legacy in the community he spent the better part of two years in.
The Fernie, B.C. product ended up founding the Tyler Palmer Save Drive, contributing $2 of his own money for every save he made from American Thanksgiving (November 23, 2023) to New Year’s Eve to the Faith Food Bank.
“I knew that there was already a pretty good connection between Everett and the food bank and I wanted to do something for the community,” Palmer explained. “Me and my mom were just kind of on FaceTime coming up with ideas and that’s kind of what we ended up coming up with.”
Palmer would play in nine of Everett’s 13 games throughout the stretch, highlighted by a 43-save effort against Seattle that saw the veteran goaltender earn first star of the night.
He finished the stretch with 226 saves, which was matched by a local partner for a $900 total donation to the Faith Food Bank, which provides hot meals, fresh and canned food, clothing and more to people in vulnerable positions.
Faith Food Bank’s Roxana Bouroujerdi says the group was able to buy 900 pounds of hamburger meat- a rare luxury for those in need- for a special holiday boost.
“That was pretty exciting, going into the actual food bank and talking to the lady, Roxana, that runs it,” Palmer recalled. “She was really happy and telling me about you know, what a big difference it was going to make.”
Faith Food Bank typically sees more than 200 food pickups per week from those in need, according to Bouroujerdi.
The donation, in combination with numerous other community appearances by Palmer, earned the goaltender WHL U.S. Division Humanitarian of the Year honours.
He’s also a nominee for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy for WHL Humanitarian of the Year.
Palmer hopes to see future Silvertips players pick up the torch and find new ways to give back to the community in the years ahead.
“It’s about, you know, just getting things started,” Palmer said. “If you do something, be a leader by example and maybe people will follow.”
The Western Hockey League strives to promote and foster a welcoming environment in communities close to our 22 clubs in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Every team has the creative freedom to allow their players and staff to work with the organizations and groups that they are most passionate about. The end goal is to create and maintain long-lasting relationships and ongoing partnerships within their community.
Through the McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective, we aim to highlight these outstanding initiatives done by each club throughout the season.