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Fresh off WHL title win, Everett Silvertips aim for Memorial Cup
The Everett Silvertips are fresh off their first Western Hockey League title in franchise history. Now, they're seeking an even bigger trophy.
EVERETT, Wash. - The Everett Silvertips aren't satisfied with just winning their first WHL Championship. They want to add the Memorial Cup to their hardware collection as well.
"We're still hungry. We're super happy with what we've accomplished, but we're not done yet. We still have one more tournament to go," standout defenseman Landon DuPont said.
The Silvertips won the first championship of their 23-year history in the WHL on Friday night, defeating the Prince Albert Raiders with a 7-2 romp in Game 5 to clinch the Ed Chynoweth Cup. They returned home to a raucous welcome at Everett High School on Saturday.
"Unbelievable," head coach Steve Hamilton said. "We had no idea or expectation of what that would be like. It was just buzzing with fans, and you could just feel how excited the community is.
"61 teams start at the beginning of every year looking to get the chance to hoist that. We're down to the final four. It says a lot about our season, but (the Memorial Cup is) a special, special trophy."
The Silvertips were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2004, and lost in six games to the Swift Current Broncos in 2018 in their two previous trips to the WHL Championship. The title comes on the heels of a league-best 57-8-2-1 record for 117 points to win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the best regular season team in the WHL. They lost just twice in 18 playoff games en route to the WHL title.
"It was unreal," DuPont said. "It's been 23 years in the making. Lots of loyal fans and obviously the city is awesome, so it's great to bring it home for them."
The victory sends the Silvertips to the Memorial Cup for the first time in club history. The tournament – set to take place in Kelowna, B.C. from May 21-31 – features the winners of all three Canadian Hockey Leagues: the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. Additionally, the home team gets an automatic berth into the tournament.
The Silvertips will be joined by the Kelowna Rockets (host) and Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. The final spot will go to either the Chicoutimi Saguenéens or the Moncton Wildcats. Chicoutimi holds a 3-2 series lead in the QMJHL championship series. Everett beat Kelowna all four meetings in the regular season and won their second-round playoff series in five games.
"Obviously, it's pretty cool what we achieved, but it will be pretty cool what we could achieve now," forward Carter Bear said.
Everett would become just the fourth U.S.-based team to claim the Memorial Cup, joining the Spokane Chiefs (1991, 2008), Portland Winterhawks (1998, 1983) and Saginaw Spirit, who were the most recent American champions in 2024. It would be the first title by a WHL representative since the Edmonton Oil Kings won in 2014.
"We're going to go there to win. It's a business trip. Everyone wants to win. We still have hunger left in the room," Miettinen said.
"It's really cool to get there. It's a dream for a lot of guys, and we get to experience it. Just got to enjoy the two weeks we're going to be there and enjoy the moment."
Currently projected as one of the favorites to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NHL Draft, DuPont could become the highest draft pick in Silvertips history. As just the ninth player to ever be granted "exceptional status" by the CHL to play as a 15-year-old, DuPont – a Calgary native – could have exerted pressure to play elsewhere in the WHL.
But DuPont was sold on the potential of the Silvertips and agreed to play for the team after being selected first overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.
"I'm so lucky to have gone to a place like Everett. It's such a great city, such a great fanbase and even better organization. It's truly a first-class organization and I think everything went right for me to go here. I'm super lucky," DuPont said.
"Just our brotherhood, the way we care for each other. It's so fun coming into the rink every day. From the coaches, the trainers, everyone gets along so well. It's such a great atmosphere to be around and it's been one of the best years of my life."
The Silvertips are hoping to make the season just a little bit better still with one more trophy to add to the cabinet.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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