It has been 12 long years since a WHL team lifted the Memorial Cup.
An associate coach on that winning 2013-14 Edmonton Oil Kings team just might be the next man to guide a squad from his league to a CHL crown.
Veteran coach Steve Hamilton and the Everett Silvertips advanced to the WHL final by completing a 4-0 sweep of the Penticton Vees with a come-from-behind 4-2 road win on Tuesday.
“Incredibly proud of our team. Big-time effort tonight,” Hamilton, named WHL coach of the year on Tuesday, said after his team captured the Western Conference crown, per the Silvertips.
The Edmonton native more than landed on his feet after the Calgary Hitmen announced they would not be renewing his contract as head coach following the 2023-24 season.
Less than four months after the Hitmen made that call, the Silvertips hired Hamilton as head coach.
Lo and behold, he arrived at the same time as the CHL’s latest exceptional-status player, Landon DuPont. The talented blue-liner has been as advertised, and is very much in the running to go No. 1 overall in next year’s NHL Draft.
The team from Washington state had the best regular-season record in the league last season before bowing out in the second round of the playoffs. This year, the Silvertips again finished tops in the regular season and now are four wins away from a league title and a trip to the Memorial Cup in Kelowna, B.C., after going 12-1 in the first three playoff rounds.
The Silvertips now await the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers.
DuPont (17 points in 13 playoff games) truly is exceptional, but it’s not a one-man show.
Finnish forwards Matias Vanhanen (undrafted last year, but sure to be selected this year) and Julius Miettinen (Seattle Kraken second-round pick) are 1-2 in WHL playoff scoring after playing for their country at this year’s world juniors.
Detroit Red Wings first-round pick Carter Bear, a member of Team Canada at the world juniors, is also in the top 10 in playoff scoring. In net, Alaska native Anders Miller has a .936 save percentage in the post-season.
“It’s a dream come true,” Miettinen, now in his third year in Everett, said. “We’ve been playing for this the whole year and now we’re here.
“I don’t even know how to put this in words. It’s been a long three years and I couldn’t be happier than to do it with these guys
Founded in 2003, the Silvertips are looking for their first WHL title. They lost in the final in their expansion year and in 2017-18.
The Brantford Bulldogs have a whopping five NHL first-round picks on their roster and a sixth, Caleb Malhotra, who will go in the first round this year.
But it’s not always the biggest names playing the biggest roles for the OHL’s top squad.
Just look at Game 4 of the OHL Eastern Conference final, where the undrafted and undersized Cooper Dennis had two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over the Barrie Colts, giving the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead in the series.
The five-foot-six Michigan commit, from Ithaca, N.Y., has fit right in on a line with Malhotra and Dallas Stars pick Charlie Paquette.
“Coop’s been strong for us throughout the whole playoffs,” Bulldogs coach Jay McKee said. “The numbers haven’t shown for, but he’s probably generated more chances than most of our guys and had a lot of good looks at the net. We had a talk the other day on the ice. You know it’s coming when you’re generating, and he’s been playing fantastic. To see him get rewarded was nice.”
The Bulldogs have a chance to wrap up the series against Barrie on home ice on Thursday.
The QMJHL scored a recruiting win this week when 2027 first-round NHL Draft prospect James Scantlebury, a native of Chicoutimi, Que., announced he will play for the Quebec Remparts next season after being a rookie-of-the-year finalist in the USHL with the Chicago Steel this season.
Scantlebury may not be the only potential 2027 first-rounder landing with the Remparts.
Kevin Dubé of Le Journal De Quebec reported Wednesday that there are strong rumblings that American Carter Meyer, a Remparts first-round pick, will report to Quebec. Meyer played for the U.S. National Development Team this year.
Freddy Meyer, Carter’s brother, plays for the Remparts.
The QMJHL lost 2026 first-round prospect Tynan Lawrence and potential 2026 QMJHL first-round pick Zaac Charbonneau to the USHL, but the developments in Quebec this week are promising for the league.
Meanwhile, Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald reported Wednesday that American-born Moncton Wildcats star defenceman Tommy Bleyl will return to the QMJHL powerhouse next year instead of reporting to Michigan State. Bleyl was the league’s rookie and defenceman of the year this season and could be a first-round NHL pick in June.
The Wildcats and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada are tied 2-2 in what has been a very entertaining QMJHL semifinal.