Steve Hamilton reflects on WHL Coach of the Year nod ahead of Finals

Published 9:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026

EVERETT — Rylan Gould recognized it from his very first practice with the Everett Silvertips.

After arriving in Everett following four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, the 20-year-old forward’s first experience working with his new head coach, Steve Hamilton, felt eye-opening.

“There’s moments, even when I first got here, that my details of my game were a little loose,” Gould told The Herald on Monday. “Just kind of learning how to play like a Silvertip, and what (Hamilton) kind of taught me: Not to cheat, that the offense will come if I just stick with the process of playing properly.

“Having individual meetings, or just how he communicates with what I need to do better or what the team needs to do better is something that I’ve never experienced, and it’s something that I’ll never take for granted.”

Gould was already a proven producer at the WHL level, yet Hamilton helped him reach another level in his game that does not always show up on the score sheet. He instantly meshed as a key forward behind the top line of Julius Miettinen, Carter Bear and Matias Vanhanen, but that’s just one example of Hamilton’s impact on a Silvertips team that somehow topped last year’s 52-win campaign.

After leading Everett to a second straight Scotty Munro Trophy as the WHL regular-season champion, and just one day after the Silvertips punched their ticket to the WHL Championship against Prince Albert, Hamilton was named the WHL’s Coach of the Year on April 29.

It marked the second time a Silvertips coach won the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy, the first going to Kevin Constantine when he led Everett to the WHL Finals in the franchise’s inaugural season in 2003-04.

As appreciative as Hamilton is about the honor, the second-year Silvertips coach said he considers it more of a team award. He credited assistant coaches Tim Fragle and Mike Field as well as the players for their contribution to the recognition.

“Nobody considers (you) the coach of the year if your team doesn’t play the right way,” Hamilton told The Herald on Monday. “… The biggest thing, I would say, is that we’re all bought into the same thing, and I think that’s shown over the course of a long year.

“It’s a neat recognition. Certainly isn’t the trophy that we’re trying to play for, but I do think it says a lot about who we’ve been as a team, and I guess it’s my honor to have the name on the trophy, but I very much consider it as a massive team win.”

The players, for their part, heaped credit back onto Hamilton, whose open communication style and overall understanding of the game earned the respect and admiration of the locker room.

Jesse Heslop is in his fourth full season with the Silvertips, and upon Hamilton’s arrival nearly two years ago, the forward instantly recognized his ability to connect with the players. Hamilton’s “open-door” policy established a welcoming environment for Heslop and his teammates to go over game clips, ask questions and gain constructive feedback.

Through time, that dynamic built up trust in both Hamilton and his system, which emphasizes attention to detail on defense in order to set up a more free-ranging offensive approach, especially with the individual talents in the forward corps.

“He’s always told us he’s always believed in our offense,” Heslop said. “And that’s kind of, ‘Play creative, use each other, try new things,’ and it’s a bit less structured offensively, whereas defensively, he’s got a really good structure going. We all know what we’re doing because we’ve all been working towards it all year.”

Defenseman Brek Liske echoed the idea that players are never confused about what they’re expected to do, no matter what their role is. Hamilton’s transparency and direct nature put the team at ease.

“You’re not playing guessing games,” Liske said. “It helps you kind of focus on the hockey part of it, I guess. You’re not worried about where you’re playing or what’s going on. He’s very honest, and if you have questions, like I’ve asked him before, he’s great with it.”

For Hamilton, the receptiveness goes both ways. He praised the team for being open-minded when it comes to feedback, and that the connection between the staff and players has created a positive atmosphere that plays a significant part in the success.

Hamilton said it took time for him to realize the true importance of that, and he credits his experience as a father for making him a better coach. He always considered himself approachable, but with three kids now aged 22, 19 and 17, it’s even easier to connect with his players around the same age.

“I would say as a younger coach, we lived more in absolutes, like ‘It’s got to always be done,’” Hamilton said. “And as I’ve gotten older — I’ve been coaching a long time now — you realize that the buy-in (comes from) embracing the mistakes that happen, learning from them, not being so determined to eliminate all of them. Rather, taking a look and saying, ‘It’s a learning, teaching opportunity.’ … You can say athletes have changed, but I would argue that maybe coaches have changed the most, and I think that’s better. The relationships are priority number one, because you can’t succeed and be a really successful organization if there’s internal turmoil.”

Hamilton first ascended to the head coaching ranks in the WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014-15. He served as an associate coach the year prior, when Edmonton won the 2014 Memorial Cup, but he inherited a younger roster upon his promotion for a club that just reached the end of its contention cycle.

The Oil Kings experienced two consecutive first-round exits before missing the playoffs in each of the next two seasons, which ultimately led to Hamilton’s firing in 2018. He took over for the Calgary Hitmen for the following six years, reaching the playoffs twice in four opportunities, since the COVID-19 pandemic led to the WHL canceling the postseason in 2020 and 2021.

Hired in Everett ahead of 2024-25, Hamilton had an opportunity to lead a team ready to contend for hardware.

“We were never really in the same kind of position (in Edmonton and Calgary) that I’ve been in here in Everett,” Hamilton said. “I’m appreciative of that, and it doesn’t get lost on me that when you have special years, to really appreciate them and value those times, because let’s face it, on a long coaching journey, you’re going to have some hard times, too, and I’ve had my fair share. …

“Coming to Everett, where they were in their cycle, and where they were building, it was a great opportunity. I feel like they brought out the best in me. I like to think I brought out some of the best in them.”

The Dunc McCallum Trophy proved the former. The Ed Chynoweth Cup would cement the latter.