Silvertips acquire defenseman Berge in deal with Regina

The Everett Silvertips spun a deal that suggests they are buyers at this season’s WHL trade deadline.

Less than two weeks before the Jan. 10 trade deadline, Everett made a move to upgrade its overagers, acquiring 20-year-old defenseman Parker Berge from the Regina Pats on Sunday in exchange for 20-year-old defenseman Ty Gibson and a second-round pick in the 2025 prospects draft.

Berge, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, is in the midst of a breakout campaign offensively. The 6-foot-1, 187-pounder ranks fourth in the league in scoring among defensemen with 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists) in 37 games, including an assist when he made his Everett debut in Monday’s 6-5 home loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. In his WHL career Berge has 15 goals and 60 assists in 184 games.

“Parker brings an offensive asset to our group,” Everett general manager and head coach Dennis Williams said in a press release. “We felt right now that we would like to add some depth to our offense and we felt like Parker checked those boxes for us.”

To add Berge the Tips had to free up an overage roster spot, and therefore were forced to part with a longtime organization member in Gibson. Gibson, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound native of Victoria, B.C., was selected by the Tips in the third round of the 2018 prospects draft. In 187 games over five seasons with Everett Gibson notched 10 goals and 46 assists, including two goals and 14 assists in 37 games this season.

“It’s really tough to part with Ty,” Williams said in the press release. “Being able to coach him and see him grow and develop not just on the ice but into a leadership role, I can’t say enough about what he’s done for our program.”

The deal to upgrade the roster indicates the Tips plan on being buyers ahead of this year’s trade deadline. Saturday’s 5-4 victory at Seattle, combined with Monday’s heartbreaking loss to Edmonton — in which the Oil Kings scored the go-ahead goal with 6.6 seconds remaining and won despite being outshot 43-20 — leaves Everett 22-14-1-1 and in third place in the U.S. Division, three points behind first-place Wenatchee. The Tips are solidly in fifth place in the Western Conference, and Everett is just two points away from having home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, despite a roster that’s been heavily affected by injuries.

Three stars of the week

Third star: Beau Courtney. The 19-year-old center scored two goals in Monday’s defeat. The goals came just over two minutes apart midway through the second period, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead, and the second one in particular was impressive as it came on a power move to the net.

Second star: Carter Bear. The 17-year-old winger had two goals and an assist against Edmonton. He consistently made himself a nuisance in front of the Oil Kings’ goal, with his first goal coming on a rebound as he got cross-checked to the ice, and the second on a redirection from in tight.

First star: Teague Patton. The 20-year-old winger finished with two goals and two assists across the two games. He was particularly lethal against Seattle when he posted two goals and an assist, and his goals popped up at important times. His first opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game, and his second gave Everett a 4-3 lead after the T-birds had scored three straight to tie it.

The week ahead

Everett has a challenging three-in-three weekend in which it faces the Western Conference’s top two teams by winning percentage.

The weekend begins Friday with a game at Portland. The Winterhawks (23-10-1-1) may be in second place in the U.S. Division, but they are just one point behind Wenatchee with three games in hand. Everett is just 1-4 against Portland this season. Winterhawks overage forward Gabe Klassen (18 goals, 45 assists) is third in the WHL in scoring, and he has 11 points in five games against the Tips.

Everett then welcomes Seattle to town on Saturday. The Thunderbirds (12-18-2-0) indicated they were sellers this year when they recently traded high-scoring forward Gracyn Sawchyn to Edmonton, though 20-year-old defenseman Jeremy Hanzel (eight goals, 22 assists) remains in the fold. Everett is 3-1 against Seattle this season.

The weekend concludes when the Tips entertain conference-leading Prince George on Sunday. The Cougars (26-10-0-0) have the league’s top two scorers in 18-year-old forward Riley Heidt (20 goals, 48 assists) and 20-year-old forward Zac Funk (37 goals, 28 assists). However, Prince George has had trouble with Everett as the Tips lead the season series 2-1.