Silvertips at midseason: Plenty of credit to go around

The Everett Silvertips are once again outperforming expectations.

Last season, even with Carter Hart — one of the best goaltenders in the history of the Western Hockey League — returning, the Silvertips were expected to take a step back under first-year head coach Dennis Williams. Tri-City and Portland were the popular choices to claim the U.S. Division and contend for a Western Conference title.

Instead, Williams’ up-tempo style unlocked a high-scoring forward group and Hart’s stability in net guided Everett to the WHL finals.

This season, despite Matt Fonteyne, Kevin Davis and Patrick Bajkov having aged out of the league after stellar overage seasons, and Hart, Garrett Pillon and Ondrej Vala moving on to professional careers, the Silvertips are once again atop the U.S. Division.

There’s a host of reasons for Everett’s success under Williams this season. But the primary one, according to Silvertips captain Connor Dewar, is maintaining the culture that was established last year.

“I think the veteran guys we’ve had have been really good with leadership and upholding the culture left behind by guys like (Noah) Juulsen, Fonteyne, Bajkov and Davis,” Dewar said. “The young guys have also done a good job of buying in.”

With 32 games remaining in Everett’s regular-season schedule, the Silvertips sit atop the Western Conference with a 27-7-1-1 record and 56 points. They headed into the Christmas break scorching hot, claiming a point in 14 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 17.

There’s no guarantee the Silvertips will be crowned Western Conference regular-season champions — Vancouver lurks just 10 points behind and with four games in hand. But during a stellar first half of the season, Everett appears to have positioned itself as the team to beat in the West.

Here’s some observations — in the form of midseason awards — from the first half:

Most outstanding player: Connor Dewar

Dewar is the heart and soul of the Silvertips and it showed in the first half. Not only does he lead Everett in goals and points, but his steady leadership has been a major asset. It’s doubtful you’ll find a 19-year-old who hates losing more than Dewar, and his blend of effort and skill are a spectacle.

Honorable mention: Dustin Wolf, Wyatte Wylie, Riley Sutter

Most valuable player: Dustin Wolf

To outsiders, the elephant looming over the Silvertips’ dressing room was whether the 17-year-old Wolf would be able to sufficiently take the reins from Hart, who’s now playing in the NHL. It was a fair question. Even though Wolf showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie, Hart was a three-time Del Wilson award winner — for the WHL’s best goaltender — and the only player to win CHL goaltender of the year twice in his career.

With each start this season Wolf has demonstrated the question marks surrounding Everett’s goaltending were much ado about nothing. Ask anyone with the Silvertips and they’ll tell you that hasn’t come as a major revelation.

“I absolutely expected this out of him,” Dewar said. “He’s the most down-to-earth, calm and resilient person I’ve ever met. To be a goalie, I think those are very important traits.”

“I’m not super surprised, because I felt that Wolfie would come in and do what he’s done,” Silvertips general manager Garry Davidson said. “I was fairly confident in what we thought we had in Mr. Wolf.”

Drawing conclusions from limited sample sizes is a dangerous game, but Wolf boasts better numbers than Hart over the first half of their 17-year-old seasons. Take a look:

Hart: 31 games, 1.97 goal against average, .925 save percentage.

Wolf: 34 games, 1.82 GAA, .930 save percentage.

It would be unreasonable to expect Wolf to match Hart’s lofty achievements, but he’s on the right track.

Best defenseman: Wyatte Wylie

You could make a strong case for three of Everett’s other defensemen — Jake Christiansen, Artyom Minulin and Sahvan Khaira. But Wylie stands out because of his sturdy play in the defensive zone and his increased offensive presence. His 23 assists are second among Everett skaters and tied for seventh among WHL defensemen.

Honorable mention: Christiansen, Khaira, Minulin

Unsung hero: Bryce Kindopp

Although it’s unconventional for a player with 17 goals just over halfway through the season to be regarded as an unsung hero, Kindopp’s goal production and performance as a 19-year-old have been keys to Everett’s first-half success. He’s recognized here for his strong two-way game and the willingness to do the “dirty work” offensively by screening shots and deflecting shots around the net.

“Kindopp has really started to get it going,” Davidson said. “He’s always traditionally been a slow starter. In the last six or seven games he’s really picked it up.”

Honorable mention: Khaira, Minulin, Martin Fasko-Rudas

Best addition: Sahvan Khaira

Any one of the former Swift Current trio — Khaira, Max Patterson and Minulin — is a strong candidate for this award. They each offer a unique skill set that’s blended well with the dynamic already in place. But what puts Khaira, an overage defenseman, at the top of this list is his leadership intangibles and his physical presence, which is well regarded in the Silvertips’ dressing room. He wears an assistant captain’s “A” on his sweater for a reason.

Honorable mention: Minulin

Best rookie: Jackson Berezowski

The 16-year-old from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, leads Everett’s’ rookies with six goals and has earned the trust of the coaching staff by displaying an all-around game at an early age.

Honorable mentions: Ronan Seeley, Gage Goncalves

Best win: Oct. 6 at Portland

This Sunday game was the final contest of a three-in-three and Everett pulled out a gritty 4-2 win over the Winterhawks on the road. The victory was a tremendous showing from the Silvertips on the penalty kill, with the Winterhawks going 0-for-10 on the power play.

The triumph stands out because, at that point, Everett was still searching for its identity as a team. The resilience displayed set the tone for the rest of the first half.

Best individual performance: 43 saves from Wolf on Dec. 8.

As terrific as Wolf has been this season, he hasn’t needed to bail the Silvertips out night after night. But he was tremendous in this 2-1 win over Seattle, setting his career-high for saves.

Best game: Nov. 17 vs. Vancouver

A 6-5 Everett win featured two interdivision heavyweights going toe-to-toe at Angel of the Winds Arena. A Western Conference Finals preview, perhaps?

Best save: Wolf on Sept. 21 at Vancouver

This save from Mr. Wolf on opening night in Langley will be tough to beat.