EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips signed head coach Dennis Williams to a two-year contract extension through the 2022-2023 season, the team announced Wednesday.
Williams’ initial contract was set to expire following the 2020-2021 season. The terms of his new deal were not disclosed, aside from the length.
“I just think he’s done a terrific job here,” Silvertips general manager Garry Davidson said. “We have a quality young person that’s very capable at what he does and we offered him an extension, which I think was important for him … his family really enjoys it here as well and they’ve settled right in, so it made all the sense in the world to do that for him.”
Williams, 40, has compiled a 127-48-14 regular-season record and a 19-12 playoff record behind the Silvertips’ bench in two-plus seasons, the first of which he led Everett to its second-ever Western Hockey League finals appearance. The Silvertips have also won two U.S. Division titles in Williams’ tenure.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity,” Williams said. “A huge thanks to (owner) Bill (Yuill), (chief operating officer) Zoran (Rajcic) and Garry (Davidson) for giving me this opportunity two years back to coach the Everett Silvertips. I’ve absolutely enjoyed my time here and my family has, not just on the hockey front, but in the community in the Everett and Snohomish County areas, so to extend it a few years is a really exciting time for my family and myself.”
The contract extension doesn’t guarantee Williams will be here through 2022-2023 — it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think a professional opportunity could come up with his success in Everett, something Davidson says the organization would be fully supportive of. But the extension provides a sense of cohesiveness within the Silvertips infrastructure, from day-to-day hockey operations to recruiting prospective players.
“I think that’s part and parcel of it,” Davidson said. “It establishes continuity in a program that’s doing very well, so you’re putting continuity into the future here. When you’re talking with potential players, they’re going to be a lot more excited about coming into a situation where the head coach has committed and wrapped up to being here for a number of years.”
Since coming to Everett, Williams has risen up the ranks with Hockey Canada, serving as a head coach for one of its three teams at the 2018 World under-17 Hockey Challenge and as an assistant coach for Canada’s 2019 under-18 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup squad in the Czech Republic, which won a silver medal.
Williams, a Bowling Green graduate, held positions at Bloomington of the United States Hockey League and Amarillo of the North American Hockey League before taking over for his predecessor, Kevin Constantine, in Everett.
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