Silvertips notebook: 20th season home opener set for Sept. 24

The Everett Silvertips are heading into their landmark 20th season, and some of the earliest game dates are now known.

Everett’s home opener will be against the Vancouver Giants on Saturday Sept. 24 at Angel of the Winds Arena, the team announced Monday. Puck drop is at 6 p.m.

Everett is coming off a season in which it finished 45-13-5-5 and in first place in both the U.S. Division and Western Conference, but the Tips were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Vancouver.

Everett also announced its preseason schedule. The Tips will host their annual Everett Preseason Showcase on Sept. 9-11 at Angel of the Winds Arena, with all five U.S. Division teams taking part as two games are played each day. Everett faces Spokane on Sept. 9, Tri-City on Sept. 10 and Portland on Sept. 11. The Tips will also face Tri-City on Sept. 16 and Seattle on Sept. 17 as part of Tri-City’s preseason tournament.

The rest of Everett’s regular season schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

Holt gets USA Hockey call

Everett goaltender Braden Holt has been invited by USA Hockey to attend its national junior evaluation camp. Holt was one of 60 players, including five goaltenders, who were invited to the camp, which takes place July 24-Aug. 3 in Plymouth, Michigan. He is the only WHL player on the roster.

The camp will be used as a tool to help pick the team that represents the U.S. at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships. The 2022 World Junior tournament, which was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak, was rescheduled for Aug. 9-20 in Edmonton, Alberta, and the U.S. is likely to field most of the team that was originally selected. Holt, who was not a part of the original 2022 roster, has a better shot of making the team for the 2023 tournament, which is Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick.

Holt, a native of Bozeman, Montana, who’s heading into his 19-year-old season, was half of Everett’s goaltending platoon last season, sharing duties with the since-traded Koen MacInnes. Holt finished the season 24-6-4 with a 2.56 goals against average and .909 save percentage.

Tips sign Bear

Everett added another commitment from its 2006-born class by inking forward Carter Bear to a standard player agreement.

Bear, a native of West St. Paul, Manitoba, was selected by Everett in the sixth round of the 2021 WHL prospects draft. The 5-foot-10, 150 pounder played last season with the Winnipeg Thrashers of the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League, where in 39 games he scored 25 goals and dished out 17 assists.

Bear joins defensemen Tarin Smith (first round) and Cameron Sytsma (sixth round) and forward Jesse Heslop (third round) as 2021 draftees who have signed with the Tips, meaning Everett has commitments from its first four selections. The upcoming season will be their 16-year-old campaign and thus the first they’re eligible to play for the Tips full-time.

Smith tabbed by Hockey Canada

Speaking of Smith, he was one of 100 players invited by Hockey Canada to participate in its U-17 development camp, which takes place July 10-16 in Calgary, Alberta. The camp will help Canada select its three teams for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, which takes place Nov. 5-12 in Langley and Delta, B.C.

Smith, who hails from Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, was selected 20th overall in the 2021 prospects draft. Last season he recorded six goals and 28 assists in 43 games with the Saskatoon Blazers of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League, earning second-team All-Star honors. He also played in three regular season games and one playoff game with Everett as a call-up.