SERIES PREVIEW: (8) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (1) Everett Silvertips

Fresh off of clinching the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions, the Everett Silvertips are getting greedy as they begin the chase for an even bigger piece of hardware.

The 10-time U.S. Division champs have never missed the WHL Playoffs, but they’re still on the hunt for their first Ed Chynoweth Cup.

After an incredible regular season that saw the ‘Tips pile up 48 wins, the team has one of their best-ever opportunities for a deep playoff run.

Top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward Carter Bear led Everett’s potent scoring attack in the regular season, though the projected first-round pick is unlikely to participate in the postseason after a late lower-body injury. The forward group is still in good hands with veteran Tyler MacKenzie, Dominik Rymon and Jesse Heslop all breezing past the 20-goal mark.

The team also got a late boost with the return of Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest, who has seven points (3G-4A) in seven games heading into the postseason.

Seattle Kraken prospect and co-captain Kaden Hammell has anchored the WHL’s stingiest defence along with Calgary Flames prospect Eric Jamieson, Anaheim Ducks pick Tarin Smith, and Landon DuPont, the first exceptional status defenceman to compete in the WHL full-time at 15 years old.

DuPont led all WHL rookies in scoring and sits sixth among all defencemen with 60 points (17G-43A) in his first season.

Netminder Jesse Sanche posted his first 20-win season and was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for September/October while sitting fifth in goals-against average (2.65). Rookie Raiden LeGall has stepped in to form the league’s best goaltending tandem with a WHL Goaltender of the Month win in January and the league’s best save percentage (.921) and goals-against average (2.17).

Standing in their way are the upstart Seattle Thunderbirds, whose astounding climb in the second half of the regular season saw the young group climb into the eighth and final berth in the Western Conference to return to the postseason for the first time since winning it all in 2023.

Despite sporting the worst record in the West on January 1, 2025, Seattle went on a 19-11-2-0 tear to clinch a playoff berth and enter the postseason on a four-game win streak.

Captain and top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Braeden Cootes has paced his team with 63 points (26G-37A), while Nathan Pilling led the T-Birds in goals with 34, highlighted by a four-goal night against the powerhouse Spokane Chiefs on March 1, 2025.

Seattle has also seen strong performances from imports Radim Mrtka (3G-32A) and Matej Pekar (17G-15A), while General Manager Bil La Forge bought in more championship experience with 2024 Ed Chynoweth Cup winner Brayden Schuurman (13G-25A).

Netminder Scott Ratzlaff posted a third-straight 20-plus win season and is now second in wins among active WHL netminders with 87.

The Buffalo Sabres prospect made the third-most saves (1480) of any WHL goaltender while sitting sixth in save percentage (.910). Ratzlaff, 20, was named WHL Goaltender of the Week in mid-February and signed his entry-level deal with Buffalo in October.

Current T-Birds Hyde Davidson, Coster Dunn, and then-backup netminder Ratzlaff were a part of the 2023 Championship run, while Braeden Cootes was practicing with the team throughout the postseason and Memorial Cup.

Everett is 6-1-0-1 against Seattle in 2024-25.

Game 1 takes place on Friday night at Everett’s Angel of the Winds Arena.

All four regular-season meetings between Everett and Seattle at AOTW sold out, with 8,249 fans piling in for each game.

Every match of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien will be streamed for free on Victory+.

 

2024-25 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Regular Season Series: Everett leads 6-1-0-1
November 16, 2024- Everett 5, Seattle 2
December 7, 2024- Seattle 1, Everett 4
December 27, 2024- Everett 5, Seattle 3
December 28, 2024- Seattle 1, Everett 6
January 11, 2025- Everett 4, Seattle 5 (SO)
January 25, 2025- Seattle 1 Everett 6
February 22, 2025- Everett 1, Seattle 3
February 28, 2025- Seattle 1, Everett 2

GAME BREAKERS

Seattle: Cootes turned heads at the first-ever CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada back in November and continued to dazzle afterward. The 18-year-old nearly doubled his offensive totals in his sophomore WHL season while cementing his reputation as a Tasmanian devil who’s always raring to get in the mix- whether it’s a hard board battle or a fearless drive to the opponent’s net. Ranked 21st among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, Cootes led the charge against Everett with five goals and four assists in eight regular-season meetings. All eyes will be on the Seattle Captain as he makes his WHL postseason debut on Friday.

Everett: An injury-shortened season prevented 2024 Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen from making a ton of noise, but the Finnish import managed to pot 39 points (11G-28A) in 37 games. He logged three assists to set up a Carter Bear hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Thunderbirds on November 16, 2024, and netted a goal and assist in seven games to clinch a silver medal at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with Finland. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound centreman is a near-immoveable force when parked in front of his opponent’s net and looks to be a key player for the Silvertips in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

GOALTENDING

Seattle: Scott Ratzlaff is finally ready to see playoff ice in his fourth full WHL season. He spent his early seasons backing up Thunderbirds great Thomas Milic and will draw on that experience come Friday night.  Ratzlaff picked up both of Seattle’s wins against Everett in the regular season and was first star eight times this season. He holds a .904 save percentage against Everett and is 6-2-1-0 in games where he faces 40 or more shots.

Everett: Another player making his WHL Playoffs debut, Jesse Sanche is coming off a regular season to remember. He won nearly two-thirds of his games in his first season as Everett’s starter and would likely be among the league’s wins leaders if it wasn’t for a midseason injury. The 19-year-old from Kelowna, B.C. is 2-1-0-0 against Seattle in the regular season with a 2.37 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

X FACTOR

Seattle: At 6-foot-6, 216 pounds, defenceman Radim Mrtka will be the biggest player on the ice in this series. The Czech blueliner moves incredibly well for his size and has become a key feature on Seattle’s first powerplay unit and penalty kill since joining the team in November of 2024. Mrtka has only been held off the scoresheet once against Everett this season and has logged seven assists against the U.S. Division Rival. The 17-year-old is ranked sixth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and clocked in at 15th overall on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s latest draft list.

Everett: He’s super DuP-er. Fifteen-year-old Landon DuPont’s statement rookie season saw him become the first defenceman aged 16 or younger to surpass 50 points in a season since Kamloops Blazers legend and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Scott Niedermayer in 1989-90. The youngster was also one of Everett’s most prolific scorers against Seattle this season, piling up three goals and six assists for nine points in eight games. Now, it’s time for a new challenge as the Calgary, Alta. product makes his WHL Playoffs debut.

2025 WHL PLAYOFFS SERIES SCHEDULE