The WHL’s Everett Silvertips Are Ready to Roar

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2003

By Lucas Aykroyd

At last count, Washington State’s grizzly bear population only numbered between 40 and 50. But the Everett Silvertips plan to bring the bear back big-time in their inaugural WHL season. They’re taking an aggressive approach as an expansion franchise, and if things work out, it’ll be their opponents who wind up on the endangered species list.

“Silvertips,” the alternative name for the grizzlies that roam the Cascade Mountains overlooking Everett, was chosen as the winning suggestion from 1,000 entries in last year’s “Name the Team” contest. It’s one part of creating an identity. Yet much more has gone into giving this newborn hockey cub some teeth.

It all began on April 19, 2002 when WHL commissioner Ron Robison announced the league had awarded Everett a team in the US Division for 2003-04. This would make Everett the WHL’s fifth current American site and 20th franchise overall.

The scenic city of 100,000 inhabitants is home to a naval base and Boeing plant, but has never had a major junior hockey team. Previously, locals had to drive two hours up to Vancouver to watch the Giants or head south to Seattle for the Thunderbirds.

But Bill Yuill, the Alberta entrepreneur who had operated the Thunderbirds since 1989, decided to sell his Seattle stake and ante up a $2-million expansion fee to take ownership of this exciting opportunity and build a hockey culture in Everett.

Leadership in the front office is where it starts, and the hiring of Doug Soetaert as general manager means the Silvertips won’t be lacking in that department.

The 47-year-old Edmonton native was the architect of the 1992 Turner Cup champion Kansas City Blades, spending 11 seasons with the IHL franchise. Soetaert’s cumulative record with Kansas City was an impressive 437-378-85, and he helped develop the likes of Mike Rathje and Patrick Lalime into valuable NHLers.

Soetaert himself springboarded to an NHL goaltending career from the major junior Edmonton Oil Kings. In a way, his new job brings him full circle.

“The WHL is the grassroots of hockey,” Soetaert said. “After being successful in the minor pros for as long as I was, I could have gone elsewhere in those lower leagues, but I felt this was a great opportunity in a nice town with a brand new team.”

Naturally, running an expansion team isn’t all honey and blueberries, and Soetaert recognizes that.

“I think the biggest challenge has been that we started with nothing. Getting myself familiar with the players in the league and how the league is run was a challenge. But in Year One, we’ve already come away with great people who are very committed to our success.”

One of them is Kevin Constantine, who agreed to become Everett’s head coach after 378 games behind the bench in the NHL. By starting from the bottom up, does that make Constantine a glutton for punishment? Not when you consider his track record.

“More coincidentally than not, I’ve been in this situation before in my career,” Constantine said. “The Kansas City Blades, where I met Doug Soetaert, were into their second year when I arrived. The San Jose Sharks were into their third year. I started a Junior A franchise in Pittsburgh that was brand new.”

Constantine achieved unexpected success with his underdog teams. For example, he remains the only coach in NHL history to lead two eighth-place seeds to first-round playoff upsets (San Jose over Detroit in 1994 and Pittsburgh over New Jersey in 1999).

“I enjoy these situations because it’s always fun to try to do well when the odds or history say you’re really not supposed to for a few years,” said Constantine.

The 44-year-old native of International Falls, Minnesota is often typecast as a growly defensive-minded disciplinarian, but he believes the perception is overblown.

“There’s nothing wrong with being good defensively, but nobody wins without being adequate or pretty good offensively. I dedicate an equal amount of time to both halves of the game. In terms of discipline, it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking sports, life, business or anything else. If you don’t have a plan and follow it with some degree of discipline, you won’t be successful no matter what you are.”

Constantine will instill that professional approach in his young Silvertips with the help of assistants John Becanic and Jay Varady, who have accompanied him from the 2003 North American Hockey League champion Pittsburgh Forge.

Defenseman Ivan Baranka (Slovakia) and forward Martin Ruzicka (Czech Republic) were chosen second and 58th overall by Everett at the 2003 CHL Import Draft. But the WHL Expansion Draft yielded the core of this team.

Key forwards could include Barry Horman, a 22-goal scorer with Spokane last year, and Jeff Schmidt, who got 39 points with limited ice time in Kamloops. The team also has high hopes for hard-working 17-year-old prospects like Devin Welsh, Jovan Matic and Curtis Billsten.

On the blueline, watch for 19-year-old Mitch Love to add color and toughness. No teddy bear, he led the WHL penalty parade with 327 PIM for Swift Current last year. Stewart Thiessen and Ryan Blatchford bring more experience than most other Everett defensemen, as each logged 50-odd WHL games in 2002-03.

In goal, Jeff Harvey is expected to carry the load. The 20-year-old veteran is coming off a 22-win, two-shutout season with a 2.99 GAA in Swift Current. “He’s committed to playing here and trying to prove people wrong,” said Soetaert.

But Harvey and his teammates won’t be able to beat the odds every night. To maintain public interest in a non-traditional hockey town, marketing will be a big key.

The centerpiece of this effort is the new $85-million Everett Event Center, located downtown with a capacity of 8,250. The team hopes to average 5,500 to 6,000 fans per game, and season ticket sales are currently advancing toward the target of 2,500.

An NHL-style lighting show will jazz up the game presentation, and fans can shop at a large merchandise store that will be open days as well as game nights.

“We’re putting a lot of value into it because the people here are more sports fans than hockey fans at this point,” said director of marketing Zoran Rajcic. “Whether we win or lose, we want people to feel they’ll get value when they come to a game.”

The success of the Everett Aquasox, the single-A baseball club affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, creates optimism that the Silvertips can win local hearts too.

As the anchor tenant for the arena, the team has signed a 10-year agreement with the city of Everett. The Event Center will likely get a new corporate name that could go for $200,000 to $500,000 a year for 10 to 15 years.

Ultimately, it’ll be up to the Silvertips to justify their name as fierce predators. And history might be on their side. The last bear-themed WHL team, the New Westminster Bruins, won four league titles and two Memorial Cups.

“Short-term, we want to set the bar high,” Soetaert said. “We want to be a hard-working hockey club and compete every night. Long-term, we want to build a championship team.