Game played on 11/24/2024.
General Game Notes: The hometown Rockets jumped out to a 3-0 lead but failed to hold off the explosive Silvertips and lost 4-3 in overtime. The Rockets were again led by two goals from Andrew Cristall, but a few miscues in the third resulted in three Everett goals, including one just 32 seconds in. The game winner was scored by Seattle draft pick Kaden Hammell who was very solid on the backend for the Silvertips.
Landon DuPont (D, R, 5’11”, 180, Everett Silvertips, 05/28/2009)
Grade: A-
Comments: Needless to say, Dupont is an elite player that brings elite skills to pretty well all aspects of the game. The only area that is lacking to this point is his size as he is a relatively small 5’11’ defenseman…but then again, he is still very young and makes up for it with compete and technique in the areas where needed. He is an excellent skater with great mobility, quickness and escapability. This allows him to be very elusive on puck retrievals and can accelerate out of trouble with ease. This ability is also on display in the neutral zone where he very effectively surfs would be attackers, many times before they can gain speed. His hockey IQ matches his high skill level, allowing him to many times read passes and pick them off in the neutral zone. He showed amazing poise and deception with the puck in all areas of the ice. On the tying goal while playing 4V4, he attacked a seam from his blue line position, had to reverse puck handle when the opportunity closed off, drew two players to him, and fed a perfect fade away pass to Rymon for a one timer goal. He is already very strong and sturdy on his skates which he shows in puck battles. In these battles he routinely demonstrates great skill by winning a race, and quickly jumping into his opponents skating lane preventing them from access to the puck. Defensively he was also very good having no difficulty on the down low coverage with hitting and pinning much bigger and older players. On this night he won a 73% of his battles, was third in ice time as a defenseman only behind two NHL draft picks and had two assists bringing season total points to 22 in 21 games.
Carter Bear (C, L, 6’0″, 180, Everett Silvertips, 11/04/2006)
Did not play – attending Prospects Game
Dominik Rymon (LW, L, 5’10”, 156, Everett Silvertips, 05/29/2004)
Grade: A-
Comments: Rymon is a very good player that is used by his coach in all situations for his team. He is on both the top penalty killing unit and power play, and was first on the ice in 3v3 overtime and also in 4v4 situations. He brings a high end overall skill set that includes being an excellent skater that is fast and moves very well laterally. He has very good hands that are quick, allowing him to make plays using his elusiveness in traffic, and move pucks quickly when players are available. He showed his great speed early in the game when he blocked a shot in his own end and accelerated between the two defenceman easily separating himself from them for a clear cut breakaway, which he did not score. On the powerplay he is comfortable either on the flank or quarterbacking from the top. It was while on the flank when he received a perfect pass from Dupont and released a hard one timer that went through goaltender Pilon. On this night, he led the way with two goals and one assist with nine shots on goal and a success rate in battles of 56%.
Tyler MacKenzie (LW, L, 5’10”, 186, Everett Silvertips, 06/04/2004)
Grade: A-
Comments: Mackenzie is a hard working, very good player that brings an excellent all-around skill set. He is a very good skater that has good top end speed but not elite. His very good puck handling skills coupled with his great vision allow him to be an excellent playmaker. With that, he showed great poise with the puck in the offensive zone on the Silvertips first goal. He carried the puck halfway around the outside of the zone creating confusion, spotted an open man and fired a great pass against the grain to him, who then passed it in front for an easy goal. On this night, he had two assists with no goals, but it’s easy to see why he can score…because he has a very good understanding of where to be, and an ability to jump into open space when available. He is a very reliable 200 foot player with visible leadership skills as you can often see him directing traffic in the defensive zone resulting in seamless downlow switches. On this night he won 62% of his face offs and a was very effective winning 71% of his battles. Given all of the aforementioned it makes sense he was on both top units of the powerplay and penalty kill. He also led all forwards on his team in ice time on this night.
Jesse Heslop (LW, L, 5’11”, 171, Everett Silvertips, 04/18/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: Heslop is not the biggest player, but he does skate well and has average top end speed. His combination of very good maneuverability and a hard worker allows him to be persistent and effective on hounding pucks. He handles the puck quite well and has quick hands which he uses effectively by making shifty plays in tight quarters. These hands were on display early in the game when he made a slick move in a one on one attack versus a defenseman by pulling the puck from the inside of the ice through his legs to the outside, then shielding it with his body and driving to the mid lane. On this night, he won 71% of his battles, a very good number considering his size. Reflecting on the previously mentioned thoughts, it is no surprise he is currently third on the team with 15 goals and on this night he was third on the team in ice time for forwards at 20:03. He plays on both special teams units for the Silvertips.
Julien Maze (RW, L, 5’8″, 165, Regina Pats, 12/07/2007)
Grade: B (Has since been traded to Regina)
Comments: Maze is a 2026 draft eligible player that has very good speed along with quick feet and excellent edge work making him very elusive for would be checkers. He is quite small in stature standing at 5 foot eight but he clearly possesses good offensive instincts as he displayed on many occasions when didn’t have the puck and would dart into open ice in the offensive zone looking to receive pucks from his teammates. He was also dangerous on the attack and used his quickness getting off the wall and attacking to the inside. These instincts also show through with his respectable stats to this point of six goals and 19 points. He does struggle with the physical aspect of the game as he only won 22% of his battles on this night. He also had difficulty in the defensive zone on several occasions making plays on the walls with pinching defenceman bearing down on him.
Brek Liske (D, R, 6’1″, 190, Everett Silvertips, 01/09/2008)
Grade: B+
Comments: Liske is a very poised 2008 that possesses many high-end skills. He is a very good skater with excellent speed and mobility, and does not hesitate to use it in many areas. He has very good puck skills and consistently handles it with his head up. He has a high IQ, shows great poise and never panics when he has possession. This was on clear display as he makes good decisions on whether to carry the puck and lead the attack, turn back and wait for his teams line change or, wheel and move it. He displayed good technique in net front battles with two hands on his stick and getting under the opponents stick on point shots. On retrievals he did a great job shielding oncoming players from the puck and making successful plays to his partner or making the simple play and getting it out of the zone. He plays the game in a very mature fashion for his age.
Caine Wilke (LW, L, 5’7″, 162, Everett Silvertips, 03/01/2008)
Grade: B
Comments: Wilke is an undersized player standing at 5’8′ and is draft eligible in 2026. He is a very hard-working player that brings it every shift over 200 feet. He is very quick and elusive in tight, along with possessing very good top and speed. He has very good hands that are strong on the puck and used these well protecting pucks on the wall on this night. Early in the game he had a battle on the wall with a much bigger player in Stancl of the Rockets. This extended over about 15 feet which really showed his excellent in tight skills and compete as he came off the wall with the puck and made a play. He shows very good awareness on the defensive zone coverage, understanding when to not over backcheck, stop, and fill his space while using his stick to his advantage to take away passing lanes. He does not mind giving and receiving contact, which does not slow down his high-end motor at all. He had a respectable 13:17 in time on the ice, produced five shots, was successful in 57% of his battles. Thus far this season he has shown he can also score as he has produced six goals.
Nate Corbet (D, L, 6’1″, 171, Kelowna Rockets, 03/15/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Corbet has brought a much needed element of compete and toughness to the Rocket’s lineup on a nightly basis. He is a very reliable defender that you know what you are going to get each and every night. He is by no means fancy, but he can get around the ice quite well and is a very capable puck handler that can consistently make plays. He works and battles very hard in front of his goalie using good technique with two hands on his stick while getting under the opponents stick on shots from the point. On this night he was fourth overall in ice time at 22:06 won an impressive 78% of his puck battles and had six shots on goal.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images