WHL Everett Silvertips

Mueller Wins WHL Rookie of the Year

Published on May 9, 2006 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Everett Silvertips News Release


Last week was a very big week for the Everett Silvertips Hockey Club. For the second time in franchise history a member of the Silvertips received a WHL award at the year end award banquet in Calgary, AB. Silvertips forward Peter Mueller was the recipient of the Jim Piggott Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year. Silvertips Director of Player Personnel, Scott Scoville and his scouting also had a big week by selecting the future of the Silvertips organization by choosing 12 players in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft.

MUELLER CAPTURES WHL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Everett Silvertips forward Peter Mueller was recognized by the Western Hockey League as the 2005-2006 recipient of the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for becoming the WHL Rookie of the Year.

Mueller finished tied for 2nd in the WHL in Rookie scoring with 58 points. The Bloomington, Minnesota native ended his first season in the WHL with 26 goals and 32 assists in 52 games which ranked him 4th on the Silvertips in scoring. Mueller also finished 2nd on the Silvertips in goals scored (26) and tied for 4th on the hockey club in assists (32). During the 2006 WHL Playoffs, Mueller ended the playoffs tied for 2nd on the hockey club in scoring with 13 points in 15 post season games. He also led the team in playoff goals (7) and tied for 4th on the club in playoff assists (6). Twice he was named Greyhound WHL Player of the Week (weeks of October 17-23 and April 3-9). He played for Team USA at the 2006 World Junior Championships and played in the Home Hardware 2006 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Mueller becomes the first Silvertips player to win a major post season award. In 2003-04 Head Coach Kevin Constantine won the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy award for Coach of the Year.

Mueller is currently ranked 6th among all North American Skaters from NHL Central Scouting and is expected to be the first Silvertip in franchise history to be drafted by an NHL franchise.

Brandon Sutter of the Red Deer Rebels finished in second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Sutter has 46 points (22 goals, 24 assists) in 68 games. Brandon's father, Brent, is the Rebels head coach and is a veteran of 18 seasons in the NHL

The Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the WHL's top rookie player based on balloting conduct by the leagues General Managers and Head Coaches. The award is named after Jim Piggott who was the founder of the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, as well as one of the first presidents of the league.

In the 40 year old history of the WHL, 43 players have been awarded the Jim Piggott Trophy with 32 recipients of the award moving on and playing in the National Hockey League.

SILVERTIPS FINALISTS FOR TWO OTHER AWARDS

The Silvertips would like to congratulate forward John Lammers for becoming a finalist for the Brad Hornung Trophy as the Most Sportsmanlike Player in the WHL. Lammers finished his first season with the Silvertips leading the team in regular season scoring with 38 goals and 37 assists for 75 points. Also a big congratulations to the Silvertips marketing staff in Zoran Rajcic and Mike MacCulloch for becoming a finalist for the WHL Marketing/Public Relations Award. The Silvertips averaged over 6100 fans at the Everett Events Center this season and has helped in making the Everett Events Center on of the loudest hockey arenas in the CHL.

SILVERTIPS SELECT TOCHKIN IN 1ST ROUND

The 2005-2006 U.S. Division Champions, Everett Silvertips selected forward Kellan Tochkin in the 1st Round (13th Overall) in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft held in Calgary, AB. Tochkin recorded big numbers for the Abbotsford Hawks in Bantam AAA by leading the team in scoring with 57 goals and 50 assists in 49 games this season. The Abbotsford, BC native also help lead the Hawks to a Gold Medal at the 2006 Western Canadian Bantam AAA Hockey Championships in Kelowna, BC. The 5'10", 160 pound forward was selected as Tournament MVP by leading all players in scoring with 14 points in 5 games.

"He is a very dynamic hockey player that can finish and has a wonderful ability to pass the puck," mentions Silvertips Director of Player Personnel, Scott Scoville. "Kellan reminds me of a Zach Hamill and an Alex Leavitt type player and we are very pleased to welcome Kellan to the Silvertips family."

In the previous three drafts, the Silvertips selected Zach Hamill in the 1st Round (3rd Overall) in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft, Eric Doyle in the 1st Round (15th Overall) in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft and Kyle Beach in the 1st Round (10th Overall) in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft. The WHL Bantam Draft is a talent identification process which serves as the first opportunity for WHL teams to add players in the bantam age group, 1991 birthdates, to their respective 50 player lists.

SILVERTIPS 2006 BANTAM DRAFT SELECTIONS

1st Round (13th Overall): Kellan Tochkin (RW)-Abbotsford, BC

2nd Round (34th Overall): Jeff Regier (D)-Abbotsford, BC

3rd Round (55th Overall): Brody Moen (RW)-Kamloops, BC

5th Round (98th Overall): Paul Sohor (D)-Winnipeg, MB

6th Round (118th Overall): Michael Smith (G)-Spokane, WA

7th Round (139th Overall): Ryan White (C)-Parker, CO

8th Round (160th Overall): Wade Zakalunzny (D)-Glen Bain, SK

9th Round (181st Overall): Paul Grenier (LW)-Winnipeg, MB

10th Round (190th Overall): Riley Halwa (RW)-Grand Prairie, AB

10th Round (202nd Overall): Ben Wilson (D)-Calgary, AB

11th Round (223rd Overall): Zach Budish (C)-Edina, MN

12th Round (244th Overall): Brett Gagnon (G)-Winnipeg, MB

AFTER 3 SEASONS.................

After three seasons in the WHL the Silvertips have posted 108 wins, 82 losses, 17 ties, 6 overtime losses and 3 shootout losses in 216 regular season games. The Silvertips are also the fastest modern expansion WHL team to reach 100 wins. The Silvertips all time post season record is 24 wins and 23 losses in 47 playoff games. The Silvertips have won a total of 6 playoff series in their first three seasons. Everett's all time playoff overtime record is 7-4.

SILVERTIPS TOP 5 ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON SCORERS

1. Torrie Wheat: 126 points

2. Shaun Heshka: 107 points

3. Zach Hamill: 94 points

4. John Lammers: 75 points

5. Peter Mueller: 58 points

SILVERTIPS TOP 5 ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON GOAL SCORERS

1. Torrie Wheat: 49 goals

2. John Lammers: 38 goals

3. Zach Hamill and Karel Hromas: 29 goals

4. Peter Mueller: 26 goals

5. Shaun Heshka and John Dahl: 25 goals

SILVERTIPS TOP 5 ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON ASSIST LEADERS

1. Shaun Heshka: 82 assists

2. Torrie Wheat: 77 assists

3. Zach Hamill: 65 assists

4. John Lammers: 37 assists

5. Brady Calla: 36 assists

SILVERTIPS TOP 5 ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON LEADERS IN GAMES PLAYED

1. Shaun Heshka: 204 games

2. Torrie Wheat: 174 games

3. Mark Kress: 171 games

4. Cody Thoring: 163 games

5. Ryan Blatchford: 138 games

SILVERTIPS ALL-TIME GOALTENDING REGULAR SEASON RECORDS

GAMES PLAYED

1. Leland Irving and Michael Wall: 91 games

2. Jeff Harvey: 48 games

3. Matt Esposito: 15 games

MINUTES PLAYED

1. Leland Irving: 4931 minutes

2. Michael Wall: 4848 minutes

3. Jeff Harvey: 2684 minutes

GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE

1. Leland Irving: 1.88

2. Jeff Harvey: 1.97

3. Michael Wall: 1.99

SAVE PERCENTAGE

1. Michael Wall: .928%

2. Leland Irving and Jeff Harvey: .926%

3. Matt Esposito: .904%

WINS

1. Leland Irving: 46 wins

2. Michael Wall: 35 wins

3. Jeff Harvey: 24 wins

SHUTOUTS

1. Michael Wall: 12 shutouts

2. Leland Irving: 6 shutouts

3. Jeff Harvey: 3 shutouts

Check out the Everett Silvertips Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from May 9, 2006


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