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WHL Everett Silvertips

Julius Miettinen Named WHL Rookie of the Week

January 8, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Everett Silvertips News Release


EVERETT, Wash. - Julius Miettinen has been dubbed the WHL Rookie of the Week for the week of Jan. 1-7.

Miettinen, an '06-born center from Helsinki, Finland, racked up five goals and two assists over four games played this week.

From the WHL official press release:

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound forward is currently fourth in scoring among rookies with 17 goals, 16 assists and a plus-9 rating in 41 games.

Miettinen struck first in a New Year's Day tilt against the Edmonton Oil Kings at Angel of the Winds Arena. Tied 1-1 in the first period, the Helsinki, Finland product gave Everett its first lead of the game by winning a faceoff, driving the net and backhanding a rebound into the Edmonton net. While the Silvertips would fall 6-5, Miettinen finished the game with a plus-one rating, three shots on net and won 58 percent of his faceoffs.

Miettinen would show off that nose for the net in his next game out against the Portland Winterhawks. With Everett on a powerplay, Miettinen parked himself in the Hawks slot and redirected a bobbling puck that came off the shattered stick of Jesse Heslop. The Tips would fall to the division-leading Winterhawks in the shootout, but it wouldn't take long to get back in the win column.

The powerful Finn opened the scoring for a second straight game by hacking away at rebounds in front of the Thunderbirds net until the red light went on. He made a similar furious effort in the second half of the third period, with the puck squeaking out to Captain Ben Hemmerling to score the game-winner. He'd put a final stamp on the game as Seattle fought for an equalizing third goal, hunting down a defender and stealing the puck at the Seattle blue line before firing the puck into the empty net for his 16th tally of the season.

The week would culminate with a statement win over the nationally ranked Prince George Cougars on home ice. Miettinen was involved in the game-opening goal once again, this time, by flipping the puck out of the defensive zone to break out Andrew Petruk and assist on Hemmerling's lamp-lighter. Early in the second period, Miettinen jumped on a rebound, pulled the puck away from the aggressive stick of a Cougars defender and lofted it glove side to make it 3-0. The Cougars would try to force a comeback, but Miettinen's marker would stand as his third game-winning goal of the season.

This marks the second time Miettinen has been named Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week.

Miettinen was selected by Everett 30th overall in the 2023 CHL Import Draft and was assigned a 'C' rating by the NHL Central Scouting Service in the fall, projecting him as a fourth-to-sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Miettinen is one of 18 WHL players invited to the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, N.B. on January 24.

Everett (24-14-1-2) is third in the competitive U.S. Division and has points in seven of its past 10 games.

Next up, the Silvertips hit the road for an away-and-home set against the Kamloops Blazers (9-24-3-2) starting January 12.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 8, 2024


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