The Everett Silvertips will raise two banners into the rafters at XFINITY Arena when the 2017-18 regular-season opens.
However, Kevin Constantine, the head coach who was behind the bench as the team finished atop the Western Conference and U.S. Division, won’t be there.
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| Kevin Constantine no longer is the head coach of the WHL's Everett Silvertips. (Photo: Everett Silvertips) |
The Silvertips announced Tuesday that they won’t be renewing his contract when it expires on May 31.
“They just told me they weren’t going to rehire me,” Constantine told Jesse Gelenyse of the Everett Herald. “There wasn’t any discussion of (why). It was just ‘You’re not being rehired.’ It was a very short conversation.”
The futures of assistant coaches Mitch Love and Brennan Sonne, and goaltending coach Shane Clifford, weren’t addressed yesterday. Their contracts also are up on May 31.
Garry Davidson, the Silvertips’ general manager, said in a news release that the organization now will focus on the May 4 WHL bantam draft, then will look at hiring a head coach.
The Silvertips are owned by The Monarch Corporation, a private investment company that is headquartered in Medicine Hat and is under the control of Bill Yuill, its chairman and CEO.
The Silvertips just completed their 14th season in the WHL. Constantine has been the head coach for eight of those (2003-07, 2013-17).
The Silvertips have never missed the WHL playoffs; they also have two 100-point regular seasons to their credit, both of them under Constantine.
This season, they finished 44-16-12, for 100 points. They took out the Victoria Royals in a six-game first-round series, then were swept by the Seattle Thunderbirds. A year ago, Seattle won a second-round series from Everett in five games. In the spring of 2014, Everett lost a first-round series to Seattle in five games.
Constantine’s Everett teams always have had strong defensive games — this season, the Silvertips allowed 169 goals, the best in the WHL by 29 goals. However, their offence — 229 goals — was 15th.
It is believed that Everett management would like to see its team play a more wide-open game in the hopes of improving attendance.
Davidson left the Portland Winterhawks — he was their director of player personnel — to take over as Everett’s general manager on Feb. 15, 2012. He hired Constantine in time for the 2013-14 season.
It is evident that there were philosophical differences between Constantine and Davidson.
“I think I said when I came here we were at the opposite end of the spectrum,” Davidson told Gelenyse, “so that hasn’t changed. I hoped we would grow more together (but) I don’t think we ever did very much.”
Despite finishing atop the Western Conference, the Silvertips experience the lowest regular-season average attendance (4,865) in their 14 seasons. They play out of the 8,149-seat XFINITY Arena.
Their average attendance peaked at 6,460 in 2006-07, but has been under 5,000 in three of the past four seasons.
In looking for a coach who likes an up-tempo game you wonder if the Silvertips might consider Kyle Gustafson, who has been on the coaching staff of the Portland Winterhawks for 12 seasons, 10 as an assistant coach and two as associate coach. He has spent the brunt of that time working alongside general manager/head coach Mike Johnston, who loves that kind of game.
Having worked with the Winterhawks and with being in the same division, Davidson will be quite familiar with Gustafson’s work.
As a WHL head coach, Constantine, a 58-year-old native of International Falls, Minn., has 326 regular-season victories, good for 21st spot on the all-time list.
Constantine also has bead-coaching experience in the NHL, with the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.
There now are two WHL teams without head coaches.
The Spokane Chiefs announced on March 30 that Don Nachbaur, the third-winningest head coach in WHL history, was being relieved of his duties. Nachbaur had one year left on his contract.
Gelenyse’s complete story is right here.
The Tri-City Americans have named Rejean Beauchemin as the team’s goaltending coach, while adding Jerry Price as goaltending consultant. . . . Beauchemin, 30, replaces Lyle Mast, who is exploring pro options after three years with the Americans. . . . Beauchemin, from Winnipeg, played three seasons (2002-05) with the Prince Albert Raiders before going on to a pro career that ended after 2011-12. He has been working as a strength and conditioning coach and a goaltending instructor. . . . Price is a former WHL and pro goaltender who also is the father of Montreal Canadiens G Carey Price, who played for the Americans.
2. It was great to see head coach Todd McLellan guide Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World championship in Czech Republic over the past few weeks. Hockey can be a cruel business but, even by those standards, he really got stiffed by the San Jose Sharks. He’ll get over it as the head coach of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (aka Young Guns).
4. How do you feel if you’re a season-ticket holder with the Prince Albert Raiders? First, a couple of the WHL’s premier players moved from the Raiders to the Kelowna Rockets, with thanks to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The Rockets then went on to win the WHL championship, with one of those players named the playoff MVP. The Raiders, of course, didn’t make the playoffs and, on top of all that, the WHL commissioner has told the world that “in order for the Prince Albert Raiders to be viable long term, a new facility is required.” . . . Other than that, Raiders fans, how has your month been?
8. In Tyler Johnson’s last two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, he was the best faceoff man and best penalty killer I had seen in a long while. But who knew the Tampa Bay Lightning star would be able to score like this at the NHL level? . . . If you missed it, he had the first playoff hat trick in Lightning history last night in a 6-2 victory over the Rangers in New York. He leads all playoff scorers in goals (11) and points (16). His 11 goals are four more than anyone else.
Matthews. Matthews, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and he is a game-changer. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Everett Silvertips, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Matthews is said to be deciding between Everett, the ZSC Lions, a Swiss pro team based in Zurich, and an NCAA school. I’m thinking the NCAA is out, so it’s between Everett and Lions. . . . One thing is for certain: Everett GM Garry Davidson says that, regardless of what you may have heard, the Matthews camp hasn’t asked the Silvertips to trade his WHL rights. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more 
The second-round AHL series between the Utica Comets and Oklahoma City Barons will be decided in Game 7 on Wednesday. The Barons won 2-1 at home last night, so Game 7 will be in Utica. . . . F Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen made his pro debut with the Comets in that game. The Vancouver Canucks selected him with the sixth overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft.
The host Rimouski Oceanic won the QMJHL championship on Monday, beating the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in double OT. . . . F Michael Joly’s 12th goal of the playoffs, via a PP, won the game, at 2:13 of the second OT period before 5,062 fans. . . . Rimouski G Philippe Desrosiers stopped 47 shots. . . . The Oceanic also won Game 6 in OT, that one by a 5-4 count. . . . With the Remparts as the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams knew prior to the start of the series that both teams would play in the tournament.
The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche lost two assistant coaches on Monday with the resignations of Mario Duhamel and André Tourigny. . . . Duhamel, the video coach, completed two seasons under head coach Patrick Roy with the Avalanche. Prior to that, Duhamel was the head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs for four seasons. . . . Tourigny, who handled the defence, also spent two seasons with Colorado. Before that, he spent 10 seasons as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes cleaned house in Portland, Me., on Monday, as they dumped a whole lot of people from hockey operations with their AHL affiliate, the Pirates. . . . Chris Roy of Maine Hockey Journal reported that Ray Edwards, the GM and head coach, has been fired, along with assistant coaches John Slaney and Trent Whitfield. . . . The Pirates, who lost out in the first round of the playoffs, also dumped athletic therapist Bike Booi, equipment manager John Krouse, video coach Alex Loh and assistant equipment manager Joe Morse. . . . The Pirates are to move to Springfield, Mass., before the start of next season.
The Red Deer Rebels have acquired D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick from the Spokane Chiefs for D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2016. . . . Bobyk has played only eight games this season thanks to injuries. From Red Deer, he has been medically cleared to return. This season, he has a goal and three assists in those eight games. Last season, he had 12 points, including five goals, in 56 games. He was a 10th-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2011 draft. . . . In 2012-13, Bobyk played for the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, who won the TELUS Cup as national midget champions. . . . Charif, from Edmonton, also has been out with an injury but has been cleared to play after missing 24 games. Last season, he had 13 points, three of them goals, in 57 games. This season, he has a goal and seven assists in 11 games. . . . The Chiefs now hold two first- and two second-round picks in the 2015 draft.
At Moose Jaw, G Jordan Papirny stopped 29 shots to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Warriors. . . . Papirny has 22 victories and three shutouts this season. It was his fourth career shutout. . . . Brandon F Reid Duke got the game’s first goal, his 11th, at 9:57 of the first on the PP. . . . Duke also drew an assist on F John Quenneville’s 13th goal, an empty-netter at 18:30 of the third. . . . Brandon F Peter Quenneville had two assists. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-7-4) have points in six straight (4-0-2). . . . The Warriors (15-18-3) have lost four in a row. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 14th goal. He missed the last three games prior to the Christmas break with an undisclosed injury. . . . Brandon F Jesse Gabrielle was ill and didn’t practice on Friday. He wasn’t dressed for this one. D Kale Clague (undisclosed injury) also was among Brandon’s scratches. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski sat out a one-game WHL suspension. . . . Moose Jaw F Noah Gregor missed his 26th straight game with an undisclosed injury, while F Ben Duperreault (14 games, undisclosed injury) was back in the lineup. . . . However, F Tanner Jeannot is out for a couple of months with an undisclosed injury and D Tyler Brown (hand) will sit for up to four more weeks. . . . The teams meet again today, this time in Brandon. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
At Prince Albert, F Nikita Soshnin broke a 3-3 tie at 10:00 of the third period and the Saskatoon Blades went on to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . Soshnin, who also had two assists, has five goals this season. . . . Blades F Ryan Graham added two empty-netters, giving him 12 goals this season. . . . F Sam McKechnie had two goals, giving him 10, and an assist for Saskatoon (8-25-3), which snapped an 11-game skid (0-9-2). . . . F Reid Gardiner and F Jayden Hart each scored his 18th goal for the Raiders (16-19-1). . . . The rematch goes this afternoon in Saskatoon. . . . Saskatoon F Wyatt Sloboshan (broken jaw) was back after missing 23 games, while F Nick Zajac returned after a three-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Raiders were without D Mackenze Stewart, who served a one-game WHL suspension. . . . 
At Edmonton, F Wyatt Johnson scored two second-period goals to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Johnson, who has 17 goals, gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the period. . . . Edmonton F Brett Pollock tied it, with his 14th, at 4:10. . . . Johnson broke the tie at 15:24. . . . Red Deer F Brooks Maxwell had two assists. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 30 shots, four more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels (19-13-4), who entertain the Oil Kings today, had lost their previous two games. . . . The Oil Kings are 16-15-5. . . . This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. . . . The Rebels had F Adam Musil back after a three-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . . 
At Cranbrook, G Wyatt Hoflin stopped a career-high 49 shots and F Levi Cable scored four times as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-2. . . . Hoflin was making his 24th straight start. . . . A note from Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman: “Should he get the start Sunday afternoon, Hoflin will tie the Kootenay Ice franchise record for consecutive appearances by a goaltender. Todd Mathews set the record with 25 consecutive appearances in net from Jan. 21 to March 14, 2009.” . . . Cable, who has 15 goals, scored the game’s first three goals and added a fourth in the second period to give his side a 5-0 lead. . . . It was Cable’s first regular-season hat trick. . . . Cable also added an assist for his first five-point outing. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 19th goal. . . . The Ice (19-17-0) has won four in a row. . . . The Hitmen (19-13-3) has lost two straight. . . . The teams meet this afternoon in Calgary. . . . The Ice, which is missing three defencemen, has added D Tanner Lishchynsky, 19, for the next five games. He plays for the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers and has played 78 WHL games with the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Ice is without D Tanner Faith and D Dylan Overdyk, both of whom are injured, and D Rinat Valiev, who is with Russia at the World Junior Championship. . . . Calgary D Ben Thomas returned after missing nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . According to Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice, Cable is the eighth player in Ice franchise history to enjoy a four-goal game. . . . Taylor Rocca’s game story is 
At Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier, the WHL’s leading goal scorer, hit for two more as the Rockets beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Chartier has 34 goals. . . . He broke a 2-2 tie 52 seconds into the third period with his second goal of the game. It turned out to be his ninth game-winner this season. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie scored his 24th goal, while F Cole Linaker had two assists. . . . F Cole Ully scored his 17th goal for the Blazers (13-21-5), who have lost three in a row. . . . The Rockets (29-5-3), who have won 13 straight games with the Blazers, have won three straight. . . . This game started a stretch in which the Rockets will play nine of 11 games at home. . . . 
At Victoria, the Prince George Cougars built up a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Royals. . . . F Zach Pochiro scored twice for the visitors, giving him seven this season. His second of the game, at 16:25 of the second, on a PP, stood up as the winner. . . . F Tyler Soy scored twice for the Royals, giving him 12 in his sophomore season. However, he came up short on a second-period penalty shot. . . . D Tate Olson had two assists for the visitors. . . . Prince George outshot its hosts, 30-19. . . . The Cougars (18-18-0) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Royals ((17-18-3) have lost five straight (0-4-1). . . . They’ll play again this afternoon in Victoria. . . .
At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Portland Winterhawks 4-3 in a game that featured six first-period goals. . . . The Thunderbirds got out to a 3-1 lead and the Winterhawks never were able to catch up. . . . F Ryan Gropp’s 15th goal, at 19:53 of the first, proved to be the winner. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Seattle D Jerret Smith scored his third goal of the season and added an assist. . . . F Paul Bittner got his 14th goal for the Winterhawks. He also added an assist, while F Alex Schoenborn drew two assists. . . . Portland was 2-for-3 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-5. . . . The Thunderbirds (15-15-4) have won two in a row. . . . Portland (19-15-3) had won its previous two games. . . . F Cody Glass, Portland’s first-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. . . . The Winterhawks are at home to Spokane today. . . . The Thunderbirds are in Vancouver this afternoon. . . .
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