The Everett Silvertips

-Where will they finish in their division?

That's pretty clear. Seattle's running away right now. We finish a strong second.

-Who will they face in the first round of the playoffs?

The way it's shaping up, it looks like Spokane. Could be Spoke or Tri, but Tri is really headed in the wrong direction.

-How far will they go in the playoffs?

Depends on how things shake out. We're a team that struggles against bad teams but really steps up to the better ones. I have a feeling that we're going to barely win the first round (it'll go 7 games), and will be the lowest seed remaining, so we will catch Seattle in Rd 2. If that's the case, we take them out in 5 games, and then lose in the next round. If we don't catch Seattle, I think we stand a good chance of going down in Round 2. This team really fires up against Seattle, and despite their strength, we really match up well against them.

-Who will be your top scorer? (Regular season) (Total points. Can include points for another team)

Alex Leavitt. He's starting to get comfortable in the system, and has been very, very prominent on the scoresheet of late. That's why we traded for him ... after an adjustment period, we're starting to get some good production out of him.


-Top scorer? (Playoffs)

Believe it or not, I think it's going to be one of our defensemen, Shaun Heshka. Scoring and chances both go down in the playoffs, and you see a lot more shots from the point going in or getting deflected in than you do the pretty passing plays. I figure that our blueliners will factor in a lot.

-How does next season look for your team?

Very, very good. We have what, 9 16 year olds all playing a big role this year, and we're in contention, and of those teams that nobody (except maybe Vancouver) wants to see in the playoffs. I think that next year, we'll have 95% of this team back (except our 20's of course ... and possibly Mike Wall), so I'd label us as a favorite to take the Western Conference, and be in the Finals.