When the Memorial Cup starts this weekend, the Everett Silvertips will bring a juggernaut with them. Leading the charge are 16-year-old d-man Landon Dupont (2027 draft-eligible) and WHL Playoffs MVP Julius Miettinen (SEA). The 20-year-old Finland native became just the second European to win MVP honors.
Dupont registered 23 points (5G 18A) in 18 playoff games, tying him with Prince Albert’s Braeden Cootes (VAN) for fourth-most in the league. His 1.28 points-per-game total, from the blueline no less, compares favorably with the draft minus-1 season enjoyed by Connor McDavid in 2013-14. McDavid, then of the OHL’s Erie Otters, posted 19 points (4G 15A) in 14 playoff games that season, good for a 1.36 points-per-game total. To say the least, this was projectable to a spectacular NHL career. Dupont will be in the conversation for the first overall pick in 2027 all year long.
For Miettinen’s part, his 27 points (14G 13A) tied him with Prince Albert d-man Daxon Rudolph (2026 draft-eligible) for the league lead. This includes 9 points in the 5-game final series against Prince Albert, in which he scored in each of the first four games. This closing ability bodes very well for Everett in Kelowna.
A number of other Silvertips’ players made significant offensive contributions to Everett’s championship run also. Notable contributors include forward Matias Vanhanen (2026 draft-eligible), whose 24 points (12G 12A) put him one ahead of Cootes and Dupont for third in the league; and forward Carter Bear (DET), whose 22 points and 15 assists were good for 6th in the league in both categories.
To backstop all of this scoring was goaltender Anders Miller (2nd-year 2026 draft-eligible). Miller appeared in every game for the Silvertips, posting a .932 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.91, good for second in the league.