Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) alum and Everett Silvertips forward Gage Goncalves finished the 2020/21 season as the Western Hockey Leagues (WHL) U.S. Division Top Scorer, while Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Thomas Milic was named the divisions Rookie of the Year. Spokane Chiefs captain Eli Zummack took home the divisions Most Sportsmanlike Player award.
A second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Goncalves had 34 points in 23 games this season with the Silvertips, tied for the U.S division lead and third most among WHL skaters. Goncalves spent the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season at Yale Hockey Academy finishing with 11 points in 23 games at the U15 Prep level, and 30 points in 30 games at U16 Prep. In 151 career WHL games Goncalves has 120 points.
Drafted in the third-round by the Thunderbirds in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft, Milic wrapped up his rookie year posting a 2.74 goals against average, .913 save percentage, and 1 shutout in 9 games before helping Team Canada win gold at the U18 World Championships. Milic joined BWC Academy U15 Prep team in 2017/18 and would spend the following two seasons at the U18 Prep level. In his time with BWC he would be named the CSSHL U15 Prep Top Goaltender, CSSHL U18 Prep Top Goaltender and led the U18 Prep division with a 0.946 save percentage during the 2019/20 campaign.
Zummack spent the 2014/15 season with Pursuit of Excellence (now Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna), captaining their U15 Prep team. In 22 regular season and playoff games Zummack 11 goals to go along with 14 assists. A second-round pick by the Red Deer Rebels in 2015, Zummack spent his entire WHL career with the Chiefs, finishing with 239 points in 254 games. During the 2020/21 season Zummack would produce at a point per game pace as he tallied 22 points in 21 games.