Steve Hamilton is the first head coach in Everett Silvertips history to win the Brian Kilrea CHL Coach of the Year Award.

The Canadian Hockey League announced the honor on June 15, capping a season in which Hamilton's squad posted a franchise-best 57-8-3 record and 117 points, claimed the club's first Ed Chynoweth Cup, and reached the Memorial Cup Final for the first time.

Hamilton, in his second season behind the Silvertips bench, beat out Dave Cameron of the OHL's Ottawa 67s and Sylvain Favreau of the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs for the award.

He had already earned the WHL's Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the league's top coach.

The numbers back the selection. Everett owned the WHL's best road record, tied for the best home record, ranked second in team defense, and finished top-four in both power play and penalty kill, according to Pacific North Hockey.

The Silvertips lost just two games across four rounds of WHL playoff action before hoisting the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Their run ended May 31 in Kelowna, British Columbia, where the Kitchener Rangers won the Memorial Cup Final 6-2. Matias Vanhanen and Carter Bear scored for Everett; goaltender Anders Miller stopped 26 shots.

The Brian Kilrea Award, renamed in 2003 to honor the Hockey Hall of Fame coach who won 1,000 games with the Ottawa 67s, is selected from the three CHL league-level coach of the year winners.

Hamilton's roster featured seven players with 50-plus regular-season points, including 17-year-old defenseman Landon DuPont (73 points in 63 games) and Finnish forward Julius Miettinen (35 goals, 41 assists in 53 games). The Silvertips also captured their second straight Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular-season champions.