Smart diet, sound work ethic lead to impressive results for Tabbies winger Rybinski

By Ryan McCracken on August 25, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The term off-season doesn’t do Henry Rybinski’s summer justice.

The 17-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers winger tacked on some size while honing his speed, skating and shot over the summer months and now sits poised for a career year in the Western Hockey League thanks to a smart diet and a sound work ethic.

“I had a really good off-season and that helped me bulk up,” said Rybinski. “I think I put on like an inch or something. I didn’t really gain much weight but I think I bulked up a little bit. My trainer did a good job. I went on a good diet, eating a lot of calories because my body burns through a lot and I need a lot of food to keep it going. In the gym we worked on heavy weight training and stuff, and then as it grew closer to training camp we worked on speed and explosive stuff.”

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Rybinski became a permanent fixture on the Tigers roster in his first season of eligibility last year and made the most of his minutes — logging three goals and nine assists in 63 games. Over the span, Rybinski bounced from the fourth line to the top line and back, allowing him to gauge himself against a variety of his WHL competition and leaving him inspired to improve his footwork before returning to the ice this year.

“I feel like skating is a big part of the league,” he said. “I felt like I needed to work on it, improve my speed, my lateral mobility and all that. So I really worked on that, then I also worked on my shot. It’s a goal-scoring area I definitely need to work on. It did get better but I need to keep working on that throughout the season.”

While he had many different linemates, Rybinski spent the majority of his rookie season alongside fellow 2016 bantam draft pick Josh Williams, developing a good deal of chemistry in the process. Now on the cusp on their sophomore season, Rybinski says he’s excited to pick things up with Williams after watching him win gold with Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

“Both of us are going to have bigger roles to fill,” said Rybinski. “We lost a lot of good players like (David) Quenneville, (Mark) Rassell, (Kristians) Rubins, (Michael) Bullion, (Mason) Shaw, so we’re going to have to step up and I feel like we’re ready, both of us. Willie came off a really good run with Team Canada, he really showed what he can do — he was one of their best players. I feel like for me, I really need to step up this year and hopefully both of us, from our good play this year, we’ll be able to have a good playoff run.”

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