Chyzowski set to bring winning edge

By Ryan McCracken on September 20, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Ryan Chyzowski will likely have some swagger in his stride when the puck drops on the Western Hockey League season this weekend.

The 18-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers centre returned from Vegas Golden Knights main camp this week sporting a new attitude. After skating alongside numerous players fervently battling for spots on an NHL roster over the past few weeks, Chyzowski says he plans on bringing that unrelenting mentality to the Dub this season.

“They’re all battling like it’s life or death,” said Chyzowski, who put up 21 goals and 31 assists with the Tigers last season. “I think that’s one thing I want to take into my game this year. No matter where I’m at on the team, you can’t really take anything as a sure thing. I want to just be grateful for every opportunity I have and make the most of it.”

Chyzowski is no stranger to the approach. The Kamloops product entered the league as a 16-year-old to start the 2016-17 season and had to fight for his minutes on the ice before establishing himself in the league on an energy line alongside Ryan Jevne and Tyler Preziuso.

“We played every game back then like we were trying to stay in the lineup,” said Chyzowski, adding he hopes to keep up that mind-set while shouldering more responsibility as an alternate captain this season. “We want to play for our lives and play for our teammates because every night is just as important as the last and just as important as the next one.”

Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says he expects a big season from Chyzowski, both in terms of offensive production and overall leadership.

“He’s a guy that’s committed to doing the right things, off the ice and in the weight room as well. We expect him to have a great season,” said Clouston. “He’s a great example to younger players coming in, he understands how we want to play, he competes extremely hard.”

That hard-nosed effort helped land Chyzowski a spot at camp with the Golden Knights. While he went overlooked at the NHL entry draft, the league’s newest franchise opened a door for Chyzowski by inviting him to the team’s development camp in July. The 6-foot-1, 181-pound centre made an immediate impression and earned himself another invitation, this time to rookie camp in the fall. But the biggest milestone camp just last week, when the young free agent was invited to stick around for a taste of main camp.

“That was a pretty big confidence booster in itself,” said Chyzowski. “It just kind of showed me how close I can be, and what it takes to get up there. It’s just a lot of confidence I want to bring back to our season this year, bring it back to the team and help these guys out.”

Chyzowski and the Tigers open their regular season campaign Friday in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Both teams head to the Canalta Centre Saturday for Medicine Hat’s home opener at 7:30 p.m.

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