FILE PHOTO JAMES TUBB
South Alberta Hockey Academy defender and Medicine Hat Tigers prospect Matthew Paranych was named the top U18 defenceman in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League this season.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Being named the top U18 defencemen in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League is just another step in the road towards Matthew Paranych’s ultimate goal, winning a championship with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 16-year-old Tigers prospect received the defensive honours after his strong debut season with the Dunmore-based South Alberta Hockey Academy. Paranych had seven goals and 32 points in 29 games at the U18 level this year, putting him third among league D-men in scoring but second in point-per-game production within defenders.
He credits his teammates for their play in getting the award.
“It’s definitely an honour to win the award, I couldn’t have done it without all the guys supporting me and my team this year, it was an incredible year,” Paranych said. “All of the guys supported me all the way up and down the lineup, and when I went up with the Tigers, I felt like they all treated me right. They’re all great guys.
“I definitely couldn’t have done it without Braden (Desjardins’) unreal coaching, Gavin (Broadhead’s) workouts and Torrin (White’s) preparation to the power play. Before every game we watched 15 minutes of power play or penalty kill video of the other team there and we probably knew their PK better than they did.”
The Edmonton product came into the season off an 13-goal, 52-point performance at the U15 level the year prior for OHA Edmonton. Paranych says the top defencemen award was something he was thinking about heading into this year after not winning at the U15 level.
“It’s definitely in the back of your mind there, and, last year, at Bantam, I thought I had a pretty good season and I didn’t get a nomination or receive the award,” Paranych said. “But this year I went in with a team-first mentality. I played for the team first and it’s always kind of in the back of your mind.”
When the award was announced on May 3, Paranych says he was nervous throughout the day and was with a friend who helped calm him down when the announcement finally dropped.
” I was pacing all day, I was really nervous, when I got nominated I was overthinking it a little bit too much but kind of forgot about it a little bit,” Paranych said. “That day I was just shooting a lot of pucks and when my name got called I was with a good friend of mine and we were both really happy, it was exciting to see my name there.
“My friend took my phone away so I couldn’t see it and he made me do the stick handler and then my name popped up at three, we looked at each other made eye contact and got really excited.”
While Paranych was dealing with his nerves his SAHA teammate and fellow Tigers prospect Gavin McKenna, who was named the U18 league MVP, said the win was deserved for the blue liner.
“He’s one of the hardest working guys off and on the ice, so to see him finally get some of those awards it was it was cool,” McKenna said. “He deserved it and he’s a great guy.”
Paranych is working out over the summer with hopes of making the jump to the Western Hockey League next season to begin his Tigers career. He doesn’t want to look too far ahead and is focused on proving himself at training camp in the fall.
But if he makes the jump from U18 to the WHL, Paranych says the award win is a good way to cap off his minor hockey career and provides even more motivation heading into an important offseason.
“It’s definitely a nice milestone to hit the top defenseman award and looking back at it 20 years from now, I’ll say it was pretty good minor hockey career,” Paranych said.
“It’s just another step in the road that I’m taking to win a WHL championship with the Tigers. It’s just a little bit of a notch under my belt, some extra motivation heading into summer and all the hard work that I’m gonna put in going into next year.”
