Gylywoychuk goes full time with women’s national team

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This article was published 31/08/2016 (3567 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dwayne Gylywoychuk has moved his way up the coaching ranks at Hockey Canada over the last few years and he will now be working full time with the senior women’s squad.

The 43-year-old Brandonite was named an assistant to bench boss Laura Schuler on Tuesday, along with Troy Ryan, allowing him to fully focus on that team. Brad Kirkwood joins the staff as the goaltending coach.

Gylywoychuk was the head coach of the development team for the past two seasons and was an assistant with the senior squad as well.

He is honoured that his work has been recognized and appreciated, allowing him to keep moving up the chain.

“It’s something that has been on the horizon and I wanted always,” he said. “This opportunity from Hockey Canada will continue to challenge me as a coach. Each year I’ve worked with Hockey Canada, I’ve grown as a coach and been able to achieve some of my personal goals through Hockey Canada with the opportunities I’ve been given there.

“This is just another opportunity to work with a head coach like Laura Schuler and gain from her and help her achieve the goals we’re all out there for, which is to win gold medals.”

Hockey is in Gylywoychuk’s blood. After playing with his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings from 1989 to 1994, he pursued a professional playing career in the minor leagues and Europe before retiring in 2001. He then joined the Wheat Kings’ coaching staff as an assistant before getting promoted to head coach in 2012-13. The team struggled to a 24-40-8 record and missed the playoffs.

Gylywoychuk then connected with Hockey Canada and started as an assistant coach with the under-18 women’s team before moving up to the development team — which helps players who graduate from the U18 program get to the next level to compete for spots on the senior squad.

Gylywoychuk guided the development team to a gold medal at the Nations Cup in January and was one of Schuler’s assistants that coached Canada to a silver medal and the world championship in April.

He takes a lot of pride in the medals he helped Canada win on the ice, and he loves to watch players grow and develop.

“It was interesting to bridge that gap between the younger girls coming in and watching them with what they’ve achieved and how they’re pushing the older veterans who have been on the national team for a couple of years and see how that progression takes place, which I can really relate to because of my time in the Western Hockey League,” Gylywoychuk said.

“You bring in 16-year-olds there. I remember Brayden Schenn, Matt Calvert and Scott Glennie and how they pushed older guys to be better. At the end of the day, you become better because of that depth.”

Although most of the players on the national team — including Neepawa’s Halli Krzyzaniak — spend the winters at university or in professional women’s leagues, that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do for Gylywoychuk.

He will spend that time scouting players and their roles on their regular teams in addition to help finding ways to improve last year’s team.

He’s able to stay in Brandon to do most of that work as well.

“It’s a great thing right now to be able to do that full time and stay at home here in Brandon. With my wife and (15-month-old) son Nickolas, it’s been very good that way,” said Gylywoychuk, who also has two teenaged children, Madie and Emma. “I know it won’t be all the time so I’m cherishing the moments right now.”

He will head to Calgary when it’s needed, including from Sept. 11 to 18 for the fall festival. That will give the coaches a chance to evaluate players before selecting who will compete in the Four Nations Cup in Finland in November and the women’s world championship in Plymouth, Mich., from March 31 to April 7.

This job opportunity has another thought creeping into Gylywoychuk’s head, and that’s the chance to be on the bench when Canada takes to the ice for the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“Especially with the Olympics you want to be given that opportunity to get into the consideration and right now that would be a goal of mine,” he said.

For now, he’s just happy with the opportunity in front of him.

“It’s an honour to work

with Hockey Canada,” Gylywoychuk said. “You get spoiled as a coach with an opportunity to do it. You work with the best of the best, not just the players but the staff. … There’s a lot of pride to coach with Hockey Canada.”

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