Pasternak chasing ball hockey gold

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Wheat Kings forward Dawson Pasternak will be attending camp in the fall with some utterly unique international under his belt.

The 20-year-old forward from Winnipeg, who is one of the top ball hockey players in his age group in Canada, will be attending the under-20 world championships in Liberic, Czechia from June 28 to July 2.

“It’s really nice,” Pasternak said. “It’s hockey so it still feels the same making plays and scoring goals and stuff like that, but it’s a whole different aspect of hockey. You think differently, the game is played a lot differently. As much as I love hockey, it’s really nice to have a second sport to compete in at a high level while I’m still playing ice hockey.”

There are some familiar names on the roster for longtime Wheat Kings fans.

He is joined on the team by two former Brandon draft picks, defenceman Tyler Teasdale (125th overall in 2018) and forward Owen Weihs (95th overall in 2018), plus goaltender Cole Plowman, who Brandon had on their list for a couple of years.

Spokane Chiefs forward Conner Roulette and Wenatchee Wild forward Evan Friesen are also on the 22-man team, which has eight players from Manitoba, four from Ontario, four from British Columbia, four from Newfoundland and Labrador and two from Alberta.

“Once in a while when we played against close to the end of the year, we would look at each other and be like ‘Hey, see you in a month or so at the runs,’” Pasternak said of Roulette and Friesen. “We were getting excited, so it was quick little chats like that. We were getting excited to head out. We weren’t all business. There were quite a few quick, casual conversations about going to Czech.”

Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray was an outstanding baseball player growing up, so he understands the urge to do something different in the summer. While it depends on what it is, Murray said this seems like a good fit.

“I think it’s important,” Murray said. “Obviously it’s changed a lot since I was going through the process 30 years ago when you chucked the skates and gloves off and played baseball or something.

“It’s a fine line where if you’re not doing something hockey related that you will fall behind a little bit, but at the same time it is important to take a break mentally. With Dawson’s situation, it’s a little bit hockey related.”

Pasternak began to play ball hockey at 14. Since then, he has attended four national events with Team Manitoba, with two at U15, and one each at U17 and U19.

He also went to worlds in 2019, when Canada West earned the under-16 gold medal at the World Junior Ball Hockey Championship in Prague, Czechia and he was named most valuable player.

One other current Wheat Kings has significant ball hockey experience, forward Brett Hyland, who also won gold in 2019 with Pasternak.

Hyland, who played on a line with Pasternak and was roommates with him, said he is a special player with an exceptional ball hockey IQ.

“He anticipates where the ball is going to be so well,” Hyland said. “He is really dangerous on the power play. His shot in ball hockey is lethal, and he’s deceptively fast. He’ll get around guys pretty well.

“He’s sneaky in the corners lifting sticks and getting possession. He plays a really skillful game in ball hockey.”

When Pasternak was acquired by the Wheat Kings from the Portland Winterhawks at the Jan. 10 trade deadline, Hyland was the only guy he knew in Brandon.

Hyland didn’t play in the 2022 nationals so he wasn’t officially eligible to join the 2023 team, but Pasternak thinks Hyland might have been able to squeeze in if he hadn’t injured his knee in the spring.

“Brett is the same kind of player in ball hockey that he is in ice hockey,” Pasternak said. “The hardest working player, he is always in the corners, a 200-foot player who can score goals.”

The pair might have more significant international experience, but nationals and worlds were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

“I was supposed to go in 2020 to Switzerland,” Pasternak said. “I got all my stuff, got it bagged and then all of a sudden it was cancelled due to COVID as well.”

Pasternak earned his spot on the national team at Canada’s U19 Ball Hockey Nationals in Winnipeg in 2022.

His Winnipeg Grasshoppers earned silver at the event, with Pasternak being top forward.

Murray said there is real value in those experiences.

“If you’re in a medal situation, there’s pressure,” Murray said. “Obviously hockey and ball hockey have some similarities, but when the pressure is on, it helps sharpen a kid mentally for sure.”

While Pasternak excels in two different kinds of hockey, there are some significant variations between the sports. The most obvious involves mobility.

“The biggest difference for sure is in hockey there is gliding,” Pasternak said. “In ball hockey, there is absolutely none of that. If you want to get somewhere, you have to run there because if you don’t you’re standing still. Other than that, you’re playing in the arena still so it’s a small area.

“I think at worlds it’s an Olympic-sized rink so it will be even bigger. Honestly it’s not too much different. It’s still hockey.”

The major rule difference is that once a team crosses the blue-line with the ball, everything inside the red-line is onside, so you have the whole half to work with.

While there are variations, Pasternak wishes he could incorporate elements of his ball hockey game to the ice.

“I think my ice hockey game and my ball hockey game are two different games,” Pasternak said. “I don’t know why, I wish my ice hockey was like ball hockey because in ball hockey, I love to shoot. If the ball is on my stick inside the zone, I’m shooting it at net at all times.

“I think that’s what has made me successful. I’m good at finding the open areas for my team to get me the ball and I shoot everything.”

He noted there can be a difference in the levels of contact. At nationals there isn’t much, but that changes.

“It’s not too bad,” Pasternak said. “You’ll get bumped here and there obviously still, like when you’re racing for a ball and competing. When you get to worlds, there is still supposed to be no body contact but when you play the Czechs and the Slovaks and all these different European teams, you have to keep your head up because if you don’t, you’re going to get laid out.

“Most of the time the refs will look past it.”

Needless to say, cardio will be important at the tournament, which will see Canada play up to six games in five days if they reach the final.

For the past couple of months, the team has had weekly scrimmages against Team Manitoba and Team Canada alumni, and to get into shape for the quick shifts in games, he runs a lot of sprints

“If you’re at the track, you’re not going to run around the track five times at the same speed,” Pasternak said. “You’re going to do wind sprints. Side-to-side movement is really big obviously, stopping and starting and getting there faster than everyone else. It’s lots of sprints and lots of power from your starting to your stopping point.”

Canada opens with games against the United States and Slovakia today. They play the hosts on Thursday, and Switzerland on Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

“As a group, our intentions are to go there and not to lose,” Pasternak said. “We want to be the best team and win another world championship. Everyone believes we can do it, especially this year. On our roster, I think we have seven Manitobans going, so I know a good portion of the team and based on what our coach says — he’s from Manitoba and I talk to him all the time — he’s so excited about our group.

“He thinks we can have one of those teams where everyone is ‘Wow, those guys really did something special out here.’ Our expectations are to go out there and hopefully come back with a world championship.”

After the championship ends, he’s heading to Portugal for 10 days with his family, his girlfriend, and her family.

“It’s so expensive to get over to Europe, so it’s a great excuse if I’m already out there to make the extra travel and spend some time,” Pasternak said.

His coach certainly doesn’t mind. With the significant international experience Murray had as a player at the world juniors and Spengler Cup, he understands the appeal.

“It’s pretty cool,” Murray said. “Any time you get to represent your country, no matter what you’re doing, it’s an honour. Good for him for getting that opportunity.”

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