WHL NOTEBOOK: Chastko bucks odds in overage season

Nolan Chastko might just be the patron saint of late bloomers in the Western Hockey League.

The undrafted 20-year-old Everett Silvertips forward didn’t debut until he was 19, and in his second season, is one of three overagers on the club with the most points in the WHL.

It’s a rags-to-riches story that amazes even Chastko, who spent his 17- and 18-year-old seasons with the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League after being cut by the Prince George Cougars at 17.

“Sometimes I catch myself thinking about it, whether it’s late at night or just sitting around the rink,” Chastko said. “It’s super cool. Honestly, it was not what I expected with what happened there at 17, and then playing 17 and 18 in the MJ. I never really thought that would be possible.

“When you head into your 20-year-old year, anything can happen with three allowed on each team, so there were definitely nerves at times this year, but since it was set in stone at the trade deadline, I’ve definitely had time to reflect on it.

“It’s really cool, and I couldn’t be happier that Everett is the team I’ve been with these two years.”

Everett general manager Mike Fraser, who also happens to be a Brandon product, said Chastko’s story is remarkable.

“It’s a good example of perseverance and not giving up and carving yourself a niche in a team and a program,” Fraser said. “In saying that, if Nolan Chastko wasn’t with us right now, a lot of people would be upset in our organization, myself included. That’s how much he’s brought off the ice into the Everett community.

“He’s one of the most respected guys in our locker room. The more we went along — and there were some uncertain times with our 20 year olds this year with what we might do — and I just couldn’t envision our team without him.”

Chastko wasn’t selected in the 2020 WHL draft despite putting up 33 goals and 27 assists in 36 games.

After the 2020-21 campaign was essentially washed out due to the pandemic, Chastko had a sensational 2021-22 season at age 16 with the under-18 AAA Wheat Kings, scoring 53 goals and adding 28 assists in just 43 games. He eclipsed Mark Derlago’s single-season team record of 48 that was set in 2002-03, and became the league’s first 50-goal scorer since Michael St. Croix sniped 56 times for the Winnipeg Wild in 2008-09.

Chastko attended the Prince George’s 2021 training camp as a free agent and they immediately listed him. He signed a standard players agreement in February of 2022, but the Cougars simply weren’t the right fit, so he spent two seasons in Virden, posting 43 points in 54 games the first season and 55 points in 53 games as an 18-year-old.

The Cougars dealt him to the Silvertips on Jan. 9, 2023, for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025, and he made the jump to the WHL for the 2024-25 season. He posted six goals and eight assists in 63 games.

“Coming in, I was more of an offensive guy,” Chastko said. “Even dating back to last year, coming into the league as a 19 year old, the biggest thing that allowed me to end up playing at 19 and 20 was because of my defence, which I don’t think a lot of other people saw, but I definitely saw it in myself.

“I’m pretty comfortable in D-zone and on that side of the puck and made myself into more of a 200-foot player in the Western League.”

Fraser also noticed those defensive aspects of his game when he was a high-scoring forward in U15 and U18.

“Before he joined our team, that was maybe a little bit of an underrated element of his game,” Fraser said. “Did him and I think the offence might translate a little more? Sure, that’s possible, but a lot of times in hockey, people are quick to default to points, and Nolan is probably an example where you don’t want to do that because there are so many other things he brings to the table, the intangibles, things that aren’t always noticeable to the average fan.

“Never mind the fact he’s very well respected and very well liked in our dressing room.”

Coming into camp, the Silvertips had Chastko, defenceman Rylan Pearce and forward Zackary Shantz in the battle for three overage spots. They had made a deal for forward Rylan Gould of Headingley in May with the Swift Current Broncos, but he headed to Michigan Tech instead, so the deal was cancelled.

In October, Gould changed his mind and Everett made a second deal with Swift, bringing them up to four overagers.

They solved the logjam by sending Pearce to the Regina Pats on Nov. 14. (He was subsequently reassigned to the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.)

Fraser said in his rookie season, Chastko was a bit quieter until he got adjusted and his personality began to come out a little more. The other players quickly gravitated towards him, and he became a key part of the dressing room.

“He is probably one of the most mature players that I’ve ever dealt with,” Fraser said. “When you talk to him, you feel like you’re talking to a 30 year old.”

He doesn’t wear a letter, but leadership is usually expected from overagers, and Chastko has made it his mission to deliver. After all, the five-foot-eight, 158-pound left-shot centre has some unusual stories to share.

“I may not have the experience of a lot of the other 20 year olds in the league when it comes to actually playing (in the WHL), but I definitely have that life experience. With the younger guys, I’m just giving that life experience and teaching them that way and just being a supportive guy.”

In 62 games this season — on a line mostly with Jaxsin Vaughan, with Lukas Kaplan and Jesse Heslop on the other wing — Chastko has eight goals and 21 assists, and has won 50.6 per cent of his draws.

His plus-minus is +18, which is remarkable for a player with 29 points who regularly skates against the other team’s top-six forwards.

“We’re a line that gets tossed out there, and we’re pretty steady,” Chastko said. “We’ve got a lot of trust with our coach and we kind of calm the waters and just bring the juice for our team. We try to shut down and create some offence and havoc that way.”

“It’s nice to have that responsibility and I take a lot of pride in it,” he added.

He also gets some time on the penalty kill.

Fraser noted the Silvertips have had talented forward groups the last couple of years, and that Chastko has adjusted his game to be more of a defensive forward who can be relied on to take key draws in the big moments when you’re trying to shut the other team down.

“If you ask him to do something, he does it, and he doesn’t complain about anything,” Fraser said. “He just wants to be a Silvertip and help the team. That’s a pretty refreshing trait nowadays.”

That became abundantly evident earlier this season.

Chastko lined up for about 25 games on the blue-line, which is remarkable because he last played the position when he was seven or eight years old. He chuckles when asked about it, and deadpans that he certainly didn’t bring a lot of experience to his trial by fire this season.

“It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure,” Chastko said. “I had a lot of help for sure. I was playing with Brek Liske (of Beausejour) most of the time, and he helped me out a ton. It definitely wouldn’t have gone as smooth as did if it wasn’t for him, and the coaches too for being super supportive. Our D coach here would take extra time after practice to dial in pivoting forward to backwards, which is not something that is super common as a forward.”

The biggest change for him was the fact that he was now in the sights of opposing forecheckers. That meant he had to make rapid, smart decisions.

“One thing for sure that was a big difference is when you’re retrieving pucks and you know a guy is coming in at you full speed,” Chastko said. “You have to make quick plays and you have to be ready for that contact. That definitely took some adjusting, but I’m a guy who even though I’m smaller, never shied away from any kind of contact.”

Fraser said it’s not easy defending against the top players in the Western Conference, but he made the game look easy with smart outlet passes and great awareness of where and everyone else on the ice was all the time. He added Chastko’s versatility allowed his club to keep seven defencemen instead of eight, because in a pinch, the Brandonite can move back.

“With Nolan, his hockey sense was so good, we thought it was something he would be able to do,” Fraser said. “When you brought the idea up with him, he was all for it. He didn’t question it or question himself, he’s a team guy first and wanted to do whatever he could to help the team win. Really, the adjustment period wasn’t as big or as long as I thought it was going to be.”

Everett has become a powerhouse club in the league that seems to find ways to win year after year: In fact, they’ve never missed the playoffs since joining the league in 2003-04, and in the last 10 non-pandemic seasons, they’ve won at least 40 games eight times.

All that’s missing is a league championship, although they’ve been to the final twice.

That means the pressure is ramped up internally to take the next step.

“Definitely a little bit, I’m not going to lie about that,” Chastko said. “There are a quite a bit expectations, especially from the fans. Fans see we have a good team every year here, but there is still one thing that’s been missing. There’s no secret with what our end goal is. It’s definitely super exciting when you have a team of this calibre, and that’s the end goal.”

Chastko is weighing his options for next year — they include both American colleges and Canadian universities — although that’s a decision that will keep until after the playoffs. The former provincial team baseball player chuckled when asked if that means he might start playing ball again too, saying the thought has occurred to him to find a school with both programs.

But for now, he’s focused on the next stretch of hockey while acknowledging two seasons have flown by for the WHL’s ultimate underdog.

“This year especially,” Chastko said. “It was Christmas break before I knew it and now playoffs are starting in two-and-a-half weeks. It’s flown by for sure, but I’ve had times to step back and take it all in that this is the last year, the last kick at the can for junior hockey.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — Here’s a basic over-under question. Have the Wheat Kings had more or fewer than 10 Canadian Hockey League award winners over the years?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 19-year-old Kelowna Rockets forward Tij Iginla of Lake Country, B.C., who had three goals and 10 assists in four games last week. He is a prospect of the Utah Mammoth.

The goaltender of the week is 19-year-old Penticton Vees netminder Andrew Reyelts of Proctor, Minn., who won both his starts while posting a 0.63 goals-against average and .966 save percentage. He also won the award on Oct. 27.

The rookie of the week is 18-year-old Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Easton Daneault of Red Deer, Alta., who had a goal and five assists in two games last week.

• SIN BIN — Brandon forward Gunnar Gleasman was suspended one game for a game misconduct he took after his club’s shootout victory at Swift Current on Friday, and the team was fined $500. Swift Current Broncos assistant coach Roshen Jaswal was also fined $500 for a game misconduct he was assessed on Friday.

Spokane Chiefs forward Assanali Sarkenov was suspended for two games for a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct he took against Prince George on Friday … Kelowna Rockets defenceman Nate Corbet got two games for a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct he took against Spokane on March 4 … Swift Current forward Carter Moen got one game for a boarding major and game misconduct he took against Calgary on March 4.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Braden Schneider, 24, is in his fifth National Hockey League season with the New York Rangers and now has 348 regular season games under his belt and 43 playoff contests, with a combined 21 goals, 67 assists and 108 penalty minutes in the regular season and post-season.

The defenceman from Prince Albert, Sask., spent four full seasons with Brandon from 2017 to 2020, and in his 207 career WHL games, had 21 goals, 94 assists and 96 penalty minutes, with seven assists in 14 career playoff games. His final season was spent in the Regina hub due to the pandemic.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — Brandon begins a stretch of five road games with matchups against the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CDT), the Red Deer Rebels on Friday at 8 p.m., and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday at 8 p.m. In the week after, they travel to meet the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday, March 18 at 8 p.m., and the Regina Pats on Friday, March 20, before finishing up at home on Saturday, March 21 at 6 p.m.

• ANSWER — Brandon has won nine CHL awards over the years, although it’s important to note that many of them weren’t handed out until the late 1980s or even later.

Brandon’s winners are top defenceman Ivan Provorov (2015-16), top goalie Trevor Kidd (1989-90), top prospect Nolan Patrick (2016-17), most sportsmanlike Mark Stone (2011-12), Cory Cyrenne (1997-98) and Kelly Smart (1996-97), top coach Bob Lowes (1995-96), top scholastic player Stefan Cherneski (1996-97) and top humanitarian Ryan Craig (2002-03).

Incredibly, the player of the year award has been handed out since 1974-75, and Brian Propp and Ray Ferraro didn’t win it. When Propp had 194 points in 1978-79, the award went to Pierre Lacroix of the Trois-Rivières Draveurs, who had 137.

And Ferraro’s incredible 108-goal, 84-assist season in 1983-84 was overshadowed by a youngster named Mario Lemieux of the Laval Voisins who had 133 goals and 282 points.