Cyca makes it a family affair at Minot State

Ryley Cyca grew up in the rink watching from the stands as his older brother took the ice.

Now, the two will finally get the chance to suit up together.

The 21-year-old Waywayseecappo Wolverines defenceman from Sherwood Park, Alta., will join brother Logan after announcing his commitment to the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s men’s Division 1 Minot State Beavers of Minot, N.D., for the 2026-27 season, earlier this month.

“I always kind of figured I was going to be a beaver, so it was Minot or nothing,” said Cyca of his decision to play for the Beavers. “I’m super excited. They’re obviously a really good organization, they’ve been ranked number one heading into nationals the past three years and my brother’s been down there, so I’m super excited to get the chance to play with him. It’ll be great.”

The brothers have always played at similar levels since they first laced up the skates but have never got the opportunity to play together because of their three year age gap. So while Cyca was eligible to make the jump to U18 or junior, his brother was already on the way out, ready to begin the next path his hockey career had set out for him.

But, everything changed once Logan found a home with Minot State.

“When my brother committed I thought, ‘Holy, this is actually something that could happen,’” Cyca said. “We’ve dreamed about playing with each other growing up, but that awkward age gap always got in the way. Then I thought I could play college hockey too and doing it together would just be super cool, so it works out perfect that we’ll be able to play together now.”

Logan, who’s entering his senior year with the Beavers, joined the club after wrapping up two seasons with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 2023. The five-foot-nine, 170-pound forward has racked up 54 points over the past three years and helped Minot collect a 30-1-2 record this season before taking home their second consecutive Midwest College Hockey Division title with a 3-1 win over the University of Mary in February.

While Logan was breaking onto the college scene, Cyca was trying to make a name for himself in junior.

The five-foot-nine, 165-pound right-shot blueliner spent four games in the SJHL with the Weyburn Red Wings and then decided to make his way to Portage to play for the Terriers in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He posted one goal and eight points with them, but then was traded to the Wolverines at the deadline along with teammate Brenden Holba in exchange for Jesiah Bennett and future considerations.

In the final 15 games of the 2023-24 season, Cyca chalked up two assists with a rebuilding Wolverines squad. He was promoted to alternate captain the following season and totalled three goals and 23 points in 46 contests and added two more goals and four points in five post-season games as his team was eliminated by the Dauphin Kings.

Albeit an early exit, Cyca’s play as a smart, puck-moving defender that takes care of his own end first and can chip in some offence as well, turned some heads, including head coach Cam Keith of the British Columbia Hockey League’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.

“It sounded like a great opportunity for me to make and I obviously wanted to play at the highest level possible,” said Cyca. “I talked to the Wayway coach (Landyn Cochrane) and he agreed it was a great opportunity for me to take and look and explore.”

Cyca made the move out west, but it didn’t last very long once he returned to the Wolverines after just 10 games. He said he had trouble finding his identity with the team and decided it would be best to return to a club on the come up.

“Even though I didn’t start the year with them I knew that we were going to have a good group,” he said. “I knew all the guys and we had a great 20 (year-old) corps of guys that wanted to win, so as soon as I got there, it was great. It was probably the closest team I’ve ever been a part of, we were always doing stuff and hanging out off the ice too, so we really wanted to win for each other.”

Cyca and his teammate’s bond helped them secure a spot in the Turnbull Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive season, landing the third spot in the West Division for a first round battle with Dauphin, who had taken them out last year.

The Wolverines entered the series as the underdogs and left making history after sweeping the Kings 4-0 to advance to the second round for the first time in franchise history. Cyca’s club established themselves as a serious dark horse to win the whole thing but were stopped in their tracks by the Niverville Nighthawks, a powerhouse that defeated them in five games and were a win away from their first-ever Turnbull Cup, up 3-0 against the Virden Oil Capitals heading into Thursday’s game, which ended after deadline.

“We wanted to make a push for it and really thought we had the team to make it the championship, but we had some injuries and then just lost some games we probably shouldn’t have,” Cyca said.

His disappointment was quickly replaced with excitement when Minot State bench boss Wyatt Waselenchuk gave him a ring.

Cyca said the two had kept in contact ever since he came to town last fall to watch his brother play. Waselenchuk had been keeping tabs on Cyca and then gave him an offer once his club was eliminated from nationals after a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals to Adrian College in Maryland Heights, Mo.

“It was super exciting,” he said. “He (Waselenchuk) got Logan on the call too and it was a special moment. He was super excited and I was just ecstatic.”

Cyca hasn’t landed on his major yet, but said he is leaning toward finance.

As for the ice, he’ll be doing everything in his power from now until fall to prepare for that national title — and he’ll get to do it all alongside his brother.

“I know Waz and the whole team wants to win and be national champions next year, so that’s the goal and even with training this summer, just focusing on how we can win and win a national championship.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com