Virden rookie turning heads
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2013 (4313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In just a few short months, Wyatt Kalynuk has achieved a lot of hockey dreams.
Since the beginning of the season, the 16-year-old defenceman has begun his junior career with his hometown Virden Oil Capitals, committed to an NCAA Division I hockey program and earned a spot on Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s combined under-17 team.
“It’s probably one of the most exciting years for sure,” Kalynuk said. “Our team’s doing well, too, so that’s good.”
A 6-foot-0, 165-pound graduate of the Southwest Cougars Midget AAA program, Kalynuk has helped the Oil Capitals to the best record in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Sher-Wood Division at 16-8-1. Despite being the youngest player on Virden’s roster, Kalynuk has seen action in all 25 of the team’s games, notching seven points, including scoring his first career MJHL goal in Virden’s 7-0 triumph over OCN on Saturday night.
“It’s a pretty big jump from midget,” said Kalynuk, who has been paired on the blue-line with another rookie, 18-year-old Winnipegger Brad Reichardt. “I like the ice time I’ve been getting. So far, it’s been good.”
Kalynuk has been good enough to catch the eye of Western Michigan University Broncos head coach Andy Murray of Souris and assistant coach Bob Caldwell of Deloraine. He got the bug to play in the NCAA a couple of years ago after watching the University of North Dakota play, then saw the Broncos in a couple of games last season in Bemidji, Minn., before committing to Western Michigan in October.
“I think a lot of it had to do with coach Andy Murray and Bob Caldwell,” said Kalynuk, who is slated to join the Broncos for the 2016-17 season. “… I spent a few weeks with Bob in the summer, working as a defenceman, so I think that played a little bit of a role in the commitment.”
Kalynuk expects to play a season in the United States Hockey League before heading off to university, although he plans to be back for another year with Virden in 2014-15. He’ll play a short stint with another new team before that, however, after earning a spot on Team West for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, beginning Dec. 29 in Nova Scotia.
Making the under-17 squad was one of Kalynuk’s goals for this season and he feels fortunate to have earned the chance to test his skills in a major international event.
“I was just crossing my fingers, really hoping I would get that phone call,” he said. “I can’t wait to go to Cape Breton and see all the other teams, European teams and Team USA. They should be really good, so I can’t wait to see how they are.”
» rhenders@brandonsun.com