The Red Deer Rebels will be a must-see team this year for NHL scouts because the club boasts four players who were rated on the early season Preliminary List from NHL Central Scouting. We're thrilled to announce today that one of those players has come on board as one of our guest bloggers this year.
Grayson Pawlenchuk hails from just outside of Edmonton and was an "In Studio" guest this past July with a couple of other local WHLers who are now in their NHL draft season. After meeting and speaking with the Rebels forward that day, it was obvious that he was a player who we wanted to extend the invitation to.
After the jump, the first entry this season from Red Deer Rebels forward Grayson Pawlenchuk.
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| Photo: Dave Brunner / Red Deer Rebels |
My name is Grayson Pawlenchuk, I am 17 years old
and I’m from a small town outside of Edmonton, Alberta called Ardrossan. I live
on an acreage out in the country where I like to dirt bike and ski-doo in my
spare time. I come from a big family having 3 brothers and 2 sisters for a
total of 5 siblings. One brother and sister are older than I am, the rest are
younger. The ages vary from 7-22 years old. All my brothers play hockey as well
and my sisters ride horses.
I have lived in Ardrossan my whole life in the same
house and grew up going to school there at Holy Redeemer from Kindergarten to
grade 8. In grade 9 I went to Ardrossan public school which is right beside
Holy Redeemer, in grade 10 I switched to go to high school in Sherwood Park at
Archbishop Jordan.
I am entering my second year with the Rebels
after an exciting rookie season, but my hockey career first started when I was 4 years old.
I
began playing hockey for Strathcona, the county that Ardrossan is in, where I
started playing initiation. My next 3 years I played 'Tom Thumb' and the next two
years after I played novice, I don’t remember very much from those first years
of hockey as I was still very young.
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| Photo: Rob Wallator / WHL |
One of the things I remember most about
the start of my career is in my second year of Atom I was named captain of the
team. It was also a big year for me because I got invited to the Team Brick
tryouts and I made the team making me one of the top players in Alberta - a huge accomplishment for me.
I played two years of Atom to move on to only
one year of 'Pee Wee'. I had a good year my first year of 'Pee Wee' so they moved me
up to try out for Bantam AA as an underage because Strathcona didn't have a AAA
team. To make the team I had to finish top 5 in tryouts which I
did so I played that year as an underage.
It was a good season for me too and I
went into the next year hoping to make Bantam AAA in Sherwood Park. I didn’t
make the team and like every other kid that loves the game and has gotten cut,
I was crushed and so disappointed.
That was a big point for me though in my
life; I learned that if you want to be good at something you have to work at it
and put a lot of time and energy into it to get better. That included spending
most of my summer on the ice and working out off the ice.
I worked hard and
the next year, my third year of Bantam, I made the AAA team. It was a fun year
for me having a great coach and making a lot of new friends. After the season I
tried out for Alberta cup and made the team for my zone, the North East Flyers.
We won the tournament and it was one of the greatest feelings to win a big
tournament like that. After that I had the Bantam draft where I was drafted to
Red Deer in the 4th round, 74th overall.
Shortly following that I played my
first WHL pre-season game, it was an amazing experience to play with guys that
are in the WHL and see how fast the game is and how hard everyone plays. When I
got back from that I tried out for midget AAA in Sherwood Park and made that
team.
The summer before that I had tryouts for U16 Team Alberta. It was fun and
hard at the same time. We were in dorms with all the other players and you had
a roommate but on the ice you had to work hard and try to play your best to
make the team. I also made that team and it was special getting to represent my
province. We didn't get the outcome we wanted coming second place to Team BC
though.
At Christmas during my midget season, I got called up by the Rebels and
was able to play in my first 4 regular season games. That was a huge eye opener
for where I needed to be and wanted to get to.
The next summer I had my u17
Team Pacific tryouts which is Alberta and BC combined. It was cool playing with
all the top players from Alberta and BC and trying to make the team.
I then
tried out for the Red Deer Rebels. I made the team and got off to a great start
with 7 points in 6 games but then in the 7th game I broke my elbow. It required
surgery and I missed 3 months because of it. I was also named to the u17 team
but was unable to play because of my broken elbow. It was one of the hardest
things to recover from because I had to get back into shape and get used to the
speed of the WHL. After missing 28 games I got back into the lineup.
This past summer
I was one of the 44 players in Canada invited to play for U18 team at the Ivan Hlinka tournament. Unfortunately I did not make the team but being
listed to tryout for the team was already a huge accomplishment for me. Getting to play with the top players in Canada my age really showed me where
I need to get to. That brings me to where I am now heading into my second year
with the Rebels.
This season I’m focused on being a consistent
player who brings it every game. I want to be a great two-way player who is
used in all situations that the coach can trust to put on the ice. I take great
pride in being a good defensive player who is also physical and likes to hit. I
am known as a power forward and I believe that it is true about me. I'm not all
about points but when I do get them its a great bonus. My goal for this year is
to try to and score every second game so around 30 goals this year. If I
continue to build my confidence and finish the chances I do get, I think this is
possible.
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| Photo: Stephen Simon / WHL |
I have learned a lot from veterans like Conner Bleackley and Haydn
Fleury who both were first rounders last year in the NHL draft. They have
brought great leadership to me and helped me stay focused on the game and
corrected things that I have done wrong to help me.
Our team has also gotten
great news lately that we are the host of the 2016 Memorial Cup. That is going
to be a great experience for me to be a part of that and also a huge learning
experience for me. Our team's goal is to get there this year though and that's
what we are focused on.
That's all I have for this one. Thank you to Guy
Flaming and The Pipeline Show for having me on the show last summer and also
for giving me the opportunity to write this. If anyone has any questions for me
to answer in my next blog feel free to message me on twitter (@pawly97) or
Facebook. I look forward to updating you about my season this year and how the Rebels are doing.
All the best,
Grayson Pawlenchuk
Grayson Pawlenchuk is listed by NHL Central Scouting as a 5' 11.5", 183 lb Left Winger. He is currently playing on the top line in Red Deer alongside Conner Bleackley and Wyatt Johnson and has produced 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points through the first dozen games with the Rebels.
2 comments:
Great article Grayson.
awaiting the next chapter.
keeping an eye on your season.
Aunty D's
Great article, Grayson. Keep up the great game! Go Rebels!
Carol P
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