Wyatt Waselenchuk couldn't have ended his third season between the pipes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association with the Minot State Beavers any better than he did. He not only led his club to a Division 1 championship, but he was also named the league's Player of the Year.
"It was an amazing season," said Waselenchuk, who was introduced to hockey while growing up in Yorkton. "All of the guys were working so hard and we just kept working and it all paid off. It was an incredible run to a Division 1 championship."
In a lose once and go home format, the Beavers knocked off the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Ohio, and Lindenwood University to capture their title. In those four victories, Waselenchuk stood tall in the blue paint, maintaining a .920 save percentage and a 2.44 average.
"He gave the whole team confidence," said Beavers head coach Wade Regier. "When we see him make a big save or two, everyone says 'Okay Wyatt is on his game, we can definitely win this one.' When you have a guy like him in net, you have a chance to win every game. He's a very calm goaltender that doesn't get rattled easily at all Throughout the entire year, he's made a lot of key saves that have shifted the momentum back in our favour or have been the difference in us getting the win. He has fuelled us to win all season long."
Humble and modest, Waselenchuk gives credit to his teammates for his success.
"The guys made my job a lot easier than some goalies with them playing strong defensively and scoring a lot of goals," he said. "I have a great team around me. I owe them a lot of the credit."
This selfless attitude was evident in the Beavers' dressing room since the 6-foot, 175-pounder arrived in Minot in 2010.
"He's a great guy to have in the room," said Regier. "He's all about the team. As a coach, you love seeing players with humble attitudes. That's exactly what Wyatt has. He only focuses on the team and puts the team ahead of everything else."
When it came to his Player of the Year Award, Waselenchuk kept his altruistic views despite his outstanding .930 save percentage, 1.94 average, and 19-2 record throughout the regular-season.
"I can hardly take credit for that award, the team made it possible for me to win it," he said. "When we needed a big goal, the team would do it. We have a lot of great scorers. The team as a whole deserves the award."
The Beavers head coach views his accomplishment in a different light.
"Wyatt's award is huge for Minot State," said Regier. "Minot State is not as known as some of the other ACHA schools like Arizona and Ohio. Of the 57 schools, we definitely are one of the smaller ones. This award has really helped us get on the map. It means a lot to develop a player who goes on to win the Player of the Year award. The school definitely is very happy Wyatt chose to come here."
Waselenchuk, who is the third goalie in the last five years to win the honour, beat out three forwards for the award: Ohio State's Tyler Pilmore, Arizona State's Kale Dolinski, and Liberty University's Rick Turner.
"Those are three players are great scorers, it shows how good of a year Wyatt had," said Regier. "All three had great years on great teams."
Athleticism runs in the Waselenchuk family. Wyatt's father, Wes Waselenchuk, was a baseball player for the Yorkton Cardinals in the 1970s. He also was the play-by-play announcer for the Yorkton Terriers around that time.
The 24-year-old Waselenchuk, however, knew at a young age baseball wasn't his forte; therefore, he stuck to hockey.
"I couldn't hit the baseball," said Waselenchuk. "Baseball just wasn't for me. I always enjoyed hockey and at about 11 and 12 I started working hard to improve my game and started to take it seriously."
He chose to become a goaltender largely because of the 'cool pads.'
"I just liked how the pads looked," said Waselenchuk, who played for the BCHL's Langley Chiefs and SJHL's Nipawin Hawks before joining Minot State. "The cool pads really interested me. And my dad use to always take shots at me. I got a lot of practice that way and just stuck with it."
Heading into his final and fourth year with the Beavers, Waselenchuk hopes to play professional hockey afterwards with his expected degree in fitness training as his backup plan.
"I'd love to play pro hockey in Europe or somewhere after next season," he said. "I don't want to hang up the pad just yet. But if it doesn't work out, I'll start my career in fitness training. I love staying fit and working out, so I am looking forward to doing that in the future as well."
