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Former Pembina Valley Hawk and Winkler Flyer goaltender Reid Dyck is coming up on his final weeks in junior hockey after a stellar five-year run with the Swift Current Broncos. In part-one of a two-part conversation, Dyck looks back at his time with the Hawks and Flyers, finding his way in the WHL and reveals the secret as to why he can skate so fast for a goalie.
Dyck says it's been an amazing ride since leaving the MJHL in that COVID shortened 2020-21 season. "To be honest, ever since leaving Winkler, I've been in Swift Current. It's hard to believe it's been five years, just wrapping up my junior career. We finished regular season and now we're prepping for playoffs, then it's all she wrote for my time in junior. It's amazing how time flies."
Becoming a goalie is something Dyck always wanted, but it took a fair amount of convincing to a certain family member. "Growing up, I always thought goalies were cool. Putting on all the gear, it was awesome. My dad and my brother were goalies as well, which I thought was cool, I wanted to be like them. It was a big influence. To be honest, my mom never wanted me to be a full time goalie, she always wanted me to work on my skating for as long as I could. When I was around 12, I got the opportunity to be a full-time goalie and I bugged my mom enough to convincer her I could make the full time switch. I haven't looked back. It's been a lot of fun."
It's because of his mom that Dyck is one of the fastest goalies getting to the bench for an extra-attacker or on a delayed penalty, "Oh, absolutely," he says laughing, "it's all because of her."
Growing up as a goalie in the Pembina Valley Hawks system, Dyck says he cherished every moment and looking back, it set him on the path of success he's on now. "It was awesome. When you're that age in the Pembina Valley area, it's your goal to be a member of the Hawks. I was lucky enough to play there for three years. It's a great organization with some great coaches. For me, that's where I grew the most, with some of the coaches. Reid Sloan helped me a lot, developing as a player and a person. He gave me a long runway for playing wise and performance wise, letting me work on my game as much as he could. Mark Friesen, the goalie coach, he also helped me out a lot. Playing for the Hawks is awesome, it's really good hockey and I was lucky to play there. It was a great time."
Being a Winkler boy, Dyck would frequent Flyers games and it's memories that remain special. "Whenever I could, I'd be at games. They were the guys I looked up to when I was a kid. Being able to play there, it's pretty surreal."
Dyck looks back to when he started believing the Western Hockey League was going to be his path. "I guess my first year with the Hawks, it was bantam, some of the second year guys were talking about the draft and I never knew anything really about it. That was my first intro to it. My second year bantam, I started talking to some western teams because it was my draft year. I ended up being selected by Swift Current in the third round. That's when it kind of all came together. I was drafted, went to my first training camp and that's where I set my sights on playing in the WHL. I felt it was good hockey and a place I could develop and move up the levels. That following year, went back with the Hawks in U18 and the Broncos wanted me to come in that next year and it's where I've been ever since."
Going from the Hawks to the WHL is a big time jump but Dyck took it all in stride, but admits it took a while to feel comfortable. "Yeah, it was a big jump, for sure," he says with a laugh. "I came into a bit of a rebuilding organization which I thought was good for me. I got a lot of opportunity without a lot of pressure. I could just go out and play. I was lucky to learn from my goalie partner for two years, he really taught me about the league and how it works. The most important part was learning that everyone has success at different times. I wouldn't say I was very successful my first couple of years, but it's a developmental league. We get five days a week where we can work on our game. Being honest, last year was my first year where I felt comfortable. We had a really good team and we took a run at the playoffs. That was the first year where I felt I could play consistently and when you get that, it's a great feeling. Learning that some guys come in and have success right away while others have to wait and work, it was huge mentally."
In part two, Dyck talks about this year with the Broncos and what the future holds for the netminder. That's tomorrow (Friday) on PembinaValleyOnline.com.