Peter Stoykewych:
Playing Pro At Home
By Scott Taylor, Photos by James Carey Lauder and Casey B. Gibson
Not every player is excited to play in
the American Hockey League. For
most guys, the AHL is considered little
more than a stepping- stone to his
National Hockey League dream.
Peter Stoykewych is hoping his time
in the AHL isn’t permanent. Still, the
thought of playing his first full season
of professional hockey in front of
family and friends at the MTS Centre
is still pretty exciting.
“Every player wants to play in the
NHL, but for me, getting to start my
pro career in my hometown is pretty
exciting,” said Stoykewych, one of the
first four players signed by the AHL’s
Manitoba Moose. “I’ve been away
from home for five years, but I always
considered myself a Winnipeg guy.
Now, to be able to play professionally
in my hometown, is a pretty big deal.”
Playing for the Moose will be a great
Stoykewych was drafted by the Triopportunity for this stay-at-home
City Americans in the Western Hockey
type defenseman, who took the long
League bantam draft of 2006 and it
route to professional hockey. He has
appeared as if the WHL would be his
yet to suit up for a Moose game, but
destiny, but he decided to keep all of
the Moose haven’t won yet so it won’t
his options open.
be long before Stoykewych gets a
chance to show just what he has
Peter Stoykewych at Colorado College
in his tool box.
“I started to play hockey
when I was really young with
the Assiniboine Minor Hockey
Association and played all my
minor hockey there,” he said.
“Then I played Double A Rangers
and Triple A Monarchs in bantam
and played for the Triple A
Winnipeg Wild in the Manitoba
Midget Hockey League. So really,
there was nothing out of the
ordinary for me.”
He played as a 16-year-old and
then 17-year-old with the Winnipeg
Blues along with his older brother,
Adam, who had already committed to
Michigan Tech. While he still looked
hard at the WHL, NCAA hockey was
also near the front of his mind.
“I had always thought I’d play in the
WHL and I even attended a couple of
Tri-City training camps,” he said. “I
had a lot of friends in the WHL and
was always interested in playing in the
league.
“But as a kid, I got some exposure
to UND hockey. I’d go down for a
couple of games a year and nothing
compared to that: The fireworks, the
band, 13,000 people going crazy, it’s
amazing what happens with hockey
there. It’s as pro as y