Former T-Bird Rylan Toth Named Canada West WHL Graduate of the Month
Edmonton, Alta. – Former Seattle Thunderbird Rylan Toth has been named the WHL Graduate of the Month for February after leading the UBC Thunderbirds to their first Canada West Final appearance in more than 40 years.
Toth, who spent three full seasons in the WHL between 2014 and 2017, earns the monthly honour after posting a combined 0.907 save percentage and 2.91 goals-against average through three regular season and eight CW playoff games last month.
TOTH’S CANADA WEST STATS | TOTH’S WHL STATS
The third-year Arts student opened the playoffs with a quarter-final series win over Mount Royal, but made his biggest mark in the CW semifinals, as he guided the T-Birds to an upset of the first-place Alberta Golden Bears.
Toth stopped a combined 91 shots in Game 1 and 3 wins against Alberta, as the T-Birds became just the second No. 5 seed to advance to the CW Final in conference history. The series win punched UBC’s ticket to the conference championship series for the first time since 1978 and also clinched a return to the University Cup for the first time since 1977.
Despite a setback in the CW Final to the Saskatchewan Huskies, Toth’s clutch playoff performance earned him the respect of CW coaches, who select the WHL Grad of the Month.
Following his outstanding CW playoff run, Toth and the T-Birds were unable to continue their historic season into March, as the U Cup in Halifax was cancelled prior to UBC’s quarter-final matchup against New Brunswick due to COVID-19.
Toth is the first Thunderbird to win the honour since fellow goalie Matt Hewitt, who claimed the award back in January of 2018.
2019-20 CW-WHL Grads of the Month:
October: Matt Alfaro, Calgary
November: Jared Dmytriw, Saskatchewan
December (First Half Top Performer): Matt Alfaro, Calgary
January: Taran Kozun, Saskatchewan
February: Rylan Toth, British Columbia
About Canada West
Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships.
Canada West – training leaders, building champions.
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 350 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.
