BRANDON SUN PROFILE: JASON SWYRIPA
(Courtesy of Rob Henderson, The Brandon Sun) — It’s rare to say this about a rookie, but day in, day out, the Brandon Wheat Kings have been able to rely on Jason Swyripa.
The diminutive 17-year-old centre is one of only two Wheat Kings — the other is overage captain Shayne Wiebe — to play in all 56 games this season, a feat that could be viewed as surprising for a couple of reasons.
For one, it’s unusual for Wheat Kings rookies to play every day, period, particularly early in the season when the club carries extra players and often cycles the freshmen in and out of the lineup. Throw in that Swyripa is generously listed at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds and the Calgarian’s durability in the rough-and-tumble Western Hockey League has been impressive.
“It’s obviously a good thing when the coach has confidence in you to play you game in, game out like that,” said Swyripa, whose team hosts the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday at Westman Place. “It’s a confidence booster for sure.”
Swyripa’s offensive production — eight goals and 19 points — has been limited, but he’s done enough things right to keep himself in the lineup on a regular basis.
“He’s very competitive, he’s gritty and really brings energy to our team with the way that he plays,” Wheat Kings head coach/general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He’s responsible in all three zones and I think has shown improvement over the course of the year, which is what you want from a 17-year-old player.”
And it’s not like Swyripa shies away from the physical side of the game, either. Despite only having 17 penalty minutes, the former captain of the UFA Bisons of the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League is willing to get his nose dirty on virtually every shift.
“He plays a different game than a lot of small players in that he’s so tenacious,” McCrimmon said. “He’s on the puck, he hits, he gets hit and I think that competitiveness is what’s allowed him to be a real good player as he’s grown up through minor hockey and into our league.”
Of course, talking about their ability to stay healthy ranks somewhere between discussing a scoring slump and homework for hockey players, who can be a tad superstitious. (It was only a month ago Brodie Melnychuk was lauded for playing more than 200 consecutive games, then got hurt within a week and has missed five out of the team’s last nine contests.) But Swyripa said there’s been no special reason for his durability so far.
“To tell you the truth I just have the same preparation before every game,” he said. “I don’t really change it up too much, but knock on wood it’s been good so far.”
Swyripa and the Wheat Kings don’t play again until this weekend when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers and Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday and Saturday nights at Westman Place.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition February 1, 2011 B1
