by Stephen Meserve | AHL On The Beat
On March 16, Justin Hryckowian’s collegiate career ended in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East conference tournament.
Less than a week later, the Northeastern University forward was pulling on a Victory-green-and-white Texas Stars sweater to begin his professional career on the other side of the country, with a March 22 game in San Diego.
The whirlwind week found the centerman thrust into a crucial role for the Stars almost immediately. With injuries to key pivots such as Oskar Bäck, Hryckowian was the lone center on the team with next to no professional experience to his name.
“The opportunity was right there for me,” said Hryckowian. “I knew when I got there that there would be some good runway to just get my feet wet and learn and adapt on the fly.”
Head coach Neil Graham has called the Île Bizard, Quebec, native the team’s best defensive forward so far this season, and praised his critical role in the playoff push for last year’s team.
“He instantly filled a massive void for our group down the middle and played a major role for our group from day one,” Graham said.
Hryckowian’s experience last season has perhaps acted as a springboard for his early rookie success. He’s marked off four goals and six assists in his first seven games, tying for the league scoring lead among rookies.
“I’m so glad I decided to leave school and go get that opportunity, get that experience under my belt,” said Hryckowian. “It just made everything so much easier this year.”
Looking at Hryckowian’s biography, something doesn’t seem to match at first. He’s a Quebecer who went the high-school prep route into the junior United States Hockey League before playing at Northeastern. He points to his parents for that decision.
“I was more on the late bloomer side of things, and obviously my parents were big into taking care of your education and that part of things,” he said. “I felt like college was the best of both worlds.”
It was a fortuitous decision as he started at Connecticut’s Salisbury School and met his now-teammate Luke Krys. Their signings to Dallas were announced on the same day.
“He was probably one of the first guys to reach out when I decided to go to Salisbury,” Hryckowian said. “He was my captain that year, and we became really close. Funny enough, we ended up in the same spot, and we’re living together here in Austin.”
Ultimately, the decision to join Dallas was not a difficult one. The Stars, headed by two-time GM of the Year Jim Nill, have a reputation that precedes them. Hryckowian said that everyone he dealt with was “first class” and that everyone he spoke with about the organization agreed that they did things the right way.
“Every conversation was positive,” he said. “I really appreciate the honesty from them and how up-front they were during the process.”
Additionally, he put huge value on being part of a winning program. As it says on the wall in the Texas locker room, “We Win Here.”
Even with Dallas in win-now mode in hopes of a Stanley Cup, the AHL side is also stocked to succeed.
“Being part of a program where winning is expected every year… [that] is something I want to be around,” Hryckowian explained.
Hryckowian has been a huge part of this season’s Stars’ success early on, even as he’s bounced around to a few different linemates in the seven games so far.
“Justin is extremely detailed in his preparation for both practices and games,” noted Graham. “He understands the level of commitment to being a good professional, and he leads by example. He is an excellent prospect, and I believe he is only going to get better.”
The rookie has already gotten a taste of what’s next if he continues his success in the AHL: Dallas called his number for a preseason game this year.
Asked about his early season success, Hryckowian deflects praise to his linemates but also recognizes that the preparations he made over the summer and throughout his entire career to this point have put him in a position to excel.
“I’m being put in a lot of situations to succeed, obviously,” he said. “Confidence is everything, and that’s earned through hard work and preparation. It’s been great for me to just build all that up. I’m feeling really good about it, really having fun doing what I do every day.”
Stephen Meserve is the editor of 100 Degree Hockey, which has covered the Texas Stars since their inaugural season.
