Former Red Deer Rebels captain Grayson Pawlenchuk has been busy since the WHL season ended.
After a call from the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL on Tuesday, Pawlenchuk signed with the team, packed up his gear and boarded a flight to join the team for their remaining to regular season games.
” They said they’d love me to come up for the rest of their season and that I’d be able to play in some games. So, first reaction was I’d love to go play and get a taste of what the pro game is like and see how it is. Pretty excited for it,” Pawlenchuk said over the phone from Denver on Thursday.
The Thunder officially announced the signing Tuesday, and Pawlenchuk has joined the team and will likely suit up this weekend against the Colorado Eagles.
“It’s my first game in this league so the first couple shifts I’ll be a little nervous. Once you get into it, it’s just the game of hockey and something that I do pretty much every day. Once I get into it the nerves will go away and I’ll be fine,” he said.
ROSTER NEWS: We've added forward Grayson Pawlenchuk from the @Rebelshockey. Samuel Thibault has been loaned to @Condors. Read here https://t.co/ALiCJbfDcW pic.twitter.com/LqEa1l4VeJ
— Wichita Thunder (@Wichita_Thunder) April 5, 2018
The 21-year-old just finished his fifth season in the WHL for the Rebels. The Ardrossan, Alta. native notched a career-high 52 points in 72 games this season and added another four in five playoff games.
Pawlenchuk played all five seasons with the Rebels, a total of 282 regular season games and an additional 28 playoff games. He totaled 60 goals over his WHL career and 84 assists for 144 points.
Pawlenchuck will also be following in the footsteps of former Rebels teammate Evan Polei, who joined the Thunder last year after the WHL playoffs. Polei started the season in Wichita this year but recently worked his way up the the AHL. Pawlenchuk, who was never picked in the NHL draft, hopes he can chart the same course Polei did.
“I’m definitely on the same path as him. It’s good for his success,” Pawlenchuk added.
The Thunder will close out the regular season with a pair of games this weekend against the Colorado Eagles.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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